NATIONAL BACK TO CHURCH SUNDAY 2020
PRAYING JESUS’ WAY
MATTHEW 6:9-13
#Matt6Prayer
INTRODUCTION PART 1 (SKIT)
ILLUSTRATION…THE LORD’S PRAYER https://www.cybersalt.org/illustrations/the-lords-prayer
SKIT
"Our Father which art in heaven."
--- Yes?
Don't interrupt me. I'm praying
--- But you called me
Called you? I didn't call you. I'm praying. "Our father which art in heaven."
--- There you did it again.
Did what?
--- Called me. You said, "Our Father which art in heaven." Here I am. What's on your mind?
But I didn't mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day. I always say the Lord's prayer. It makes me feel good, kind of like getting a duty done.
--- All right. Go on.
"Hallowed be thy name."
--- Hold it. What do you mean by that?
By what?
--- By "Hallowed be thy name?"
It means... it means... Good grief, I don't know what it means. How should I know? It's just a part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean?
--- It means honored, holy, wonderful.
Hey that makes sense. I never thought about what "hallowed" meant before.
"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
--- Do you really mean that?
Sure, why not?
--- What are you doing about it?
Doing? Nothing, I guess. I just think it would be kind of neat if you got control of everything down here like you have up there
--- Have I got control of you?
Well, I go to church.
--- That isn't what I asked you. What about your temper? You've really got a problem there, you know. And then there's the way you spend your money - all on yourself. And what about the kinds of books you read and what you watch on TV?
Stop picking on me! I'm just as good as the rest of those people at church.
---Excuse me. I thought you were praying for my will to be done. If that is to happen, it will have to start with the ones who are praying for it. Like you, for example.
Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention it, I could probably name some others.
---So could I.
I haven't thought about it very much until now, but I'd really like to cut out some of those things. I would like to, you know, be really free.
--- Good. Now we're getting somewhere. We'll work together, you and me. Some victories can be truly won. I'm proud of you.
Look, Lord, I need to finish this up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does.
"Give us this day our daily bread."
--- You could cut out the bread. It would help you lose weight.
Hey, wait a minute! What is this, "Criticize me day?" Here I was doing my religious duty, and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my hang-ups.
--- Praying is a dangerous thing. You could wind up changed, you know. That's what I'm trying to get across to you. Keep praying. I'm interested in the next part of your prayer...
(Pause) Well, go on.
I'm scared to.
--- Scared? Of what?
I know what you'll say.
--- Try me and see.
"Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us."
--- What about Bertha?
See? I knew it! I knew you would bring her up! Why Lord, she's told lies about me, spread stories about my family. She never paid back the money she owes me. I've sworn to get even with her!
--- But your prayer? What about your prayer?
I didn't mean it.
--- Well, at least you're honest. But it's not much fun caring that load of bitterness around inside, is it?
No. But, I'll feel better as soon as I get even. Boy, have I got some plans for that neighbor. She'll wish she had never moved into this neighborhood.
--- You won't feel any better. You'll feel worse. Revenge isn't sweet. Think of how unhappy you already are. But, I can change all that.
You can? How?
--- Forgive Bertha. Then I'll forgive you. Then the hate and sin will be Bertha’s problem and not yours. You will have settled your heart.
Oh, you're right. You always are. And, more than I want to get revenge against Bertha, I want to be right with you. (Pause)...(Sigh) All right.
I forgive her. Help her to find the right road in life, Lord. She's bound to be awfully miserable now that I think about it. Anybody who goes around doing the things she does to others has to be out of it. Some way, somehow, show her the right way.
--- There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?
Hmmm. Well, not bad. Not bad at all. I feel pretty great. You know, I don't think I'll have to go to bed uptight tonight for the first time since I can remember. Maybe I won't be so tired from now on because I'm not getting enough rest.
--- You're not through with your prayers. Go on.
Oh, all right. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
--- Good! Good! I'll do that. Just don't put yourself in a place where you can be tempted.
What do you mean by that?
--- Don't turn on the TV when you know the laundry needs to be done and the house needs to be picked up or it is time to read My Word. Also, about the time you spend with your friends, if you can't influence the conversation to positive things, perhaps you should re-think the value of those friendships. Another thing, your neighbors and friends shouldn't be your standard for "keeping up." And please don't use me as an escape hatch. And I can see your browser history even if you delete it.
I don't understand.
--- Sure you do. You've done it a lot of times. You get caught in a bad situation. You get in trouble and then you come running to me: "Lord, help me out of this mess, and I promise You I'll never do it again." You remember some of those bargains you tried to make with Me?
Yes and I'm ashamed. Lord, I really am.
--- Which bargain are you remembering?
Well, there was the night that the wind was blowing so hard I thought the roof would go any minute and tornado warnings were out. I remember saying, "Oh God, if You spare us, I'll never skip my devotions again."
--- I protected you, but you didn't keep your promise, did you?
I'm sorry, Lord I really am. Up until now I thought that if I just prayed the Lord's Prayer every day, then I could do what I liked. I didn't expect anything to happen like this.
--- Go ahead and finish your prayer.
"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen"
--- Do you know what would bring me glory? What would really make me happy?
No, but I'd like to know. I want to please you. I can see what a mess I've made of my life. And I can see how great it would be to really be one of your followers.
--- You just answered the question.
I did?
--- Yes. The thing that would bring me glory is to have people like you truly love me. And I see that happening between us.
Now that some of these old sins are exposed and out of the way, there is no telling what we can do together Lord, let's see what we can make of me, OK?
--- Yes, let's see...
PRAYER
INTRODUCTION PART 2
We are on sermon 3 of 3 weeks focusing on prayer. Prayer is communication with God in Jesus’ Name by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have talked in the past few weeks about important truths about prayer. Jesus clearly teaches us that prayer is about “When” not “If” because when we have a relationship with God we will pray. Jesus showed us that our Heavenly Father always sees and listens to us when we talk to Him and sit in His presence. There is a reward in prayer such as peace. Prayer changes our heart to be more like His, molds our will to His will, and gives us the ability to hear God’s voice and understand His Word. Prayer is deep and wide… many times as deep and wide as our relationship with God.
We now turn our attention to Matthew 6:9-13. This is Jesus’ model prayer and it can be found in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. In Luke 11, we find that the disciples said to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). This prayer was Jesus’ response. For the disciples, prayer was a normal part of their spiritual lives and they knew that Jesus Christ could show them a better way. He could show them a direction in prayer that pleased God. What do we find in this prayer? As you and I look at these verses, we will find that Jesus does a lot in framing our relationship with God in just a few phrases.
READ MATTHEW 6:9-13 (ESV)
Pray then like this: “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your Name. 10 Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
HOLY FATHER IN HEAVEN (verse 9)
When Christians pray, we pray to a Holy Father in Heaven. As I thought about how Jesus began His prayer, my heart kept focusing on the word “Father.” Jesus is teaching His disciples to pray and models for them and for us an understanding of God that is very personal. God is our Father in Heaven. We who believe in Jesus Christ are His children adopted into His family and sealed with the Holy Spirit. God wants us to understand His personal nature (Job 16:19-21). He is not far off and unconcerned (Jeremiah 23:23-24). He is close by and loving (Acts 17:27). No matter your family background, nationality, gender, race, or economics, we are invited by a Heavenly Father into His redeemed family through faith in Jesus Christ. We belong to God.
How do we know that?
Romans 8:16-17a says, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ…”
Ephesians 1:4b-5 says, “In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will…”
The Bible describes God as a personal God who takes us as His children and He loves us as a Perfect Holy Father should. Prayer is personal communication between a child of God and God the Father.
When we pray, we are not praying to God who may or may not listen.
When we pray, we are not praying to God who is far away and unconcerned about us.
When we pray, we are not praying to God who is unable to answer our prayers.
When we pray, we are praying to God who listens closely to the prayers of His people.
When we pray, we are praying to God who has unconditional love and concern for us.
When we pray, we are praying to God who wisely can answer our prayers.
APPLICATION/ACTION POINT
When we pray, understand fundamentally that prayer is communication with our Heavenly Father who loves us and wants a relationship with us.
YOUR KINGDOM AND WILL BE DONE (verse 10)
When Christians pray, we pray that God’s Kingdom and will is done. We are praying in submission to God’s will. We are not praying that we get our way, but rather we are praying that God’s will and way is done in our lives and on Earth, just like it is done in Heaven. This is a fundamental truth about prayer that I think most of us do not understand or comprehend. We do not pray to get what we want done… we pray so that God’s will is done in us and through us. Non-Christians certainly don’t understand it and it causes them great anger towards God and then towards God’s people. Christians have a hard time understanding this truth sometimes as well.
Why do I say that? Let me give you two examples.
For example, a person who is not a Christian prays to God that their child be healed. The child dies. The person spends the rest of their life mad at a God who they claim does not exist because prayers were not answered. Happens all the time.
For example, a person who is a Christian prays for “breakthroughs” and “God’s favor” and money blessings because that is what they see on TV and read in some Christian-ish books, and yet nothing happens. They get depressed and feel far from God because He isn’t answering prayer 11, 13, and 41 from their book.
We must fundamentally understand that prayer has little to do with us and our way and our wants, but rather we are praying that we get in line with God’s will and His purposes and we live in His Kingdom. When we pray “Your will be done,” we are lining ourselves up with Jesus in submission to God’s will. We are praying so we get out of ourselves and into Him. We need to understand that God’s will is not automatically what we want, how we want, or in the manner we want. God may never direct our lives on the path we want and prayer is the way to accept that and to understand His will and ways. I have to be honest, we want to be on God’s path, in God’s will, and part of God’s Kingdom because that is far better than any place we could pray ourselves into.
We go God’s way and do His bidding.
We accept God’s yes.
We accept God’s no.
APPLICATION/ACTION POINT
When we pray, expect in faith that God will change our heart to be more like Him and to accept His will in our lives. When we pray, we should pray to be part of God’s Kingdom and what He is already doing around us.
GIVING AND PROVISION (verse 11)
When Christians pray, we pray in reliance on God for our life needs. It is no accident that Jesus mentions bread. Bread is the most basic necessity. This is not a hard concept. We should ask God for what we need today. This request of “give us today our daily bread” is a request to our loving Heavenly Father to provide for our ordinary earthly needs.
The problem with us is that we do not know the difference between needs and wants. Later in this chapter of Matthew, Jesus identifies needs as food, water, and clothing. This doesn’t mean we should not pray for other things like housing, employment, health, our families, and other things like that. What I think Jesus is trying to model for us is prayer away from the idea of treating God like a vending machine. Prayer is not a magic formula that gets us what we want when we want and how we want. Vending machine prayers are self-centered. Vending machine prayers expect immediate results and a God that is at our beck-and-call. We can get into the habit of instant gratification with prayer and we fall into a spiritual trap when that happens. That is not true Christian prayer. True Christian prayer trusts that God knows exactly what we need for a fulfilled life.
The Bible shares this with us in other passages:
Psalm 34:9-10 says, “Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.”
Psalm 145:15-16 says, “The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food at the proper time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.”
APPLICATION/ACTION POINT
When we pray, we can and should express all our needs to God for He is our Heavenly Father Whose will is good and right and what we need each day.
FORGIVENESS IN ALL WAYS (verse 12)
When Christians pray, we focus on forgiveness of ourselves and others. All of us know that living with other human beings is hurtful. Even if we were by ourselves, we would still have issues with ourselves at times. Forgiveness is an essential element in effective prayer. Jesus says so. Forgiveness is the removal of anger, guilt, shame, and the action of revenge.
I have always found it interesting that in Jesus’ model prayer, Jesus includes two avenues of forgiveness. We are asking God to forgive us. That is essential. Part of prayer is clearing up the sin and mistakes that cloud our relationship with God. You and I must ask for forgiveness for our sins because our sins separate us from God. The Bible shares this truth with us:
Isaiah 59:1-2 says, “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”
Colossians 2:13-14 says, “God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross.”
We are also asking for forgiveness with other people. That is essential. Part of prayer is understanding where we have hurt others and taking steps of forgiveness with them. Part of prayer is also knowing where we have been hurt and taking steps to forgive those that have hurt us. Prayer is very much a cleaning of the heart when it comes to sin, bad attitudes, wrong motivations, evil thoughts, uncontrolled emotions, immoral plans, and everything else that plagues us. The interesting word in this prayer is the word “as.” Just “as” we are asking for forgiveness from God so we are extending forgiveness to other people who have hurt us. Just “as” we are asking for forgiveness from God so we are asking for forgiveness from people we have wronged. They are linked.
APPLICATION/ACTION POINT
When we pray, we need to clean out our heart from un-forgiveness and bitterness and anger towards God, other people, and ourselves. Prayer is a cleaning time for our attitudes.
KEEP US ON THE STRAIGHT NARROW PATH (verse 13)
The last part of Jesus’ model prayer is at times a little confusing. Jesus is not saying “Oh God do not bring us to a place of temptation” or “God remove all temptation from us” or “God please do not tempt us with evil.” We can know Jesus is not saying those things because James 1:13-14 confirms for us, “When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.”
What Jesus is asking is that God stay with us in the midst of all the temptations we will face. God help us in temptation to stay on the straight path. God when temptation comes our way, please give us ways to be on the narrow path and not take the easy way out. When we sin, we have no one to blame but ourselves. We can know God will help us in the midst of temptation because He already promises to do that in 1 Corinthians 10:13 which says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
Temptation is part of the Christian life. It comes from all areas of our lives, from all people, and even from within us. We can be tempted to be hateful, bitter, to fear, to gossip, to look down on others, and to sin in all sorts of ways. In prayer, we seek deliverance from circumstances that are tempting and we seek ways out of temptation that we can keep on the straight and narrow path.
APPLICATION/ACTION POINT
When we pray, we can know that prayer is a shield that helps us stand up under the pressure and arrows of temptation.
SUMMARY
What is Jesus teaching us when He models prayer for us?
* When we pray, understand fundamentally that prayer is communication with our Heavenly Father who loves us and wants a relationship with us.
* When we pray, expect in faith that God will change our heart to be more like Him and to accept His will in our lives. When we pray, we should pray to be part of God’s Kingdom and what He is already doing around us.
* When we pray, we can and should express all our needs to God for He is our Heavenly Father Whose will is good and right and what we need each day.
* When we pray, we need to clean out our heart from un-forgiveness and bitterness and anger towards God, other people, and ourselves. Prayer is a cleaning time for our attitudes.
* When we pray, we can know that prayer is a shield that helps us stand up under the pressure and arrows of temptation.
PRESENTATION OF THE GOSPEL
Before we conclude this morning, I’d like to re-state something I have already said. God is our Heavenly Father who loves us and wants a relationship with us. You may or may not believe that to be true. God wanted a relationship with us and did not want us lost to Him for eternity so He sent Jesus His Son to pay the sin penalty for us. Being lost to God for eternity is the fire, Hell talk, and “weeping and gnashing of teeth” we read about in the Bible. God does not want us separated from Him, but wants us with Him in Heaven forever. He wants to redeem us. That’s why Jesus came. I would love to talk with you about Jesus. Better yet, strike up a conversation with anyone here who is already a believer and they will share why Jesus is important and what he has done in their lives.
CONCLUSION IN PRAYER
INVITATION
