#1227. Jesus wants to teach us to pray (12/2/25)

Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional as we continue in our Luke, Exploring Who Jesus is series. (At present, I'm only posting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.)

From Luke 18:1, let’s reflect on the truth that Jesus wants to, and how we can learn from Him, to pray.

Luke 18:1

You can listen to this devotional below (It’s also available on Spotify on the Community Church Putney podcast)

https://youtu.be/RTDOI9-U5NQ

‘Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.’ (Luke 18:1)

Luke 18:1

This parable is set in the context of waiting for the Kingdom of God to come - the return of Christ. During this period there will be much difficulty and God wants us to remain faithful. A key attribute that we all need to endure whilst waiting for Jesus to come in prayer.

How can we learn to pray?

1. Have faith in Jesus as our teacher

The Parable of the Persistent Widow reveals that Jesus is eager to teach us how to pray. It is His will, and He promises to assist anyone who earnestly seeks His guidance in learning to pray. Many of us find prayer challenging and may lack confidence in our ability to grow in this area. Too often, we allow our perceived limitations or past experiences—such as struggling to learn something in school—to hold us back. However, if Jesus, the Lord of all, desires to teach us to pray, we can have full confidence that we are capable of becoming not just competent but truly effective in prayer.

2. Study God’s word on the subject

Secondly, if we want to learn anything about the spiritual life, including prayer, it’s vital that we study what God says about it in His Word. The Psalms, for example, give us examples of how to pray. As we read each Psalm, we are being taught how to speak to God. There is much in the gospels about Jesus’ example and direction on how to pray. This Parable of the Persistent Widow, for example, is teaching us much about prayer. Most clearly, is Jesus’ instruction from what we often call The Lord’s prayer:

‘“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”’ (Matthew 6:9-13)

Matthew 6:9–13

Here, we are given the themes that should regularly be in our prayers:

* Praise - Spend time praising God for who He is and what He’s done.

* Petitions - Ask Him for big and small things.

* Peace-making - Ask Him for forgiveness and forgive others.

* Protection - Ask for protection as you go into your day.

Here is a link to my New King New Kingdom course on The Lord’s Prayer:

https://www.communitychurchputney.com/biblestudy/categories/new-king-new-kingdom

3. Put learning into practice

This step is vital. We must get started. We learn by doing. Like learning to walk or talk, we learn to pray by praying. We can’t expect to get fit by reading about exercise! We must do the exercise and develop as we do so, little by little.

4. Keep going

Finally, we must keep going. Keep asking Jesus to teach us to pray. Keep studying the subject. Keep putting it into practice. Let’s not be those who become complacent. Let’s be like this persistent widow and keep on praying because it’s vital for our lives.

Let’s pray together as we finish

“Lord Jesus, please teach me to pray. Teach me to pray effectively. Please teach my church to pray. Help me to encourage prayer in others and a praying culture in my church community. Amen.”