Let Us Pray

By Dr. Harold L. Senkbeil

Maybe you know a prayer expert­you know that guy or girl who's really good at prayer. Ask people like that to pray and it seems like the words just pour out of their mouths. You, on the other hand, seem to stumble all over yourself, barely managing to squeak out a few halting words. "What¹s wrong with me," you wonder. "Why can't I pray like that? Can I learn how to pray?"

I've got good news for you. When you ask how to pray, you're in good company. The disciples asked the same question: "Lord, teach us to pray..." (Luke 11:1). It's a good thing they asked, too, because that's how we got the Lord's Prayer. Jesus was not just giving them a prayer to pray, you see, He was teaching them to pray.

It might sound strange that the disciples would have to learn to pray, but prayer doesn't come naturally. If prayer is talking with God, we learn to pray the same way we learn to talk, by echoing words we hear. Did you ever see a mom or dad talking with a baby? They make babbling sounds at first, trying to form sounds with their tiny mouth. Pretty soon they muster a "dada" or "mama"­and then they're off. Within a year or two you can't get a word in edgewise!

That's the way we learn to pray, too­eagerly wrapping our mouths around the words God speaks to us, then saying them back to Him. All prayer is answering speech, you see. While our Father in heaven delights to hear even baby talk from us, in His Word He gives us more than enough to talk with Him about all life long. Here are some helpful hints on how you can use God's own Word in your personal prayer life, gleaned from a little tract on prayer Martin Luther wrote for his barber.*

• Find a private place to pray, then pray aloud­it¹s the natural way to talk, after all.
• Pray about your hurts, your joys, your concerns and fears­whatever lies on your heart. But use God's own Word to shed light on your prayer. Like a flashlight, it sheds light on some very dark terrain.
• Start by reading a portion of God's Word out loud­the commandments, maybe, or a Psalm or the Lord's Prayer. Then turn that Word of God into a four-stranded wreath of prayer. Use those Bible verses as:
   
1. A teaching. Echo God's Word back to Him, repeating back to Him what He says in that Scripture text. "Dear Father in Heaven, here You teach me that ..."
2. A thanksgiving. Thank God for what He has given you in that Word you have just read. "I thank You that ..."
3. A confession. Confess to your Father in heaven how you have sinned against Him in not believing and living according to what He has taught you in that Word. "Please forgive me for ..."
4. A petition. Ask your heavenly Father to give you what He commands and promises in that Word. "Help me to..."

Don't be afraid to keep talking, weaving these four strands in and out­a wreath goes round and round, you know. When you're finished, close your prayer in Jesus' name, confident that your Father in heaven will hear and answer you because His Son bled and died for you and claimed you for His very own. Amen, Amen means "yes, yes, it shall be so."

* For more practical hints on prayer, you can order Martin Luther¹s "To Master Peter on Prayer" from the CTS bookstore.

Dr. Harlod L. Senkbeil is an Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana.