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One of Jesus disciples saw him praying, so he asked, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Jesus then set forth certain principles for praying that can benefit us. Luke 11 records Jesus’ response. Jesus said, “This is how you should pray: Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. This tells us that in our prayer, we should honor the Father; we should recognize His holiness, and place the Father’s kingdom and will at the top of our agenda and at the core of our prayers. Jesus said we should pray that God would give us each day the food we need. This assures us that we can rightfully ask God to meet our daily needs. Bear in mind that our needs might differ from our wants. Jesus instructed us to ask God to forgive our sins. These are our failings between God and us and between others and us. Jesus said we can pray that temptations not overtake us and overpower us. To reinforce the value of persistence in prayer, Jesus related a parable. He said if a man asked his neighbor for bread at midnight, his neighbor would likely rebuff him. The neighbor would say he was in bed, locked down with his children. But if the man persisted, the neighbor would oblige just because of his persistence. So Jesus advised, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
