Prayer (Part 4) - "Lord, Teach Us to Pray"

We're Looking at Prayer on Wednesday Nights

We’re Breaking this Series Up into 3 Sub-Series:

“Lord, Teach Us to Pray”

Learning about Prayer from Jesus

“Christian Principles of Prayer”

What Do the Scriptures Teach Us about Prayer

The Who, What, When, Where, Why, & How’s of Prayer?

“Unconventional Methods of Prayer”

Discussing Unconventional…

Methods/Topics/Thoughts/Questions Concerning Prayer

“Lord, Teach Us to Pray”

We’re Looking at What Jesus Taught Concerning Prayer

We Started Off Looking at Luke 11…

Where the Disciples Asked Jesus to Teach Them How to Prayer

We Transitioned from There…

And Looked at the Model Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount

In the 1st Half of the Prayer…

Jesus Teaches Us that We should:

“Pray for the Ultimate Fulfillment of God’s Will in All of Creation”

“Make Your Name Sanctified on Earth as it is in Heaven”

“Make Your Kingdom Come on Earth as it is in Heaven”

“Make Your Will Be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven”

Then, the 2nd Half of the Prayer is about…

Praying for Our Own Personal Desires/Needs

(Don’t Change Slides) Matthew 6:11–13 (NASB95)

11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ‘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.’

“Give Us this Day Our Daily Bread”

Scholars Struggle with How to Interpret this Verse…

Because the Word for “Daily” is a Pretty Rare Word in Greek

It could Mean:

“Our Daily Bread, Give Us Today”

Or, “Our Bread for Tomorrow, Give Us Today”

Some Even Take it the Spiritual Route By Interpreting it as:

“Our Bread for the Future (Bread of Life), Give Us Today

I Prefer the Simple Interpretation that We’re All Used to

Jesus Teaches Us to Pray for Our Daily Necessities

Every Day, We Ought to Pray for that Day’s Needs

With this Prayer, I Acknowledging to Myself & to God…

That I’m Not My Provider/Sustainer…

He is

Look at What Paul Said to the Romans…

Concerning What Leads to a Life of Ungodliness:

Romans 1:18–23 (LSB)

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, both His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

“For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks”

What Leads to People Walking Down the Path…

Of Ungodliness & Selfish Indulgence?

It’s Not Disbelief in God

It’s the Unwillingness to Glorify Him as God

The Fallen/Natural Selfishness…

To Not Want to Glorify Anyone But Ourselves

To Admit that We would Be/Have Nothing…

If Not for God…

Is to Honor/Glorify/Exalt Him…

Not Ourselves

It’s the Ungrateful Heart for What God Does for Us

People Turn from God…

Not Because They Don’t Believe in Him…

But Because of a Lack of Gratitude for His Blessings

Whenever We Pray, “Give Us this Day Our Daily Bread/Necessities”…

We’re Acknowledging to Ourselves, to God, & to the World…

That God Deserves the Glory for All that We have…

And that We are Thankful to Him for All that We have

We are Not Our Providers/Sustainers

God is

And That’s Why We should Ask Him…

For Our Daily Wants/Needs

“Forgive Us Our Debts, as We also have Forgiven Our Debtors”

“Debts” = Sin

Just as We have Daily Physical Necessities…

We have Daily Spiritual Necessities

We’re Constantly in Need of Forgiveness

Just Like with Our Prayer for Daily Physical Necessities…

Acknowledges that God is the Provider/Sustainer…

Of Our Physical Needs…

Praying for Forgiveness Acknowledges…

That We Can’t Provide/Sustain Spiritual Purity for Ourselves

We Can’t Do Enough Good/Righteous Deeds to Make Up for Our Sin

We Can’t Just Forgive Ourselves & Erase the Wrongs We’ve Done

Only God is Capable of Justifying Us

Only He can Remove Our Guilt & Make Us Innocent

We Know that Only the Innocent/Righteous will Receive Eternal Life

Therefore, if We Want Eternal Life, We Need Justification

Justification Only Comes Through God’s Forgiveness

And All a Christian has to Do to Be Forgiven…

Is Simply Ask for it

But that Forgiveness is Totally Dependent…

Upon Our Willingness to Forgive Those Who’ve Wronged Us

If We’re Unwilling to Forgive Those Who’ve Wronged Us…

We Can’t Be Upset When God Refuses…

To Forgive Us When We’ve Wronged Him

Jesus Teaches Us to Pray for Forgiveness

“Do Not Lead Us into Temptation, But Deliver Us from Evil”

Jesus Teaches Us to Pray for:

God’s Protection & Rescue from Temptation & Evil

How Often Do We Pray:

“Father, Give Me Strength to Faithfully Endure Temptation Today”

“Father, Rescue Me from the Evil Forces that are Enticing Me”

Paul Wrote to the Corinthians about the Need for Self-Discipline

He Reminds Them of How the Israelites were Rescued By God…

Only for Them to Sink Back into the Slavery of Sin

And They were Destroyed Because of it

He Tells the Corinthians, the Same is Possible for You Too!

1 Corinthians 10:11–13 (NASB95)

11 Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

Don’t Be So High & Might that You Think Evil Can’t Reach You

All of the Most Righteous & Devout People in History…

Have Fallen to Temptation

There’s Only 1 Imperative Command in These 3 Verses:

“Take Heed” = Literally “See”

“Watch Out!”

The Wonderful Thing is:

“God is Faithful”

He is Trustworthy

He is Trustworthy to Always Provide a Way of Escape

“A Way Out of” or “an End to” the Temptation

Praying for God’s Help/Rescue from Temptation/Evil…

Is Like Praying for Daily Bread & Forgiveness:

It Acknowledges to Ourselves & to God…

That He is Our Spiritual Protector/Rescuer

We are Incapable for Escaping Temptation/Evil By Ourselves

We Need His Help & Rescue

God Wants Us to Faithfully Endure Temptation…

So He will Eventually Bring an End to it…

Or He’ll Provide a Way to Escape/Get Out of it

But, Jesus Tells Us We Still Need to Pray for His Help

This Same Principle Seems to Be True for Every Type of Prayer:

God Promises to Give Us All of Our Daily Necessities (Matthew 6:25-34)

God Promises to Forgive His People Who are Faithful to Him

God Promises to Provide a Way of Escape from Temptation

But He Still Wants Us to Ask Him for These Things

God Wants All of These Things for Us

But He Always Wants Us to Ask for Them

He Wants Us to Rely Upon His Giving of These Blessings

He Wants Us to Place Our Faith/Trust in Him…

To Provide Us with These Blessings

That’s Actually What We’ll See in Jesus Teaching on Prayer…

Directly Before He Gives the Model Prayer

We’ll Look at that in Just a Minute

Jesus Tells Us to Depend on God for:

Our Daily Needs

Forgiveness of Sin

Protection & Rescue from Temptation & Evil

The Last Part of the Prayer Says:

“For Yours is the Kingdom & the Power & the Glory Forever. Amen”

The NASB Puts this Part in Brackets…

Because it isn’t Found in Our Earliest Manuscripts…

Most Scholars Believe this wasn’t in Matthew’s Original Text

They Believe it was Probably Taken from David’s Prayer in 1 Chronicles 29:11

1 Chronicles 29:11 (NASB95)

11 “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.

Whether it was Originally in Matthew or Not…

It’s the Truth

If it was in the Original…

Then Jesus Ended the Model Prayer with:

Worship/Praise/Exaltation to God

So, There’s the Model Prayer

Matthew 6:9–13 (NASB95)

9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ‘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.’

After Looking at the Model Prayer in Both Luke & Matthew…

I Now Want to Look at What Jesus Taught Concerning Prayer…

Before & After Those Texts Containing the Model Prayer

Before Giving the Model Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount…

Jesus Taught:

Matthew 6:5–8 (NASB95)

5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

This is in the Context of Jesus Teaching His Listeners…

To Not Behave Like the Hypocritical Jewish Leaders

Before this Text, He Taught Them to Not Give to the Needy to Be Seen

After this Section on Prayer, He Taught Them to Not Fast to Be Seen

In this Section on Prayer, He Teaches Them to Not Pray to Be Seen

He Begins By Telling His Listeners to Not Pray Like the Hypocrites

They Love to Pray in Ways that Bring Them Public Attention

They Wanted to Enhance the Public’s Perception of Them

They Wanted People to Think…

They were More Devout/Holy than They Really were

And, Unfortunately, that’s Exactly What They Got

Many Considered Them More Holy/Devout/Righteous…

That the Average Religious Jew

But, Jesus Tells Us…

That’s the Only Reward They have for Behaving in Such a Way

God has No Interest in Listening to Such Prayers

The Truly Devout Person…

Should Seek Privacy When They Pray to God

That Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Pray in Public

It Just Means that You shouldn’t Pray…

In Hopes that Others will Notice/Hear

Make Sure Your Heart’s Desire…

Is for Your Prayer to Only have an Audience of 1:

God

If that Means Going Somewhere Private…

Then Go Somewhere Private

That’s Probably the Best Way to Keep Your Mind Focused, Anyway

Jesus Tells Us We Also Shouldn’t Pray like the Gentiles

They Repeat the Same Words Over & Over to Get Their Gods’ Attention

The Idea was to Either:

Vocalize the Right Words that would Act as a Magical Formula…

That would Compel the Gods to Answer

Or to Repeat Your Request or Your God’s Name So Many Times…

That They will Eventually Answer Out of Being Completely Annoyed

Like a Child with a Weak Parent:

Pester & Beg Until They Finally Break & Give You What You Want

It’s Not the Repetition that is Wrong

Jesus Repeated Himself When Praying to God

It’s the Meaningless Babbling that He’s Condemning

If You Repeat Yourself & You Mean it Every Time…

That’s a Commendable Thing…

As We’ll See Next Week

But if You are Repeating Yourself in Order to Make God Answer You…

Or to Pester Him into Answering You…

You’ve Got it All Wrong

Before Giving the Model Prayer…

Jesus Says that God Knows What We Need Before We Ask

This Leads to the Principle that We See in the Model Prayer:

We Don’t Pray to Inform God of Our Needs

He Knows Our Daily Physical Needs

He Knows Our Constant Need of Forgiveness

He Knows Our Need of Spiritual Protection/Rescue

Our Praying for These Things is an Expression of Our Reliance Upon Him

These Prayers, in All Reality, are an Act of Worship

As His Beloved Children…

We Vocalize Our Trust in His Love & Desire to Bless Us

Prayer is Not about a Correct Technique or Formula

It’s Not about Begging & Pestering an Apathetic God to Help Us

It’s about Stating Our Trust & Reliance…

In a Loving Father Who Loves to Be His Children’s…

Provider, Sustainer, Justifier, Protector, & Savior

Invitation

Matthew 6:9–13 (NASB95)

9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ‘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.’

Finished Up the Lord’s (Model) Prayer

Christians have Been Praying this Prayer for 2000 Years

There’s Nothing Wrong with Praying this Prayer

There’s Also Nothing Wrong with Using this Prayer as a Model…

To Build Your Own Prayers Off of

Prayer Challenge:

Pray this Prayer Everyday this Week

If, for Whatever Reason, You Don’t Like the Thought of Reciting this Prayer…

Then, Everyday this Week, Build a Prayer of Your Own After this Model

In this Prayer, Jesus Teaches Us to:

Pray for God’s Ultimate Will to Be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven

Acknowledge God as Our:

Provider, Sustainer, Justifier, Protector, & Savior

Pray the Model Prayer Ever Day this Week…

Not Just as Our Weekly Challenge…

But Because We Truly Need to Be Praying These Things Everyday