None of us feels that we have achieved the prayer life that we want to have, or that we ought to have. Even the disciples instinctively knew that was true, as they were with Jesus day in and day out, hearing the way He prayed to His Father in heaven. That’s why they asked Him in Luke 11:1, “Lord, teach us to pray.” And then Jesus proceeded to give them the words to “The Lord’s Prayer,” which we ought to call “The Disciples’ Prayer,” since the actual Lord’s Prayer is what we have, recorded in John 17 as “Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer.”
Prayer is not only essential in the Christian life. It is also one of the greatest privileges afforded to us, that at any moment and in any place, we can instantly stand in the throne room of heaven and talk to the God of the universe, addressing Him in this intimate, but reverent language, as our heavenly Father, knowing that our presence and our petitions are not only accepted, but welcomed. One author has written that it is such an enormous privilege, and awesome honor … even frighteningly so … that when we enter a church worship service to come into God’s presence in prayer, we should not only be handed a hymnal, but even a seat belt and a crash helmet!