As Jesus whispered “Amen” and opened his eyes, his disciples were already standing there with a request. “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1).

There are many topics we need to cover in leadership development, but prayer is one of the most critical. Apparently, John the Baptist taught his followers to pray, and now Jesus’ disciples want a piece of the action too. Are we modeling prayer to our people? Are we teaching them how to pray, and giving them opportunities to practice this spiritual discipline?

More broadly, this story reveals five essential elements of discipleship. All leadership development must be…

• Didactic. A disciple (Gk. mathetes) is fundamentally a “student” or “follower.” A learner must hear and grasp content. He must be taught. Jesus granted his disciples’ request by teaching them information. He took words and ideas and organized them into logical sentences and paragraphs to convey truth. We must do the same, with structure and order to what we teach our disciples.
• Relational. Discipleship is more than just transmitting information. It involves people, and must be in the context of loving relationships. It was only after spending time with Jesus and seeing him pray that his disciples even thought to ask the question “teach us to pray.” They spent much time eating together, talking together, doing ministry together, and seeing how a biblical worldview operates in the milieu of everyday life. Likewise, we must be selective with our time and make sure we are accessible to those we are equipping.
• Conversational. I love the question-and-answer format of this passage in Luke 11. Sure, there are extended sermons in the Gospels and Acts, but much of the teaching of the New Testament was in the form of dialogue. Jesus talked with his disciples, not just at them. He asked them questions and invited them to do the same. (Cf. Paul’s method in Acts 17:2, 17). A good mentor will look for teachable moments and learn to draw out even the quietest students through intentional conversations.
• Practical. When the disciples asked “teach us to pray,” they weren’t saying, “teach us the importance of prayer.” They knew that already. They were begging Jesus to teach them how to pray. They wanted practical help in the labor of prayer. And that is precisely what Jesus gave them: specific instructions in the kind of balanced prayer that God answers.
• Patient. A student will rarely master content the first time around. It can take days, weeks, or even years, to understand and put into practice what was taught. This is due to a variety of reasons including the process of human memory, frequent distractions, and just plain hardheartedness. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples had the perfect opportunity to apply Christ’s teaching on prayer, yet instead they were “sleeping for sorrow” (Luke 22:45). Nevertheless, a short time later, we find these same men gathered together, “devoted to … prayers” (Acts 2:42). Yes! They were finally getting it! By the time we get to the epistles of John and Peter, we discover beautiful examples of bold prayer in the Spirit (1 Peter 1:3-5; 5:10-11; 1 John 5:14). Teaching requires patience, lest we grow discouraged by the early failures of our learners. But in the end, we can expect steady and marked progress. A disciple, when he is fully trained, will become like his teacher (Lk. 6:40).

Question: Who has been an example and inspiration to you in prayer? What lessons did you learn? Share your thoughts by clicking here.

Related posts:

• How’s Your Prayer Life?
• Spiritual Discipline

Our church prayed this prayer together on Sunday, November 4, in preparation for Tuesday’s election…

You are King of Kings, and You are Lord of Lords.
Your Name O God is matchless.
You are the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

You are in charge of the galaxies that swirl around our universe
and You are in charge of the tiniest molecules and atoms.

God, we know that all of our days hang in your balance.
We know that kings are raised up by You, and that other kings are torn down.

Lord, we are blessed and we are thankful today to live in a free country.
We have the privilege — unlike the majority of this world —
We have the privilege to cast our vote for
Who will be the next President of the United States
And to elect leaders over our Congress, our State legislature,
Our local Town Council, judges, and police force.

We have the privilege and duty to share our voice.

But we know that you are the One who is ultimately in charge,
So we come humbly this morning before You.
You are so great, and we are so small.
We are thankful for this country,
And we pray that You would keep Your hand upon us.

Father, You tell us in 1 Timothy 2 to pray for our leaders —
To pray for our kings and all of those who are in authority
That we would be able to live a peaceful and quiet life
So that the Word of God can spread

We pray Lord that You would preserve the peace and
The religious freedom that we have in this country.
We feel that the days are evil, and that the time may come where
We will be persecuted for gathering like we are this morning.
We pray that that would not be the case,
And we pray for all of our brothers and sisters scattered across the world
Who already face those kinds of difficult choices of where and when to meet to worship You.

God, we commit America to You.
We pray that Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
We pray that You would give us hearts of compassion for the needy,
Hearts of jealousy for Your name.
We pray that the laws and leaders of this land would defend justice,
And love mercy, and walk humbly in the sight of God.

God, we pray that You would show Your grace,
And Your favor, and Your kindness
And that You would do what is most needed:
That You would bring revival in this land
Lord, cause an awakening, perhaps through this hurricane,
Perhaps through other crises in people’s lives.

Lord, these are dark, dark days. We need only turn on the television
To be reminded how sinful and desperately wicked we are.
We don’t deserve Your love, but You have been so patient with us.
We pray You would bring a spiritual awakening to our land.
Let it start right here in Yucca Valley, California
And through other evangelical churches
And through disaster relief efforts going on right now.

Lord, heal our land. We pray for Your name to be glorified.
We pray for Your will to be done.
We pray that whatever the results, that we would rest in Your sovereignty.
Help us be careful, because we know people will be watching how we react this week.

Help us never to damage our witness.
We’re concerned first and foremost that people come to know Jesus.
You left us on this earth not to have a perfect government now.
You left us here to share the gospel with those who still are lost.

So we pray O Lord that You would guard our hearts and minds.
Knit us together to trust in You.
And we pray Lord that Your will would be done.
We surrender to it.

We pray in Christ’s Name, Amen.

This Thursday, May 6, is designated as the National Day of Prayer.

To honor this event, the pastors of the Morongo Basin invite you to a time of prayer with local community leaders at 7 am this Thursday at Remembrance Park. Our service includes singing, Scripture reading, and prayer, and usually concludes by 7:45 am. Remembrance Park is located at the corner of Yucca Trail and the US-62 east of Pioneertown Road. Just look for the white saber tooth tiger!

In future years, this event is in serious jeopardy of becoming unconstitutional. I would encourage you to take a moment to visit and sign your name to the official Petition form to keep this day on our national calendar.

I drove to Santa Clarita today and will be attending Shepherd’s Conference on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, so my blogging schedule will be lighter than normal.

MacArthur, Mohler, Lawson, Pennington, Holland, and Johnson are all scheduled to speak as keynotes this year. Add to that some great breakout sessions, great food, and great fellowship, and you’ve got the makings of an all around great conference. This is one of my favorite times of the year to be spiritually fed and refreshed.

I recently started reading through E.M. Bounds’ book The Weapon of Prayer and discovered this quote which is a good reminder for all of us…

The Apostles were as dependent upon prayer as other folks. Sacred work,—Church activities—may so engage and absorb us as to hinder praying, and when this is the case, evil results always follow. It is better to let the work go by default than to let the praying go by neglect. Whatever affects the intensity of our praying affects the value of our work. “Too busy to pray” is not only the keynote to backsliding, but it mars even the work done. Nothing is well done without prayer for the simple reason that it leaves God out of the account. It is so easy to be seduced by the good to the neglect of the best, until both the good and the best perish. How easily may men, even leaders in Zion, be led by the insidious wiles of Satan to cut short our praying in the interests of the work! How easy to neglect prayer or abbreviate our praying simply by the plea that we have Church work on our hands. Satan has effectively disarmed us when he can keep us too busy doing things to stop and pray.

This is certainly no excuse to be uninvolved at church! But it is a reminder never to let church activity crowd out prayer.

How’s your prayer life? Mine can be pretty pathetic. I have good days, and I have bad days – probably more bad ones that good ones. Why? Because I lack self-discipline. Because I have misplaced priorities. Because I care more about the approval of man than the approval of God. Because my heart is often cold and apathetic. Because I feel overwhelmed by the seemingly urgent demands of life and ministry. Because in the prayer closet I suddenly struggle with “attention deficit.” Because I have much indwelling sin in my heart. Because I have an Adversary who is committed to prayer prevention. Because I can think of a thousand reasons to procrastinate.

More than likely, many of you struggle with prayer, too. D. A. Carson writes, “What is both surprising and depressing is the sheer prayerlessness that characterizes so much of the Western church. It is surprising, because it is out of step with the Bible that portrays what Christian living should be; it is depressing, because it frequently coexists with abounding Christian activity that somehow seems hollow, frivolous, and superficial. (D. A. Carson, A Call to Spiritual Reformation, p. 9)

Over the past several months, our church has been studying through Ezra & Nehemiah on Sunday nights. One thing that we immediately noticed about Nehemiah is that he was a man of prayer. In chapter one, after hearing about the disgraceful condition of Jerusalem, Nehemiah “sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven” (Neh. 1:4). The words of this prayer take up the rest of the chapter.

In chapter two, four months have passed, and Nehemiah finds himself in the presence of King Artaxerxes. The king notices he is distraught and asks him what he would propose to do. But before Nehemiah replies, it says, “I prayed to the God of heaven” (Neh. 2:4).

These two passages provide a study in contrasts. They illustrate the power and variety that should characterize our prayer lives.

Nehemiah’s prayer in chapter one is lengthy and emotional. It includes all the main ingredients of a healthy prayer life: praise, confession, Scripture saturation, intercession, and personal request. Nehemiah humbles his body by fasting from food and assuming a seated posture. He humbles his soul by speaking with great reverence and submission.

On the other hand, Nehemiah’s prayer in chapter two is brief and urgent. It is undoubtedly silent, for he is standing in the royal court, while the king awaits an answer. It’s related to his immediate situation, and demands an immediate response. If chapter one is a “letter” to God, chapter two is an “instant message.”

Both kinds of prayers should find a regular place in the life of the believer. We should have seasons of extended prayer, when we enjoy silence, solitude, and communion with our Lord. Sometimes, this will be private; sometimes with our family or church body. But we can’t always pray long prayers. We should also have a continual attitude of prayer and offer short prayers throughout our day. As Paul said, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18).

Why not start this week by praying at least five or ten minutes per day? Surely, a small step of obedience is better than nothing at all. And you just might find yourself wanting to pray even longer.

May God help us learn to pray like Nehemiah – with great faith, reverence, variety, and urgency. We cannot expect God to bless our lives and our churches if we’re not seeking Him more passionately in prayer.