The Disciples' Prayer

In Matthew 6, Jesus gives His instructions on three priorities that His followers should have. One priority is prayer.
Jesus first instructs those who would follow Him to prioritize personal, private prayer. Next, He warns against meaningless repetition in prayer. Based on the parable of the unjust judge Jesus is not warning against repeating a prayer, but rather warning against the meaningless repetition of words. Such repetition is seen in at least two areas. First, we tend to have a ritual (cultural?) phrase that we repeat because we are comfortable with it (e.g. "in Jesus' name amen" or "God bless the missionaries."). These phrases have meaning, but the meaning can be lost when the phrase is repeated by rote. The second meaningless repetition sometimes occurs when a follower of Jesus 'works' on allegedly speaking in tongues. To the unsaved (as the Apostle Paul warned) this repetition indicates a lack of order and thinking by the one praying.
When we prioritize personal, private prayer and avoid meaningless repetition we can begin to pray in the way Jesus commanded us.