Let's Pray The Lord's Prayer

LET’S PRAY THE LORD’S PRAYER

TEXT - Matt. 6: 5 - 14

INTRO. - The passage before us is best known as the

Lord’s Prayer but in reality the High Priestly Prayer of

John 17 is the Lord’s Prayer. This prayer would be

better titled The Disciple’s Prayer. I call this message

"Let’s Pray the Lord’s Prayer" because more prayers (and

especially this one) are said than prayed. Saying a

prayer is not praying a prayer. Matt.6:6 says, "When

thou prayest...PRAY". Having your eyes closed and

hearing a prayer is praying. What is prayer? ASKING GOD

IS PRAYER! - vs.8

God expects all Christians to pray. He assumes

that they pray. In vs. 6 and 7 we find "when thou

prayest" and "when ye pray" not "if ye pray". A person

cannot be saved who has never prayed - see Rom.10:13

Prayer is communion with God. It is the life

breath of the believer. It is one of the channels of

power to God. Heaven moves when we pray. Fervent,

secret, believing prayer is at the root of all personal

godliness. Prayer is a battle and never easy. Hell

trembles when it sees the weakest saint upon his knees.

John Wesley said that God does nothing for his people

apart from pray for if he did, then that in itself would

show that prayer was unimportant. The title "Man of God"

is found 75 times in the Bible but never is the title

"Man of prayer". There is a old poem which goes like

this:

PRAY ON

The victories won by prayer

By prayer must still be held

The foe retreats but only when

By prayer he is compelled

Look for a few minutes at the great pattern of prayer

given to us by our Lord and see the lessons for us

today.

I. AFTER THIS MANNER THEREFORE PRAY YE - vs. 9

Notice that no body positions are given as to how to

pray. Nowhere in the Bible do you find praying with

closed eyes to be found. It may be good at times to ward

off distraction but for many it leads to drowsiness. The

Bible also shows us that most Bible prayers were prayed

in a standing position. Jesus knelt in the garden and

Daniel knelt toward Jerusalem but those are the

exception. Kneeling may indicate or symbolize homage but

for many up in age it is near impossible and for others

it limits them as to when and where they can pray.

The main thing is to pray! Prayer is hard enough without

worrying about the position. Jesus never mentions the

position to take.

II. OUR FATHER - vs. 9

Prayer is limited to those who can call God their

"Father". God hears the prayer of His people. See John

14:6 and I Jn.2:23. God will hear the sinner call upon

him for salvation and once saved, he will hear all his

prayers. But God is not obligated to hear the prayers of

the lost though he may do so if he so chooses. Prayer to

any member of the Godhead is alright but the general

pattern of the New Testament is:

Prayer is prayed to the Father - as seen here

Through the Holy Spirit - See Jude vs.20

In Jesus’ Name - See John 14:13 and John 16:23

III. HALLOWED BE THY NAME - vs. 9

Here we see reverence in prayer. A name indicates

reputation. A name often indicates rank, who a person

is, what he has done, and what he is worth. My name on a

$1000 check would not pass the bank but if you had a

check with a certain Kennedy or Rockerfeller name on it,

it would be worth millions. God’s Name is very important

especially when you pray to him and through him.

Hallowed means Holy.

IV. THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE - vs. 10

This is to pray for the will of God to be done. All

prayer should have this attitude behind it. according to

this verse, nobody can pray and have their prayers

answered who does not want the will of God to be done in

all things. James 4:2 speaks about praying amiss. We

cannot live in any known sin and expect to have our

prayers answered. His will must be my will. To say "thy

will" is to say no to "my will". Notice the verse says

we are to pray for obedience like the angels of heaven

obey. What an example, what a holy calling.

The first 3 partitions contain "thy". Now we find 4

petitions which contain "us".

V. GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD - vs. 11

This partition is not listed first where many of us

put it. We should put God’s honor first and the will of