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I. Introduction (UNBLACK SLIDE)

A. We are continuing our series entitled “in Jesus’ name.” We began last week by looking at how this phrase is used in scripture. It is used in many passages of scripture, and when it is used, it can mean:

1. By His authority – By His command and based on His teachings

2. Based on what He has done for us – it is through His sacrifice and work that we can have the privilege to boldly approach the throne of God

3. On behalf of someone as though you are Him

B. These are all areas where this idea of doing something “in Jesus’ name” should, in my judgment, be applied to our prayer.

C. Today I would like to start applying some of these concepts to our prayer by beginning a study of the Lord’s Prayer in & Luke11 (or Disciple’s Prayer). If you want to pray in a way that is based on His teachings, this is a good place to start. If you want to pray like Him. This is a good place to start. As I said last week, in , Jesus was praying, and it was his disciples seeing Him pray that led them to ask Jesus, “teach us to pray.” His example brought about His teaching that is found in this model prayer for God’s people. In this prayer, Jesus shows His disciples how to pray sincerely to God, showing your devotion and trust in Him.

D. For today’s lesson, I would like to study in depth , where we learn about the God Who Hears Our Prayers.

II. Our Father

A. Most Israelites, from what I have read, probably didn’t look at God in the way that Jesus speaks of here. This is not to say that none did. There may have been some who prayed to God as their Father. Even in the ministry of Jesus, many claimed that God was their Father. In , some of those who were debating with Jesus said, “We have one Father – God.” So this idea was not completely foreign to them… But even so, many would not often pray how Jesus instructs here. With many Israelites, when they would think of God, they would think primarily about his power that was seen in Sinai – how the people were fearful of His display of power. They would think about his judgment of sin and his desire for His people to obey or be punished. All of these things about God are true, but this is not the ONLY way God is revealed, including in the Old Testament.

B. God calls Israel His “firstborn son” in . They were not only called the “children of Israel,” but also the children of the LORD. (; ). He refers to Israel in as children he has “reared and brought up.” God compares the Exodus from Egypt to a child being picked up and carried by a Father (). This is just a few examples. The Old Testament has so much of this kind of language in talking about God’s relationship with His people. He gave them life, he cared for them and protected them. He provided for them what they needed to live, and disciplined them when they needed it.

C. Those who are kingdom citizens have God as their Father. "And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." ().

D. Jesus could not show this more clearly in His teaching. Just within the sermon on the mount alone, He mentions the Father 17 times, including in the prayer He gives His disciples and His kingdom citizens. He wants us to understand that God is our Father – that those who are Christians have been adopted into the family of God… made sons and daughters of God.

E. As Kingdom Citizens, our Father gives us spiritual life, making us part of His family. He guides us and gives us wisdom to help us grow and mature. He provides for us and cares for us. He protects us. And He desires a close relationship to us as His children.

F. One last point about this first statement that Jesus gives us to apply to our prayers. It is important not to miss the first word of this great prayer: “Our.” He is not just my Father, He is OUR Father. This shows that Jesus designed this prayer to be something we do together. We approach him, as a group of His children, as our Father. We pray with each other and for each other and are moved by this to serve one another. We pray as family. We all, as God’s people here, call upon God as Father. We are brothers and sisters.

III. Who is in Heaven

A. Some may hear the teaching about God being a “father,” and this may be something that does not fill them with comfort or excitement… For instance, I was reading of a time a preacher was approached after a lesson on God being our father. This preacher wrote that a young man walked up to him and said to him with an angry look, “You claim that God is our father, but if God is anything like my father, I’m not interested.” Then the young man stormed out of the room before the preacher could say a word… This young man had many bad experiences in his life because of his earthly father. He had caused him a lot of pain and heartache, and all of this pain and heartache he transferred to the concept of God being a “father” also. There are a lot of people that here this concept and would feel the same way as this young man.

B. This is where this idea of God being “in Heaven” is important to understand. This reminds us that God is in a high and exalted place, but not just this. I believe Jesus is also showing us that our Father is not of the earth. In other words, He is unlike ANY earthly father. He is greater. He is not an earthly father, but instead, He is our heavenly Father. Out of the 17 times Jesus mentions the Father in the Sermon on the Mount, 10 of those times He calls Him our “Heavenly” Father or our Father in Heaven. He uses these to remind us that God is not of this world and that He dwells in glory. He is not of this world. He is not limited to space and time. He is above it all.

C. In the illustration I gave, this young man’s earthly father did not live up to the standard of the Heavenly Father. The Father who is in Heaven is perfect. He is near to us, but he is beyond and greater than anything or anyone we can imagine. He is a Father unlike any other. Unlike earthly fathers, He will never let you down. He will always be faithful. Even when circumstances seem dim in the lives of His people, He is still working to bless them and to make them more like His perfect Son Jesus. In His great wisdom, He works in our lives and helps to mold us into the best children we can be so that we can be like Him in our love and in our character and so that we can go home to be with Him.

D. One thing this should remind us of, in application, is that our true home is where our Father is. We may look at this earth, and even this country, as our home and find pride in living where we do… But this is not where we should focus. We are citizens, not of this world, but of a heavenly country. We are part of God’s heavenly household, and because of this, we are to set our minds on things above, not the things of the earth, as Paul commands in .

IV. Hallowed be Your Name

A. This third phrase shows us ultimately why we pray… The main reason we pray is so that God’s name and reputation will be regarded as Holy. We desire that He be honored and shown reverence in our lives – that He be glorified and worshipped.

B. We desire that we would further recognize that He is holy and above all and that this would be reflected in our lives and in our worship. He has a reputation… a reputation that we as God’s people do not want to tarnish by our own sinful words and actions.

C. This desire to “hallow His name” comes from a knowledge of who he is. We see how He fully reveals Himself – His character and nature, and we desire to have this knowledge change us. We see not only his desire to be our loving Father, but also his holiness, his righteousness and justice. We see His mercy and grace. Only when we see who God is will we be stirred up to change as we should. Sometimes we may think about God as our loving Father who provides for us and cares for us, but we may not think about who He fully reveals Himself to be. We need to have a balanced view of our Father so we can be properly motivated to love and serve Him.

D. Along with this, this part of the prayer Jesus is instructing shows that we desire that our words and actions not tarnish how people look at Him... Of course, God is Holy and glorious and nothing we can do or say changes who God is, but it can be the case that we can act in such a way that can lead others to blaspheme and dishonor God in their words and actions. The Prophet Nathan told David that by his murder and his adultery he caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme (). He scorned the name of God and caused others to do so also. Whenever we desire to “hallow God’s name,” it is going to show in our lives as we, who wear the name of Christ, “depart from iniquity” so that we don’t dishonor His name and cause others to do the same.

E. We desire to live and speak in a way that honors God and will lead others to come to Him and hallow His name as we do.

V. Conclusion

A. Everything else in the prayer we will continue to study in flows from this idea that God is our Father in Heaven and that He is to be honored and glorified in the lives of His children.

B. Prayer: Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name!