"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." (Luke 11:1)
The same request is as pertinent now as it was then, "For we know not how to pray as we ought [and therefore] the Spirit also helps our infirmities," (Romans 8:6) not only by making intercession for us, but also by creating desires in our hearts, and putting right words into our mouths.
Men who have never had any verbal instruction, instinctively give expression to their wants to God, especially if they are in deep trouble, because the Spirit teaches all; but the most complete instruction that the Spirit has ever given concerning prayer is found in the model prayer which Jesus by the Spirit gave to His disciples.
While we are not confined to the exact form of words which Jesus uttered in response to the request of the disciples, we need to study them much; for they are so comprehensive that they cover the needs of every person in the world, in all conceivable circumstances; and no prayer is complete that does not in effect contain the petitions expressed in the Lord's prayer.
First of all, we have:
Our Father
"And He said unto them, When you pray, say, Our Father." (Luke 11:2)
No heathen worshiper could ever address these words to a god of wood or stone. Only he can use them who recognizes a God so great that all created beings are His offspring, and whose relationship as Father is so close and constant that "in Him we live, and move, and have our being."
It is to a Father, not a king nor a judge, that we approach in prayer. Even though we know that we are coming to a "throne of grace," the only thing that does or can draw us, and cause us to "come boldly," is the all-absorbing thought that our Father sits upon it.
Afterward, when a sense of His tenderness as a Father has led us to confide in Him, and to pour out our hearts before Him, we exultingly proclaim Him king, because that is our assurance that to Him belongs power to do for us all that His love designs for us.
When we with understanding hearts say "our Father," we feel the confidence and rest and comfort of the "everlasting arms" that are underneath us, clasping us to His bosom.
But there is nothing selfish in true prayer. God is "our" Father. There are crises in our lives, as when Jesus was in the garden, when the urgency of the case, and our extreme danger or need, shut out the consciousness of everything except our individual self and God. Then we can say only "my Father."
But on all ordinary occasions we are to remember that we are only one of many, all of whom have equal rights to claim God as their Father. The one "God over all" "Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen." (Romans 9:5), is the "Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all." (Ephesians 4:6)
This thought is the basis of all real missionary effort; for any work done for heathen, either at home or abroad, is effective only as it is prompted by the loving consciousness that they are our brothers.
When "the only begotten Son" (John 1:18) "[came] to seek and to save that which was lost," (Luke 19:10) it was with these words to the Father: "I will declare your name unto my brethren." (Hebrews 2:12; Psalm 22:22)
All who are "partakers of flesh and blood," (Hebrews 2:14) are acknowledged by Christ as His brothers. Instead of feeling that His unsullied goodness gives Him superior claims on the Father's love, He gladly makes known that the Father loves us even as He loves Him.
If at any time we feel that the wickedness of any fallen men makes them inferior to us, we put ourselves above the Lord, and really separate ourselves from God's family, in that we cannot then unreservedly say "our Father."
There is in the first two words of the Lord's prayer a world of instruction and of admonition. If we always followed this teaching of the Spirit in our prayers, every prayer would be a consecration to missionary work.
In all this there is no denial of the fact that the great majority of the world do not know God as their Father, and do not acknowledge Him as such; and that by our acceptance of this truth we are drawn nearer to Him. But those who are nearest to Him, instead of boasting of it, or feeling that there is a great gulf between them and those who have not an acquaintance with God, are, like Christ, most conscious that the prodigal sons are their brethren.
Who is in Heaven
"Our Father who is in heaven." (Luke 11:2) "Our God is in the heavens; He has done whatsoever He has pleased." (Psalm 119:3)
The fact that our Father is in heaven is the assurance that He has all power, and can do whatsoever He will. "Blessed be You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, for ever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is yours." (1 Chronicles 29:10-11)
Note that the Scriptures will not let us lose sight of the fact that this mighty God in the heavens, who inhabits eternity, is our Father; and thus far in our prayer, although we know that He is King, that view of God is swallowed up in the one that He is our Father.
The thought that our Father is in heaven is not designed, however, to cause us to feel that He is far from any one of us. "[He who dwells] in the high and holy place [dwells] with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit." (Isaiah 57:15) "[He is] not far from everyone of us." (Acts 17:27)
Because: "In Him we live, and move, and are." (Acts 17:27) "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? says the Lord. Do not I fill the heaven and earth? says the Lord." (Jeremiah 23:24)
So whether we ascend into heaven, or lie in the depths of the earth, or fly on the wings of the morning to the uttermost parts of the sea, even there the Father's hand leads us, and His right hand holds us. "If I ascend up into heaven, You are there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall your hand lead me, and your right hand shall hold me." (Psalm 139:8-10)
In life, in death, in dark and light,
All are in God's care;
Sound the black abyss, pierce the deep of night,
And He is there!
--John Greenleaf Whittier, Poem: My Soul and I, 1847.
This thought is enough for us to meditate upon, and to mold our prayers for a month, when we can learn more of how to pray.--Medical Missionary, November 1905--Luke 11:1-2.