Lessons Pre-Lord’s Prayer

Ken Fish makes four key points of events that led up to Jesus teaching the Lord’s Prayer and what can be learned from them, with the requested information for each:

• Jesus sent out the 12 apostles, and they had success1…. This shows that Jesus empowered his followers to do his work, which is a model for how Christians should operate in the world.
• Jesus sent out 72 others, and they were also successful and overjoyed The 72 were not considered as special as the 12 apostles, but were still able to perform ministry, which is an “every man kind of story”. The 72’s success also led to them being overjoyed, which indicates that ministry is a source of joy.
• The disciples had a moment where they got stuck and could not cast out a demon. The disciples were unable to heal a boy, which led to them asking Jesus why they could not succeed. Jesus told them they needed to pray more. This shows that even those who have had success in ministry will experience times where they need to rely on prayer to overcome obstacles. This also indicates the importance of prayer in the Christian life.
• Jesus was praying in a certain place and the disciples asked him to teach them to pray. The disciples wanted to know the secret to Jesus’ success and why they periodically failed. This implies that Jesus’s prayer life was a key part of his success. The disciples’ request indicates a need to learn how to pray effectively. It also implies that prayer is a skill that can be taught and improved. The request can be seen as a “throwdown” where the disciples were challenging Jesus to teach them how to be as successful as he was.

• Title: How to Pray for Your Breakthrough
• Speaker: Ken Fish
• Start time: 2:20
• End time: 6:25

Orbis Ministries – Link to Ken Fish’s Ministry material.