Featured Scripture:
“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place… one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray.” — Luke 11:1
Introduction
Some sermons tap you lightly. Others reach deep inside your soul and shake something loose. During our missions conference at Central Baptist Church in Center, Texas, Pastor Matt Hudson preached a message from Luke 11 that grabbed hold of my heart. I sat there in my home church, surrounded by missionaries, friends, and church family, and felt the Holy Spirit remind me how much I still have to learn about prayer and how prayer transforms every part of my Christian life—including my faith promise giving.
Pastor Matt’s message wasn’t just powerful; it was personal. As I listened, I realized that Jesus didn’t simply teach His disciples to pray—He taught them how to think about prayer. And the deeper I listened, the more I understood something I honestly hadn’t connected before: learning to pray correctly is one of the greatest tools God uses to stretch our faith and shape our giving.
This post is my narrative reflection on Pastor Matt’s message, written in my own storytelling style. And if you enjoy posts like this, you can always join our email list so you never miss an update.
Prayer 101: Learning to Pray for Our Own Needs
Luke 11 opens with a remarkable moment. The disciples overheard Jesus praying—really praying. These were grown men who had heard public prayers, synagogue prayers, and traditional prayers all their lives. But this was different. Hearing Jesus pray stirred something deep in them.
So they asked:
“Lord, teach us to pray.”
Jesus answered with what we often call the “model prayer.” Not a ritual to repeat by memory, but an outline. A pattern. He showed them how to come to God as a Father—honored, trusted, and loved.
This first level of prayer—what Pastor Matt called Prayer 101—focuses on personal needs:
- “Give us day by day our daily bread.”
- “Forgive us our sins.”
- “Lead us not into temptation.”
- “Deliver us from evil.”
There is nothing selfish about praying for your own needs. Jesus told us to. Every believer must learn this first level. It’s the foundation of a healthy prayer life.
At some point, all of us have prayed these prayers:
“Lord, help me pay this bill.”
“Lord, help my child.”
“Lord, give me wisdom.”
Prayer 101 teaches us that God cares about the basics of our lives. He wants to hear us. He wants to meet our needs. He wants us to trust Him for our daily bread.
But Jesus didn’t stop there.
Prayer 201: Learning to Pray for Others
Right after teaching the model prayer, Jesus told a story about a friend knocking on a door at midnight. A traveler arrived hungry. The host had nothing to give him. So he ran to a neighbor’s house asking for help.
This is Prayer 201.
The difference is huge:
- In Prayer 101, we pray because we have needs.
- In Prayer 201, we pray because someone else has needs.
Jesus described a friend who cried out, “I have nothing to set before him.”
He wasn’t praying for himself.
He wasn’t asking for his own dinner.
He was asking because someone else needed bread.
And this is where Jesus connected prayer with faith and sacrifice.
When we pray for ourselves, we learn that God provides.
When we pray for others, we learn that God provides through us.
This is where missions giving becomes real.
How Prayer Grows Our Faith Promise
During the conference, Pastor Matt illustrated the message in a way that stuck with me. The friend in need wasn’t asking for bread for himself. He was asking so he could give it away. That’s exactly what faith promise giving is.
It’s not:
“This is what I can spare.”
It’s:
“Lord, if You will give it to me, I will pass it on.”
Missionaries all over the world have come to us on their journey.
They need help.
They need support.
They need partners in prayer.
They need believers who will say,
“God, give me three loaves so I can help them.”
That’s Prayer 201.
That’s faith promise.
That’s trusting God to give through you—not just to you.
When we pray like this:
- Missions giving stops being a number on a card.
- Faith becomes more than an idea.
- God becomes more real than our bank account.
The more we learn to pray for others, the more we begin to understand the heart of God. He is not a grouchy friend. He is a gracious Father who loves to give good gifts. And when we ask Him to give us something for the sake of someone else, His heart is moved.
Prayer Changes How We Give
One of the most powerful truths Pastor Matt shared was this:
Prayer changes us before it changes anything else.
When we learn Prayer 101, we grow.
When we learn Prayer 201, others grow because of us.
Faith promise giving is not about looking at what you have.
It’s about looking at Who God is.
It says,
“Lord, I want to be part of sending bread to someone else on their journey.”
Missionaries in Ghana, Mexico, the Navajo Nation, Europe, South America, and beyond need someone who knows how to pray this way.
They need someone who prays for more than their own needs.
They need someone who says,
“Lord, teach me to pray… and teach me to give.”
A Personal Challenge from My Home Church
As Laura and I prepare to return to Ghana, this message hit especially close to my heart. We are stepping out by faith. We are trusting God for support. And we are praying that the churches who partner with us will do so because they have learned Prayer 201.
Pastor Matt’s message stirred something in me:
“Lord, teach me to pray like that.”
“Teach me to ask boldly.”
“Teach me to give what You give.”
“Teach me to pray with faith, not fear.”
If this message challenged you like it challenged me, I’d love for you to stay connected as we continue preparing for the field. You can join our email list here:
👉 consfords.com/connect
