We often hear people say, “I don’t know how to pray,” or “I don’t think I’m doing it right.” And that’s exactly what the disciples are expressing in today’s Gospel. They don’t ask Jesus to teach them how to preach or how to work miracles. They ask: “Lord, teach us to pray.” There is something beautiful about that. These grown men, devout Jews who had probably prayed all their lives, still felt that their prayer was missing something. And so, they turn to Jesus – not just for words, but for a way of communion with God, that they saw in His life. And what does Jesus give them? Not a theory. Not an abstract spiritual concept. He gives them words – simple, direct words we now know as the Our Father. The our father was maybe the first prayer we ever learned and maybe it will be the last prayer we will ever say. “When you pray, say: Father…” The first word is the key. “Father.” Not Judge, not Master, not even Creator. Jesus wants us to come to God as children. Not because we are perfect, but because He is perfectly loving. And then He goes on to give us a pattern for prayer that’s both humble and bold. But Jesus doesn’t stop with the words. He tells a parable. A strange little story about someone knocking on a friend’s door at midnight asking for bread. The point isn’t that God is annoyed by our prayers – no, it’s quite the opposite. It’s that God welcomes our persistence. In todays world we do not like waiting, we want to have immediate results;  but prayer does not work like that, waiting is a very important part of prayer,   it opens our minds, and our hearts,  it makes us stronger and wiser. God delights in us coming to Him, even at midnight. “Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find; Knock and the door will be opened.” This is not a blank cheque, of course. God is not a vending machine. But He is a Father, and every good father gives what is truly good. He gives what we truly need – even if it’s not always what we ask for. And so the question today is: Do we trust Him? Do we come to Him like little children – not with polished words, but with open hearts? Do we believe that God hears us when we pray? That He sees our needs before we even speak? Let this Gospel be a reminder: God is not far away. He is closer than we think. He is a Father who loves to be asked, Who loves to be sought, Who loves to open the door. So today, let’s echo that beautiful request of the disciples: “Lord, teach us to pray.” And may our hearts learn again how to speak to the One who loves us more than we can imagine.