Luke chapter 11 tells us that He taught them to pray first of all by practice (verse 1). As they followed their Master they were, on occasion, eye witnesses of His prayer life: “It came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him” (Luke 9:18). What they saw in His practice of prayer gave them a desire to learn to pray.

Second, He taught them to pray by pattern (verses 2-4). In response to their request the Lord gave them a pattern for prayer. The words of this prayer are more suggestive than exhaustive, providing a model to guide us in what we should pray for.

Third, He taught them to pray by parable (verses 5-8). Christ told a parable of a man going at midnight to a friend to ask for bread to feed an unexpected visitor. The friend was in bed and met the request only because the petitioner kept on knocking at his door. By this parable the Lord taught His disciples the need to be persistent in prayer (verses 8-9).

Finally, the Lord taught the disciples to pray by promises (verses 9-13). Throughout His ministry the Saviour gave His disciples many encouraging “prayer promises,” assuring them that when they prayed God would hear and answer their prayers: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Luke 11:9). Ask, seek, knock. This is how to pray so as to obtain God’s answer.