The Lord's Prayer
Notes
Transcript
Pray
Introduction: How do you view prayer? Typically, there are 6 ways prayer is viewed. These are the 6-Levels of Prayer.
Level 1: Prayer is Not Important: You do not see a need to communicate with God. I’m mean, “He’s got better things to worry about.”
Level 2: Prayer is Optional: You find time every now and again. It is something that is not at the front of your mind. You’re not opposed to it, but “that’s really for religious people.”
Level 3: Prayer is Helpful: You will pray when you’re in a pinch. Your prayer life is defined by your circumstances, so if life is good, it isn’t a priority. But. when life gets a little overwhelming or when you need something, you’re not afraid to reach out to the “big man upstairs.”
Level 4: Prayer is Needed: You know that prayer is important. You find yourself asking for prayer and maybe even lifting a prayer of two up for someone else. The Bible says you should so, “what the heck, I’ll give it a shot.”
Level 5: Prayer is Critical: Prayer is an absolute necessity. You see the need to desire prayer as a weapon and form of communication with God. You regularly pray for others and make it a priority in your life.
Level 6: Prayer is Combat: Not only is prayer critical, you see prayer as a weapon against the evil one and his wickedness. You realize that prayer is a life or death situation. You saturate everything you do in prayer. You find yourself praying immediately upon hearing of needs or victories, you don’t put it on a list for later. You find that without prayer as combat, you are powerless.
So, where are you in this list? Today we look at the Lord’s Prayer as we continue through the Sermon on the Mount. Let’s open our Bibles to...
Read: Matthew 5:5-15
Explanation: So just to clarify this now, this is not just the Lord’s Prayer, this is intended to be the Disciples Prayer. So, as Jesus is teaching in this sermon, he is teaching us how to be disciples. This part about prayer is part of a series of topics Jesus is addressing regarding your motive in life. Last week we talked about our motive in giving to the needy. This week is our motives in regard to our prayer lives. I want to break down this passage today to help us see what Jesus is teaching here. There are four main things that Jesus is teaching.
Application:
Prayer Should Be Constant
Prayer Should Be Constant
Prayer needs to encompass your life. Prayer needs to be a life-style. The reason Jesus tells us to pray in private is not because no one is allowed to see you pray or that you can’t pray in public. Scripture is very clear that prayer is part of the assembly. Jesus is making a point once again about motive. If you do not have a private prayer life, then you should not be praying in public. The perception people will have is one of a good and deep prayer life, but the reality is that there really is no life of prayer.
It is hypocrisy to pray in public when you do not have any type of prayer life in your private life. You must become consistent and constant in your prayer life.
Pray with Sincerity
Pray with Sincerity
To pray in repetition is not a bad thing. That is not what Jesus is saying here. Again, Jesus is after motive here. If all you do when you lift up a prayer to God is babel trying to say the right words or sound churchy, then your missing the point. If you are not praying with a sincere heart and a desire to seek God’s will, then repetition, lots of words, they’re all pointless. Reciting memorized prayers can lead one to praying without sincerity.
The pagans had a habit of this as they worshiped their idols. 1 Kings 18:26 is a great example of this.
And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made.
Pray in God’s Will
Pray in God’s Will
Understand this please, this prayer is a great prayer to memorize. However, this prayer is was not given to us to be memorized and recited as some sort of tradition or ritual. This is prayer give to us as a way to help teach us how to pray. What type of heart to have in prayer. Notice Jesus says, “Pray then like this.” He doesn’t say, pray these words, or memorize this as your only prayer. This is a pattern of prayer, not a substitute prayer.
Prayer is about glorifying God’s name and seeking that His will be done on earth. Prayer should begin with God’s interests and not ours. It is about His kingdom and His will. Notice as well that there are no singular pronouns in this prayer, instead it says things like, Our and Us. This is a reminder to us that when we pray we are a part of a larger purpose and a worldwide family of believers. So, with that we need to remember that we are praying in God’s will. Is God concerned about our needs? Yes! But we should come first with God’s purpose and will on our hearts first thing.
Pray Having a Spirit of Forgiveness
Pray Having a Spirit of Forgiveness
Something to keep in mind here is that in verse 12, Jesus is not teaching that as we forgive God will forgive us. We are not earning forgiveness by forgiving others. This would go against God’s free grace and mercy. What Jesus is teaching is that if we have experienced forgiveness, then we will have willingness to forgive others.
So as you pray, as you ask God to forgive your sins, you had better be ready to forgive others for what they have done to you. Ephesians 4:32 is a great reminder,
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Mark Dever, who pastors a church among the rich and powerful people of Washington D.C., shares about how he and his wife walk their dogs around Congressional Cemetery on Capitol Hill. They often pass by the names of many people who were quite important during their lives, but now those names are largely meaningless to those of us who go by every day, exercising their pets. Reflecting on these once-powerful people Dever writes, "But you know what matters most now and forever is this: Were they forgiven? Whether they were in Congress for one term or five, were they forgiven?"
Then he shares the following story from his friend Don Carson. Carson was writing movingly about the death of his father:
When Dad died there were no crowds outside the hospital, no notice in the papers, no announcements on the television, no mention in the parliament, no notice in the nation. In his hospital room there was only the quiet hiss of oxygen vainly venting because Dad had stopped breathing and would never need it again. But on the other side all the trumpets sounded. Dad won admittance to the only throne room that matters. Not because he was a good man or a great man, because he was a forgiven man.
Conclusion: How do you pray? Where is your heart in the midst of prayer? Church, we need to start taking prayer seriously. To me, prayer is an “all in” or “nothing at all” type of discipline. So are you “all in?” Don’t just think of the Lord’s Prayer as His, it’s yours! Jesus looks at the motives of His children. So, I challenge you today to pray with a heart surrendered to Jesus. Remember it is our calling to have a lifestyle of constant prayer, sincere prayer, prayer that is in seeking God’s will, and prayer that is bathed in a spirit of forgiveness. Your prayer life truly matters.
Pray