05/30/2026
Here's the Introduction to my new book that I began writing early this morning titled, "Lord, Teach Us To Pray."
There are few requests recorded in Scripture that reveal more about the hearts of the disciples than the one found in Luke chapter eleven.
They did not ask Jesus how to preach.
They did not ask Him how to lead.
They did not ask Him how to perform miracles, cast out devils, or calm storms.
They asked Him to teach them how to pray.
At first glance, the request may seem simple. Yet the more one considers it, the more profound it becomes. These men had watched Jesus do what no other man had ever done. They had seen Him heal the sick, raise the dead, and exercise authority over nature itself. Of all the things they could have asked Him to teach them, they asked Him to teach them to pray.
Why?
Because they understood something many believers still struggle to grasp today...The power they witnessed in Jesus' life was inseparable from His relationship with the Father.
Again and again, they watched Him withdraw to pray. They observed His dependence upon the Father. They listened as He spoke of the Father's will, the Father's kingdom, and the Father's glory. Somewhere along the way, the disciples realized that if they wanted to walk closely with God, they needed to learn how to pray.
That desire should exist within every believer's heart and mind.
Prayer is one of the most discussed subjects in Christianity, yet it is often one of the least understood. Many believers struggle with prayer. Some wonder if they are doing it correctly. Others become discouraged because they feel as though their prayers go unanswered. Still others reduce prayer to a list of requests offered whenever a need arises.
Yet when Jesus answered the disciples' request, He gave them something far greater than a method. He gave them a pattern.
A pattern that teaches us how to think. A pattern that teaches us how to approach God. A pattern that teaches us how to ask.
This book is built upon that pattern.
As we walk through Luke 11:1–13 together, we will discover that prayer involves praise, surrender, dependence, repentance, forgiveness, persistence, faith, and petition. We will learn what it means to ask, seek, and knock. We will examine why Jesus encouraged persistence in prayer and why He assured His disciples that the Father delights in giving good gifts to His children.
Yet before we explore any of those lessons, there is something we must understand...Before Jesus taught His disciples what to ask for, He taught them who they were speaking to.
The first words He gave them were not a request. They were an acknowledgment.
"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name."
That is not accidental.
-Before daily bread comes worship.
-Before forgiveness comes worship.
-Before protection comes worship.
-Before asking comes worship.
Many of us, myself included, have spent years focusing on what we want to receive from God while giving far less attention to how we approach Him. Yet the Lord's instruction reminds us that prayer begins not with our needs, but with His worthiness.
The One we approach is not merely a provider, helper, counselor, or friend.
-He is the holy God of heaven.
-He is the Creator.
-He is the Sustainer.
-He is the King.
Even more remarkable is the fact that these words were spoken by Jesus Himself. The Son of God did not begin with demands. He did not begin with requests. He began by honoring the Father.
If the Son approached His Father with reverence, humility, and submission, should we not do the same?
That question serves as the foundation for everything that follows.
In the chapters ahead, we will learn how to ask. We will learn how to seek. We will learn how to knock. We will learn how to bring our needs, burdens, struggles, and desires before God.
But before we learn how to receive something from the throne of grace, we must first learn how to approach the One who sits upon it.
That concept, my friends, is where our journey begins.
