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Luk 11:1. Ὡς ἐπαύσατο, when He ceased) Inasmuch as it was their duty not to interrupt Him before He had ceased.-τῶν μαθητῶν, of His disciples) Who either had heard the words of the Lord whilst praying, or at least had seen His most sweet and impressive gestures.-δίδαξον, teach) By this very fact they already pray, whilst in the act of begging that they should be taught how to pray. Most gratifying it was to the Master to be solicited that He should teach them, as also this very act of teaching. John had taught his disciples to pray; but not in such a way as that they should call God Father (although in other respects the formula of John was not widely different from the formula of Christ): it was a privilege reserved peculiarly to the Son of God to give this power to His disciples. Already He had given them it, in Mat 6:9-10, but had suffered somewhat of an interval to elapse [during which it lay in abeyance], exhorting the disciples in common to pray, and leaving them to the ordinary custom of praying according to the common Isrealitish formula (for otherwise the disciples would not have quoted the example of John teaching his disciples to pray), until they had made sufficient progress in the knowledge of the Father and of the Son: when once this was accomplished, He then at last threw open to them the richest fulness of access to pray to the Father in the name of Himself, the Son; see Joh 16:23.-ἡμᾶς, us) The cause of the disciples was joint and common to them all: he who was making the request was making it even for others, as well as on his own behalf.-καὶ Ἰωάννης, John also) A good teacher ought even most especially to teach his own followers to pray aright. See Bernard’s “Scala Claustralium.” He cannot teach, who is himself ignorant [how to pray]. Moreover, there are degrees in prayer. John had taught how to pray; Christ also had taught it: now, when requested, He still further teaches those already far advanced.-[τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ, his disciples) Andrew, for instance, had been one of them (one of John’s disciples), John 1-V. g.]