"When You Pray....." Part Five
"When You Pray" • Sermon • Submitted
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· 9 viewsPart five on the model pf prayer that Jesus set for the church and of how we are to use it!
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Well, it has been a couple of weeks since we last met on a Wednesday evening for worship and Bible study. I almost feel like I should stand up here and formally introduce myself to you guys all over again, like this is some new meeting or something. (And it’s only been going on three weeks! Wow, what would a month feel like?!)
Well, it has been a couple of weeks since we last met on a Wednesday evening for worship and Bible study. I almost feel like I should stand up here and formally introduce myself to you guys all over again, like this is some new meeting or something. (And it’s only been going on three weeks! Wow, what would a month feel like?!)
What can I say, huh? I miss my family time with all of you guys and our studying the Word of God! Amen!
OK, so let me ask you about our ongoing assignment of praying over the specific area/areas that you have been doing so with diligence. How is this going? Are you seeing or have you seen any breakthroughs over the things that you are praying about?
If not, that is OK, you just keep praying to God about those things.
I believe that what many refer to as “unanswered prayers” are a large reason why so many people stop, or digress from a life that is devoted to God in prayer and intimate communication!
People feel like He isn’t listening or doesn’t care and therefore He never answers their prayers and all the while they see and hear of others who have amazing testimonies and breakthroughs from God answering their prayers and sometimes even on multiple accounts!
This, in turn, drives them to a decrease in any or all communication with God and ultimately, many walk away from the church and their relationship with the Lord!
Tonight, as we continue with our teaching on the Lord’s Prayer, (or more appropriately titled, the Disciple’s Prayer), we are going to spend some time looking at one area of that modeled prayer that is possibly linked to why many people never see or hardly see answers to and breakthroughs from their prayer life!
So, lets quickly start at the beginning of this prayer that Jesus gave us as a model and move forward to where we left off.
So, lets quickly start at the beginning of this prayer that Jesus gave us as a model and move forward to where we left off.
As you start saying this prayer, who is it that you are speaking to? (WAIT FOR ANSWER.....Right, God!) And what amazing title are we, as the children of God, allowed to call Him by as shown by Jesus? (Yes, “our Father”!)
You and I can call Him our Father when we become His children. That is, when we come to the spiritual adoption agency (a.k.a. The Cross), and we give ourselves to Him and become adopted as sons and daughters!
And where does our Father dwell? (Right, in heaven.) This thought along with the next part of the prayer model is crucial to keep things in proper perspective: “Hallowed be your name!”
OK, lets down to business, shall we? Let me start off by asking about your ongoing homework of praying over a particular request to God.
His name is to be kept and revered as HOLY!
Has anyone had a breakthrough or an answer to their prayer? If not, that’s alright; you just keep pressing in and praying.
Nothing that we say or do makes His name Holy! We are not saying this so that it will become a reality; nothing that we bring to Him adds to or builds up His attributes! HE IS HOLY; PERIOD! HAS ALWAYS BEEN AND WILL ALWAYS BE!
Tonight’s continuance on the Lord’s Prayer, (or more appropriately titled, the Disciple’s Prayer), may help to shed some light on the issue of our prayers being, or seemingly not being answered.
"Your kingdom come...” - Remember we talked about last time of how Jewish literature used a technique called parallelism, which is method of writing one thing and then coming right behind it with another statement that explains, builds up or adds to the first statement?
I think that the subject of what many call, “unanswered prayers”, is a strong reason for the lack of pursuing our prayer with our heavenly Father!
And the part that we will spend a little more time talking about tonight is an area that many struggle with; both in their daily/natural lives, but more importantly, in their relationship with Yaweh!
,
So, over the last few weeks, we began looking at the subject of prayer. even more specific, we began looking at the modeled prayer that Jesus gave to us,
So, over the last few weeks, we began looking at the subject of prayer. even more specific, we began looking at the modeled prayer that Jesus gave to us,
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
Do you see how this technique expands upon and builds up the meaning of the first statement?
This is where we left off last time, in looking at this part of the prayer model.
“Your kingdom come...........your will be done” - This parallel statement shows us where the kingdom of God is.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Wherever the will of God is being carried out, then His kingdom is set up there!
This petition of “your kingdom come”, is both for the now, but also it has the eschatological meaning of a future time when this kingdom will be consummated and complete and total here on earth, as it is in heaven!
When we pray and ask that His kingdom come, we are not trying to establish and set it up here, because Jesus already did that for us and in us. AMEN?!
Remember that wherever God’s will is being carried out and His name is being revered as Holy and honored, then His kingdom is operating right there!
So, when you and I pray and make the declaration, “Your kingdom come”, we are really saying that we are bending and yielding ourselves to His will and we want to see His name glorified above all else! It is an affirmation of total submission to His will.
And this is clarified with the follow-up statement, “on earth, as it is in heaven”.
You see, in heaven, everything and every creature that exists kneels to and totally and humbly submits to the sovereignty and will of almighty God! (There is no other authority in heaven!)
So we are then saying that we want to see the exact same thing happen in the kingdom on earth (A.K.A. our lives), just as it happens in heaven!
If you were here when I first started teaching on the Disciple’s Prayer, you may remember that I made mention that this prayer has two distinct sets of petitions or clauses.
At the opening of the prayer, we see the first three of these petitions or clauses, being given to bring glory to God and exalt His position and power and authority in our lives. (Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done!)
It is no mistake that Jesus taught the prayer model with these first. You and I are to exalt and praise and worship God, the creator and sovereign Lord of all, first and foremost before we begin with anything else that we want or need!
He is always first! And this is seen in the model for prayer that Jesus gave to us! (This is something that I have tried to really make myself more aware of when I am speaking to God; I try to make sure that I am not just jumping into my list of things, without first taking the time to glorify and praise the God from whom all blessings flow!)
It is after the first three petitions are given to glorify and honor Him, that the next three come, that have to do with us specifically: “Give us this day our daily bread”, “forgive us our debts” and “lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”
So, we exalt and honor and glorify the Father and then we come before Him for our needs, both physical as well as spiritual as denoted in these three petitions.
So, we have come to the part of the prayer that I mentioned at the beginning that is probably the most impacting and the hardest to fully submit to for many people; “YOUR WILL BE DONE”!
What exactly are we saying to God when we usher these words?
What exactly are we saying to God when we usher these words?
I mentioned at the closing of our last Wednesday service about the will of God and that there are things that we recognize as the sovereign will of God. These are the things that God has purposed and that will happen, regardless of anything that you or I say or do.
It was the will of God that the earth be formed and everything on it and in it and the entire expanse of the universes that surround it and beyond.
It was at the same time, the will of God to create mankind in His image (the image of Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and breathe the spirit of life into us and in doing so, have intimate fellowship with us.
It was not however, the will of God for mankind to sin and rebel against God’s commands and thus we find the chasm that separates mankind from God; sin due to our WILL and not His will!
It was the will of God to make for Himself a people and a nation that would be used to bring forth a king and kingdom that would, through covenant, forever have a king upon the throne!
It was by the will of God that this kingship would be fulfilled and forever secured, not through powerful and rich rulers and earthly monarchies, but rather through a teenage Hebrew girl and a carpenter.
It was God’s will that His son, Jesus, would go to the Cross of Calvary and pay a horrible ransom to buy back His creation from an enemy who rebelled openly against’s God’s will and who hates God’s children with a fervent and bitter hatred like no other and wants nothing more than to utterly destroy us to get back at God for His just punishment!
And it is in the closing of the Bible that we see the finality of God’s will for His creation, by destroying the destroyer and creating a new heaven and a new earth and making an eternal abode for His children that will never again know the sickness of sin, or the temptation thereof!
These things, that we know of, are a part of the Sovereign will of God and regardless of what we do and say, or regardless of what course of actions the devil takes, the sovereign will of God will happen exactly as He so desired!
His will id perfect and nothing can alter it from happening!
The will of God is also shown throughout the Bible for us, as His children.
God gave the law and His commandments for us to follow as His will and even made it a point to say that He would write His law upon our hearts.
What God has stated in His word for us to do, is non-negotiable and we can easily see it by reading within the Bible.
says,
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,
This is God’s will for each and every one of us and yet we have the power to decide if we want to yield to God’s will and obey it, or act out and fulfill the desires of the flesh!
The choice is ours and so are the consequences that come with our choices.
The Bible says in ,
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Rebellion against God’s will is not rewarded or even tolerated in His kingdom! God expects us to do what He has told us to do; (i.e. His WILL!)
Jesus said in ,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
,
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Jesus, not only said that only those who do the will of His Father will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but He also explained that His family is made up of those who do the will of God. In , He said,
For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
The point that I am wanting to drive home about the will of God and our prayers is that it is easy to say, “Yes God I want to see your kingdom manifest in my life. Yes God, I want your will to be done!”
The point that I am wanting to drive home about the will of God and our prayers is that it is easy to say, “Yes God I want to see your kingdom manifest in my life. Yes God, I want your will to be done!”
Yet, we do not necessarily want His will , unless His will aligns with our will!
says,
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
Just because we follow the guidelines that Jesus gave us in praying to His Father (we follow the model) and then we ask Him for something, doesn’t mean that what we just asked Him for is in His will for our lives!
We can easily confuse our will and His, if we do not know His voice and His word. (Example: A young man prays that his sick father will live and not die and yet it is God’s will that the father is going to die. (the father will die and the young man may become bitter about it, because he doesn’t understand the word of God and the will of God.) Same situation: the young man prays this time that his father would die because of bitterness and animosity and it is God’s will that the father is going to die. (the father is going to die and the young man will think that it was God honoring his request, when it had nothing to do with what he asked and especially the heart in which he was asking.)
Besides the things that are listed within His word that we know we are and are not to do, it is our responsibility to seek Him and His perfect will for each of our own lives.
tells us,
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
In verse 15 the Greek word for foolish or unwise is asophos, and it means being unwise or foolish. However, in verse 17 where Paul says to not be foolish, the word is, aphron, and it means to act rashly, being senseless and without reason; stupid!
Paul is saying that we are not to just act out of impulse and do something rashly, but rather, we are to seek the will of God and then do it. In doing this, he said that we would be acting wisely!
A more well known passage that we know of says this to us; ,
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
If you will yield to His word and turn from doing the things of this world, then He will begin to transform your mind into one that sees and knows what His will is for you. His will, is always good and pleasing and perfect. (Yet the problem with too many Christians, is that they expect it to always be PLEASING in their terms and based upon their wants and desires!)
If we understand that the will of God is not pleasing to our ways, but His and accept this and move forward into it, then He gives us the grace (the empowering force needed) to accept His will and live it out.
God’s will is not popular in the flesh!!
God’s will is not popular in the flesh!!
God is not going to always you and I what we want, but rather what is needed to complete His perfect plan for your life.
"If you give a pig and a child everything they want you will raise a good pig and a bad child." Giving people everything they want is not God's will. He is not our personal lamp that we rub and request what we want!
Jesus taught us the perfect example of denying ourselves and doing God’s will.
,
For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
Who’s will did He come down to earth to do?
It was in the Garden of Gethsemane that we hear Jesus say the great prayer to His Father, in which Jesus says, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
Who’s will did He want to be done?
Jesus showed His disciples that doing the will of God was of more importance and more satisfying spiritually, than nourishment and physical satisfaction. and the woman at the well, we find His disciples coming to Him and this account taking place: ,
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
This kind of mindset only happens when your mind is transformed and renewed by the living, breathing word of God and the empowering of Holy Spirit.
It wasn’t just Jesus though, that had this. Look at each one of His disciples that followed after Him all the way to the grave and suffered in His name. (EXPOUND)
Today, all over the world, men and women and children are dying in His and for His name. Yet all they would have to do, is renounce His name and they would continue living. (If you call that living!)
How do they do it? “THY WILL BE DONE, GOD”!
In saying to God, “Your will be done”, you are telling Him that you want to obey His commands.
Skirting around His commands and all the while praising His name and trying to appease Him with apathy is mockery to Him! (Too many people are saying, “I am waiting for a word from God to tell me to give/tithe, to go out and serve, to work in the church, or witness in my office!” This is witchcraft, as I Samuel tells us. It is open rebellion to what God has already told you to do. God has told us to give and to serve and to witness. He doesn’t need to give you a specific word to that, when His word has already said to all of us!)
God said this about those who disobey Him and yet try to flatter and offer praise from their mouths to Him as a sacrifice, in ,
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
OBEDIENCE to God is the will of God. Just as Samuel told King Saul after he disobeyed God in ,
But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
God wants your obedience, not your belief systems!
The young rich ruler came to Jesus and asked Him about inheriting eternal life. Jesus told him to sell all that he had and give it to the poor and then come follow Him and he would have treasures in heaven.
The young man turned away grieved, because this was more than he was willing to do.
He believed in who Jesus was, yet He lacked that obedience that was required. He wasn’t willing to say, “Your will be done!”
If you say that you believe in God and you believe in His Son, Jesus and yet you do not obey their commands, then you are no better than the demons, For the Bible says in ,
You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.
The demons believe in Him and tremble at His name, yet they do not obey Him!
We just had our children do the service this past Sunday and what a blessing that was, AMEN?!
Keep in mind that they are watching us, as the adults and parents and we are either teaching them to obey or rebel!
I love what John Hagee said in regard to this, he said, “It’s time to teach our children obedience in the playpen, before we have to put them in the state pen.”
Do not pray, “Your will be done” and yet disobey what He is commanding you to do!
Zacheus was a rich man and had made much money as a chief tax collector, yet one TRUE encounter with the Christ and he instantly released his worldly possessions and wanted to serve; “THY WILL BE DONE”!
Jesus said of Zacheus and his change in heart and mind, “Salvation has come to this home today!”
Is that your earnest desire and are you seeking this with all of your heart, soul and mind; THE WILL OF GOD TO BE DONE IN YOUR LIFE?!
Praying it while not living it, do not set well with God