Luke 11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, Lord… I. I shall begin by mentioning TWO QUALIFICATIONS THAT ARE INDISPENSABLY NECESSARY, AS PREPARATORY TO ACCEPTABLE PRAYER. 1. The first of them is a due sense of our wants. Christ alone by His Spirit, teacheth this first preparatory lesson. "Lord, teach us to pray," by revealing to us our guilt and misery, our vileness and our helplessness. 2. The second qualification which is indispensable, as preparatory to acceptable prayer, is an acquaintance with the true way of access to God. Alas! the tendency of our corrupt hearts is, to resist this Divine appointment. O, then, what need is there to ask of the Lord a right understanding, a cordial approbation, of that way which He hath appointed. II. Supposing you, then, to have made some proficiency in these two preparatory lessons, I proceed, in the second place, to mention SOME PARTICULARS, WITH RESPECT TO WHICH EVEN THE WELL-INSTRUCTED CHRISTIAN WILL HAVE PERPETUAL OCCASION TO USE THE LANGUAGE OF MY TEXT, "Lord, teach me to pray" 1. The power of devout attention while praying is one of those gifts which we must obtain by prayer. 2. Spirituality in our devotional exercises is another gift, for which we must often pray. 3. Furthermore, the Christian has need to pray for simplicity and godly sincerity in his prayers. 4. We must request of the Saviour that a patient confidence in God may accompany all our prayers. (J. Jowett, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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