Why did the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray? Even if these men were not particularly pious, they would have at least a rudimentary knowledge of Jewish prayers. They must have been to the synagogue or perhaps the temple in Jerusalem a time or two. They had to be interested in God or knowing and associating with Jesus would not have held much of an attraction for them.

Perhaps they ask because they are so much like us who are like Paul and Cephas and Barnabas. We earnestly pray and act but can be at odds! How can we know and do God's will?

Some say that the prayer that never fails is: "Thy will be done." Our prayers, while making our desires known to God, should always submit to God's will and plan. In our prayer we must listen to God, spend time in God's presence for just as we cannot be outside during daylight and be unaffected by the radiation of the sun, so we cannot be unaffected when we come into God's presence. The first thing prayer always changes is us. In order to really pray we must bring ourselves, our needs, our enemies and our fears to God and listen to what God wants from us so that God can give us what we truly need.