Read Luke 11:1

• How did you first learn to pray? Do you have any prayer forms or habits or practices that you picked up early in your journey with Jesus?

• Do you have any new ways of praying that you've adopted more recently? How has your praying changed over the time you've been doing it?

• What do you imagine inspired the disciple to ask Jesus, "teach us to pray"?

Read Luke 11:2-4 [1]

• What do you notice about Jesus's prayer here?

• What links do these prayers have to things Jesus said or did in his ministry? See if you can find a link or two for each line.

• Are there any connections between Jesus' prayer here and your own prayer forms or habits? Are there any significant differences? What do you make of those differences?

Read Luke 11:5-8

• What does this parable teach us about prayer?

• Do you pray with 'shameless audacity' when you want something from God? Why/why not?

Read Luke 11:9-13

• What is Jesus trying to explain about prayer here?

• What is your mental picture of God as you pray? Do you pray to him as a good and generous Father who is excited to give good gifts to his children? Or do you imagine something else?

• What does this teaching from Jesus say to situations when our prayers seem to go 'unanswered'? What should be our response in that circumstance?

Spend some time praying together. Use verses 2-4 as your 'jumping-off' points, like this:

1. Father - take a moment to acknowledge the God you are praying to, the Good Father.

2. Hallowed be your name - spend some time praising God together.

3. Your Kingdom come - spend some time praying for the things the world needs, the things of the Kingdom of God.

4. Give us each day our daily bread - spend some time asking God boldly for the things you need in your own lives.

5. Forgive us our sins, as we also forgive everyone who sins against us - spend some time in quiet reflection, praying for those you need to forgive, and confessing your own sins to the Great Forgiving Father

6. And lead us not into temptation - spend some time in quiet reflection about your own weaknesses and tendencies, asking God to deliver you from the temptations of the world.

7. After a time of quiet, you might like to close your time together with a final acknowledgement of God's glory and power (as is traditional when using this form of prayer together).

[1] A longer (and perhaps more familiar) version of this prayer is found in Matthew 6:9-13 - Jesus obviously used this prayer form as a teaching tool at least twice.