How to Pray

Matthew 6:9-15

A girl prayed, “Lord, I am not going to pray for myself today; I’m going to pray for others.” But at the end of her prayer she added, “And give my mother a handsome son-in-law.”

Anonymous

Last week, we started our prayer series on how not to pray. This week, we examine the Lord’s Prayer and how to pray. The Lord’s Prayer is John 17, and this should be titled “The Disciples Prayer.” The disciples wanted to know how to pray; that is all they asked Jesus to teach them.

What is prayer? Lexham Bible Dictionary defines pray “To communicate with God which may include petition, entreaties, or adoration.” Merriam-Webster dictionary defines prayer as “To request humbly. To address God with adoration, supplication, or thanksgiving.” I want you to note how Merriam-Webster and Lexham definitions are shown in the prayer. You will see adoration, supplication, and thanksgiving in the prayer. You will also see commands given to them and us.

Imagine a soldier who's been given detailed orders by the commanding officer. He can't make up his own rules or ignore the instructions. In the same way, Jesus Christ has given us a specific command on how to pray. It's not something we can take lightly or modify to fit our preferences.

We ought to take notes on these passages to understand how to approach our Father, ask correctly, and act rightly. We will examine the five commands in this prayer and what they mean when we pray. The first command is Pray.

Pray

Having learned how not to pray, we now understand the importance of prayer in aligning ourselves with God's will on earth and in our lives. Obedience to Christ and the Father is demonstrated through our commitment to prayer. As Jesus himself said, we are His friends when we obey His commands (John 15:14

John 15:14 ESV

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

Throughout the Bible, believers have turned to prayer to seek guidance, find peace, and express gratitude. This practice is not bound by time, making the Bible a timeless guide that never goes out of print!

Do you want to know what this first part of Prayer is about? It is to bring Glory to God. John MacArthur stated, "God’s supreme purpose for prayer, the purpose beyond all other purposes, is to glorify Himself. Although nothing benefits a believer more than prayer, the purpose of praying must first be for the sake of God, not self.” What is the first part of the prayer? “Our Father in heaven….” We pray to anybody or anything we bring dishonor and disgrace to God. This country, sports, money, success, careers, or loved ones, dead or alive, is idolatry to God. Deuteronomy 12:29-32

Deuteronomy 12:29–32 ESV

“When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.

Our Father

When Christ taught this prayer to His disciples, He did so with an understanding of what a father is. Today, we live in a world where the father is defined at best as skewed and, at worst, not even defined. Therefore, I want us to look at who our heavenly Father is.

First, to go to our Father ends all fear; the pagans went to their gods with fear, but you and I can approach our Father with confidence. He will hear us.

Second, knowing God’s fatherhood settles uncertainties and ushers in hope.

Third, knowing God as our Father settles the matter of loneliness.

Fourth, knowing God as our Father should settle selfishness.

Fifth, knowing God as our Father settles the matter of resources.

Sixth, it should settle the matter of obedience in our lives.

Our Father, then, indicates God’s eagerness to lend His ear, His power, and His eternal blessing to the petitions of His children if it serves them best and further reveals His purpose and glory.

We must also remember that we are commanded to keep His name hallowed.

Hallowed

An old saint once said, “True prayer brings the mind to the immediate contemplation of God’s character and holds it there until the believer’s soul is properly impressed.” What did Jesus mean when he said “hallowed be your name?”

The word ‘hallowed’ in Greek is (ἀγιασθἠτω) hagiastheto with the root ἄγιος meaning holy, holy One, sanctify, to consecrate, dedicate. Another way of saying this part of the prayer would be, “Let your name be treated with reverence.” Allow me to give you some of the Name of our Father:

a. Almighty

b. Eternal God

c. Father of Lights James 1:17

James 1:17 ESV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

d. Fortress

e. Heavenly Father

f. Holy One of Israel Psalm 71:22

Psalm 71:22 ESV

I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.

g. I Am

h. Lord

i. Judge Genesis 18:25

Genesis 18:25 ESV

Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”

j. Living God

k. Lord of Hosts

l. Lord of Lords Deuteronomy 10:17

Deuteronomy 10:17 ESV

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.

m. Most High

n. Our Father

o. Our Strength Exodus 15:2

Exodus 15:2 ESV

The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

These are only a few of our Father’s names. Each one shows and states His character and how we should approach Him. Contrary to much emphasis in the evangelical church today, faithful prayer, like true worship, centers on God’s glory, not on man’s needs. To have true prayer and worship, we must be submissive to our Father.

Submission:

We live in a world where people do not submit to anyone. We are lords over our lives and will not give that up. We think we have time to live how we want and, before it ends, come to Christ for eternal salvation. It does not work like that since we do not know when that hour will come of our death.

Most people think they will get to heaven because of the merits of being a good person. There are none good, Mark 10:18

Mark 10:18 ESV

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

In this part of the prayer, we see our command to submit to God’s kingdom and His will. Mary submitted to Him when the angel came upon her. Luke 1:38

Luke 1:38 ESV

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Our greatest desire should be to see the Lord reigning as King in His kingdom, to have the honor and authority that have always been His but that He has not yet come to claim. The King is inseparable from His kingdom. To pray Thy kingdom come is to pray for the program of the eternal Deity to be fulfilled, for Christ to come and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. His program and plan should be the preoccupation of our lives and prayers. But how self-centered our prayers usually are, focused on our needs, plans, aspirations, and understandings. We are often like tiny infants who know no world but the world of their feelings and wants. John MacArthur

His Will is not our desires and wants. His will is for us to conform to His Son's image, to do the work He has, and to bring glory and honor to Him. His Will is for His Kingdom to be represented here on earth like in heaven, where we worship Him day and night. We live without fear but with the power to do the work the Holy Spirit leads us into.

Application:

We are commanded to Pray.

We can approach our Father because of Christ.

Remember who our Heavenly Father is by keeping His name HOLY.

We can either submit to the world and be judged by God or submit to God and be judged by the world.