Isn’t it strange that the Jews, who were a people of prayer since ancient times, still had to ask Jesus how to pray.
Yes and no. It was common for Jewish sages to compose prayers ( usually weaving together elements of existing Jewish prayers as they believed best expressed their key faith principles ). Followers or students of a Jewish sage, then and now, look to that rabbi (teacher ) to learn just such things, and asking their rabbi how he would have them articulate a prayer is, therefore, a quite ordinary or expected thing for them to do. And if course Jesus gave them a prayer that , consistent with Jewish tradition , contains key elements that are recognizable from other Jewish prayers inclusive of scriptural references or teachings. The apostles had no difficulty whatsoever accepting what we commonly refer to now as the Lord’s Prayer ( In Either it’s short and likely original Lukan version or it’s longer and possibly elaborated Matthew rendition ) because of precisely this customary construction from recognizable Jewish prayers/ scriptural touchstones they were all already familiar with as Jews in the Jewish homeland. But we have to say, their request for the prayer reflects nothing but that they were faithful students of their rabbi Jesus.