Why Did Jesus Give Instructions on How to Pray?

Jesus's Teachings on Prayer

　　Read along with a transcript of the video above of Joe Thorn:

　　I think it's fairly evident in most of our lives, as well as in scripture, that we, as fallen human beings, need help praying. We don't really know how to pray as we ought. We tend to drift into different forms of legalism or despair. And so the disciples, I think, very wisely said, "Jesus, we see you praying all the time. Teach us how to pray." So they made the right move. They asked Jesus. And so He gives them a model prayer. People call it the Lord's prayer, but it's not Jesus praying. It's really the disciples' prayer. It's a model prayer. And so he gives us this beautiful, concise model. And I don't think that it is merely something to recite or to pray word for word. I mean, it is that. I think we should pray the Lord's prayer. And I think we should pray it together as a church.

　　But it's also, and I think even more importantly, a model for really what ought to constitute our prayers, how our prayers should be made up in terms of content and emphasis. It's interesting because Jesus wants us to pray persistently. He wants us to pray without relenting, but He doesn't want us to pray with meaningless repetition. And so He wants us to continue to pray hard. He wants us to pray long. He wants us to pray sincerely. But it needs to be thoughtful. It needs to be humble. It needs to be directed towards our heavenly Father. And so He's guarding us against mere religious performance. It's like the psalmists say that God desires a broken and contrite heart. It's not the outward forms that ultimately God is interested in. He's interested in a heart that is seeking Him, that out of which comes the various forms of prayer or sacrifice.