Wednesday October 8th: Teach us to pray

‘Say this when you pray.’

Luke 11: 1-4

When one of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus gave him a short and simple prayer. This was a prayer that included thanksgiving: ‘May your name be held holy.’ It also asked for forgiveness: ‘Forgive us our sins’ and petitioned: ‘Do not put us to the test.’ This was a simple, practical prayer.

Often when we ask someone to pray, they may think of asking God for many things, but this is not necessary, as the Bible itself tells us that God knows what we want before we even ask. We just need to address him from our heart and not our head.

In Matthew 6:8, Jesus tells us: Your Father knows the things you need before you ask him. In 1. Samuel 16:7, the prophet tells us:  God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart.

Lord, teach us to pray from the heart.