Learning to Pray

Intro

So the global church from countries in Africa, throughout Europe, Asia, South America, this global family we call the church, is preparing to head into an intentional season of prayer known as Lent.

Many Christians practice Lent differently. Some fast. Some don’t. Some worship together more. Some don’t. But what every Christian expression has in common around the world is that this is a season to deepen our prayers. This is a time to grow in prayer. So I want to encourage you in these next several weeks leading up to Easter to grow in your prayers.

And the beautiful thing is, if you commit yourself to prayer during this season, you’re not just growing individually, you’re growing with the global Christian family. You’re growing with your Auntie’s in the congo who are facing terrible persecution. You’re growing with your uncle’s in Mexico as they suffer under economic injustice. You’re growing with your cousins in Ukraine who live under the shadow of death every day. And in turn, they’re growing with you, in the real joys and struggles of life here in our community.

This passage we read in Matthew’s gospel is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer. It is the most important prayer in the history of the world. It is the most powerful prayer that has ever been prayed.

How so? Because it is Jesus’ prayer. No one has ever prayed a better prayer than Jesus. The eternal Son of God knows a thing or two about prayer. So when he tells us, “Here, pray like this,” we should listen. And for over 2000 years, Jesus’ followers have listened. For centuries, this has been the prayer that has guided Christians in every time and place.

There is remarkable wisdom and power here. The Lord’s prayer has the power to do the big and small. It has power to change the course of history; it has power to release us from bitterness and regret. It has power to confront systemic injustice; it has power to meet our daily needs, or to help us see and provide for the daily needs of others.

This is the prayer of prayers. For the next several moments I want us to consider how we can grow in prayer these next several weeks by looking at Jesus’ own instructions on prayer. Three things I want us to see, briefly. First, the access we have in prayer. Second, the content of our prayers. Last, advice on how to pray.

The Access We Have in Prayer

This point is the most important thing I’m going to say all night. If you don’t remember anything else tonight, please remember like the next two minutes of what I say.

Jesus said we begin our prayers saying, “Our father.” This is one of the most incredible things Jesus ever said. In just a few words, Jesus is telling us that when we put our faith in him, we get to enjoy the same access to his Father that he enjoys.

It is nearly impossible to put the significance of this privilege into words. Through Jesus, we have direct access to the Creator of the Universe. Jesus said elsewhere:

Matthew 11:27 NIV

No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Jesus claimed the exclusive right to bring people into the presence of God and to call on him as Father. Jesus alone has the ability to bring us into a relational, intimate relationship with God. This is why he would say:

The New International Version Chapter 14

No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

In other words, if we believe in Jesus, if we believe that he really did die for our sins and really was raised to new life in victory over death, then he will bring us into the very presence of God.

Is anyone excited about this yet? If you had a direct line to the President himself, that would not compare to the access Jesus is granting here. You could be best friends with Drake, that would be so dope, but it would be peanuts compared to what Jesus is telling you here.

Believe in Jesus, and he will grant you direct access to God. The same access that Jesus shares and has enjoyed for all of eternity. Which means that we gain more than just access to God as a powerful being, as our Creator, as a ruler. We gain access to God as Father.

Think about it this way. There are two ways you can relate to God. One is conditional. It’s based on what you do. If you do the right things, if you pray enough, if you earn God’s favor, maybe he will bless you, maybe he will listen to your prayers. And that is way almost every other religion says we relate to the Divine, based on what we do. That is the way most of us naturally think about how we can relate to God. If I do enough, if I’m holy enough, he’ll listen to me, he’ll bless me.

That’s not what Jesus taught. Jesus said, believe in me, and the access you have to the Father is unconditional. It’s not based on what you do. Your relationship to the Father will be based on his gracious, unconditional, permanent commitment to you. You will get to enjoy God as Father.

The Father of mercies. The Father who is love. The Father who is tender, kind, strong, and gentle. The Father who cares for you and is for you. The Father who will never leave you. The Father who will always protect you.

Do you want that kind of access? Notice this. Jesus said “no one comes to the Father except through me.” No one. If we take Jesus at his Word, then trying to relate to God apart from Him means you don’t have access to him at all. Believe in Jesus, and you too can begin to call on God as Father.

The Content of Prayer

I want you to see this as both a real prayer and a general guide.

Jesus actually wants us to pray this prayer. This prayer should be a regular practice in our lives. What is the most foundational lesson that any famous athlete, artist, or musician is going to tell you? Never move beyond the basics. Come back to the basics over and over again. Practice your form over and over until its habit, then keep practicing.

The Lord’s Prayer is like that. We never move beyond it. We can never master it. It is a prayer that will shape us as we pray it again, and again, and again.

At the same time, this prayer also serves as a guide for the kinds of prayers we should pray. Jesus is teaching us the kinds of things we should pray for, and how we should pray for them.

I’m only going to make a few comments on the contents of this prayer. I could spend hours on each individual line, but we don’t have that time. So I’m going to group some of these petitions that Jesus gives us to make a few general comments.

First, we direct our prayers toward God.

Look at these first few lines. Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. “Hallowed” is an old word that just means honored. We’re praying that God’s name and rule would be honored in the world. We’re praying that people would respect him. We’re praying that God would stir faith in the hearts of those who don’t believe in him.

When we pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done,” we’re praying that God would have his way in the world. We’re praying that the kingdom of darkness in this world would be destroyed, and that God’s reign would extend more and more into every corner of this universe. We’re praying that Jesus would bring his peace. We’re praying that the Church would grow and shine the light of the kingdom.

These are prayers directed first toward God for his sake. But even as we direct our prayers toward God, something is happening to us. Our hearts and minds are being strengthened to rebel against the evil status quo. When we pray for God’s kingdom to come, we are rebelling against the disorder and destruction of the world.

When we pray for God’s will to be done, we are taking God’s side against injustice, racism, exploitation, violence, and every form of evil. See, this is the thing about prayer. Even as we petition God to act, our prayers form our own hearts to love the things God loves and to hate what he hates. So when we pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done,” we’re saying to God, “Put us on your side. Make us more like you. Use us to bring your kingdom. Use us to enact your will. Strengthen us to resist the darkness and stand for your justice.”

So we direct our prayers first to God to bless him and pray for his rule to extend through the world.

Second, we direct our prayers toward each other.

One of the most obvious things about this prayer is also the easiest to miss. Look at the possessives and pronouns of this prayer. ‘Our,’ ‘we,’ ‘us,’. It’s never mine, my, I, me. Do you see that?

Jesus’ purpose for his people is that we would put the needs of others ahead of our own. Love and mercy should not be scarce among God’s people. We should not be stingy. We shouldn’t think of ourselves as isolated individuals but as members of a family.

We should be concerned for the needs of the whole family, not just our own. So we don’t just pray, give me what I need every day, but give us what we need. Don’t just forgive me, but forgive us. Don’t just keep me from doing evil, keep us from evil.

We pray for each other. We intercede for each other. We pray for our neighborhoods, our friends, our families. We ask for God to intervene and provide for those in need, for his forgiveness to bring peace where people are holding bitter grudges, and so on.

We ask God to take action for the sake of others. This too has a way of shaping our own hearts. You cannot pray “give us this day our daily bread” for long before you begin to change. You’ll see the excess that you have to share with others. You’ll see others in need and be moved to help them.

So even as we pray for others, once again, our own hearts begin to change.

Third, we pray for our own needs.

Some people think that its better to never pray for yourself. That it’s selfish, or less holy, if you pray for yourself. We can get the idea that prayers are better if they’re only focused on God or others.

Jesus said that is wrong. Absolutely wrong. In fact, this ideas can be a form of pride, where we start to think we’ll be OK without God’s help, that it is only someone else who need’s God’s mercy. No! Jesus is teaching us that you and I are just as dependent on God as anyone else. It is absolutely appropriate to bring our needs to God. He’s our Father, remember? He cares.

So we pray, Give me my daily needs. That might be food. It might be rent. It might be to pay a bill. Whatever it is. Jesus invites you to pray that God would intervene and meet your needs.

And even if you’re someone privileged enough to have all their daily needs met, Jesus still wants you to pray this. That stable job could be taken from you tomorrow. That well-paying job could be keeping you from gratitude for God’s provision.

We pray for protection against sin and Satan. We pray that God would keep us from participating or benefiting from injustice. We pray that God would keep our hearts pure and filled with love.

And we pray for forgiveness. This prayer makes us honest. We can’t hide our sins from God, so why try? Those sins you hide and won’t tell anyone? Jesus died for those too. He died so that you would know the Father’s forgiveness. There is no sin that God will not forgive. Do you believe that? You don’t need to hide it anymore. Hiding your sins will destroy you. Jesus says, bring it out in the open, confess your sins and experience your Father’s grace. He loves you. He’s eager to forgive you.

It goes even deeper. What Jesus seems to be saying is that the reason we hate each other and can’t forgive is because we can’t be honest to God about our own sin. If we don’t know what it means to be forgiven of the evil in our own hearts, we won’t possibly know how to extend forgiveness to others when they hurt us.

The Lord’s Prayer, then, is the path to peace. As we receive forgiveness from God, we will have peace with him, and we will extend it to others.

Tips for Prayer

I want to close with a few practical tips on prayer that I think we learn here in Jesus’ instruction. The Lord’s Prayer is simple, but simple doesn’t mean easy. And if you’re like me, I need practical advice on how to follow Jesus’ teaching in my every day life. Four tips.

First, you don’t need to be impressive.

God has no time for people who think they need to be impressive in prayer. Look at what Jesus said. He called it babbling.

Matthew 6:7 NIV

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

He said they think that God will hear them because of how impressive they are. Jesus says that’s wrong.

Prayers that are long, eloquent, emotional, well-spoken but lack heart, dependence, and devotion are bad prayers. Prayers that recite 25 Scripture passages to impress the congregation are bad prayers. Jesus says actually, God doesn’t hear those. God knows fakers, and he won’t listen to them.

Second, short, child-like prayers are good prayers.

The best prayer in the world is only 10 phrases. It takes 20 seconds to pray. Short, child-like prayers are good prayers. Jesus models prayer that is short, honest, and dependent on God. A five-second prayer is no better or worse than a five-hour prayer if it comes from the heart.

“Help me Father, it feels like I’m sinking!”

“Lord, we need you to fix this situation, the injustice is too much!”

“Father provide for my friend, we don’t know what else to do!”

“Lord, I am crushed by my shame and guilt. Set me free!”

“Father, show me the needs of my neighbors and how I can help!”

These are good prayers. Your Father in heaven loves to hear them. Pray them!

Third, structure is not a bad thing.

There’s this idea out there that good prayers if they are from the heart, then they’ll be spontaneous. Structure is viewed as an obstacle to genuine prayer. Praying the same prayer every day, we’ve been told that’s insincere.

That’s not what Jesus said. He said we need to learn how to pray. Jesus gave us a model and structure to follow. We need good practice and good instruction.

Which means that a structure to our prayers, if it helps us learn how to pray and connect to God, is incredibly helpful. For 2000 years Christians have used prayer books and calendars as a suggestive guide for prayer. When you don’t know what or how to pray, these guides are so useful.

We have copies of one such guide here tonight that I want to encourage you to take and use. It’s called the Daily Prayer Project. It has prayers for morning and evening every day that you can pray, with a suggested Scripture reading and topics to pray for. It has prayers that have been recorded by Christians around the world. It’s wonderful. Please take a copy and give it a try.

Last, pray the Lord’s prayer.

I am normally the one who puts our two oldest kids to bed. I have been introducing the Lord’s Prayer to our oldest kids at night. We end our bedtime routine reciting the Prayer together.

A few nights ago I was out late, so my wife had to put the big boys down. She asked our 7 year old, Felix, to teach her the Prayer. He led his mother and younger brother in the Prayer.

It only took about thirty seconds. But you know what? That was probably the best prayer that has ever been said in our home. Do you know why? Because it was an honest, heartfelt, child-like dependence on the way that Jesus taught us to pray.

Do you want access to God as Father? Do you want to deepen a relationship with the God who loves you and cares for you? Do you want to pray with power, the way that Jesus prays?

You’ll never find a better prayer than this. You’ll never improve it. You’ll never grow beyond it. Let it shape you. It will change your life forever.