Back to Basics: How to Pray

Introduction:

Our text this morning is centered in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. For those of you not familiar with this sermon, it begins in Matt. 5 and the focus of the sermon is ethical living and outlining the requirements for entering the kingdom of heaven. Jesus teaches topics such as the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-11) like “blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God”(Matt. 5:8), and he teaches to not only love your neighbor but also your enemy and pray for those who persecute you (Matt. 5:44). In Ch. 6 he continues his sermon with warnings about deceptive behavior. I refer to these warnings as Hypocrite Prevention. He warns the disciples and other believers that whenever you are giving charitably, being merciful, praying, and fasting, it should be done solely to glorify God not to impress men and women, not to get attention, and gain recognition from the public. If you are truly striving to seek the kingdom of God and righteousness then you don’t need applause and acknowledgement from men and women.

If you proclaim to be a Christian but only help the needy so others see how generous you are…you are a hypocrite

If you proclaim to be a Christian but you only pray when someone asks you to be on program so people can hear how eloquent and articulate you speak or so people think you pray a lot…you are a hypocrite

If you proclaim to be a Christian but you only fast so people can see how devout you are…you are a hypocrite

Anytime you as a Christian are motivated by the approval of others, instead of doing what thus says the Lord with a pure heart and to glorify God....you are a hypocrite

TRANSITION:

Jesus is thorough in his teachings. He does not point out the flaws, bad behavior, or chastise sin without offering sound guidance. Jesus offers Hypocrite Prevention for those tempted to be show-offs when they pray. He does this by teaching the model prayer, which we all refer to as The Lord’s Prayer.

Jesus is not telling believers specifically “what” to say in a prayer, but rather he provides a “how-to” outline of prayer to God.

ANTITHESIS:

Similar to me, I’m sure many of you accepted salvation decades ago and you feel that in your walk with Christ that if you don’t know how to do anything else, you know how to call on the name of the Lord. You keep a prayer on your lips for friends and family. And when feel your back is against the wall you are a prayer warrior. Like the song writer said, “You whisper a prayer in the morning, whisper a prayer at noon, whisper a prayer in the evening to keep your heart in tune.” You are praying to win against Satan and his tricks everyday. But can you pray even better? Maybe you need some refresher training to refine and refocus your prayer life.

Some of you are new to church or newer in Christ. You know your prayer life isn’t where it should be. You struggle with making time to commune with God each day. You aren’t sure how to start a prayer, what to say to God, and how long or short a prayer should be. You might even be terrified at the thought of someone asking you to pray for them.

My brothers and sisters you’re in the right place today.

The good news is it does not matter if you’re just starting your relationship with Christ or have known him your whole life, we all need to be sure that we really know HOW to pray. Prayer is how we cultivate our relationship with God, have intimate dialogue, and get greater understanding of God’s will for our lives. So today we’re going back to basics by getting acquainted with The Lord’s Prayer so we leave here confident today that we all know how to pray.

Move A: Address God and Give Respect

Move B: Petition God to Make a Shift

Move C: Petition God for Your Human Needs

Humble yourself and admit you are not self-sufficient. If you were, you would never have more bills than income. More mouths than food in your house. More trouble than peace. More fear than calm. You need God to supply all your needs today, tomorrow, and forever more.

God supplies the Bread of Life through his son Jesus, he supplies bread for your table so you don’t go hungry, and he supplies enough! We focus on how much we think we need, which is usually how much we want. God knows what is sufficient to sustain us each day.

Forgiveness for you and petitioning the Lord to soften your heart so you will be obedient and forgive others who wrong you

Lead & Guide - God will never lie, lead you astray, or cause you to fall. Petition God to order your steps, help you walk faithfully on the right paths so you don’t stumble into the enemy’s traps.