One of [Jesus’] disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray.”   Luke 11:1

AS a pastor, I conduct weekly prayer meetings and pray for the sick and others in need. Prayer comes naturally to me and has been an important part of my pastoral ministry. Recently, in leading a devotional time on prayer, I discovered that I had made several typographical errors in the prayer quotations I had given to the participants. Although I was upset with the mistakes, I continued with the devotion.

How often are we as careless with our prayer life as I was with my typing? At times we pray not because we enjoy praying but because we were asked to pray or because we had to lead the prayer meeting. Sometimes we can be so caught up in what words to use in prayer (especially in public) that our prayer becomes merely an outward form.  Despite our shortcomings in prayer, Christ continues to invite us to pray and to teach us how. In today’s passage, Jesus teaches us how to pray. He said, “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites … when you pray, go into your room.” Matt. 6:5-6.  God does not despise our imperfections. God wants us to pray; God wants to commune with us.