Establishing A Prayer Legacy – Lesson 1 – May 31, 2026

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Introduction   This series will teach you how to become a person known for prayer through three stages: • Initiation • Influence • Identity.

Series Goal To help believers establish a visible, consistent prayer life that leaves a legacy for others to follow: Initiation — Starting visible prayer habits Influence — Praying with others regularly Identity — Being known as a person of prayer

What Is a Prayer Legacy?

Jesus is our model for a prayer legacy. He prayed so often and so openly that His disciples came to Him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).

They watched Him pray before meals, withdraw to pray alone, pray for others, and pray before major decisions. They saw Him give praise, return thanks, and ask for protection for His disciples. His prayer life was so visible and consistent that it marked Him. Prayer became part of His identity. Because of Jesus influence and identity with prayer, His disciples became people of prayer and identified as people who pray.

Jesus initiated prayer in everyday moments. He influenced His disciples through His example—they wanted what He had. And imitated His example after He returned to Heaven.

Now it is your turn: as a disciple of Jesus, to initiate a prayer legacy. Something others will notice and imitate themselves. Your family will not remember how well you prayed. They’ll remember that you prayed—before meals, before leaving home, when there was bad news or when there was good news. When decisions needed to be made. And when prayers were answered. They’ll remember the moments you turned to God in front of them and prayed.

Before you establish a legacy of prayer, you must get it started. Together we will begin establishing our legacy of prayer. And, since we are disciples of Jesus, He will be our model.

In Luke 11:1 we learn about the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray.

Luke 11:1 — And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

This is our key verse for our prayer legacy. And it is the foundation from which we will start modeling our prayer legacy after Jesus. But we must look at both the obvious and the not-so-obvious truths in this story.

The Background

Understanding the background and the Jewish culture will help us understand this event better.

The disciples already knew how to pray. From childhood, they learned the prayers said in the temple and synagogue—these prayers were recited at the morning, afternoon and evening sacrifice. So the disciples were familiar with them. These were the public prayers that the whole community participated in. (think of them as the public prayers you hear in a church setting).

But in their culture, rabbis would teach their disciples a personal way of praying. Each rabbi would give his disciples a pattern or model that reflected his own relationship with God. John the Baptist had done this with his disciples, and Jesus’ disciples asked Him to do the same for them.

They wanted Jesus to show them His way of praying—how He talked with the Father outside the temple, in everyday life.

While the disciples were spending time with Jesus, they were exposed to His prayer life. They had seen Jesus pray outside the temple and synagogue. They saw Him pray before meals, before and after events, when facing problems, when helping people. His prayer life was visible to them, and it influenced them. They saw prayer as part of Jesus identity, not just something that took place in a public worship setting.

Application:

Because Jesus is our model, we imitate Him by letting others see our prayer life.

Disclaimer: We are not advocating for public prayers just for show: This is not praying loud on the street corner to be seen (Matthew 6:5). This is not holding up everyone at work with long prayers. This is not performing or showing off.

This lesson is arguing for exposing our family, friends, coworkers, classmates, and community to our prayer life.

What About Matthew 6:6?

Matthew 6:5-6 — And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

In Matthew 6 Jesus is preaching the Sermon on the Mount. He is addressing the motive behind religious activity. Jesus is not forbidding public prayer, rather He is forbidding doing any spiritual act for human approval, or to boost your spiritual reputation with people. Jesus practiced and modeled public prayer. His sermon in this chapter is dealing with improper motives. So this verse does NOT excuse us from exposing people to our prayer life with God.

Jesus Exposed His Disciples To His Prayer Life

When the disciples came to Jesus in Luke 11:1 asking Him to teach them to pray, they had already been exposed to His prayer life. He modeled this before them. Here are some examples of what the disciples witnessed:

Mark 1:35 — And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

Luke 5:16 — And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

Luke 6:12 — And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

Matthew 14:23 — And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

These are just a sample of the verses that speak of Jesus prayer life. He got alone to pray. But do not miss the bigger picture: Jesus exposed the disciples to this pattern, this rhythm the disciples picked up on.

They were not always hearing what He prayed but they were constantly exposed to Him praying.

Application:

Jesus is our example. We are disciples of Jesus – by definition that means we are supposed to learn how to imitate Him.

Does anyone know you pray? They may know you identify as a Christian, but do they know you pray?

Family:

Does your family know anything about your prayer life? Have they witnessed you getting alone with God? Have they ever accidentally interrupted you praying?

This study is designed to challenge us about our prayer life. Being a disciple of Jesus means learning to imitate Him. Being a disciple means learning how to change and be conformed into the image of Jesus. This means there are times in our life when we recognize something about us that needs to change to be more like Jesus. In other words, Christians are not to say ‘well I have my own way of doing things that I am comfortable with and I am not willing to change’. That is NOT the description of a disciple. A disciple is being shaped into the image (imitation) of Jesus.

The key to this emphasis on Jesus is that those close to Him were aware of His rhythm or practice of prayer. In this case they do not necessarily hear His prayers, or see Him praying, but they are aware that He is getting alone with God to pray.

The disciples would have taken notice of the time or occasions of His prayers. We are not just referring to Jesus praying in the morning or at night, but before and after important events or decisions.

The disciples not only witnessed Jesus getting alone to pray, they understood the why of His prayers. What stood out to them was not a daily routine way of life. And that way of life influenced them.

The disciples were accustomed to Jews praying three times a day (focused around the morning, afternoon and evening sacrifices, but what they saw in Jesus was different. He went aside to pray about important events, decisions or needs. In other words, He prayed about life as a way of life. This is what influenced them to say teach us to pray. They wanted something more than the religion of prayer, they wanted a relationship with God in prayer.

This is why building a legacy of prayer is important. We imitate Jesus and influence our family and friends to go beyond religion to having a relationship with God.

Revisit our earlier question: Does your family know you pray? Do they assume you pray because you identify as a Christian or do they know you pray because they have been exposed in some way to your prayer life.

Jesus left a legacy of prayer because His disciples were exposed to His prayer life. The first step of building a legacy of prayer is being exposed as a person of prayer.

The Next Level

The next level of exposure the disciples had of Jesus prayer life was hearing His prayers.

Luke 9:28-29 — And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.

Matthew 26:36-38 — Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

These verses reveal that Jesus exposed the disciples to His prayers. Peter, James, and John were especially privileged to hear some of the most personal prayers of Jesus, in the most crucial times of His life.

When we read the prayers of Jesus in the garden before His arrest and crucifixion, we see into the heart of Jesus. We hear His fear and agony as He pours out His heart to God the Father. This is personal, and it exposes Him to us in a way we never would know without hearing His prayer.

We know at some point the disciples fell asleep while Jesus prayed but they were exposed to them enough to have recorded what He said.

Application

Imagine how this prayer was different from the prayers the disciples were exposed to in the temple rituals. Jesus was not reciting words that had lost their meaning. He was pouring out His heart to God, being vulnerable and transparent. Without these personal prayers there is much about Jesus and His relationship to God that we would not know.

Jesus is our model, our job as His disciples is to imitate Him. This means opening up and being vulnerable to expose others to some of our personal prayers.

Which of these examples represents the legacy of prayer that will benefit others and impact the Kingdom of God.

Example #1 – The only prayers you were exposed to were the times your church recited the LORD’s prayer in service.

Example #2 – George is called on to pray in a church service. You have attended church with George for many years and you automatically know what George is going to pray word for word: “Heavenly Father, thank you for our church. We pray you heal all the sick people, andsave everyone who is lost. Hide the preacher behind the cross, and we will be sure to give you all the glory and honor for everything done today, (in Jesus name Amen!”

Example #3 – Ben is called on to pray and this is what you hear: “Dear God, thank you for allowing us another opportunity for us to gather as a church and worship you. Thank you for Jesus who not only saved us but is letting us come to You in prayer. God, some of us have just asked prayer for family who are unsaved. Our hearts are broken for them and we are afraid of them going to hell. Betty has prayed faithfully for her daughter, and you see the tears coming down Bettys face, please comfort her but also right now speak to her daughter wherever she is and draw you to yourself. God we also want to thank you for providing what we need to keep this church going so we can have this family and continue serving you together. We hope to see more people saved and the people that were mentioned with addictions and sins to be delivered from them. God if you do not save them, if you do not draw them they will not change on their own. They do not listen to us when we witness, but we know you are able to deliver them from sin. We know also that you listen to us because we pray this according to your will. We do not ask you to do this for us but for Jesus who died to save us all. Amen.”

Which of those types of prayers would likely be answered, make a difference, and model for others how to pray with an open and honest heart to God?

Example #3 is the best of the three. But why do we not hear that type of prayer more often? Because we imitate what we hear and see. Most often in church settings we hear prayers that are more formal and less vulnerable. They feel more religious and traditional; and who wants to be so vulnerable in public?

Many people who get emotional when they pray are less eager to pray where others can hear them. But what if we are only exposed to ritual prayers? How will we learn to pray from our heart to God, in a real conversation?

The disciples hear Jesus pray non-traditional prayers. They heard Him pour out His heart to God. And this type of exposure influenced them to be real in their prayer life.

Who has heard you be vulnerable, open, tearful, fearful, confident, desperate, or open in your prayers? Do the people close to you hear you praise God in prayer, pour out thanks to God for answered prayers, or for protection or provision?

We are being challenged to rethink our philosophy or practice of prayer. We are learning that Jesus, who is our model and the one we must imitate, was intentional about exposing those close to Him to His prayers, and His prayer pattern.

We are learning that He established a legacy of prayer because He exposed others to prayer.

Initiating A Prayer Legacy

What can you do this week to initiate a prayer legacy?

We are not calling for drastic steps, or drastic changes to occur this week. But we are calling for change to begin. Remember we do not fit the definition of a Disciple of Jesus if we are not making an effort to learn from and imitate Him.

Just picture what exposing your prayer life to others could look like.

Take one step of change. One step, nothing drastic.

This week’s Challenge: Let at least one person know you pray.

• A family member, friend, co-worker, church family, etc
  • “I was thinking about what we learned in Sunday School and I want to let you know I pray.” – you can share something you recently prayed about, or someone you prayed for.

Example: “I just prayed for you”; “I was praying about that last night”; “I usually pray in the morning, or at night etc.”

Example: “I am going to pray for a few minutes before bed” or “I prayed for your situation this morning when I did my prayers”

All of these are simple and easy but they initiate a legacy of prayer. They are letting others know ‘I pray’ and it will make a difference in their life.

The Devil wants you to think this is not important, or it will not make a difference; but God sent Jesus to be our example and told us to imitate Him. That proves it matters to God, and by faith we can believe it will make a difference.

Coming Up

In the next lesson we will look at how Jesus moved from initiation to influence in prayer life. How to include prayer in our public life.