Prayer is a core practice for followers of Jesus. And yet, it’s something that many of us struggle to do regularly. We want to pray more, so why don’t we? It could be because you don’t know where to start. How do we know if we’re doing it? We’re distracted. We can be encouraged today by the disciples’ questions because they also knew what it was like to be busy.

The disciples wanted to pray better. They’ve seen Jesus go away to pray often and have witnessed many signs, wonders, and miracles. This has prompted them to say they want to pray like him. They say, teach us how to pray.

Jesus responds to their question in Matthew 6:9-13, “Pray like this: Our heavenly Father, may your name be kept holy. May your kingdom come soon, and may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us the food we need today, and forgive our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us. Don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.”

Even when we pray for someone, and they’re not healed, or when we pray for ourselves and don’t get the promotion, or when we worship and don’t feel God’s presence, whatever it might be, something still happens. We should not forget that prayer is ultimately about connecting with God and having fellowship with him regularly. As we pray, we become changed.