The Model Prayer Pt. 2
A Look at the Sermon on the Mount • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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The last Sunday evening we were together be began looking at the Lord’s model for prayer. Often called the Lord’s prayer, but that is not an accurate portrayal of Jesus’ intent.
We saw last time that when we pray we are to recognize to whom we are praying. Verse 9 deals with the fact we are praying our Father, one to whom we share a personal relationship, but also our heavenly Father, One who is literally above us, and our Holy Father, One who is perfect and desires us to be like Him.
Once we have this proper recognition of to Whom we are praying, we are then prepared to venture into the second part of this model prayer - Resignation. Once we understand that He is perfect, and that we are not, but that He desires us to be like Him then we must naturally ask: How can we accomplish this? I believe the answer is found in Matthew 6:10
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
This verses speaks of our resignation. That is our relinquishing control of our desires and our plans and exchanging them for Gods.
When you are resigned to live for God, you will pray for...
His Kingdom to Come
His Kingdom to Come
Jesus is saying, “Once you get your head wrapped around the truth that you are praying to your heavenly, holy Father, you will turn loose of the reins of your life. You will begin to pray, ‘Thy kingdom come.”
What does it mean to pray, “Thy kingdom come”? It means, quite literally, to pray for the kingdom of Christ to be set up on earth.
Did you know that God desires that we pray for Jesus to return? God desires us to pray for the rapture, for the return of Christ, for the kingdom to be accomplished on earth! The last prayer recorded in the Bible is a prayer for the return of Jesus, Revelation 22:20
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
How many of you believe Jesus is coming soon (quickly)? Don’t raise your hands, but how many of you are in the habit of praying daily for His return? How many of you agree that our lives will greatly change for the better once Jesus returns? Why are we not praying then for His return?
Church, God wants us to relinquish control of our desires and to grab hold of His desires for us. God desires we pray for His Son to rule on earth.
What will the earthly reign of Christ look like? Go back and read Matthew 5 again! There will be no teaching on divorce, because there will be no divorce in the kingdom. Why not? Becasue there will be present none of those things which lead to divorce in the first place. No adultery, no money issues, no hateful attitudes.
There will be no desire to retaliate against someone for slapping you in the face because no one will slap you in the face. There will be no reason to swear an oath to prove your sincerity, because there will be no such thing as insincerity. There will be no unrighteousness in the kingdom…why wouldn’t we pray “Thy kingdom come”?
When you are resigned to live for God you will pray for His kingdom to come, and you will pray for...
His Will to be Done
His Will to be Done
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
So much of our prayer time is wasted trying to get earth’s will done in heaven, when we should be praying heaven’s will be done on earth.
How many times do we treat prayer as a bombardment of heaven with the desires of our heart, of things we want accomplished. We have the audacity to go to God in prayer with, not just a list of demands, but then we demand that He answer our list in the way we want but also in the time frame we want it answered in. We think we know better than God.
That is not what it means to pray for His will to be done on earth. Want an example of what it means to have God’s will done on earth?
39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
When you are resigned to live for God you will pray for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. You are saying that you are willing to accept the consequences of the will of God.
My entire life my mother’s health was very poor. She was sick so often and had to be admitted to the hospital I didn’t even know it was unusual. I thought everyone’s mother had to be hospitalized. In July of 2009 she was admitted to the hospital for the last time. I was 27 years old, and I understood this wasn’t normal. I remember one morning I was praying for God to heal her and like every day I would add the words, not even considering their meaning, “If it be your will”. After about three days of being in the hospital I was praying those same words and the Holy Spirit spoke to me, “Do you really mean those words, ‘If it be your will’? Are you really truly prepared to accept that it may not be God’s will?” For the first time I understood that when I pray for heaven’s will to be done on earth, I had to be prepared to accept the outcome.
A reason we struggle with praying for God’s will to be done on earth is we’re afraid. “What if God doesn’t want for me what I want for myself?” Trust that what God wants for you is better.
We struggle with praying for God’s will to be done on earth because we like to be in control.
We struggle with letting go. Someone said that the meaning of this portion of Scripture is,
That God’s desires for righteousness will be as fully accomplished now on earth as they are now accomplished in heaven; that God’s desires for righteous may ultimately be as fully accomplished on the earth as they are now accomplished in heaven; that God’s desires for righteousness may ultimately be accomplished on the earth in the same way that they are accomplished in heaven...
We don’t pray for God’s will to be done on earth as in heaven because we do not want to change. The only thing standing between you and revival right not is you.
You must understand that you cannot pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven” if you are not willing to change, if you are not resigned to living for yourself and ready to truly live for God.
Conclusion: Once you recognize that your prayers are being made TO a holy heavenly Father, you must ensure WHAT you are praying for is done according to His will.
Church, we must pray everyday for Christ to come…why wouldn’t we pray that? Why wouldn’t we want the rapture to take place and for His kingdom to be ushered in?
We must pray for His will to be done on earth even as it is already carried out in heaven. What is His will? 2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.