Seminary
Luke 11:1–13

Luke 11:1–13

“Lord, Teach Us to Pray”

two girls praying

After hearing Jesus pray, “one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). Jesus responded with insightful teachings that can help strengthen our connection with Heavenly Father through prayer. This lesson can help you make your prayers more meaningful.

Student preparation: Invite students to reflect on what they have done to make their prayers more meaningful.

Possible Learning Activities

The Lord teaches about prayer

Consider drawing a horizontal line on the board. On one side write Prayer is easy and on the other write Prayer is hard. Ask students to come to the board and write a word or phrase somewhere on the continuum that describes why prayer might be thought of as easy or hard. Pay attention to students’ responses and allow for flexibility in the lesson to respond to their concerns and questions.

Reflect on the answers to these two questions:

  • Why is prayer easy?

  • Why is prayer hard?

Prayer can be simple and straightforward but also deep and stretching. As you learn from the Savior’s teachings on prayer, seek revelation on how you can make your prayers more meaningful. Read Luke 11:1, looking for the request one of the Savior’s disciples asked Him.

Jesus responded with what has come to be known as the Lord’s Prayer. He also gave this prayer during the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 6:9–13). Some have felt that Jesus intended for this prayer to be memorized and repeated. But, as President Russell M. Nelson taught, “the Lord’s Prayer serves as a pattern to follow and not as a piece to memorize and recite repetitively” (“Lessons from the Lord’s Prayers,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 46). After Jesus gave the Lord’s Prayer as an example of how to pray, He offered other inspired teachings about prayer.

Learning more about prayer

To discover truths that may help you, read through the following questions, choose one that you would like to learn more about, and read the accompanying scripture passages.

  • What did the Savior warn us not to do in our prayers? (Matthew 6:7–8)

    Consider inviting students to answer the following questions in their study journals or to discuss them as a class.

  • What is one truth you learned about prayer from these verses?

  • What experiences have you had with this truth?

  • What do you learn about your Heavenly Father from these verses?

Invite several willing students to share their responses. Consider writing the truths they mention on the board.

Consider which of the following three activities might best meet students’ needs. The whole class could work through one activity together, or these activities could be displayed for students to individually choose the activity they’d like to do.

Alternatively, consider setting up learning stations throughout the room using the following activities. Invite students to study at each station individually or in small groups and to then report to the class what they learned.

Deepening your knowledge

Activity A: What can I learn from the Savior’s example of prayer? (Luke 11:2–4)

Read through the following phrases the Savior used in His prayer, and select two you would like to ponder.

  • “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name” (Luke 11:2).

  • “Thy kingdom come” (Luke 11:2).

  • “Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth” (Luke 11:2).

  • “Give us day by day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3).

  • “Forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us” (Luke 11:4).

  • “Let us not be led unto temptation; but deliver us from evil” (Joseph Smith Translation, Luke 11:4 [in Luke 11:4, footnote c]).

With the two phrases you selected in mind, think about your answers to the following questions:

  • How would you summarize what these phrases mean?

  • When have you prayed for something similar to what the Savior prayed for? How did it affect you?

  • Why do you think it would be helpful to pray following the pattern the Savior gave us?

If you selected this activity, write in your study journal one way you want to follow the Savior’s example in your prayers.

Activity B: What did the Savior promise about prayer? (Luke 11:9–13)

As recorded in Luke 11:9, the Lord promised, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

Consider inviting three students to each act out what it looks like to ask, seek, and knock before asking the following questions.

  • How are the actions “ask,” “seek,” and “knock” similar? How are they different?

  • How can these words help you understand how to pray more meaningfully?

Jesus then compared a mortal father’s desire to give gifts to his children to Heavenly Father’s desire to give us gifts. Jesus taught that if an imperfect mortal father “know[s] how to give good gifts unto [his] children” (Luke 11:13), “how much more shall your heavenly Father give good gifts, through the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Joseph Smith Translation, Luke 11:14 [in Luke 11:13, footnote a]). It is important to remember that Heavenly Father answers prayers in His own way and time.

  • What kinds of gifts do you think Heavenly Father wants to give to those who ask and seek for them? What do you think He wants to give you?

If you selected this activity, write in your study journal about a time when you felt you received an answer to your prayers, or describe what you will do to seek an answer to a prayer.

Include how remembering that God answers prayers may help make your current prayers more meaningful.

Activity C: What did the Savior warn us not to do in our prayers? (Matthew 6:7–8)

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that we should “use not vain repetitions” (Matthew 6:7). In this context, vain means empty or pointless. To pray using vain repetitions is to repeat the same prayer or the same words within a prayer in a thoughtless manner. If we are sincere in our requests, even if our prayers are repetitive, they are not vain repetitions.

  • How might avoiding vain repetitions in our prayers help us come closer to the Lord?

  • What can you do that can help you avoid using vain repetitions as you pray?

Think of examples of prayers you have said that were thoughtful and sincere.

  • How does praying this way affect you?

If you selected this activity, write in your study journal one way you want to follow the Savior’s teachings to avoid vain repetitions in your prayers.

Invite willing students to share what they learned today or what they plan on doing to make their prayers more meaningful. Consider testifying of the importance of meaningful prayer in establishing a strong relationship with Heavenly Father.

Commentary and Background Information

What are some examples of meaningful prayer?

  • In the video “How God Talks to Us Today” (1:46), a woman describes how the Lord answers her prayers.

    1:47

  • In the video “Principles of Peace: Prayer” (2:49), a digital sculptor in the toy industry recounts his experience praying about his daughter who was born with health challenges.

    2:49

What if it feels like my prayers aren’t being answered?

Elder J. Devn Cornish of the Seventy taught:

Elder J. Devn Cornish

Sometimes we seem to get no answer to our sincere and striving prayers. It takes faith to remember that the Lord answers in His time and in His way so as to best bless us. Or, on further reflection, we will often realize that we already know full well what we should do.

Please do not be discouraged if this does not work for you all at once. Like learning a foreign language, it takes practice and effort. Please know, though, that you can learn the language of the Spirit, and when you do, it will give you great faith and power in righteousness.

(J. Devn Cornish, “The Privilege of Prayer,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 103)

What if I don’t feel worthy to pray?

Elder J. Devn Cornish of the Seventy taught:

Elder J. Devn Cornish

There is a risk that a person may not feel good enough to pray. This idea comes from that evil spirit who is the one who teaches us not to pray (see 2 Nephi 32:8). It is as tragic to think we are too sinful to pray as it is for a very sick person to believe he is too sick to go to the doctor!

(J. Devn Cornish, “The Privilege of Prayer,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 103)

Supplemental Learning Activity

What else can I learn from the Lord’s Prayer?

The Lord’s Prayer offers many insights into meaningful prayer. Both of the following talks offer teachings about specific parts of the Lord’s Prayer. Consider using any sections of these talks in place of the section of the lesson titled “Learning more about prayer.”