The Lord's Prayer (Care Center)

Opening:

Welcome:

Reading of the passage:

Matthew 6:9–13“9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 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.”

Who are we praying to? Our Father in Heaven.

We are privileged to be able to call God our Father.

We are children of God through adoption.

Ephesians 1:5 “5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,”

Galatians 4:6 “6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!””

God is enthroned in Heaven above all other rule and authority.

Psalm 103:19 “19 The Lord has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all.”

Central takeaway:

We do not cry out to a powerless earthly father, but to the Lord of all, God almighty who is over all things.

God is our Father and He is over all. Our prayers do not land on deaf ears, but the ears of the King of kings who loves us and has purchased us with His blood. This should give us joy and great confidence!

1st Petition, Hallowed be Your Name.

Matthew 6:9“9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”

Our Central Cry is Holy, Holy, Holy!

Isaiah 6:1–4“1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.”

As Christians, we join in with the cry of Heaven. We cry out that God is holy!

2nd Petition, God’s kingdom Come.

Matthew 6:10“10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.”

We are not here to build our kingdom. We are here to see God’s kingdom come.

3rd Petition: God’s Will be Done.

Matthew 6:10“10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.”

It is not our will we want, but God’s. Isaiah 55:8–9“8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

In the same way, this is not an ethereal will. It is here. We pray for God’s kingdom and will here on earth. We want to see God be obeyed here.

Heidelberg “grant that we and all men may renounce our own will, and without murmuring obey Thy will, which is only good; that so every one may attend to and perform the duties of his station and calling as willingly and faithfully as the angels do in heaven.”

4th Petition, Our Daily Needs.

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

We can pray for our earthly needs.

Matthew 6:25–34 25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Philippians 4:19 “19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

WE have no need to worry. God, in His kindness gives us all we need. This should give us confidence. Scripture nowhere promises to give us all our wants but God will give us our needs.

5th Petition, Forgive our debts.

Matthew 6:12“12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.”

1 John 1:8–10“8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

We can bring every sin to our good God and know He will forgive us. This is wonderful news! We can be forgiven. But this comes with a warning. God forgives us as we forgive others. If we withhold forgiveness from others, we will not be forgiven.

Matthew 6:14–15“14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

6th Petition, Lead us not into temptation.

Matthew 6:13“13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.

We are to pray and ask God to spare us from temptation. James 1:13–15“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. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”

The Heidelberg Catechism says that this petition is praying, “since we are so weak in ourselves that we cannot stand a moment; and besides this, since our mortal enemies, the devil, the world, and our own flesh, cease not to assault us, do Thou therefore preserve and strengthen us by the power of Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not be overcome in this spiritual warfare, but constantly and strenuously may resist our foes till at last we obtain a complete victory.”

Closing of the Prayer.

Matthew 6:13 “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

We pray, confessing these truths:

The Kingdom is God’s.

The Power is God’s.

The Glory is God’s.

Close in Prayer.