PRAYER STARTS WITH WORSHIP NOTES

INTRO

Matthew 6:9–13 ESV

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.

MAIN IDEA

PRAYER DOESN’T START WITH WHAT YOU NEED, IT STARTS WITH WHO HE IS.

1. GOD IS OUR FATHER.

Matthew 6:9 ESV

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

A. WE’RE INVITED INTO RELATIONSHIP, NOT RITUAL.

Romans 8:15 NLT

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

PRAYER STARTS WITH RELATIONSHIP.

YOU DON’T NEED THE RIGHT WORDS TO TALK TO YOUR FATHER.

GOD DIDN’T TEACH US TO SAY “JUDGE”, HE TAUGHT US TO SAY DAD.

B. A GOOD FATHER LISTENS.

YOU’RE NOT SHOUTING INTO A VOID, YOU’RE TALKING TO SOMEONE WHO’S LISTENING.

A FATHER DOESN’T NEED YOU TO PERFORM TO GET HIS ATTENTION.

HE KNEW YOUR WORDS BEFORE YOU FOUND THEM.

C. ADOPTION CHANGES HOW WE APPROACH THE THRONE.

ADOPTION MEANS YOU DON’T KNOCK, YOU WALK IN.

YOU’RE NOT A STRANGER ASKING FOR FAVORS, YOU’RE A CHILD COMING HOME.

EVERY PRAYER STARTS FROM A PLACE YOU ALREADY BELONG.

2. WORSHIP REALIGNS OUR HEART.

Matthew 6:9 ESV

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

A. SEEING GOD RIGHTLY PUTS EVERYTHING ELSE IN PROPORTION.

Isaiah 6:1–5 NLT

It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

YOU CAN’T SEE GOD CLEARLY AND STILL THINK YOU’RE THE MAIN CHARACTER.

ISAIAH DIDN’T FALL DOWN BECAUSE HE FELT SMALL, HE FELL DOWN BECAUSE GOD IS BIG.

WORSHIP STARTS THE MOMENT YOU STOP MEASURING YOURSELF AGAINST PEOPLE AND START MEASURING YOURSELF AGAINST HIM.

B. HOLINESS HUMBLES BEFORE IT HEALS.

YOU CAN’T STAY CASUAL ABOUT A NAME THAT MAKES ANGELS COVER THEIR FACES.

ISAIAH’S FIRST WORD IN GOD’S PRESENCE WASN’T A REQUEST, IT WAS A CONFESSION.

WORSHIP EXPOSES WHAT PERFORMANCE HIDES.

C. WHAT WE WORSHIP FIRST SHAPES WHAT WE ASK FOR NEXT.

HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME COMES BEFORE GIVE US, FORGIVE US, AND DELIVER US.

GET THE ORDER WRONG, AND PRAYER TURNS INTO A TRANSACTION.

WORSHIP ISN’T THE OPENING ACT, IT’S THE WHOLE ATMOSPHERE.

3. WORSHIP ANCHORS US IN TRUST.

A. WORSHIP IS THE DOORWAY INTO HIS PRESENCE.

Psalm 100:4 NLT

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.

YOU DON’T SNEAK INTO GOD’S PRESENCE, YOU ENTER IT WITH THANKSGIVING.

GRATITUDE IS THE GATE; PRAISE IS THE COURTYARD.

THE WAY IN IS THE SAME EVERY TIME, THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE.

B. PRAISE STEADIES US BEFORE THE STORM ANSWERS.

IT’S HARD TO PANIC AND PRAISE AT THE SAME TIME.

WORSHIP DOESN’T WAIT FOR THE OUTCOME TO SAY GOD IS GOOD.

YOU CAN PRAISE HIM FOR WHO HE IS BEFORE YOU SEE WHAT HE’LL DO.

C. TRUST IS THE ECHO OF TRUE WORSHIP.

REAL WORSHIP ALWAYS LEAVES TRUST BEHIND.

YOU CAN’T TRULY PRAISE GOD AND STAY ANXIOUS FOR LONG.

WORSHIP SAYS, ‘I TRUST YOU’, BEFORE IT EVER SAYS, ‘I UNDERSTAND’.

CONCLUSION/CLOSE

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NLT

For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.