Pray With Purpose Matthew 6:9-13

Pray Without Ceasing  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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One of golf's immortal moments came when a Scotchman demonstrated the new game to President Ulysses Grant. Carefully placing the ball on the tee, he took a mighty swing. The club hit the turf and scattered dirt all over the President's beard and surrounding vicinity, while the ball placidly waited on the tee. Again the Scotchman swung, and again he missed. Our President waited patiently through six tries and then quietly stated, "There seems to be a fair amount of exercise in the game, but I fail to see the purpose of the ball.
Jesus taught us to:

I. Honor Our Father in Heaven v. 9

As Jesus teaches us to pray, He begins with an address
There are three really notable pieces here. We are praying to:
Our Father
This speaks to His imminence
He is near to us and He cares for us as a Father
He is in Heaven
This speaks to His transcendence
He has infinite capability to care for us with both wisdom and power
We treat His name with reverence
This reflects our attitude towards Him.
We speak to our Father in Heaven with both tender familiarity and a sense of genuine reverence
When we remember who we are talking to, it will transform how we pray!

II. Commit to His Kingdom v. 10

In the second portion of the prayer, we recognize that our Father in Heaven is a King with a Kingdom
This may sound a little abstract, but we need to remember that He has ultimate authority over all things
If He is the King, it means that I am not!
We pray for His Kingdom to come
It’s a prayer for His rule and reign to be furthered upon the Earth
It’s a prayer for His power, His purposes, and His presence to be evident
We must commit to His Kingdom
We set aside our will for His will
We don’t just want the reign of God to be evident in the lives of other people, but in ours as well!

III. Request Daily Provision v. 11

In the middle of this prayer, we come to something familiar: a request
It is never a bad thing to ask God for what we need or want in prayer
In fact, it’s a reasonable expectation for any prayer
But, I think it’s important that we notice the balance here between what Jesus teaches and the grocery lists that we sometimes give to God
I think we need to pay attention to the emphasis Jesus makes here:
We need the kind of bread that the Lord gives on a daily basis for today
It hearkens back to the manna in the wilderness
We are right to have a confident trust in God’s provision
However, we must not presume on HIs kindness
We must understand our dependence on Him and honor Him as the Lord who provides

IV. Seek and Give Forgiveness v. 12

Next, we come to a critical portion of the prayer
We seek forgiveness from God, confessing our sin to Him
We do not do this because we fear that God will reject us as His children
We do this because sin creates relational division between God and man
We are seeking to resolve whatever matter lies between us and God, acknowledging our wrong
However, this pursuit of forgiveness carries a commitment:
We will extend the forgiveness that we seek for ourselves to those who have sinned against us
This seems like a lot and maybe even a little unfair
However, it’s a tremendous act of grace
If the only condition that God puts on forgiveness is that we forgive, we are receiving an incredible gift from Him

V. Ask God to Guide and Protect v. 13

Finally, Jesus tells us to pray for God’s guidance and protection
We need Him to lead us:
Out of the paths of temptation
Into paths of righteousness
However, there are days when we must face temptation, trial, and suffering
On those days, we pray for God’s deliverance
We need His rescue from the many schemes that the Evil One would use to destroy us
This kind of prayer matters because it is purposeful:
I’m afraid that it is possible that even our best and most consistent prayers miss this mark on this
We major on the needs, but we miss all that God wants to do in our lives
How different would your life really look if God answered all of your prayers?
“The Lord’s Answer”
A man once said to a servant of the Lord: “I am such a helpless, miserable sinner; there is no hope for me. I have prayed, and resolved and tried, and vowed until I am sick of my unavailing efforts.”
“Do you believe that Christ died for our sins, and rose again?” was the reply.
“Of course I do.”
“If he were here on earth in bodily and visible form, what would you do?”
“I would go to Him at once.”
“What would you ask Him?”
“I would ask Him to forgive and save me.”
“What would He answer?”
The man was silent.
“Well, what would He answer?”
At last the light came into his eyes, and a smile of peace stole over his face as he whispered, “He would answer, ‘I will.’”
And the man went away believing, rejoicing “with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
Since then he has been working faithfully for the Christ who saved him for nothing.
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