Learning To Pray

And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.  Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
(Luke 11:1-4)

 Thought For Today:

I was reflecting on my prayer time the other day and concluded that I probably spend more time interceding for others than simply giving God thanks and praise for what He's already doing.  Because my mind is so accustomed to intercession, I often find myself more of an intercessor than a praiser.  I've read many books on prayer, and indeed, prayer is crucial for us all. However, I wonder if we sometimes miss the mark in our understanding of the purpose of prayer?  The disciples asked Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray", not "How to pray."  I think all of us who have been around the church for a while know how to pray, but many haven't caught on to the purpose of prayer.  I read that Jesus rose early before day and entered into a solitary place and prayed.  And I've heard many reasons given that He did so, but none of them are found in scripture.  The disciples knew that Jesus prayed, and they were curious about the reason.  And so they asked Him to teach them to pray.  If I know the reason, I can figure out my own way to do it. In some ways, I think our prayer should be somewhat like our alms, don't let the right hand know what the left is doing.  Maybe this is why we have people requesting unspoken prayer requests.  Someone once asked an old man why he always hummed songs.  He replied, "That  way the devil doesn't know what you are saying."