The Lord's Prayer shows up twice in the gospels. In Matthew it is part of a larger teaching on prayer within what is known as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:9-13) In the gospel of Luke it is offered in response to the disciples saying to Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray..." (Luke 11:1) The one underlying assumption common to both is that praying was not considered an optional spiritual matter for anyone who served God. "Pray then in this way...." Jesus begins in Matthew and "When you pray, say...." in Luke's gospel.
In neither place does Jesus give any argument or rationale for praying. He grew up in a home where prayer was practiced and both He and the disciples were immersed in a culture of praying. In such a world there was no need to argue about the value of prayer. Anyone and everyone knew its value. It was something people did. It was a part of their identity. There was no need to say something like "If you pray." "When you pray" was far more appropriate to the religious culture of all who heard this teaching on prayer.
Unfortunately, it is not so today. Prayer is not heard in every home. And, in some religious circles prayer is something that has little relevance to what is perceived to be the more important issues of the people of faith. In the school of faith, prayer is more like an elective in the spiritual curriculum than an essential and necessary core course. As we hear Jesus teaching about prayer, it is clear that there is no consideration given to the possibility that anyone seeking God would fail to pray. Praying was something that only made sense to Him. With Him prayer is assumed. Would that such was true in this day as well.
In neither place does Jesus give any argument or rationale for praying. He grew up in a home where prayer was practiced and both He and the disciples were immersed in a culture of praying. In such a world there was no need to argue about the value of prayer. Anyone and everyone knew its value. It was something people did. It was a part of their identity. There was no need to say something like "If you pray." "When you pray" was far more appropriate to the religious culture of all who heard this teaching on prayer.
Unfortunately, it is not so today. Prayer is not heard in every home. And, in some religious circles prayer is something that has little relevance to what is perceived to be the more important issues of the people of faith. In the school of faith, prayer is more like an elective in the spiritual curriculum than an essential and necessary core course. As we hear Jesus teaching about prayer, it is clear that there is no consideration given to the possibility that anyone seeking God would fail to pray. Praying was something that only made sense to Him. With Him prayer is assumed. Would that such was true in this day as well.
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