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Parents and grandparents find much joy in children & grandchildren praying. How precious when you seem them fold their hands, tightly close their eyes and sincerely say something like this: “God is gwate. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. By His hands we are fed, give us Lord our daily bread. A…..men.”

And that’s cute…until you start to notice that the child is saying it as fast as he/she can, without considering what it means - just to get to the grub. But it’s not just children who do that. Teenagers & adults do the same thing.

You’ll remember that last week we talked about the attitude behind the action. There Jesus talked our attitude in giving to others & our attitude in praying to God. You’ll remember that Jesus said…

Matthew 6:5–8 (NET) 5 “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.7 When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Then Jesus teaches us how to pray. [FIRE TITLE SLIDE] Of course, you know what Jesus said. You have heard it countless times. In fact, most of you can repeat it with me…

“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our dai29703801831427: OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN (Mat 6:9-15)Today we examine the significance of the best known & most thoughtlessly repeated prayer across the planet. Oh that followers of Jesus would LIFT & LIVE this out! 7: OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN (Mat 6:9-15)Today we examine the significance of the best known & most thoughtlessly repeated prayer across the planet. Oh that followers of Jesus would LIFT & LIVE this out! 7: OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN (Mat 6:9-15)Today we examine the significance of the best known & most thoughtlessly repeated prayer across the planet. Oh that followers of Jesus would LIFT & LIVE this out! 7: OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN (Mat 6:9-15)Today we examine the significance of the best known & most thoughtlessly repeated prayer across the planet. Oh that followers of Jesus would LIFT & LIVE this out! ly bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, & glory forever & ever. Amen.”

7: OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN (Mat 6:9-15)

Today we examine the significance of the best known & most thoughtlessly repeated prayer across the planet. Oh that followers of Jesus would LIFT & LIVE this out!

7: OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN (Mat 6:9-15)

Today we examine the significance of the best known & most thoughtlessly repeated prayer across the planet. Oh that followers of Jesus would LIFT & LIVE this out!

Today we examine this prayer, one that is thoughtlessly repeated across the planet.

Sports teams pray it quickly before games, as if these magical words will effect the outcome.

Some pray it at a religious gathering in a ritual way. In truth, we have heard this prayer SO OFTEN that few pause to consider what it really means.

* 3 quick issues I want to address before we dig in:

We studied this back in 2014 in the Luke series, so it’s likely that you will remember some of this, although I have tweaked it.

Just as we did in the Luke series, we are using the NET (New English Translation) to teach from today. It is a fine translation from the original languages that will help us re-think the meaning of this prayer.

This is referred to as ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ but it is more of an example to follow, as some of it could never be prayed by Jesus: “forgive us our sins…” - as Jesus never sinned. Therefore we might refer to it as “The Disciples’ Prayer”.

PRAY

Appreciate Who we are talking to

Matthew 6:9 (NET) 9 So pray this way: Our Father in heaven, may Your Name be honored,

First things first, we need to appreciate WHO we are talking TO.

This is our Creator, the One whom Jesus said no one has ever seen except for himself (Jn. 6:46). There is a difference, a distinction from the Creator and His creation. While mankind is sinful, God is sinless. We live on the earth. He is in heaven, not bound by a physical body.

And yet there are some similarities, as we are made in the image of God. Jesus said can call God our Father. In America we often refer to our “Founding Fathers”. We would never call George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, or Benjamin Franklin our personal fathers. In the same way, Jews in Jesus’ day did not talk of God as their personal Father, but the Father over their nation.

In fact, “Father” is found only 15 times in the entire OT referring to God, none in which where God is addressed as “Father” in prayer. Further, in all the other ancient Jewish literature, not one of the prescribed prayers has a single example of a Jew addressing God in the personal form of “Father” as Jesus uses here. Yet when Jesus prays He addresses God as ‘My Father’ almost every time.

In telling the disciples to address God as Father, Jesus transfers this privilege onto them.

More than just our Creator or ‘the man upstairs’, Father is relational term, recognizing God as our Provider, Director, Protector, and Corrector.

God doesn’t answer prayer because we’re a bother. God answers prayer because He's our heavenly FATHER!

Calling God our Father is not just about our upward relationship but also about our outward kinship to our brothers and sisters who follow Jesus.

I have a sister. Her name is Elaine. If Elaine and I talk about “our father”, we are talking about “Glynn Watts", we have a sense that we are in this together, we are family and Glynn is OUR father.

If we really appreciate who we are talking to, we should want our Father’s Name honored.

To honor, or as most translations say, hallow God’s Name means to recognize HIM as HOLY - different from all others - the perfect Creator of all life. To pray may Your Name be honored is saying that, before we ask anything OF Him, we bring something TO Him - our recognition that HE is GOD and He is GOOD…and because of that we desire to honor Him above all others. This is what was intended when God told the Jewish people to keep His Name holy (Lev 22:32; cf. Ps 79:9, Isa 29:23).

The Jews of Jesus’ time SO HONORED God’s Name that they chose not even to speak His Name aloud. Yet we speak of Him flippantly. Could we PLEASE stop saying, “Oh My God!” Don’t mention His Name unless you are taking TO HIM or ABOUT HIM.

Martin Luther asked a great question we should ask ourselves: “How is it [God’s name] hallowed amongst us?” We might ask it this way, “How is God’s Name honored among us?”

Do our lips & lives communicate that we HONOR & TRUST our heavenly Father?

How do our lips & lives communicate that honoring & trusting our Father is our first priority?

God’s Will Above All

Matthew 6:10 (NET) may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

What’s THAT mean? I tell you what it DOESN’T mean. It doesn’t mean we are to huddle up and and hide from the evil world while we wait for Jesus to take us out of here.

We pray may your kingdom come, that His KINGDOM authority expand all over the earth! We are praying for a kingdom is both PRESENT & FUTURE, to EXPAND the Kingdom ON Earth and EXPECT the Kingdom FROM Heaven.

_________________________

Think about this prayer so far. This PRAYER is a PARTNERSHIP: “Father…through OUR LIVES…may Your Name be honored and Your Kingdom come!

Does that sound a little more meaningful than your pre-game or pre-meal ‘pray-it-as-fast-as-you-can’ prayer?

Now, let’s get honest. Does that sound like how most of OUR prayers begin?

Does your prayer time begin with something like this: “Father…Bless YOU, bless YOU, bless YOU! - BRING YOUR Kingdom.”

OR do your prayers start with, “Bless me, bless me, bless me - build MY kingdom.”

Kent Hughes notes that the prayer Jesus models, just like the Ten Commandments, focuses FIRST on God’s glory and then on mankind’s well-being.

So the Lord Jesus taught His disciples first to…

BIG TRUTH: Honor the Father & [then] Ask in Faith

for the needs in your life.

Daily Provision

Matthew 6:11 (NET) 11 Give us today our daily bread,

We are to ask God to provide for our physical needs, which daily bread represents. For those who have a week’s worth of groceries, a refrigerator, & a full freezer, we often forget that God provides the basics we need to survive. We often forget to ASK God & THANK God for His daily provision.

Charles Spurgeon, the great British preacher who died in 1892 told the story of his grandfather James and his faith in God. “He had a large family and a very small income, but he loved his Lord, and he would not have given up his preaching of the gospel for anything.” One day the cow on which the family relied for milk for the children suddenly died. James Spurgeon’s wife was greatly concerned, but he said, “God said He would provide, and I believe He could send us fifty cows if He pleased.”

On that same day, a group met in London—a group James Spurgeon did not know—that wanted to help meet the needs of poor pastors. They raised a large sum of money, and began sending it to different pastors in need to help their families. When they reached the end of the list, there were still five pounds left. One man suggested sending it to James Spurgeon. Another said, “No, let’s not send just five pounds. Let me add five more to go with it.” Others joined in, and the day after his cow died, James Spurgeon received 20 pounds in the mail! (that would be over $2700 today).

BIG TRUTH: Honor the Father & Ask in Faith

Jesus encourages us to ask for PHYSICAL needs as well as SPIRITUAL needs.

Livin’ Forgiven

Matthew 6:12, 14-15 (NET) 12 and forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors…14 “For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15 But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins.

2 Important principles from this ONE verse:

First, we can confidently ask God to Forgive us for our sin. YES we have wronged Him. NO, we can’t pay Him back for the debts we owe…THAT’S WHY He freely forgives us!!! Quit wondering if God can forgive you. Is anything TOO great for God to forgive? If you could see Jesus crucified by His own creation say…’Father, forgive them.’ - you would have your answer.

Second, we understand that we too are to forgive others who owe us. YES they have wronged us. NO, they might not be ab le pay us back for the debts they owe…THAT’S WHY we…like our Father…freely forgives them!!!

How does GOD respond when you ask for forgiveness?

Those who have experienced God’s forgiveness should extend God’s forgiveness to others! Quit wallowing in how others have wronged you.

Question: How is holding that grudge HONORING God & HELPING you? Your unwillingness to forgive is like YOU drinking the poison, and expecting your enemies to die.

So you’ve been wronged. So others owe you. Forgive as you’ve been forgiven. [funny song] and “Let it go…let it go!”

Protected from Temptation

Matthew 6:13 (NET) 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

This should cause us to pause and ask, DOES God lead us into temptation?

This Scripture makes clear that God does NOT tempt us to sin (James 1:13–14).

The second part of the sentence helps give us more clarity to help us see that we are commanded to ask our Father to protect us from/through temptation.

Jesus has the apostles pray this type of prayer ‘pray that you may not enter temptation’ in Gethsemane (Luke 22:40, 46).

When’s the last time you prayed THAT for YOU or another brother/sister? ‘God, please protect him/her from temptation this week.’ BTW…I would LOVE for you to pray that way for me!!!

Is THIS what we think of when we rush through ‘The Lord’s Prayer’? I doubt it.

But this is how disciples of Jesus are to Pray…

BIG TRUTH: Honor the Father & Ask in Faith

QUESTION: Do you view prayer as WORTHY of your time or a WASTE of your time?

Jesus didn’t think it was a WASTE, but a necessity…and if YOU follow Him, you will view prayer the way HE DOES.

Last, let’s put our FEET2FAITH:

Purposely pray WITH your family or friends THIS WEEK. Ask how you can pray and then DO IT!!! You don’t have to pray long, just be sincere.

And that’s how we will close today…praying TO God & FOR one another. Gather with your family…or friends. Don’t let anyone be alone. Look for others to pray with and quickly ask how you can pray for them.

Take some time to pray this way. Simply…

BIG TRUTH: Honor the Father & Ask in Faith

PRAY ALONE. Make some time to pray as Jesus taught us, and use your own words.

PRAY WITH OTHERS. Ask about Physical/Spiritual Needs to pray for then do it!

PRAY for folks & invite people to trust Jesus