One of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them,
“When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread.’ ”
Luke 11:1–3 NIV
Ruth was a Christian, but she struggled in her prayer life. How could she be worthy of speaking to the supreme Creator of the universe? He already knew everything in her mind.
Lord, she thought, I don’t know what to say. How can I possibly pray to You? Do You even hear my insignificant requests?
Yes, God hears—and, although He knows what we need before we even ask Him, He wants us to pray. He even gave us instruction on how to pray. Our prayers don’t have to be long or eloquent or even particularly organized. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, the sample wasn’t wordy. He simply taught the disciples to give God glory and to come to Him and ask for their daily needs.
But Luke 11 teaches us something beyond just an outline for prayer. The story shows clearly that if we ask God to teach us how to pray, He will. It’s all part of the prayer—ask God to lead you, then speak to Him from the heart.
Let’s make it a habit to pray every day. Like the saying goes, practice makes perfect.
Dear God, teach me how to pray. Remind me that my words don’t have to be profound. You’re just looking for earnest thoughts from the heart.
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Today’s reading was adapted from Daily Wisdom for Women: 2013 Devotional Collection with permission from Barbour Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading was written by Christan Thomas.