*Disclaimer- I use many sources. God is gracious.
Life is about knowing God and walking with God. When you read your Bible, that's about being with God. When you pray, that's about being with God. BUT, a lot of us are intimidated by prayer. Why? Because we have a misunderstanding of what it is, what God expects, and how it works. So let’s talk about the principles of prayer. I want to give you three big thoughts to help you and prepare you as we talk about prayer.
Point number one.
When you pray, focus on being with the Father. Notice the word with again. It's about being with God. When the Bible talks about prayer in the New Testament, it's not talking about a religious transaction. It's being involved in a loving relationship with your heavenly Father who loves you.
Let’s look to our text today. Here, Jesus is preaching the Sermon on the Mount. He says, “This then is how you should pray." Matthew Chapter 6, verse 9, the first part of the verse, Jesus is going to teach us how to pray.
Jesus starts and says, "Our Father in heaven...” Jesus says when you pray, focus on the Father. Most of us know this, but when Jesus told these people to pray “our Father,” it was shocking. In fact, for many of them, it was offensive. This kind of talk is one of the reasons why they arrested Jesus and crucified him.
Jesus, humanly speaking, was not crucified because of what he did. He was crucified because of who he said he was. He said, "I'm the son of God. I and the Father are one." Jesus is telling his followers, "I'm a child of God. I'm the only begotten Son of God. I and the Father are one." Jesus is saying here, "If you put your faith in me, you too can call God your Father and become His child."
Up to this point, for these people, you wouldn't even say God's name because it was too holy. In the Old Testament, there are lots of names for God, but one of the primary names for God in the Old Testament was Yahweh. When the scribes were writing the Old Testament, when they were supposed to write the name of God, they wouldn't because Yahweh was too holy to write.
They would just put a symbol for the name of God. Now all of a sudden, you have this son of a Jewish carpenter who is gaining prominence. A rabbi. And he calls God “father.” More than that, he says, "If you believe in me and trust in me, you too can become a child of God and you too can call the Almighty Most Holy One your Father as well.” (John 1:12)
Jesus addressed God as "Father" in his prayers and taught his disciples to do the same. God was called Father only seven times in the Old Testament. In this passage containing the Lord's Prayer Jesus calls God Father ten times. In fact, in all of the prayers of Jesus he used the word Father more than seventy times.
Jesus described God in two words: "Our Father." Jesus was saying that God is a person and not simply a power. As a person, I can relate to him and love him and get to know him. This God we call Father is personally involved and absolutely intimate in nature.
When we pray "Our Father" it reminds us of the precious relationship we have with God. We are a part of God's family. We belong to God.
Here’s point number two:
Be yourself. What does that mean? It means be honest. Don't try to fake it with God. God cannot have a relationship with who you're pretending to be. Because that person doesn't exist. You should just be yourself with God. Jesus taught that we're to become more like little children. Not childish. That's immaturity. But we're to be more childlike.
Realize that's how God created Adam and Eve. It's what it says. They were naked and unashamed. It is impossible for you to disappoint God as a follower of Jesus. God knows all of your sin. What you have done, what you are doing, and what you don't know about yet.
Psalm 139:1-6 Lord, you have examined me and know all about me. You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts before I think them. You know where I go and where I lie down. You know everything I do. Lord, even before I say a word, you already know it. You are all around me—in front and in back—and have put your hand on me. Your knowledge is amazing to me; it is more than I can understand.
God transcends time. 2000 years before you ever existed, God made a way for you through the person of Jesus. Romans 5:8 says, “God proved His love for you in this. While you were still a sinner, Christ died for you.” Which means God knew all of your sin for all time and made a way for you in Jesus. You cannot disappoint a being that knows the future.
The only way to experience the real love of God is to be courageous enough to be the real you. Be yourself when you talk to God. You can't play poker with God. He knows what's in your hand. Don't fake it. Talk to him about your thoughts. Talk to him about your feelings. Express your gratitude, your joys, your frustrations. He knows. He can handle it. For some, this might be your word for today. You need to have a lieutenant Dan moment with God.
In the movie Forrest Gump, when he climbs up to the top of this shrimping boat and he's all mad at God because he lost his legs in the war, he has this moment in this storm. It's this exchange, not a religious transaction but a relational one.
In that moment, Lieutenant Dan's says. "God, are you kidding me? This was not my plan for my life." I'm sure in that exchange, it's not in the movie, but God was like, "Well, you're not in charge of your life, Dan, and I got bigger plans for you than you have.”
The next day, what does Forrest Gump see? Dan out swimming in the ocean. Forrest Gump says, "I think he made his peace with God.” Be yourself with God. He loves you. Focus on the Father. It's relational exchange. Be Yourself.
Here’s point number three:
Invite Him into everything. If you're like, "Oh, there's some things in my life God doesn't need to be involved in," well, let me just let you in on this. He is there and you probably don't need to be doing that. The reason He doesn't want you to do that is because He loves you. He's not trying to ruin your life. He's trying to bless you because He loves you.
Invite Him into everything, even if it's something that He's not excited about. Invite Him in there so He can redeem, restore, help you repent, and heal you from it.
1st Thessalonians Chapter 5, verses 16 through 18 says, “Rejoice always. Pray without what ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Pray all day as you go on your way. Now there are moments in your life where you need to get alone and focus in prayer. There are times for that but the idea here, in this passage of scripture, is you're just praying all the time.
You're like, "Do I bow my head and close my eyes and fold my hands all the time?" No. In prayer, the posture of your body is not nearly as important as the posture of your heart. The idea here is you're involving God in everything. You're giving Him your attention. You've got Him on your mind at work, at home. When you go to school. In whatever is happening in your life, you pray all day as you go on your way.
You want to make this a regular part of your life. You want to involve God in everything. Some of you have been in church in a long time and you're like, "I know these things." If that's you, I'm like, "I know you do. I'm so glad you know this. But are you doing it? I love you, but information will not change your life.”
The goal of our church services is not education. The goal is we get God's information from His word and we practice it through application. Information with application always leads to transformation. I want to encourage you, these are some thoughts about prayer. Practice it. The more you do, the more you'll know your heavenly father. The more you'll be rooted and established in His love.
