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” (Luke 11:1).
At first, this disciple’s request might seem surprising. Jewish people are familiar with prayer. It is one of their great traditions, known and practiced since childhood. Some of Jesus’ own followers have learned from John the Baptizer, who emphasized both prayer and fasting (Luke 5:33; 7:33; 11:1). By this time in Jesus’ public work, some have been with Jesus for about three years. They have heard lessons on prayer, like those in Matthew 6. Seventy of their number have just served as special messengers preparing each town for Jesus’ arrival. To their own amazement, these messengers have used wonderful powers (Luke 10:1-20). So they might easily see themselves as experienced workers with God.
Yet here in Luke 11, immediately after these events, a disciple makes the most basic request: “Lord, teach us to pray.” This seems like a child’s request. If he says, “teach us more about prayer,” there might be room for adult pride, suggesting, “We already know something about praying; we just need to improve.” Instead he says something simpler: “Lord, teach us to pray.” He includes his fellow disciples: “Teach us.” He knows that they too need to learn prayer. Just a little earlier Jesus asked His followers to pray for more workers in the harvest fields (Luke 10:2). The disciples want to do that very thing, to join Jesus in the vitality and effectiveness of His prayers. But this honest man realizes that they are mere children in the school of prayer. So he goes back to the beginning, with the most basic request, “Lord, teach us to pray.”