When You Pray
Notes
Transcript
Open your bible with me to Luke 11:1-4
Can I confess something to you? I mean this as a genuine and earnest confession of failure on my part as a Christian, a husband, churchman, and pastor. I do NOT pray as I should. In fact, I’ve often been convicted of my lack of prayerlessness, of only trying hard, doing better for a season, and then repeating life, ministry, all on my own strength. I try my best to live by the Spirit and walk by the Spirit. Being sensitive to God’s leading, but my first inclination when a challenge arises, when difficulty comes, and a decision is to be made, is sadly often NOT what it should be: to pray. And what it reveals in me, perhaps more than anything, is my own pride. My own foolish thinking that I am capable. I am able. I am strong enough. I am wise enough. I am good enough. When, really, the irony is that if I were confident in my beliefs, I would realize my lack of prayer confirms that none of those things are true.
Sermon Summary: Prayer humbles us before our Father.
1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread, 4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”
This is God’s word, let’s pray.
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I. Our Priority (v.1-2)
I. Our Priority (v.1-2)
You know, Jesus kept a priority in meeting with His Father through prayer. For the careful observer. You see him doing this often. The first was at His baptism, and Jesus was about to beginHis earthly ministry. Jesus is found to be praying as the heavens open and the Spirit descends like a dove upon him (Luke 3:21-22). Then again, in the height of ministry and mission, as many come to be healed and hear him teach, Jesus pulls away to a desolate place to be with his Father to pray (Luke 5:16). He prays before He chooses the 12 in Luke 6:12. Then again as He is with his disciples and before Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ in Luke 9:18, then again in at the Transfiguration(Luke 9:28). Jesus will be praying on a number of occasions from Galilee to Jerusalem, and certainly before the cross and crucifixion.
1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
His disciples had seen this from Jesus. They saw it from John as well. It’s interesting because when we think about John, we think about his evangelism and his boldness in preaching. But those closest to John notice something else about him. He was a man of prayer. John had disciples. He instructed them on fasting (Luke 5:33), and while we don’t know how John prayed. It was likely that he broke from the typical Jewish prayer of adoration and praise and continued towards petition and request before God. But we do know that to be linked in a common way of praying was a symbol of closeness and fellowship. John and his disciples had a way of praying and even identified with John’s method of prayer. But more than that, the disciples see Jesus praying, and they are all the more intrigued. They want the fellowship and communion with the Father that He evidenced.
So, upon seeing Jesus praying. One of his disciples said, with much urgency and much insistence. TEACH US TO PRAY….and would carry with it, teach us NOW!! We want that!!
And as Jesus had likely taught them, and instructed them how to pray, and would continue in giving us the Lord’s prayer. In other words, this wasn’t the only time He gave them this. (hence the slight variation in Matthew)
2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.
Notice, the pronouns throughout this prayer are all 2nd person plural. That is even here. WHEN YOU ALL pray, this is a prayer for disciples. This ISN’Ta prayer as an individual; rather, the disciples pray together in community. As the people of God. And there are two movements. The first is oriented towards God. The other towards us! THAT OUR FIRST PRIORITY, NOT be on SELF and what we can glean. But on God. Our PRIORITY is FIRST on the LORD. HIS NAME, HIS KINGDOM, HIS WILL!
a. His Name
a. His Name
Jesus invites his disciples into the relationship of calling God their Father. Now, for the Jew, this would have been radical. They knew God as creator. They knew God as sovereign. They knew God their Lord. But Father was a radical new concept. In the Old Testament, God as Father is referenced only 14times across all 39 books. And of those occurrences, the reference was always given to the Nation of Israel, NOT the individual. In fact, this was what was so radical about Jesus calling God His Father: He meant it, as He is equal to God. And what got Him killed. For Jesus, this was natural. It was all He ever knew. God is His Father. He is the eternal Son. And when Jesus calls God his Father, he means it in a particular, specific TRIUNE way. But the invitation is that THROUGH JESUS, we too are invited into this relationship with God. That we are His CHILDREN! There is tenderness, care, affection, love!! Of a Fatherand His Children. To call God ABBA – and don’t flatten that term to just mean “daddy.” There is much more behind that term than that. It was a term of endearment. Of tenderness. Of care and provision. HELP!!! It was what we see in scripture as the ABBA cry!
Oh, the sweetness to be in Christ – to be God’s child by faith in JESUS!! To come to God in this way, and the Spirit of God interceding for us.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
That we draw near to God in Prayer – the privilege, the joy! THE WONDER and MYSTERY, and honor. To petition GOD!! AS FATHER!! HE IS FATHER… We have God’s attention. We don’t have to guess at who He is or invoke some long preface to get his attention (1 Kings 18:26-29). We don’t have to tread in trepidation. He knows us!! He is FATHER!! AND HIS NAME is also HALLOWED!!
It means to be sanctified. It means to be set apart. That He is HOLY!! God’s name is Holy. Beloved, names are important. We name our children something that is meaningful to us. And usually, it only goes as far as a family name or something meaningful to us. But for the Hebrew, names often carried inference about a person’s character. And that’s what is meant here. To say that God is HALLOWED. Means that the very character of God is regarded as HOLY. That’s WHO HE IS!! HE IS HOLY!! We PRAY IN PRAISE!!
His name that He told Israel to regard as Holy, lest it be profaned among the NATIONS (Lev 22:32)! His name can be trusted. Psalm 20:7 Oh that some trust in chariots, and some in HORSES. But trust in the NAME of the LORD! Oh, that His name be kept as honored and regarded as HOLY! Lest it be considered as common and taken in VAIN!
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
His very name carried His very character and glory! And it is His name that God Himself will vindicate! Ezekiel 36:22-23
22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
To pray for God’s name to be HALLOWED. Is to agree and revere HIS HOLINESS! And to say, God, let it be known in all the earth!! And may my life reflect your holiness!! And it is to pray as Jesus prayed. As he draws near to the cross – FATHER, GLORIFY YOUR NAME!!
b. His Kingdom
b. His Kingdom
YOUR KINGDOM COME! ….Jesus in bringing the kingdom! The kingdom is being proclaimed. It is in view. It is here!! Through the preaching of the GOSPEL. Through healing of the sick!! We’ve seen this happening in Luke’s gospel!!
The kingdom coming doesn’t look like a nation-state. It doesn’t look like a political movement or a government overthrow. God’s kingdom means God’s rule on earth as it is in heaven! And that kingdom is coming right now, as Jesus tells His disciples to PRAY for its breaking into earth from HEAVEN. And that was happening in the person and work of Jesus. That’s what Jesus says to the Pharisee Luke 17:20-21 The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
And when we pray for His kingdom to come. It means to pray as one who NOT only belongs in it. But those who come under His righteous rule and reign in our lives. To pray this way means to pray in a posture of repentance. It means praying in a disposition to take up our cross, forsake our own kingdom, and followJesus into His kingdom!! It means denying SELF and even the DEATH of our own DESIRES!! YOUR KINGDOM COME….And YOUR WILL BE DONE!
c. His Will
c. His Will
Means that we pray to the end of our will, and instead look to follow HIM, in all things!! It means that we surrender ourselves. We pray this for ourselves. We pray this for our families. We pray this for our churches!! We pray this for the world!! God would your will be done!! Would you bring it past!! We know of God’s working to see HIS GLORY go to all peoples and places. And the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the seas (Hab 2:14). AND WE LIVE TO THAT END!! And we know that all is culminating in Christ and in His return. When God’s name and His KINGDOM will be realized together. Zechariah 14:9
9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.
SO WE PRAY ALSO in GREAT CONFIDENCE of God’s name! Of His KINGDOM! Of His will! We pray in PRAISE of WHO HE IS!! We start there!!
Do you see it? Prayer begins NOT with our problems but with God’s glory. It’s NOT first about us, but HIM! It beginswith GOD!! It’s about His glory! That we come to God and get HIM!! And oh, HOW GLORIOUS HE IS!!
----------------------------------------------- Our Priority (LISTEN – AMEN) ….SO MUCH,
II. Our Provision (v.3-4a)
II. Our Provision (v.3-4a)
So we begin with the Priority of God. But we do come to him with our NEEDS. God speaks to us through His word. But we speak to God through prayer. We have the PRIVLEDGE to converse with GOD!! THE GLORIOUS TRIUNE, HOLY GOD, through prayer! And while we adore and praise Him. We are also right to pray for our needs and provision. In fact, that is part of what Jesus goes on to teach us about the Lord, and He knows how to give rightly to His Children.
3 Give us each day our daily bread, 4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”
So there are two primary provisions in view here. The provision of bread and the provision of forgiveness.
a. Bread
a. Bread
To pray for bread, in the most basic sense, is to pray that God would give to us what we need. Now, this word for daily. Is a tricky word. It is the cause of much discussion among scholars. That, on a surface reading, well, the word means day by day. Each day. Daily. And I do believe that is in view. But also think there is slightly more in view as well. For Luke to mean only daily, he could have used 7 or 8 different words. But Luke uses this word epioúsios. It’s the only place Luke uses this word in his gospel. But he uses it often in the book of Acts. And when Luke uses that word there, it’s the word that he means to “coming” or “next day” (Acts 7:26, Acts 16:11, Acts 20:15, Acts 21:18, Acts 23:11). In other words, Luke means it to mean well, “tomorrow.” And this is where many, and I too, believe that Luke is also pointing towards an eschatological understanding of daily bread. That’s a fancy term for future bread. BREAD of the heavenly manna!! THE BREAD OF LIFE. Give us the bread of the KINGDOM! Give us the bread that we will be given in your kingdom. Give us that bread, today!! Help us to LIVE in the present, now, with FUTURE promises in VIEW!! That we would live our lives on earth, with eternity in view! That we would live in the mundane with an eternal perspective! That we look to you for everything!
But that doesn’t mean it's without a need for daily provision. Luke does mean each day. He does mean that we would consistently petition for daily bread. God give to us what we need. In Palestine, workers were given a day’s wage. Enough to provide for them with what they needed for this day! Each day! That God would meet us with our present need. NOT our future troubles. That the Lord would sustain us. He would provide for us. He is enough. And what He gives is enough, each day! In the same way that Israel learned to trust God day by day in the wilderness in Exodus 16 and Deut. 8. May we too learn this dependency and trust in YAHWAH!!
But there is something to be said of asking for bread, isn’t there? To ask for what in one senseis supernatural, but also common. This is NOT a luxury. This is of basic necessity. Think about this: what Jesus is teaching here. That praying for daily bread was praying and agreeing that our true needs are few. And oh how we should be content with the simple grace that God provides. "even if he provides only the bare necessities of life”…..and that we learn NOT crave what God has NOT promised to give. God hasn’t promised luxuries. He hasn’t promised ease! He hasn’t promised comfort. But He has proven himself faithful! Oh, to give us what we need!! EACH DAY our daily bread!
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
b. Forgiveness
b. Forgiveness
This is our 2nd great need. More than we need food for the stomach. We need our sins forgiven. There is a greater need than bread. We need the provision of our sins removed! And here we pray for petition. We pray for pardon. FORGIVE US OUR SINS.
Luke uses the word for sins here, where Matthew uses the word for debts. But Luke certainly sees sin as debts, which must be absorbed. Hence, he uses indebted in the following phrase. But note the connection of bread and forgiveness. In that, we could never have physical life without food for the stomach, in the same way we could never have spiritual life without forgiveness. It is a recognition of our fallen condition. The petition for the forgiveness of sin includes the recognition of guilt in sin! That is to say, we recognize our unworthiness before a Holy GOD!
In the same way that we need daily food. An ongoing asking and looking to God for food, we will likewise continually come to the Lord Jesus and ask for forgiveness!! NOT in the sense of needing redemption all over, but instead as recognition of how needy we are on His mercy and grace!
That we don’t pretend we are without sin. But instead, recognize we do sin, and have an advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous, whom we plead for mercy! (1 John 1-2). And we ask the Lord to FORGIVE US!! That is when we come to Christ; it doesn’t just mean that we have repented, but rather that we are REPENTING!
And the petition is tied to a reason. FOR – because we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And Matthew says the same thing. Jesus is helping us see the connection between the gospel and our lives. To state it plainly. That we, as the forgiven people of God, forgive others when they have sinned against us. We don’t withhold it. Because Jesus has NOT withheld forgiveness from us!
That is when we have been wrong. And there is real wrong when sin is committed! They put themselves in our debt. We have been wronged, and the payment owed now to us. And the only way to settle accounts, if you will, is to pay the debt. To balance the scales. And forgiveness considers the debt that is owed! And doesn’t just say “ah, well, forget about.” No forgiveness is willing to pay for the debt, even if it is at the expense of your own account.
And that’s what Jesus has done for us!! That our sin is a wage! It is payment. It is a debt that we owe to God. We have violated His law. We trampled on His Holiness. We considered his rule and judgment, and in arrogance insisted we knew best!! PROFANED HIM! DeclaredHim to be a liar! OUR WAY IS BETTER!! REVILED against Him. HATED his rule and will for us!! And we have sinned against the only HOLY, RIGHTEOUS, MAJESTY GOD of the COSMOS. And it was a debt we could never pay! AND EVERYONE WILL STAND BEFORE GODon JUDGEMENT DAY and GIVE AN ACCOUNT
And the gospel is NOT that God just said, " Ah, well, just forgot about it!!” NO! That debt had to be settled! And what is happening on the cross. Is our great sin debt, against HOLY God, is being absorbed. It is being placed upon HIS HOLY and RIGHTEOUS SON!! That what we owed, God was willing to pay HIMSELF! And you wonder why the cross is so weighty! Why it’s so messy! Why it cost Jesus his very life!!
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Because that was what my sin, your sin, deserved! That was what is OWED!! And the only way we can have life is that sin be forgiven. But the only way for that debt to be forgiven was for JESUS to pay the DEBT!!
And you’re going well, I don’t know if I can forgive or NOT. You don’t know how much they hurt me. Of course it hurt! It was debt against you. But when we look into the gospel. We have to come to grips with the fact that our debt was far greater, and Jesus paid our sin debt against God. So of course, forgiveness is hard. You are absorbing an offense. You are no longer holding it against them as leverage or demanding recompense!! It hurts because we absorb their debt against us. We are paying for it, and because we absorb it, we say, so that means you don’t have to.
And one of the strongest pieces of evidence that you are, in fact, in Christ is your willingness to model what Christ has done in forgiving those who have sinned against you. That is when we come to Christ in repentance and faith. He welcomes the vilest of offenders. He grants grace, mercy, and pardon to those who have sinned greatly!
And that is how the forgiven live. They forgive!! And beyond that, to refuse forgiveness only demonstrates our lack of understanding of the grace of God! To pray this prayer means we are serious about forgiving the sins of others. Because we know what God has forgiven us.
And I’m trying NOT to get so far into the weeds. Like, do I forgive those who don’t confess or don’t repent? And there are good people who land on different sides of that issue. And sometimes, the situation matters, are they a believer, are they NOT? It’s just NOT tight and clean, as we might like. And here is what I would say, that while it is true that God requires our repentance and faith, and extends forgiveness in the gospel. As a believer who has experienced that gospel, I also see scripture continually pointing believers toward mercy, forgiveness, and grace, even toward their enemies. Towards those who have wronged them and never display any hint of remorse. That we continue to forgive, even in those instances. That we continue to work towards forgiveness. And even here. We forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
You look at the parable of the forgiving servant. The trajectory and responsibility for forgiveness seem to point toward our responsibility to forgive, rather than to the determined action of another person. And I believe this anchors all the more in the gospel. That when it is too hard! When it has been painful. When you don’t feel like you can, or they don’t deserve it. That you run to Christ!! And say, God, I don’t know what to do, but this hurts!! God, will you help me! Would you remind me of what Christ has done for me! Would you carry this? Now, that doesn’t mean relationships won’t look different; reconciliation is different from forgiveness. But we do seek to forgive. And we don’t ignore justice, lest justice be robbed. But it does mean in our hearts, we continue to work toward a place of mercy and grace.
And then, only to add, what a lack of forgiveness can do to you. It can distort your view of God. It hardens your heart and chokes your prayer life. It can fracture fellowship. And it can poison you with bitterness!! And I assure you, Christ gives no bitter portions for His Children to drink! He may lead us through bitter providences— but He never feeds us bitterness. He gives the sweet provision that Christ Himself gives through His gospel of grace!! That we might run to Jesus and we continually fight for more mercy and grace, such is the grace of our Lord!
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III. Our Protection (v.4)
III. Our Protection (v.4)
Now, looking at this final phrase. That is, we pray, we hope!
4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”
We pray with hope, and we pray for the Lord’s grace that has sustained us and forgiven us, will also protect us from many dangers, toils, and snares.
Trials and Testing
Trials and Testing
The word here for temptation is the word peirasmós, which means test, trial, or temptation. And the word means the same, but we need to make sure we don’t confuse that testing unto evil. We know from James 1:1-15 that God does NOT tempt us with evil. But He will use evil. And God will certainly test us!! Test us unto faithfulness. In the same way, He tested Israel in the wilderness in Deut 6-8.
2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
When God tests us, it is NOT for our demise, but for our growth! It is that we might be conformed to the image of Christ! Who himself succeeded in the wilderness of His tempting and testing!!
So Jesus is NOT desiring that we be led into temptation. In fact, a repeated prayer and instruction for His disciples is that they NOT enter into temptation.
39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
God is NOT looking to tempt you, but instead will provide escape from temptation
12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
And this prayer is a prayer of humility. It is a confession of our own weakness. To say that we cannot endure trials and testing without the Lord’s help! It is a cry for faithfulness. Lord, help me stand when tested!!
Help me NOT, turn my testing into an inclination towards evil!! GOD, HELP ME ENDURE THE TEST!! I can’t make it without your grace!! That I don’t need bait to PROVE how righteous I am! Instead, we need mercy to endure!
In other words, we must be dependent on God, especially in trials, lest we fall into sin. And that’s where we begin to see there is something of the Lord guarding us against a spirit of pride here in this prayer, don’t we?
17 The highway of the upright turns aside from evil; whoever guards his way preserves his life. 18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
That we would be humble enough to acknowledge, Lord, unless you keep me from temptation, I will fall when I’m tested!! So, Lord, help me endure as faithful!! And this is why Jesus reminded his disciples to pray to that end, continually!! Pray that you might NOT enter into temptation!!
There is a rabbinic tradition that actually taught that what David was doing in Psalm 26 was a bold appeal to God. That he was desiring, in the best and sincerest of ways, to be proven right before God. He wanted to be tried and proven righteous like the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—who had each endured divinely appointed tests.
And in this rabbinic tradition and interpretation, God granted that David would be tested. And unlike Abraham, who was tested in offering his only son, Isaac, on the altar of sacrifice. Unlike Issac, who was tested when on the altar of sacrifice and would also endure famine and tension with Abimelech. And unlike Jacob, who endured struggle, hardship, and wrestling with the Lord. Those all passed the test, if you will.
So the Rabbis taught when David requests that he be tested…the Lord allows him to be tested. When he casually arose from his bed in the spring, when the men went off to war…and David meanders onto his balcony perch of his KINGDOM, and sees Bathsheba bathing. And is tested, and fell deeper into temptation, and failed the test!!
And the prayer here is to guard against that, isn’t it…..LORD, LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION!!
So help me NOT put forth a disposition of pride or might or strength in my flesh!! But rather, one of humility!!
And then I think about the Lord Jesus with His disciples at the Passover. And Jesus turns to Simon Peter.
Luke 22:31-33
31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” 33 Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.”
And what Simon Peter should have prayed in that moment was this prayer – Oh Lord, lead us not into temptation! Lord, I'll perish without your GRACE. I’ll surely fail you, GOD, I don’t want to fail you! Lord, keep me, preserve me!”
And instead, he responds in his own pride, doesn’t he!
33 Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.”
And you compare that to the humble Christ in the garden. Enduring His hour of testing. Sweating drops of blood, and falling to His knees saying Luke 22:42-43“42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” …43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.
42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.
I’m NOT trying to repeat a theme without cause. But it just keeps coming up, doesn’t it? God opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.
Oh, the grace we need to endure testing and temptation!! We are weaker than we think, and the world is darker than we admit.
And that’s why I began in the way that I did. I don’t pray as I should. I act as if I’m something that I’m NOT! I thinkI’m strong when I’m weak. I think I’m good, when I’m so utterly sinful! I think I can make it in my own strength, when it will always fail me! I thinkI’m humble, but I am unwilling to entrust myself to God in prayer. There’s always something in us, isn’t there? That keeps grasping for control! That wants it back. That has to be right. Has to be justified!! That has to prove something!!
And then we read this Lord’s prayer, and we are brought to our knees!! As we pray!
FATHER – YOU ARE HOLY!! (and I am NOT) – HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME!!
I am your child, you have redeemed me, I couldn’t save myself!!
YOUR KINGDOM come – NOT MY OWN!
Give us each day, our daily bread, - you are my provision!
Forgive us our sin, Oh, howI need your mercy!!
Oh, Lord, let me live in light of your gospel. Help me to forgive as you have forgiven me!!
And that’s NOT my meansof keeping. That’s NOT my means of merit! So don’t let me think I’m earning something in that way, but God let it be my joy to extend grace as you have forgiven me!!
And oh God, preserve me!! Keep me when I test!! Lead me NOT into temptation!! Lest I give in to evil, and sin against you!
God, I need you!! Oh, howI need you!!
CONCLUSION
I’ve got to wrap up, don’t I!!
Let me close in this way. You know it’s called the Lord’s prayer isn’t it! That’s the heading that’s what has stuck for all these years. No need to fight against it. But really, it’s the disciples' prayer. It’s the prayer of those who follow Jesus. It’s the prayer we pray together!!
In fact, there are portions of this prayer that Jesus can’t pray! He can’t pray that His sins be forgiven! And so, this was NOT a prayer of Jesus. But a model prayer that He gives to His disciples.
So why call it the Lord’s prayer? And I would submit to you this. That it is the Lord’s prayer, in that it is Jesus, who is the answer to every truth, every command, and every petition and request given here!!
In Jesus - God’s name is hallowed,
In Jesus, God’s kingdom has come,
In Jesus, His will is done
In Jesus, we have our provision!
He is our bread, our means of forgiveness, and has endured testing and delivered us from evil
CONTEXT, CONTEXT….OH MARY, has TRULY CHOSEN THE GOOD PORTION, HASN’TSHE!!
AND IT WILL NEVER BE TAKEN AWAY FROM HER!!
So Christian, come!! Come sit at His feet, and learn from Him!! Come sit near the door, who is JESUS!! And delight yourself in HIM!
Don’t be filled with pride, don’t be filled with arrogance, and don’t prop up your good deeds. No, beloved, HUMBLE YOURSELF! Fall to your knees in worship!! And in mercy and grace, cry out in prayer to your heavenly FATHER!! And draw near to His mercy and grace for His CHILDREN!!
Sermon Summary: Prayer humbles us before our Father.
