Lord, Teach Us To Pray, Pt.2
Notes
Transcript
Intro; This morning we started looking at what is called the “Model Prayer/Disciples Prayer”. This prayer is not something to be recited as a ritual, but Jesus was responding to his disciples request of wanting to learn to pray like Him. Jesus then gives them an outline on various elements in prayer.
This morning we looked at the personal elements of prayer that deals with our intimacy with the God as being our Father and our desire to have his will work in our lives.
Tonight we will finish up the elements of prayer by looking at how that works.
Text; Mt. 6:11-13
Matthew 6:11–13 (NKJV)
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
I read a statement from Tony Evans on Thursday morning that kind of summarizes these verses in this prayer.
“God doesn’t establish a program that he doesn’t fund.”
Our relationship with the Father [v. 9-10 prayer] is to be lived out in our lives first privately and then publicly. The second part of this prayer [v. 11-13] is teaching us to ask God to fund the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives!
1. Give Us Daily Bread; 11
1. Give Us Daily Bread; 11
Give Us- It speaks of our total dependence upon God.
Bread- a staple food [manna]. Bread not only represents food but is symbolic of all that is necessary for survival and for a full life in the Lord.
Daily- one day at a time, everyday
We are to come to God daily for the substance for that day only!
The schedule of God’s provision for His children is “daily.” We are to rely on the Lord one day at a time. He may give us vision for work He calls us to do in the future, but His provision for our needs is daily, not weekly, monthly, or yearly. To accept the Lord’s provision for the present day, without concern for our needs or welfare tomorrow, is a testimony of our contentment in His goodness and faithfulness.
Look at [Mt. 6:25-34] Read about daily provisions provided by God!
The reason we need to seek daily provisions from God is so we will seek His kingdom daily. If we have too much we can easily start depending on self and less in God!
8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me;
9 Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God.
“Give us daily bread” also speaks of using God’s provisions not just for me, but to use to minister to others as we have opportunity! Remember charitable deeds?
2. Forgive and Forgiving Debts; 12
2. Forgive and Forgiving Debts; 12
Debts- [o-phei-lema], moral and spiritual debt [SIN]
Sin is a moral and spiritual debt that must be paid but we do not have the capacity in ourselves to pay it. That’s where we are thankful for God’s forgiveness through His grace in Jesus Christ!
Those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ have received God’s pardon for sin and are saved from eternal hell. And since this prayer is given to believers, the debts referred to here are those incurred by Christians when we sin daily. Immeasurably more important than our need for daily bread is our need for continual forgiveness of sin.
Turn to [John 13:5-11] ; Jesus’ act of footwashing was more than just an example of humility; it was also a picture of the forgiveness God gives in His repeated cleansing of those who are already saved. Dirt on the feet symbolizes the daily surface contamination from sin that we experience as we walk through life. It does not, and cannot, make us entirely dirty, because we have been permanently cleansed from that. The positional purging of salvation that occurs at regeneration needs no repetition, but the practical purging is needed every day, because every day we fall short of God’s perfect holiness.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
“As we forgive our debtors” or “as we forgive those who sin against us”
The principle is simple: if we have forgiven, we will be forgiven; if we have not forgiven, we will not be forgiven. [ref. v.14-15]
Remember Jesus is not talking about being pardoned from hell, that took place at the moment of salvation in Christ. Jesus is talking about having an unforgiving spirit towards others and breaking our fellowship with God!
An unforgiving spirit breaks fellowship with God
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.
If we have an unforgiving spirit, we are sinning and that brings chastening from God.
5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”
A unforgiving sinful spirit can cause believers to be weak, sick and even die
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
The whole town had gathered in the courthouse for the trial. The prosecuting attorney called his first witness, an elderly woman, to the stand. He approached her and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know me?” She responded, “Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I’ve known you since you were a young boy. And, frankly, you’ve been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you’re a rising big shot, but you haven’t the brains to realize you will never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.”
The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?” She replied, “Why, of course I do. I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. I used to baby-sit him. And he, too, has been a real disappointment to me. He’s lazy, bigoted, and has a drinking problem. The man can’t build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the shoddiest in the entire state. Yes, I know him.”
At this point, the judge rapped the courtroom to silence and called both counselors to the bench. In a very quiet voice, he said with menace, “If either of you ask her if she knows me, I’ll hold you both in contempt of court!”
God deals with us as we deal with others!
3. Deliver Us From Temptation; 13
3. Deliver Us From Temptation; 13
Temptation- tests of trials in life
We know that God is not going to tempt us or lead us into temptation. that would be against His nature.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
This is an appeal to God to place a watch over our eyes, our ears, our mouth, our feet, and our hands—that in whatever we see, hear, or say, and in any place we go and in anything we do, enable us to overcome and protect us from sin.
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
John 17:15 (NKJV)
15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
Jesus overcame the temptation of the evil one in the wilderness by prayer and the Word of God!
Doxology- Praising God!! Thanksgiving God!!
Jesus teaches that we need to close our prayers with a praise to God having full confidence that He hears and answers our prayers!
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
Close;
The goal of prayer is the ear of God.
Charles Spurgeon