History of salvation can not be separated from the activity of prayer. Because trustful prayer delivered by righteous person will bring safety and goodness from God. The title above is a Jewish expression that indicates the importance of prayer in the life. Jewish tradition has always emphasized the needs of prayer in families. Even to realize that thing they also determine the times of prayer. But the habits of their prayer was influence by the many mistakes and errors. Two examples among which are:
- Prayer tends to be something formal, routine and automatic. The main reason is that they stuck to the rules of prayer with the complex provision. Jewish religious regulations specify that every Jew in addition to saying "Shema" (= "listen ...") should also say "shemoneh 'esreh" which is the prayer of the eighteenth: three times a day. Then we can imagine in a short time an empty formality will perch in everyone.
- There is a tendency to associate prayer with certain places, formulas are long and rambling. This makes prayer becomes a kind of spectable according to taste. Prayer is not be a longing, but rather seen as a liability which leads to load.
So when disciple asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus with a very quiet revealing the nature of prayer. In the Gospel of Luke and Matthew, there are two important things from Jesus' answer.
First, Jesus wants to emphasize that true prayer should be devoted to God. Mistakes most Jews are they aren’t pray to God but to human. Moreover, in prayer, they tend to blame and judging others as well. If we also do that then we have made a mistake in our prayers.
Second, Jesus showed that God is Merciful and Compassionate. He is faithful to hear us and answer our prayers. If we aware of this, then there will be no one who was disappointed with his prayers; who ran away from God because he felt his prayer was granted.
To His disciples, Jesus taught Our Father’s Prayer. Most exegetes found Our Father’s Prayer is actually a model of prayer for believers. That is not a matter of us to memorized or not, but more than that if we could see a model or pattern of our prayer. In the Our Father Prayer we find the first three requests are closely linked with God and His glory. Three subsequent requests relating to self and human needs. So it is clear to us that prayer should be a submission to God's will, and the will of God that will happen in human life.
Messages that can be learned for all of us that prayer is the breath of life creation. True relationships with God built in prayer, and the power to live inspired by prayer, then do not stop praying. God who became address our prayers are faithful God heard and answered our prayers. Sometimes we feel our prayers are not answered the Lord, but in fact what happens is God know much better what we need; what is best for us. Prayer leads us up to God.
"Ask, and will be given, knock and the door will be opened to you!"