The Lord's Prayer (1)

"Lord, teach us to pray."
Luke 11:1

One day Jesus' disciples watched and listened as He prayed.
When He finished they said: "Lord, teach us to pray."
As a result He gave them what's become known as "The Lord's Prayer."
Can you remember when you last prayed it?
If not, how come?
Maybe you learned it by heart and you don't understand its significance or power.
Or perhaps it was repeated like a meaningless ritual at the end of a church service as people put on their coats and headed for the parking lot.
That tells you more about the hearts of the people than the power of the prayer. "Well, I think we need more contemporary prayers geared toward fast-trackers."
Really?
Have you listened to some of the stuff they've replaced the Lord's Prayer with? Jesus warned us about prayers that are just "babbling" (Matthew 6:7 ).
There are lots of prayers in the Bible:
prayers for deliverance, for guidance, for forgiveness, for unity, etc.
Here's the score: when you pray it should be
(a) passionate;
(b) scriptural;
(c) intimate;
(d) unhurried;
(e) faith-filled.
Take a moment and meditate on each of those five things. They're your keys to answered prayer.
We only tend to keep doing what rewards us, so when prayer becomes an unrewarding experience we quit.
If that's why you no longer pray The Lord's Prayer, don't feel condemned - feel challenged.