The Lord's Prayer - Part 2

Welcome & Announcements

Rise Against Hunger Recap

Cynthia and Damien awards

Constitution & ByLaws Changes

THIS WEEK:

VBS Meeting after the morning service today. Parents, you can now register your kids for VBS on our website - we have a Google Form you fill out, and that will come straight to our office.

Bible Study

June 1st blood drive, we have a QR code in the bulletin, and you can also sign up on our website now.

Eternity Changers for Debbie Mitchell

Building Update

Structural Engineer & Crawl Space Inspectors, and we are awaiting their reports based on what they have found.

See the wisdom and faithfulness of God in this.

There was no better time for us to find this wood eating fungus than right now.

We aren’t too far along in the project.

We already have a construction company lined up, and they have been doing a great job.

God is not turning His back on us, He’s actually doing us a tremendous service by revealing to us this problem at this time, so God, we praise You for that.

PRAY

Prayer for Manipur, India - 25 churches burned down

Prayer for Rise Against Hunger recipients

Prayer for building situation

Call to Worship:

Song #1 -

Children’s Sermon - Rick

Song #2 -

Offering

Choir Special

Sermon

Read Passage and Pray:

Romans 8:26–27 NASB95

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Bike analogy

We said that because of the sin nature in us, prayer is no longer second nature for us. Prayer is hard, it can be difficult, it can feel like a chore and not a delight. Prayer can feel stuffy and awkward, because we’re talking to God, and it’s not like He’s just chatting right back to us out loud, right? So prayer isn’t natural for us, it’s unnatural for us because we have a sin nature. That’s what we saw last week.

BUT - there is hope. Look here with me in Romans 8 - the Spirit helps us.

In other words, where we left off last week, is the reality that we need to learn how to pray. And by God’s grace, Jesus has taught us how to pray in His Word - that’s the Lord’s Prayer, which we’ll see in just a bit - and He has also given us the Holy Spirit to help us learn how to pray as we ought to.

Nothing of eternal significance happens apart from prayer.

What this means is that there is no path to revival in our church that doesn’t include prayer. If we want to see God revive us, then we need to learn how to pray. There is no path to God moving in our community that doesn’t include prayer. There is no path to someone becoming saved that doesn’t include prayer. Anything that God does that shapes eternity happens because His people are praying and pleading with Him to act in ways they can’t.

Nothing of eternal significance will happen in our church apart from prayer, because you can’t do a God thing without God.

And the great news is we can be a part of doing God things because we can learn how to pray.

Friends, don’t miss how huge this is. Prayer is one of the most beautiful blessings we have as children of God, and if we fail to learn how to pray well, then think of all the things we are forfeiting! We’re living as if God is our Father, but He’s not willing to hear us, and that’s not true!

Prayer can become second nature for you. Prayer can not only become easy, it can become the most delightful part of your day. Prayer can become the thing you most look forward to. Prayer can become the pathway to blessing in your life and the lives of others, in a greater way that you and I can possibly imagine. Prayer can unlock an intimacy and closeness with God you never dreamed of. Prayer can become the heartbeat of your whole life, your peace in every trial, and your confidence in every storm. Prayer can become as natural to you as breathing, but we must learn how to pray. My friends if there is one thing we must learn, it is how to pray! Students, focus on your studies in school, yes - but if you’re going to get an A in a class, get an A in learning to pray. Friends, learn about money, business, farming, raising kids, and how to use your gifts, but above all of those things, learn how to pray. Make every effort in this one area, and you will be forever grateful.

So how do we learn how to pray? Let’s go to the Sermon on the Mount together in Matthew 6.

Matthew 6:9–15 NASB95

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’ “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

How Should We Pray:

Learn to pray to God like a child talks with their Father.

Two things are implied here:

We are like helpless children.

One of the biggest hindrances to prayer is that we don’t see ourselves as helpless. We know the verse, “Apart from me you can do nothing” but we don’t really believe it. We still think we can handle it, that we can control parts of life, and that we don’t need God all the time for every single thing.

Friends, don’t miss this - prideful people don’t pray often. Prideful people don’t pray often, because they don’t think they need to pray very often. So if we want to learn how to pray, then we need to learn humility, we need to see our true place. We’re helpless, just like a small child.

God is a good, and all powerful Father who loves us. Who better to run to in times of need.

What if God says no?

Trust His love and His wisdom.

Because my daughter knows that I love her, she trusts my authority.

Because my daughter knows that I know better than her, she respects my wisdom.

I’ve said this before, but if you loved you as much as God does, and you were as wise as He is - you would choose to be exactly where you are in life. If you could see the big picture of what God is doing in your life and through your circumstances, you would willingly choose to be going through exactly what you’re going through. That doesn’t make it easy, but it does help us when God’s answer is no. He must love me more than I love myself, and He must know more than I know. So I can trust Him.

Learn to pray for the things that please God first and foremost.

Most people pray for their desires and if God is glorified, then that’s a nice added bonus. But here Jesus teaches us that we should pray for God’s glory first and foremost, and that our desires are what should come second.

Learn to pray for God’s kingdom to come - even if our kingdom fades.

Learn to pray in surrender - “Your will be done.”

This includes in your own life. Here again, our lives need to match our prayers.

“Not My Will, but Yours be done.”

Now does all of this mean that God doesn’t care about our requests and the things we have to ask of Him? No, in fact, Jesus tells us in the very next breath that we are to ask God for physical, material things like food. So God cares about our requests, He cares about you as a person.

But here is where we learn to keep first things first and second thing second. Prayer is first and foremost about God - it’s not about me. Prayer is not so that I can come to God to get what I want from Him - prayer is so that I can come to God and give Him what He’s asked of me.

So pray like a little child - helpless, humble, and in need. Look at God as the all-powerful, heavenly Father who is always there - ready to meet your every need.

Pray for His name to be revered, His kingdom to come, and His will to be done. And next week, we’ll see how we are to bring our requests to Him in light of these things.

CLOSING ILLUSTRATION

In one region of Africa, the first converts to Christianity were very diligent about praying. In fact, the believers each had their own special place outside the village where they went to pray in solitude. The villagers reached these “prayer rooms” by using their own private footpaths through the brush. When grass began to grow over one of these trails, it was evident that the person to whom it belonged was not praying very much.

Because these new Christians were concerned for each other’s spiritual welfare, a unique custom sprang up. Whenever anyone noticed an overgrown “Prayer path,” he or she would go to the person and lovingly warn, “Friend, there’s grass on your path!”9

Invitational -

Benediction