Prayer (Part 3)

Order of Service

Welcome

Hymn - RESTORE, O LORD (MP 579)

Psalm Reading

Psalm 68:19–23 ESV

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death. But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways. The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, that you may strike your feet in their blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”

Prayer

Teen Talk

Hymn - AMAZING LOVE (MP 476)

Notices

Prayer Meeting - 7:30pm

Friday 7pm - Online

Sunday Morning 11am & 6pm

Tithes & Offerings - £

Main Prayer

Birthdays

Prayer Items

Hymn - MY WORTH IS NOT IN WHAT I OWN (1261)

Sermon Search

Reading

Matthew 6:5–15 ESV

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Sermon

Prayer

Sincerity of Heart

Do not use Empty Phrases

God is aware of your needs

Addressing God in prayer

Our Father in Heaven

1st Petition: Hallowed by Your Name

Our Humility

honour, glorify & exhalt Him

2nd Petition: Your Kingdom Come

Gospel

3rd Petition: Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven

Obedience

4th Petition: Give us this day our daily bread

Petitions 4, 5 & 6 are closely connected

Forgive us our debts

Matthew 6:12 ESV

and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Debts: Judaism had come to use it as a common term for sin

Deuteronomy 15:2 ESV

And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the Lord’s release has been proclaimed.

The Lord’s forgiveness (debt) is proclaimed

Verses 14 & 15 are intrinsically linked....

Matthew 6:14–15 ESV

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

return...

Matthew 6:12 ESV

and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Why must we pray daily for forgiveness?

Has not Christ’s antonement covered all sin?

Bathed are clean but their feet still need to be washed (John 13:10)

A son inherits from his father

the whole inheritance is his

the wise father provide it in trust, and the son iis given a limited portion each month

the whole would overwhelm and corrupt

Prayer for forgiveness implies that the supplicant recognises that there is not other methid by which his debt can be wiped out.

forgiveness is not based on merit

nor on a forgiving disposition

forgiveness is based on God’s unmeritted favour (divine grace), compassion, and mercy

Without a forgiving disposition we cannot receive it.

Grace through faith

Manifestation of faith is the disposition to forgive

God plants the seed of faith

we must cultivate it

we must believe, we must forgive

the power to believe and the power to forgive are from God

Philippians 2:12–13 ESV

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

return..

Matthew 6:12 ESV

and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

This clause does not indicate the ground upon which God bestows forgiveness, but that which must be complied with for us to enjoy God’s forgiveness of our own sins

The love of Christ precedes, accompanies and follows the love with which we love him and our neighbour

Extend forgiveness to others for:

God so commands. Vengence belongs to him, not to us (Deut 32:35 & Romans 12:19)

Harbouring a grudge and planning revente is not only wicked but also foolish.

We should follow the example of Jesus himself has given to us (Luke 23:34, John 13:12-15, Eph 4:32, Eph 5:1-2, Col 3:12)

We cannot be forgiven unless we forgive

The man we injured us needs our sympathy and love, we owe him this love

Romans 13:8 ESV

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Forgiving others will impart peace of heart and mind to us, the peace that passes all understading (Philippians 4:7-9)

God will be glorified, which should be our aim in all we do (1 Cor 10:31)

NB: We are in need not only of forgiveness of past sins, but also of God’s protecting care so hat in the future we may not fall into the clutches of Satan

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil

Matthew 6:13 ESV

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

God never tempts man to sin

James 1:13 ESV

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

The prayer is asking him not to permit us to voluntarily run into temptation...

To avoid establishing a danegrously close alliance with the world

Or becoming “unequally yoked” with unbelievers

2 Corinthians 6:14–16 ESV

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Or by going into the opposite extreme with withdrawing ourselves entirely from society

Matthew 5:14 ESV

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Philippians 2:15 ESV

that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

by becoming so aborbed by our daily affairs that the spiritual aymosphere which should characterise our home is neglected

by serving on so many good-cause committees that matter even more important are not attended to

God alone knows how many tests of faith, and how severe, each sinner can endure, as he is constantly being assaulted by the devil ...

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

by the world...

John 15:19 ESV

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

by our own “flesh”...

Romans 7:23 ESV

but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

Galatians 5:17 ESV

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

The prayer calls upon God’s guidance and protection

Romans 16:20 ESV

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 ESV

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Logic of the petition...

“Lord, grant that i may be so careful in observing the rules of health that I may not become ill, but whatever in your providence comes upon me, keep me close to your side that my faith may not fail”

Jesus example again places mutuality above singularity

replacing “I”, “my” and “me” with “we”, “our“ & “us”

The supplicant is contantly including others in his prayers

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Matthew 6:13 KJV 1900

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.

Calvin confirms that that this addition was not located in the Latins but purely in the Greeks.

Luke also omits it (Luke 11:4)

There is significant question over whether these were added later and there seems to be significant evidence as to that fact

The statement is certainly in keeping with scripture

It was used to remind us that prayer is to be founded on God alone

Jesus concludes...

Matthew 6:14–15 ESV

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Hymn -

Closing Prayer

Doxology