Lord, Teach Us To Pray
Notes
Transcript
Intro; In the fast paced times in which we live, it is no doubt a challenge to the believer to set some time aside every day to pray. Yet Jesus has already preached on spending some private time in prayer to strengthen our relationship with God and watch God so willing to hear our prayers and reward our efforts.
But we aren’t the only ones who have struggled with prayer. Jesus disciples watched Him pray one day and said, “Lord, teach us to pray” [Lk. 11:1].
Isn’t it interesting that they didn’t ask Jesus to teach them how to evangelize more effectively, how to preach, heal people or do greater miracles. But they saw something that Jesus had in prayer that they didn’t, “Intimacy with God.” When we have intimacy with God like Jesus, then every area of our walk with the Lord will become better, stronger, deeper and more prosperous for the kingdom.
This morning I want us to ask the same of Jesus as His disciples did, “Lord Teach Us to Pray!”
Text; Mt. 6:9-13
Matthew 6:9–13 (NKJV)
9 In this manner, therefore, pray: 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 forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
1. In This Manner; 9a
1. In This Manner; 9a
Jesus didn’t give this prayer as one that is to be repeated and become a ritual prayer that the hypocrite’s and heathen pray. This prayer simply contains elements of effective prayer.
“In this manner” deals with the motives of our prayer; Jesus is saying , “pray with the same motive that I pray”
Motive- reason why we do the things we do
Jesus shows us the depth and dependency of his relationship with the Father in this pattern of prayer!
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
John 12:49–50 (NKJV)
49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
If Jesus, being the Son of God in robed human flesh, was this dependent upon his relationship with His Father in prayer, how much more so should we be!
2. Personal Elements of Effective Prayer; 9b-10
2. Personal Elements of Effective Prayer; 9b-10
“Our Father in Heaven”; there are two elements found here in this phrase, “family relationship and the spirit world”
Family Relationship- Our father emphasis a family relationship. A believer is an adopted child of God
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
Matthew 12:50 (NKJV)
50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
Spirit world- heaven speaks of the spirit world. This relationship is beyond the flesh, it is a spiritual reality that connects us to heaven, God’s throne!
19 The Lord has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
“Hallowed be Your name”- reverence for the name of God
Hallowed- [hag-i-azo] to be different or separate; to give a unique and special place to something or someone.
A thing which is hallowed is different from other things. A person who is hallowed is separate from other people.
Sunday is hallowed because it is different from the other days of the week, for it is special. It is the Lord’s day. So, then, this petition, “hallowed be thy name,” means, “Let God’s name be treated differently from all other names; let God’s name be given a special position which is absolutely unique.”
Christians are commanded to be holy, but our Lord is acknowledged as being holy.
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
God is holy, set apart, perfect, unique, above and beyond all others, because of His name!
Name- In Hebrew, name means the nature, the character, the personality of the person in so far as it is known or revealed to us.
Jehovah Shalom—“The Lord Our Peace”—was a name that Gideon hallowed by raising an altar to God by that name.
Jehovah Jireh—“the Lord will provide”—was the name by which Abraham came to know God on Mt. Moriah when God provided a ram in place of Isaac.
Jehovah Tsidkenu—“the Lord our Righteousness”—is the name by which God revealed Himself to Jeremiah during the Captivity.
Names like El Shaddai and Adonai reflect His character and relationship with us.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
There’s Something About That Name [Bill & Gloria Gaither]
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; there's just something about that name.
Master, Savior, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain;
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all Heaven and earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,
But there's something about that name.
Your Kingdom come- The ultimate purpose of our heavenly Father is to exalt Christ in the consummation of history when His Son rules and reigns in His kingdom forever!
Do you know what the greatest opposition to that kingdom is? The present kingdom of this world which Satan rules.
We need to pray, live and look for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ!
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
15 Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.
“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”- Surrender and Submission
Surrender- to cease resistance, abandon oneself entirely, give up
Submission- the action of accepting or yielding to a superior authority
God knows what is best for me and His creation more than I do, so I will trust Him!
Turn to [Luke 1:26-37] Mary was overwhelmed by the announcement from the angel Gabriel. Not only about the virgin birth, but also of the Child she would carry, who He is and what He would do. And beyond that, what were the consequences she would have to endure from people for surrendering and submitting to God. She took all this in consideration and look at her response;
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
God’s will in heaven is accomplished on earth through God’s children!
To be dedicated to God’s will is, by definition, to be opposed to Satan’s. To pray Thy will be done, on earth as it is heaven is to rebel against the worldly idea that sin is normal and inevitable and should therefore be acquiesced to or at least tolerated. It is to rebel against the world system of ungodliness, the dishonoring and rejecting of Christ, and also the disobedience of believers. Impotence in prayer leads us, however unwillingly, to strike a truce with wrong. To accept what is, is to abandon a Christian view of God and His plan for redemptive history.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1985). Matthew (Vol. 1, p. 384). Moody Press.
Close;
In 1787 prayer helped determine the future of our country in a significant way.
The Constitutional Convention was on the verge of total failure over the issue of whether small states should have the same representation as large states.
In this hopeless situation, 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin offered a suggestion. He was convinced Scripture is right when it states, “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it” (Psalm 127:1), so he said:
“Gentlemen, I have lived a long time and am convinced that God governs in the affairs of men. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? I move that prayer imploring the assistance of Heaven be held every morning before we proceed to business.”
The motion carried. From then on prayer was offered each morning. The change after prayer was introduced was so dramatic that in a short while a compromise was reached which is still in effect today. “The Constitution of The United States of America.”
—The Bible Friend