Lord's Prayer, Part 1
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As we focus on our devotional and prayer lives, the Lord’s Prayer is a good place to start . . . just get to the intro today
This is a refueling
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.
The summary of this verse is, “don’t pray to impress”, for if you do, people might BE impressed, but heaven won’t be impressed at all
So we pray, not come across as impressive Christians . . . we pray because we have faith in an Impressive God, Amazing God, Living, God, Faithful God
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.
What we have been focusing on these past couple of weeks, is exactly what Jesus taught: private and personal time of prayer with God
and having the faith to stick with it, trusting that God will make it worthy our time
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.
When you pray, if you repeat religious phrases just because they sound religious
just because they sound spiritual
just because they sound deep . . .
your prayer is meaningless (vain), because God is not impressed with a good SOUNDING prayer , God is impressed with GOOD prayer . . . a prayer from the heart, an humble prayer, a prayer of faith
Therefore, in your focused prayer times, be careful to not mindlessly repeat religious sounding words . . . prayer is about honest communication with God
So when you talk to God, you don’t have to worry about coming up with the perfect words or phrases
You can say, “Guide me, O Thy Great Jehovah, pilgrim though this barren land” or you can say, “God please lead me through this crazy world”
You can say, “I am weak but Thy art mighty, Hold me with Thy Powerful Hand”, or you can say “I need help Father, I am not strong enough to make it”
either will work, but Jesus is saying that you’ve got to mean it, stop praying without thinking . . . don’t put you brain on auto pilot . . . pay attention to what you are saying . . . God wants you to truly engage with Him
Parents
in teaching your children to pray, set prayers are a good teaching tool, but don’t stick with them so long that your children learn vain repetitions
teach them to pray about what they are going through and dealing with
teach them to pray for what they should be thankful for
speaking of thanksgiving
Don’t use vain repetitions in you thanks
Don’t rattle of, “Lord I thank you for life, health, and strength” without meaning it!
that’s a good phrase but don’t use it, just to use it
Life! Health! Strength! Food! Shelter!
all the people who didn’t make it
all the people stuck in hospitals
all the people who too sick to get out of bed
all the people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from
all the people with no protection from the elements
Lord, thank you for another day
Be real with it, Lord I am thankful for June 9, 2024. I can see the sun shine, I can feel the wind
Don’t use vain repetitions in your asking
Lord pleas bless and keep me today and watch over me.
nothing wrong with that, but have you been saying the same thing for the past two weeks, the past 2 years, the past two decades?
A sign that we believe God can and will provide is how thorough and specific we are when we ask him for things
If I were to ask each member, “Today send me a list of the things that you need or want” I want to get them for you . . .
I would get list with two or three things
I would get list that are not specific
I would get lists that were repetitious - financial blessing, praying for a new car, money to pay my bills
I would get some lists tomorrow
some list I would never get
because you believe that I cannot provide all the things you need and want
If I had $200 million (you saw the news report) and I said, write a list of the things you need and want, and I will get them for you . . . would you just write . . .
I need some money for bills
I need a couple of things from the store
No! First of all you would take the time to make a thorough list
debts
needs
wants
the cost
why I need or want them
if you can’t get this, I’ll take that
What you ask for and how you ask for it, is an indication of what you think I can supply!
God owns the world!!!! The cattle of a THOUSAND hills are His! . . . but what you ask him to do and how you ask him to do it is an indication of what you think God can and will do!
so don’t use vain repetitions in your asking
let’s go to the biggest modern day vain repetition:
Jesus said, ask anything in my name and I will do it . . .
so we tend tag the phrases “in the name of Jesus”, or “In Jesus’ Name” on everything
and repeat it and repeat it, not even pausing to think about what that means . . . and it becomes a vain repetition.
praying in His name, means praying under his authority, praying under his direction . . . simply put it is another way of saying, “pray according to God’s will” . . .you can’t use his name like magical formula and aim it anywhere
in social media you can “tag” people
people will get notices that you put out something that involves them
the good part about it - it is a way to notify another person and others that they are in that photo . . . or tell others about a topic you know they will be interested in. . . .they can find it easily and enjoy it, respond to it
ex. old Ekklesia pics
ex. Dallas Cowboys or Texas A&M
ex. old high school pictures
the bad - unfavorable photo of you, or a topic you disagree with and everyone is notified
ex. picture with my mouth open
ex. High School reunion out drinking and they tag all the classmates. People will be thinking Pastor was out drinking last night
social media people - ever been tagged in a photo or post you did not want to be tagged in? And you took off the tag?
when you say, In Jesus Name, you are tagging Jesus
and if you are doing it vainly, sometimes jesus will say, “I don’t know why you tagged me in that prayer . . . that’s not in my will” . . . and he takes off the tag
I am not saying, stop using the phrase, “In Jesus Name” . . . but I am saying don’t just say the words just to say them, be intentional, be meaningful, be thoughtful, be serious, present when you pray . . . don’t just “post” any old prayer to heaven
more important than saying, “In Jesus Name”, is actually praying in Jesus name
actually praying under his direction and instruction, being in his will
You don’t even have to say “in Jesus name”, if the prayer is in Jesus name . . .
Pastor you say it all the time!
1. it’s a habit .
2. When praying publicy, I know it will throw people off if I don’t (because they don’t know the scriptures) . . . and they will think I didn’t say the magic words (so I say it for their comfort, no stumbling block)
If you say the Lord’s prayer, mean it!
it’s powerful prayer, and it is almost impossible to pray it quickly if you are thinking about the meaning.
(that prayer doesn’t end in Jesus name, but it is in Jesus name)
8 “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
Don’t use all the many words of vain repetitions because remember God already knows what you need.
So it’s not really the words . . .
it’s the belief
it’s the faith
it’s the sincerity
God knows what we need, God has what we need
He just wants us to have the faith to approach and talk to him for real.
He will be your Provider:
Teacher
Mentor
Comforter
Way Maker
Doctor
Lawyer
Protector
Guide
Help
Strength
Peace
Hope
Friend
Savior and God
Just spend some time with me, it’s all availble