Luke 11:1-13  Jesus is praying.. this was not just a habit for Him.. it was an established and vital practice of His everyday life on earth.  The disciples ask for Him to teach them to pray too.  Here, Jesus gives them a slightly different rendering of what we call the Lord's Prayer which is recorded in Matthew 6.  

"Father, 

hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins, for we 

ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. 

And lead us not into temptation. "

Here are the essentials of prayer:

Acknowledge the Holy One to Whom the prayer is being offered. 

Acknowledge the most important request - that God's Kingdom, His reign and rule encompass us and the whole earth!

Acknowledge our total dependence on the One who provides for our every need.. for daily bread. 

Acknowledge our desperate need for a Savior Who delivers us from the filthiness of our sins. 

Acknowledge that we have been called to forgive others even as He forgives us. 

Acknowledge that we need help to walk in the Truth. We need the Holy Spirit to lead us. 

Jesus goes on to teach a very important principle about praying:

Persistence is vital.  Importunity - I remember the first time I came across that word, in a book by E.M. Bounds ( I think)..  I didn't know what it meant!  Bounds explains it here,  " Importunity is made up of the ability to hold on, to continue, to wait with unrelaxed and unreliable grasp, restless desire, and restful patience.  Importunate prayer is not an incidental occurrence, but the main thing; not a performance, but a passion; not an option, but a necessity..."   and  " Importunity, it may be repeated, is a condition of prayer.  We are to press the matter, not with vain repetitions, but with urgent repetitions .  We repeat, not to count the times, but to gain the answer to our prayer.  We cannot quit praying, because our heart and soul are in our prayers. "  

Jesus says, " .. ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you..."  We ask our Father and He gives good gifts.  We come to Him destitute.. and He gives generously with great compassion.   He doesn't always give us what we want.. but He gives us what we need.  The words ask, seek, and knock are in the  present imperative tense - a command to do something in the future and involves continuous or repeated actions.  Importunity.. 

Father in Heaven, we hallow Your Name.  You are the Eternal and Saving God.  You are our Maker and our Sustainer;  our Lord and our King.  We give You all honor and praise.  Father, we long for the fulness of Your Kingdom to come.  We look for the return of our Lord Jesus, to take us to our Heavenly home and to deliver us from all evil.  We look to You for every need that we have, for food and well-being,  for peace and for joy.. for love and for forgiveness of our sins.  We chose to forgive any that have trespassed against us and those who are indebted to us.  Lead us in paths of righteousness and not into temptation, O Lord.  Help us in our weaknesses and strengthen us in Your Spirit.  We pray this according to the Word of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in His Name. Amen.