Teach Us to Pray

Prayer begins in a hard place, because following Jesus has never meant living in a culture that naturally agrees with Jesus. The call to discipleship stands in the tension between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdoms of this world. The disciples knew that tension under Roman occupation, competing religions, corruption, spiritual confusion, sexual immorality, and deep division. The church today knows a similar tension in a culture that challenges Scripture on identity, sexuality, truth, religion, and who gets to decide what is true.

The call of Jesus still says, “Follow me.” The hard part is not knowing that God’s people are supposed to be different. The hard part is actually living differently when the culture looks tempting, loud, and normal. Luke 11 becomes important because the disciples did not ask Jesus to teach them to preach, perform miracles, debate better, or win arguments. The disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray,” because they had watched Jesus go away with the Father and come back with peace, dependence, authority, and power.

Jesus begins prayer with one simple word: Father. Prayer does not begin with a formula, technique, or fancy religious language. Prayer begins with relationship. The word Father confronts every distorted picture of God as distant, disappointed, annoyed, or too busy. God is the Father who picks up his children when they raise their hands and say, “Pick me up.”

Prayer is not mainly about informing God. Prayer is about knowing God. “Hallowed be your name” and “your kingdom come” bring the heart back into alignment with God’s heart. Prayer reshapes wrong wants, dethrones personal kingdoms, and teaches surrender to God’s name, God’s will, and God’s rule.

Daily bread teaches dependence on God for today. The sheep do not know where the grass, water, shade, or safety will come from. The sheep know the shepherd’s voice. Jesus teaches trust day by day, not control over every possible tomorrow.

Forgiveness brings the sinner into the presence of grace and then sends that grace toward others. Right relationship with God and right relationship with people belong together at the cross. Temptation reminds the believer that this world cannot be walked in human strength alone. The Father protects, guides, strengthens, and shows the way out.

The midnight friend and the good Father show that God is not reluctant, annoyed, or waiting for a perfect life before listening. The real question is not only how to pray better. The deeper question is whether the Father truly wants his children to come. Jesus’ answer is yes.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Prayer starts with Father The word “Father” places prayer inside relationship before it places prayer inside request. God is not a distant CEO, a disappointed observer, or a killjoy waiting to nail failure. The Father receives weakness, questions, wants, worries, and failures because prayer is about knowing God, not informing him. [37:47]
• 2. Culture will not disciple faithfulness Following Jesus has never meant finding a world that naturally agrees with Jesus. The pressure of culture exposes the deeper question of who gets to decide what is true. Faithfulness requires more than knowing the church should be different, because the harder work is living differently without anger, compromise, or fear. [25:16]
• 3. Prayer realigns wrong wants “Your kingdom come” challenges the small kingdoms a person tries to build and protect. Prayer does not mainly bend God toward personal preference, but bends the heart back toward God’s name, God’s will, and God’s rule. Sometimes the problem is not that God refuses a request, but that the request itself has been shaped by the wrong kingdom. [41:33]
• 4. Daily bread trains trust today Jesus does not teach anxious control over the next year, next decade, or whole future. Daily bread teaches the soul to bring today’s burden to the Father and receive today’s provision from the Shepherd. Sheep rest because the shepherd knows where the green pasture, water, shade, and safe place are found. [43:09]
• 5. The Father welcomes persistence The picture of asking, seeking, and knocking shows a Father who is not irritated by repeated coming. God is not waiting for a cleaned-up life before listening. The Father gives what is good, meets real needs, and gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask. [48:43]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [24:44] - Beginning a Series on Prayer
• [25:16] - Following Jesus in a Conflicted Culture
• [27:14] - The Disciples Knew the Tension
• [28:52] - Modern Culture and Biblical Truth
• [30:32] - Who Decides What Is True?
• [32:53] - Lord, Teach Us to Pray
• [37:20] - Prayer Begins With Father
• [41:08] - Prayer Is About Knowing God
• [43:09] - Give Daily Bread for Today
• [44:39] - Forgiveness and Right Relationships
• [45:42] - Protection From Temptation
• [47:05] - Ask, Seek, Knock
• [50:28] - Praying the Lord’s Prayer Slowly
• [58:57] - Beginning With the Father

Bible Reading

Luke 11:1-4
“Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ And he said to them, ‘When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation."’” [32:59]

Matthew 6:9-13
“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’” [37:20]

Luke 11:5-13
“And he said to them, ‘Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, "Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him"; and he will answer from within, "Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything"? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’” [47:35]

Observation questions

1. In Luke 11:1, what had the disciples just seen Jesus doing before they asked, “Lord, teach us to pray”? How does that detail shape the moment? [33:25]
2. In the prayer Jesus gives, what requests are focused on God first, and what requests are focused on human need after that? [41:33]
3. What everyday needs are included in this prayer besides forgiveness—what does Jesus tell his disciples to ask for regarding bread and temptation? [43:09]
4. In Luke 11:5-13, what pictures does Jesus use to show what God is like when his children ask, seek, and knock? [48:58]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus begins prayer with the word “Father.” What does that suggest about what prayer is meant to be before it becomes a list of requests? [38:05]
2. “Hallowed be your name” and “your kingdom come” come before “give us.” Why might Jesus teach surrender and alignment before daily needs? [42:49]
3. Jesus teaches his disciples to pray for daily bread, not for every future need all at once. What does that reveal about dependence, control, and trust? [44:41]
4. Jesus connects receiving forgiveness from God with extending forgiveness to others. Why do those two relationships belong together so closely? [45:20]

Application questions

1. Following Jesus has never meant living in a culture that naturally agrees with Jesus. Where is that tension most real right now—in family life, work, friendships, school, media, or something else? Where is faithfulness feeling costly for you? [31:53]
2. Prayer begins with “Father,” not with fear, performance, or polished words. When you come to God, which false picture do you tend to carry most—that he is distant, disappointed, annoyed, or too busy? How does that affect the way you pray? [39:41]
3. Prayer is not mainly about getting personal kingdoms built. What is one area of life where you are most tempted to say, “my will” instead of “your kingdom come”? What would surrender look like there this week? [53:15]
4. “Give us each day our daily bread” brings the heart back to today. What are you carrying right now that really belongs in the Father’s hands? What would it look like to trust him with today instead of trying to control every tomorrow? [54:16]
5. Jesus teaches believers to ask for forgiveness and to forgive others. Is there a sin that needs to be confessed honestly to God, or a person whose debt is still being held onto in the heart? What makes that hard to release? [56:23]
6. “Lead us not into temptation” assumes weakness, not strength. Where do you already know you are vulnerable to compromise? What practical steps could help you seek the Father’s protection there? [57:41]
7. The Father is not reluctant, irritated, or waiting for a cleaned-up life before listening. Where do you need to keep asking, seeking, and knocking instead of giving up? Do you really believe the Father wants you to come? [49:32]