Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord,

teach us to pray…” (Luke 11:1)

Not long ago I was channel surfing and stumbled on a movie that momentarily snagged my attention. I

only caught bits and pieces of the story but absorbed enough to track what was happening.

It was a sad story centered on a young man named Richard who never knew his father growing up. He

was raised in extreme poverty; and like so many men often do, he buried himself in his work to escape

the pain from his past.

Out of sheer grit and God-given talent, this young man became the very best in his field. Deeply admired

by his supporters and envied by his competitors, he was the quintessential rags to riches story of

success. But just as everything was falling into place, Richard experienced a tragic car accident that

nearly cost him his life. He couldn’t physically work and eventually lost his job.

Sadly, all the demons from his past finally caught up with him, sending him into a deep depression. In

fact, he became so despondent that his wife eventually found comfort and solace in the arms of another

man.

At the end of the next commercial break, I learned that the name of this sad human-interest story was

titled “Talladega Nights…the Legend of Ricky Bobby.” Eventually, I lost interest. However, there was one

scene that I found fascinating which involved a deeply theological conversation on the subject of prayer.

Ricky Bobby, being a huge fan of the Christmas story, preferred praying to the baby Jesus. On the other

hand, Ricky Bobby’s wife argues that it’s more biblical to pray to Jesus while imagining him as an adult,

while Ricky Bobby’s two sons, Walker and Texas Ranger, have their own unique ideas about prayer.

This slightly ridiculous “Christ-centered” debate leaves the audience with the same request that the

disciples had for Jesus in Luke 11:1: “Lord, teach us to pray.” This week we will enroll ourselves in Jesus’

“School of Prayer” in hopes that our prayer life will increase and our relationship with God will deepen

as the new year begins.

Some questions to ponder:

• What does the current state of your prayer life reflect about your overall relationship with God?
• When you pray, who are you praying to? God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit?
• What could you do a little bit less, so that you might pray a little bit more in 2024?



By Jimmy Carter

Jimmy serves as the Ministries Pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church. He is married to Carrie, his treasured

wife of 24 years, and they have one beloved daughter named Christy Ann “C.A.” who is a Senior at LCA

and will attend UK and play golf for the Wildcats next Fall.