Learning to Pray

by Jennifer Kennedy Dean

Once when Jesus had been out praying, one of his disciples came to him as he finished and said, "Lord, teach us to pray ..." (Luke 11:1)

Prayer is an art or a skill. It has to be learned and practiced. It has to be honed and polished. Does that surprise you? Look around you. Whom do you know who seems to have power in prayer? Does your own experience in prayer seem weak and ineffectual in contrast? It is not because that person is more loved by God than you are. It is because that person has, with patience and perseverance, become skilled in the art of prayer.

When a person is born with an innate talent for music, that talent must be cultivated if it is to reach its fullness. A person may be born with a gift for music, but that doesn’t give the person the ability to read notes or play an instrument. The skilled musician is one who has taken lessons, watched and imitated the masters, studied, and above all, practiced. Practiced, and practiced, and practiced. The mature musician has mastered the basics. The fundamental laws of music have been drilled into him through diligence and discipline. Finally, the basics have become part of him. As automatic as the blinking of his eye. Then he begins to find his own, unique style. The music becomes his focus rather than the fundamentals. He is able to use the fundamentals to compose his own music. He has honed his skill and has moved from diligence and discipline to delight.

You, my dear friend, when you were born into the kingdom of God, were born with the innate talent for prayer. It is encoded into your spiritual DNA structure. It is written into your spiritual genetic blueprint. No one, living or dead, has more prayer potential than you do. The fact that you have read this far tells me that you are beginning to awaken to that innate talent. There is a stirring, a restlessness that pushes you to look for answers. It is the Spirit Himself, calling you to develop the art of prayer.

As you are intentionally learning to live with an alertness to His activity, you will discover that the discipline of prayer takes on new meaning. No longer is it an activity to squeeze into your already busy schedule. No longer is it one more thing on your “To Do” list. Prayer becomes the filter through which everything else in life passes. Prayer is the solvent in which all the disparate, unrelated pieces of life are dissolved and merged into an integrated whole. Living prayer will cause you to recognize all of life as an unfolding plan of God. Nothing is random. Everything fits together into a well-thought-out pattern.

Lord, Teach Me to Pray

More than anything, I want to be a skilled and trained intercessor. I want my life to have optimum effect for eternity. I want continually to progress in the art of prayer.

There is only one Prayer Teacher. Jesus Himself will teach you to pray as you yield yourself to Him. Look to Him. Be alert to His leading. He delights in teaching you to pray. Right now, enroll in His school of prayer.