I was recently reading an essay from my theology professor, "Theology of Ministry and Pastoral Spirituality: An Introduction" (David S. Yeago). In it he writes:
The bottom line here is: the pastor needs to be a teacher of prayer. For prayer is the heart of the life of heaven, which is communion with God in Christ. The Seminary may or may not be much help to you here, but the need is urgent: we need pastors who can teach people to pray....
The ordination rite reminds us that pastors will give an account for their ministry on the lsat day. It is very unlikely that God will ask: How many programs did you institute? How big was your church and what was its budget? Given what we know about God, it seems much more likely that he will ask: How did you feed my people? Did you bring my Son into their midst? Did you teach them to pray?
This essay, combined with the lectionary readings contrasting the prayer of the tax collector and the Pharisee in Luke (18:9-14) and my re-reading of the giving of the Lord's Prayer in Luke 11, prompted by the plea of the disciples, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples" have all prompted me to think deeply about how I am engaged (or not) in the ministry of teaching people to pray.
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