Skill Set: Prayer

"And if you’re a Christian, prayer isn’t an optional skill that you can choose to learn. It’s not like riding a bike in that sense. Some of you may not know how to ride a bike because you never desired to learn. Prayer isn’t that way for Jesus' followers.

Like what we saw last week with worship when prayer is mentioned in the Bible, it is often communicated as a command. Colossians 4:2 says, “Devote yourselves to prayer.” No invitation there. Just a straight demand. In Luke 18, Jesus teaches his disciples the necessity of praying. Jesus wanted them to know that “…they should always pray…”. Not an invitation. A command. And my personal favorite verse on prayer 1 Thessalonians 5:17. “Pray continuously.” No qualifiers. No explanation or exposition. Just a simple command.

We have to start today with an understanding that prayer, at its most fundamental level, is an act of obedience.

And it can look very formal. I personally love the few times I get to participate in a more liturgical service where there are corporate prayers. There is beauty in a congregation reciting prayers together. It’s all over the Old Testament, and you can see Jesus and his disciples practicing those prayers that had been learned. And we’re going to have an opportunity to do that today."