Prayer is the central discipline of Christian faith. Prayer is, of course, communication with the life-giving Father. But it is also communion with the Father and the family of God, the Church. But prayer is difficult today. Our lives are so full, and our materialist world so far removed from the enchanted world of the Bible, that we may often find praying nearly impossible. Who has time for prayer? And in our age of distraction and rejection of the transcendent, what should we pray? The truth is, for many (if not most) moderns, we have simply forgotten how to pray. For those of us who wish to commune with the Father in prayer, we often find ourselves (metaphorically) crying out, "Lord, teach us to pray!"
Happily, we aren't alone in this cry. The Gospel of Luke, in its record of the formulation of the Lord's Prayer, records this same request from Jesus' disciples: "Lord, teach us to pray..." (Luke 11:1). In his majestic letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul explains that "we do not know what to pray for as we ought..." (Romans 8:26). There is no shame in wanting to learn how to pray. In fact, perhaps the first step in developing a meaningful prayer life is learning from those who are masters of prayer.
For almost 2000 years, the Church has prayed in Jesus' footsteps, making the words of his prayer (universally known as "the Lord's Prayer") in Matthew 6 their own. Matthew 6 forms the heart of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, the Lord's central teaching for the Christian life. Here Jesus discusses vital spiritual disciplines (almsgiving, fasting, and praying) for drawing near to God. Central to these disciplines is prayer, and it is in this context that Jesus gives the beautiful gift of the Lord's Prayer.
In this second post about the "little books" (see the previous post about Things that Matter) written by the faculty of Austin Graduate School of Theology, we introduce Lord, Teach Us to Pray: The Lord's Prayer for Today's Church. The book is a series of reflections on each phrase in the Lord's Prayer, and is meant to serve both as an introduction to praying the Lord's Prayer and learning to pray. Each chapter gives material for reflection and meditation, and includes discussion questions for personal and group development. Like the other "little books," Lord, Teach Us is meant to be portable and shareable. At 6" by 4", 85 pages and $4.50 per copy (with bulk discounts), the book is ideal for just these purposes.
Prayer is the most vital practice for Christians, and learning to pray is the beginning of the journey toward a deep communion with our Father. The Lord's Prayer offers us both the words of prayer and a template for prayer. Lord, Teach Us to Pray: The Lord's Prayer for Today's Church is an excellent resource for starting this journey.
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