Lord, Teach Us to Pray – Novice’s Prayer
Text: Luke 11:1-13
I remember the conversation well. It was one of those awkward conversations, kind of like between a student and a principal, or between a young driver and a policeman. It wasn’t a familiar, casual, easy kind of conversation. It was halting, stilted, stumbling, groping. I felt insecure, my words seemed inadequate. I was a rookie, a novice and I felt it.
It was June 10, 1972 in the evening on a rock at Malibu, the Young Life camp in British Columbia. It was quiet, I was alone. We were supposed to talk to God, get real about our lives and where things stood. Like I said, it was an awkward conversation. I hadn’t really tried to talk to God in any kind of real way like this before and certainly not about things so personal.
It felt strange talking to someone you can’t see or hear, like talking to the air. And what do you say? By God’s grace and I believe by His Spirit’s enabling, I was able to say, “God, I surrender, I give up, I want you to be the Lord of my life. I have sinned and I need a Savior. Please take over. Not my will but your will be done.” Not those words exactly, but words to that effect. A humble, simple crying out to God.
It was a novice’s prayer. A simple conversation between a creature and the Creator, a needy dependent soul and an all powerful provider and sustainer.
That’s the impetus for most prayer, a clearly defined sense of inadequacy and dependence. The greater the sense of need the greater the seeking. Prayer is the place for hurting, needy, broken, searching, struggling people. It’s the oasis in the wilderness; it’s the rest stop on the highway of our lives. It’s the break room in the midst of our work and labor; it’s the calm in the storm.