Luke 11:1 (ESV) — 1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.
Are we teachable?
Do we want Jesus to teach us to pray?
Do we desire to have a meaningful ongoing dialogue with God?
In our social media ridden world one thing I've seen front and center is a lack of teachableness.
Proverbs 18:2 (ESV) — 2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.
Does our prayer primarily consist of spouting off our opinion to God?
"But God I don't like this or that."
"God Id really prefer this or that."
"God will you do this or that."
Certainly our opinion matters to God, in fact the bible tells us to make our requests known to Him (Phil 4:6) Jesus Himself told us whatever we ask in HIs name, He will do. (John14:13) But if our prayer life is one-sided, and chock-full of our own requests with very little time of listening to God, this is strong evidence we are not actually teachable and really more interested in our own opinion than anything else. If our prayer life involves no repentance or desire to conform to God's opinion and will- this is strong evidence that we actually have no pleasure in truly understanding God's heart.
With all the opinions floating around, it's easy to get confused and sucked in! Lord it's your opinion that matters. Teach me to be still and know you are God! Teach me to have an ongoing and meaningful dialogue with you-- a dialogue that I can enter into at any moment, whether it be a request, an acknowledgment of your presence as we spend time with family, or a fascination with you as we read your Word.. Lord teach us to pray unceasingly and show us how to be humble and sit confidently at your feet at all times. Accept our prayers O Lord and teach us to boldly enter into your courts with thanksgiving and praise in Jesus name!