Lord, Teach Us To Pray

Written by Alisa Davis

“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” – Luke 11:1

Prayer, regular and consistent, is often a topic we hear about in General Conference, in exhortations from our Prophet, referenced frequently in scripture, and is the privilege of all children of a Heavenly Father to have direct contact and communication with the source of all things. The Gospel Study Guide says, “Prayer is the act of turning to God in sincerity and sharing with Him your feelings, thoughts, and needs. . . .[it] is sincere, heartfelt communication with Heavenly Father. It is one of the greatest blessings God gives to His children to seek His heavenly guidance each day.” In the Gospel Study Guide it instructs us to “pray always”, close our prayers “in the name of Jesus Christ, amen”, “use words that demonstrate sincerity and reverence”, and to avoid “using the same words or phrases over and over.” [1] This is drawn directly from scripture and many scriptures are referenced as starting places for further study. I looked up every scripture reference given and charted what they said about the manner in which we are to pray and what the content of our prayers should be.

In the Children’s Songbook the song “I Pray in Faith” gives “the most common ‘recipe’ that is given children in teaching them to pray in our church [which] consists of 4 parts:”

Open by addressing Heavenly Father.
Give thanks for the blessings He has given you.
Ask for the things that you need.
Close in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen [2]

Our prayers as adults tend to also follow this framework and yet there is the danger of falling into a rut that leaves us feeling disconnected from God, uncertain of how to hear the council we seek, or at worst becoming disillusioned with prayer and finding it a greater and greater chore rather than a privilege. Reading the examples of prayer that are provided for us in the scriptures can give a very different picture of what prayer could be like but how often do we read the psalms or the prayers of Christ and the Prophets and think, “that sounds like my prayers”?

The example prayers referenced in the Gospel Study Guide are predominately from the Book of Mormon. A noticeable omission was any reference to 3 Nephi 13:9-13 where Christ himself instructs his disciples “after this manner therefore pray ye.” This passage, as well as Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4, all relate Christ’s teaching of what is commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer. It is a prayer that has been said word for word by Christians since the time of the Apostles but is largely treated as if it doesn’t exist in LDS culture. This is likely because, as M. David Huston writes in a post for the online magazine By Common Consent, “LDS culture [has] tended to look down its nose at set prayers. They were lumped into the “corrupt creedal Christianity” bucket and dismissed as vain repetitions. [And] just another example of apostasy [3].” But is this what Christ meant by vain repetitions? Just before teaching his disciples the prayer that would come to be called the Lord’s Prayer Christ gives a warning:

“when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him.”

Immediately after giving this warning Christ gives us the Lord’s Prayer as a contrast to what the heathens do when they pray. He gives it as the “manner” or pattern in which we are to pray. When we look closely at how the heathens of Christ’s day prayed we find that the key to understanding the warning comes in the final words “for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him.” Israel at the time of Christ was in a constant battle against assimilation into the wider Roman world and religion. Roman spirituality consisted of wood and clay household idols that were understood to be literally inhabited by the spirit of the god, becoming their physical form, and humans were obligated to seek their favor through offerings of food, wine, and prayers made to the idol. This was true of the larger gold and marble idols in the temples as well where supplicants would seek to gain divine favor for their wants and needs through offerings and prayers. But the gods did not particularly care about or for humans, so it was essential to seek their favor repeatedly, it was a quid pro quo religion of currying favor with the gods for the fulfilment of a person’s needs or desires. So, the heathens would repeat their prayers and offerings endlessly, vainly, like a broken record, to multiple gods at home and in the temples in the hope that their desires would be met. Christ contrasts this with the admonishment that we are to remember that our Father is already aware of our needs and actually cares what they are. So it is not the repetition of a prayer that Christ warns against but broken record prayers that are made in-vain and are full of self-interested vanity.

In looking closer at the prayer Christ used to instruct his disciples there is a significant difference between the Bible and Book of Mormon accounts. In 3 Nephi 13:9-13 the phrases “thy kingdom come” and “give us this day our daily bread” are missing from the prayer. There is no reason to think that Matthew and Luke related the prayer incorrectly, so the question then is what changed? The difference between the events of the two accounts is the resurrection of Christ. With Christ’s resurrection the Kingdom of God has come with Christ seated on his throne and the establishment of the Church. Christ is also called the “Bread of Life” and with his resurrection came the Holy Ghost who spiritually sustains us. When taken in light of Christ’s admonishment just before the prayer to remember that our Heavenly Father already knows our needs it appears that one of the few scriptures that explicitly reference praying for our daily needs may not be primarily about temporal needs.

Alma 34:20-25 is another example of a prayer for temporal needs, but rather than praying “for” their needs, the listener is instructed to “cry over.” Verses 26-27 follow with a contrasting instruction to pray in our hearts, souls, closet, and in secret, making it clear that “cry” means to pray out loud. The word “over” indicates a more active role where the individual praying is in effect standing between the object of the prayer and God as an intermediary; the focus of the individual praying is directed towards the fields, flocks, their households, their enemies, and the devil. This could be understood to mean that the Priesthood was being utilized in prayer to declare blessings and protection rather than ask for those blessings and protection. This understanding assumes that those temporal needs will be met and will prosper under those who exercise their priesthood power.

What then is filling the thoughts and feelings of the authors of the prayers in our scriptures, what needs are they expressing in prayer if they are praying already believing that the Father who “gives good things” (Matt 7:11) provides for them as “the lilies of the field” and the “fowls of the air”? (Matt 6:25-32) Examples of prayers in the Book of Mormon given in the Gospel Study Guide largely center around:

Praise (2 Ne 4:30, 34-35)
Thanksgiving (Alma 34:38, 37:37, 3 Ne 19:20)
Repentance (2 Ne 4:32, Alma 34:17-19)
Spiritual progression (2 Ne 4:32, Enos 1:2, 3 Ne 19:9, 20-23, Moro 7:48)
Spiritual or temporal protection (2 Ne 4:31-33, Mosi 24:12-13, 3 Ne 18:15, 18)
Intercession for others (Enos 1:9, Alma 34:27, 3 Ne 18:23)
Counsel (Alma 37:37)

3 Nephi 18:15-18 contains a mini chiasmus that centers Christ’s instruction to pray in the same manner that he prayed between warnings to pray always in order to avoid being snared by the devil. This makes understanding and following Christ’s example in prayer the key to protection against temptation and deception. There are a few prayers of Christ that are related to us in the scriptures that we can study but we can also learn a great deal from looking at how we know Christ would have prayed as a righteous Jewish man.

At the time of Christ devout Jews would pray three times a day facing Jerusalem, this coincided with the times of the three daily sacrifices and temple worship services [4]. It was established as an expected discipline for all jews during the time of the prophet Ezra after the destruction of the first temple. Ezra and the other prophets of the time were deeply concerned that the people would forget how to pray and worship while in exile, so a standardized prayer format was established that centered around the Amidah, a silent prayer said while standing that covers a series of 18 (now 19) blessings. The prayers also include readings from scripture and recitation of the Shema in the morning and evening [5,6]. The Shema “has been one of the most influential traditions in Jewish history, functioning both as the Jewish pledge of allegiance and a hymn of praise [7].” It combines passages from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and 11:13-21 and is referenced by Christ when asked what the greatest commandment is, as well as by John in the book of Revelation. The book of Alma also appears to make reference to aspects of traditional Jewish prayer that would have existed in an early form at the time of Lehi and would have been practiced by devout Jews. Praying three times a day as well as in the morning and evening can be found in Alma 34:21 and 37:37, and the references to thanksgiving (Alma 34:38, 37:37) and doing things “unto the Lord” (Alma 37:36-37) may well be the Berekah prayers. Berekah prayers are short prayers of thanksgiving that are said throughout the day following some action so that all things were done to the glory of God. “That was how our Lord prayed when he was on earth. When Jesus opened his eyes in the morning he prayed as the Blessed Mother had taught him, ‘Blessed be the Lord who removes the bands of sleep from our eyes.’ When he rose from his sleeping mat he prayed, ‘Blessed is the Lord who raises those who were stooped.’ Even using the restroom was an occasion for blessing, ‘Blessed be the Lord who opens the aqueducts of the body’ [4]!”

So, what is it about memorized prayers that is so important that Ezra thought it essential to the spiritual survival of the Hebrew nation and Christ saw fit to teach his own disciples a new prayer in addition to the ones they were already saying, telling them “when ye pray, say. . .” (Luke 11:2). Jewish prayer ultimately is about obedience to the commands of God and their covenant with him. But this is not “about legalism or trying to earn God’s favor—it’s about love and active listening [7]”. It is understood to be a discipline that when combined with Torah study are the “yin and yang of religious life. The Jewish Prayerbook, the Siddur, did not compete with study for the Jewish soul; rather, it reinforced Torah study [8].” Prayer is an art, skill, and language that must be practiced in order to become any good at it. Like learning to play an instrument or a sport, a person doesn’t become skilled by occasionally playing a pickup game or trying to sound out a row-row-row your boat by plucking at the keys. Becoming skilled requires practice, a teacher, and lots and lots of repetitive drills. “Praying cannot be confined to moments of inspiration or desperation. . . Anyone who waits for the mood to strike. . . is not a praying person, and probably will not be able to pray authentically even when the mood arrives. One needs to domesticate the stimulus – to make prayer a natural, comfortable event, a day-to-day happening. Jewish prayer is designed to become second nature, a part of a person, a daily diet. In that way, one comes to be on comfortable speaking terms with G-d, who, in turn, becomes accessible, almost a conversation partner.”

The Apostles and the earliest Christians came from a foundation in Jewish prayer and “the earliest references that we have to a pattern of Christian daily prayer is that of praying three times a day [9],” replacing the Shema with the Lord’s Prayer. “In their prayers Christians reflected on the mighty works of God and prayed for spiritual growth and personal salvation. They prayed using the Psalms, particularly when praying together.” In the monastic age “the practice was to use the psalms as an inspiration for silent prayer and meditation. A psalm would be read, followed by a time of silence, and this pattern repeated.” The purpose of praying in this manner was to achieve union with God in prayer and union with his mind and will by filling the human mind and heart constantly with God’s word, meditating on it and allowing it to transform and conform them into the likeness of our Heavenly Father. This does not mean that memorized prayers are insincere as some might worry, M. David relates a story of a young convert who was invited to pray at a sacrament meeting, nervous she fumbled over her words before finally choosing to say the Lord’s Prayer, putting all her heart and passion into the words Christ gave to the Apostles [3]. There are times when we all struggle to know what to pray and utilizing the recorded prayers of others gives us the freedom to “pour out our souls” to God without concern that we are choosing the right words to express our needs.

The following is a passage of guidance in prayer for Catholics that I have modified to illustrate how this principle might look for Latter-Day Saints:

“When we are learning to pray, start by memorizing some tried and true prayers and learning to say them well. Next learn to talk a little to God in your own words. Also go to [the Temple] and learn to participate in the prayers of the [ordinances]. Then begin reading the prayers and spiritual reflections of others, in order to help you to pray longer and more fruitfully. Finally, we learn to put ourselves in God’s presence, to share our concerns with him, to rest in Him, to listen in our hearts to the promptings of His Spirit. . . . In all this we must stay faithful to the sacraments [and covenants] of the Church, and we must be guided by [the example of Christ and the Prophets], for we would be exceedingly foolish if we were to attempt to chart a course subjectively in prayer while ignoring the objective and certain aids Our Lord has given us to help us on our way. Moreover, as we move from stage to stage, we do not abandon any of the earlier forms, for these all serve to keep us anchored in the Truth, minimizing the possibility that we will end up, in effect, praying and listening to ourselves, or to deceiving spirits [10].”

When we are children, we learn to pray like children, we learn of a loving Abba Father who treasures the thoughts and desires of a child’s heart. But we are not meant to stay children forever, children are by their nature self-interested and concerned primarily with those things that affect them directly. They are not concerned with the thoughts, feelings, and desires (the will) of their parents. Children must mature in order to one day become heirs that can be entrusted with all their Father’s interests. So, they are given teachers and sent to school, they learn through practice and repetition, and from the knowledge, wisdom, and experience of others. This is the path of redemption, the “lesser arch” that Meghan spoke of in the episode “Circumscribing Truth”. So as children of Christ we pray his words as if they were our own. We pray the words of prophets and Saints as if they were our own. We avail ourselves of the disciplines and tools developed over 2,000 years by righteous men and women. As we submit ourselves to their instruction we will find our own voice growing stronger and the voice of the Lord growing louder, and we will find ourselves having circled back around to praying like a child that simply shares their feelings, thoughts, and needs. But this time as mature heirs who are privileged with the understanding and knowledge of their Heavenly Father’s mind and will. For his thoughts are our thoughts, his feelings are our feelings, his will our will. In this we enter into the “greater arch” of the mysteries of God having circumscribed the truth into a whole.

References

“Gospel Study Guide – Prayer.” Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/prayer-study-guide?lang=eng. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.
“Question: Do the Latter-day Saints (“Mormons”) Use Praise of God As Part of Their Prayers and Songs in Worship?” FAIR Faithful Answers Informed Response, www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/Question:_Do_the_Latter-day_Saints_(%22Mormons%22)_use_praise_of_God_as_part_of_their_prayers_and_songs_in_worship%3F. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.
Huston, M. David. “Some Thoughts on Prayer.” By Common Consent, bycommonconsent.com/2024/03/17/some-thoughts-on-prayer/. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.
Zimmerer, Jared. “Sharing the Prayer Life of Jesus: An Interview with Shane Kapler”, Word on Fire, www.wordonfire.org/articles/fellows/sharing-the-prayer-life-of-jesus-an-interview-with-shane-kapler/?queryID=0778b4f4f01ee84184c1323cddbae34f&_gl=1*1v5yc3u*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTA3NDUzODg1Ni4xNzM2MTI1NTky*_ga_4081DYV3TL*MTczNjEyNTU5Mi4xLjAuMTczNjEyNTU5Mi4wLjAuMA. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.
Zaklikowski, Dovid. “What Is Jewish Prayer?” Org, www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/862345/jewish/What-Is-Jewish-Prayer.htm. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.
Bloom, Dov. “What Is the Amidah?” Org, www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3834226/jewish/What-Is-the-Amidah.htm. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.
Mackie, Tim. “What’s the Meaning of the Jewish Shema Prayer in the Bible?” Bible Project, bibleproject.com/articles/what-is-the-shema/#:~:text=The%20Shema%20prayer%20is%20one,God%2C%20the%20Lord%20is%20one. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.
Lamm, Maurice. “The Art of Jewish Prayer.” Org, www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/863812/jewish/The-Art-of-Jewish-Prayer.htm. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.
“Prayer in the Early Church.” Faith & Worship, www.faithandworship.com/Prayer_in_the_early_Church.htm#gsc.tab=0. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.
Mirus, Jeff. “Prayer: A Primer on the Path to Union.” Catholic Culture, www.catholicculture.org/commentary/prayer-primer-on-path-to-union/?repos=6&subrepos=0&searchid=2491534. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.

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