There are people in our lives who are extraordinarily good at gift-giving. My little brother is that way. When Christmas rolls around, a gift from him is not necessarily expensive or rare, but it is well thought out, a gift he clearly put a lot of time into, and it is usually, not something you asked for. Rather, it was something that suited you, suited your personality, or your passion. We have all heard the line, “It’s the thought that counts,” and with him, the thought seems to always be deeply personal. Now, sure, not everyone gives gifts like that, but we do give gifts, gifts which are an attempt to show our love and appreciation, gifts that we hope the recipient will like and even cherish. In fact, in my opinion, the best sort of gifts are the ones that come when we least expect them, a gift for no reason on the calendar, a simple gift which reminds you that the giver of the gift was thinking about you.

When we are young, we generally do not think too much about gifts. We love to receive them, of course, what child does not look forward to Christmas morning? However, they are usually just things that satisfy our immediate desires. They do not say much about us as a person or our aspirations, they just make us feel happy and content in the moment. Yet, as we grow older, as the struggles of life mount up before us, we begin to notice the more profound nature of gifts. Sure, there are the personal gifts which come on holidays and birthdays, and the unexpected gift from a loved one that makes us feel special, but then there are the other gifts, the gifts that come in response to a real need. For example, the gift of cash when we cannot pay our electric bill, the gift of a ride when our car breaks down, or the gift of time and kindness when we have no one else to turn to. These usually come when we ask, when we turn to someone else in desperation, and make our need known.

It is in this category that we usually place prayer. It is our asking of God. In fact, our prayer is most often a cry of desperation when all our other options seem to have run out. When you have nowhere else to turn, you turn to God in prayer. Now, I do not think this is a bad thing. It actually makes a lot of sense. To pray is to say things are beyond our control, that we need help. Scripture speaks a lot about prayer. We are called to pray for one another, to pray without ceasing, to pray that we do not fall into temptation, and we are promised that, even when we do not know what to pray, the Spirit of God intercedes with groanings too deep for words. Prayer is the response of your faith.

Therefore, prayer is something we learn as we petition our God for His gifts. Whether it is in the dark terrors of the night or the uncertainty and doubts of our days, prayer becomes our battle cry as we struggle to live as His children. It makes sense, then, that the disciples of our Lord would ask Him for guidance. “Lord, teach us to pray,” they say. Teach us to ask, teach us to speak to God, for we cannot do this by ourselves. We need some assurance and even encouragement to pray. So, Jesus graciously responds, “When you pray, say…,” and He gives us this great prayer which we still pray today.

The first part of the prayer is shockingly different from our usual prayers. As we call on our Father in Heaven, we confess we are not alone. It is not just your Father or my Father or Jesus’ Father, we are in this together. We are lifted out of our immediate fears and troubles to be reminded that we are part of the one holy Christian Church. We are on the side of the saints who have gone before us. We are the beloved children of God, asking our dear Father in Heaven for His gifts. And the first things we are called to pray for are His things. This is significant. Our usual prayers deal with the immediate needs that weigh on our hearts and minds. You pray for your friend who is struggling with anxiety and depression, you pray for healing in your own body, and you pray for relief from heartache and struggle. You pray for direction and guidance as you navigate through life.

But Jesus says such a prayer is too small, at least to begin with. Oh, He will get to praying for daily bread and the temporal needs of life, but first, He wants you to pray for the holy name of God. He wants you to pray for the coming of His Kingdom. You are called to pray for the eternal treasures of God. God is ready to give far more than we would ever desire to ask, to give beyond the veil of this dying age, to give everlasting life and eternal peace. So, Jesus begins His instruction by calling for us to ask for these things, to lift our eyes beyond the immediate needs and ask God for all He is prepared to give through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Himself.

And from this position, from this cry of salvation, we are then turned toward our daily bread, the things we need each day of our lives. We pray for the food we need, the clothes on our backs, the roof over our heads, and the fellowship of the household of the faithful. We ask for forgiveness for the debts we cannot pay, and we ask God for mercy in dealing with our failings. We pray we would forgive others, and in that forgiveness, we proclaim the forgiveness of our God. We ask for these things because we cannot do them on our own. We ask because without God’s gifts, temptations are sure to overcome us, sure to drown us in our doubts, fears, and petty differences.

This is a bold prayer. To ask for such gifts is daring. Who are you to ask for such things, you who participate in a world that is tearing itself apart, you who hurt and neglect one another? So, the prayer becomes a testimony of the compassion of your Father in Heaven. In fact, Jesus goes on to speak about our giving to one another. If a friend comes to you to borrow some food because he has unexpected guests, you will do what you can to help, even if for no other reason than the person is persistent in asking. Or if a son asks his father for something to eat, his father does not give him something to scare or hurt him. No, he gives him something to eat. His point is you know how to give good gifts, even in your sinfulness, even in your pride, even in your imperfect and selfish ways, you still know how to give when one asks.

And now, as the children of God, as those clothed in the righteous garment of Christ, you are invited to ask. “Ask,” Jesus says, “and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Learning to pray is learning to trust in the promises of your God. It is learning to cry out to Him because you cannot overcome on your own, because without His gifts, you will be lost and cut off. Learning to pray is learning to receive from God all that is necessary for this life and eternal life. The Son of God Himself has told you that the heavenly Father is ready and willing to give to those who ask. Your God gives the greatest of gifts, so go ahead and ask.