Prayers of supplication

Introduction

Matthew 6:9–13 “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

The opening of the Lord’s prayer focuses on God and His glory while the second half turns to man and his need. There is a reason for this:

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” If our focus is rightly aligned with God’s Glory, God’s Kingdom and God’s will; then life will function as it is supposed to. It is only when we drift from this vision that our lives become distorted.

In the words of Sinclair Ferguson, “his glory is the sun around which the whole of life must revolve if there is to light and life of God in our experience. Since we were made for God’s glory, we will always malfunction whenever we fail to live for that purpose and according to our Maker’s instructions.”

As we move into the next section of the Lord’s prayer, we cannot move too far away from this truth. Our entire livelihood, all our needs, desires, plans, dreams, circumstances derive their meaning and purpose only in the glory of God.

Last week, we covered intercession. Intercession was really a sub-category for what we are going to talk about today and really I could have included it in the word our for todays message. I want to talk about supplication. In doing so, we will look at what it is, who we make supplication to, when we should make supplication and for what should we make supplication.

What is supplication?

Definition: to make request

The first two words of this portion of the prayer are give us. There are somethings that we need that we don’t have. Maybe supplication isn’t as often as important to us in America because it seems like we have everything we need. When was the last time that you didn’t have food to put on the table? When was the last time many of us were homeless? As you struggle to decide what to wear to church do you remember days when you didn’t have any clothes to wear? Maybe you were sick and couldn’t get healthcare?

While there is a portion of the population that can relate to this, most of American society never has to truly worry about these physical needs of life. We don’t have to kneel down and pray, “Lord provide my lunch today” because we have shelves full of food.

And yet there are needs in our lives. Maybe because we haven’t had to depend on God for the basics of life, we find it hard to really trust him for the other needs in our lives. Prayer at this level is merely making request whether it is for ourselves or for others.

Who are our requests made to?

I have found it hard to have true faith in my prayers many times. Recently I was challenged that there are two types of faith when it comes to prayer. There is the faith of assurance. This is the faith when I know God has promised a certain outcome to my prayer requests. There is strength in this type of faith because we can claim God’s promises. We know what He said.

But there is another type of faith: the faith of submission. Sometimes I don’t have a promise. I don’t know for sure whether Abbas is going to get saved. I don’t know for sure whether Daniella will make a recovery from her current state. But I pray from them anyways. Am I being unbelieving to pray for something I don’t know if God will answer as I am praying? I don’t believe it is unbelief to pray in this way because I know who my God is.

It is like my kids when they ask me if we can go to the park this evening. My answer is usually we will see. I didn’t promise them anything, but my kids know my heart. I want to make them happy, I want to spend time with them. If I can, I will. Something else may come up that keeps me from being able to go to the park. Now my kids could gripe and complain showing that they don’t trust my heart or they can submit and accept what I have said knowing that I will do what I can because I love them. This is the faith of submission.

Daniel 3:16–18 “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”

1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

Having either of these types of faith in prayer comes down to knowing God. Our petitions are not made to a hardened king who turns us away. Our petitions are made to a King who cares about us and loves us. This is again why we cannot step too far away from the glory of God in our prayer. Even our petitions are based on our knowledge of our good God. The more you know Him the more you will trust Him.

It is from God that all our needs are met. Every good thing comes from him.

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

1 Corinthians 4:7 “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”

“The prayer of a Christian is not an attempt to force God’s hand, but it is a humble acknowledgment of helplessness and dependence.”

~JI Packer

When should we pray for them?

Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread.”

The word “daily” is hard to determine the meaning of exactly. I know it looks like a simple word, but it is only used in the Lord’s prayer here in Matthew and in Luke. According to Origen, the gospel writers coined this word. So there are two possibilities:

επι + ουσια- then the meaning is that which is necessary for life, similar to the word needs.

επιουσα- the only difference being that “i” sound, then the meaning is “for that which follows”

Most commentators take this second meaning of the word. Either way it does not necessarily mean “today.” It can mean today if one rises before the sun and prays for the needs of the day which follows. But it can also refer to “tomorrow” if one is praying in the evening. The point is this that we aren’t per se praying for needs that are 10 years out. These are things I need for the more immediate future. I don’t think praying for the future is wrong, but those things aren’t needs yet.

Teens, you can pray for a wife now, but you don’t need a wife now. Do you understand the difference in what I am saying?

Jesus would go on in Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” Sometimes we can let our minds run away with worries about the future. But the future isn’t here yet. It isn’t reality for us. I think this is included in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” The worries of the future are not reality because they haven’t happened and there is a chance they might never happen.

This doesn’t mean we can’t pray about the future, but we shouldn’t worry about the distant future. We can wrestle with our worries by bringing them into alignment with God’s mind, renewing our minds in prayer. We can even make request, but we do so in the spirit of submission to God’s will.

Matthew 6:34 “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” We have enough troubles to worry about in the upcoming day; there is no point in bringing in future troubles into today.

What should we pray for?

Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Jesus uses the word bread here because this prayer is about our needs in life. As I mentioned earlier, we don’t worry about our daily bread, but people back then didn’t have money to be saving up let alone purchasing more than was necessary. They often got paid on a daily basis and then went to buy the food they would need for the next day. Later Jesus defines our needs as: (Matt 6:25)

food

drink

clothing

shelter

But we have an entire bible full of supplications that show us what we can pray for:

Mercy Psalm 4:1 “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; Have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.”

Leading Psalm 5:8 “Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; Make thy way straight before my face.”

Deliverance Psalm 6:4 “Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: Oh save me for thy mercies’ sake.”

Peace in anxiety Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

Other people’s needs Ephesians 6:18 “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”

Justice Psalm 17:1 “Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry, Give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.”

God to fight for you Psalm 35:1 “Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: Fight against them that fight against me.”

God’s gentleness in correction Psalm 38:1 “O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.”

Have you ever considered praying for these things? I think David did not struggle to know what to pray for because his relationship with God intersected with his life in every area. David was attuned not only to his physical needs, but also his spiritual needs.

Conclusion

If I could challenge you with one thought from this entire message, it would be the connection between the character and heart of God and your needs. Back in Matthew 6, Jesus asked this question:

Matthew 6:26 “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” Let us be bold to bring our supplications to God because we know His heart.