Wednesday Prayer 6
Wednesday Nigh Prayer • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 3 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Tonight I want to spend our time reflecting back on something we talked about Sunday morning.
If you weren’t with us Sunday morning, we took some time to look at how the early church moved forward following the outpouring of the Spirit. In other words, we looked at the ongoing practices of the early church. Practices that helped them to keep moving the church forward and reach more people for Jesus.
And what we learned is there were three primary practices they were devoted to. And when the Bible says they were devoted to them, it’s the idea that they continued to give themselves to these practices with intense effort despite the difficulty that came from the devotion.
In other words, these were practices that they went out of their way to commit to whether hell or high water.
The first practice centered around their devotion to God’s Word. They understood if real change was going to take place in their lives, they needed to be devoted to the study and implementation of God’s Word in their life.
The second practice centered around their devotion to Christian friendship. Because of the challenges they would face, the early Christians understood the importance of surrounding themselves with like minded people. People who like them were “all in”. Men and women who had committed their lives to follow Jesus.
And finally they were devoted to prayer. Because as we learned Sunday morning, prayer is the conduit through which we receive the empowerment of the Spirit. Prayer is the hose that we put in the tank of our lives to fill and refill our spiritual tanks. As a result, the early church devoted themselves to praying as they sought the Lord’s help.
And so tonight, I want to take some time to focus on our devotion to prayer. And to be honest, there are a lot of directions we could go with this.
We could talk about why we should be devoted to prayer.
We could talk about how often we should pray.
We could talk about how long our prayers should be.
To be honest, the topic of prayer goes in a lot of different directions.
But for our purposes tonight, I want to spend our time talking about how to pray.
Because the truth is, devotion to prayer begins with an understanding of how to pray. In fact, when it came to prayer, this is one of the first questions the disciples asked Jesus. Listen to how Luke records it in :
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.”
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,
As the disciples observed Jesus’s life they recognized that Jesus knew how to pray. And so desiring to improve in their own payer life, one of the disciples asks, “Lord, can you teach us to pray like you do?”
And like any good teacher, Jesus then teaches them to pray. So, what’s the prayer he teaches them? Well, it’s one we are all familiar with, a prayer that is often referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer”. The entirety of the prayer can be found in and goes like this:
9 Pray then like this:
“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 also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Matthew 6:9-
If you grew up in church, then more than likely you are familiar with that prayer and have probably prayed that prayer on many occassions.
And if you have, that’s great. Because it is a great prayer and something we should all be familiar with.
However, what many have failed to understand, and what many churches have failed to teach, is that Jesus never meant for this prayer to be a ritualistic prayer. In other words, Jesus didn’t give us this prayer so we could just recite or repeat it at the end of a service. Jesus gave us this prayer to teach us to pray. In other words, this prayer is meant to be a template that helps us pray better.
We know this because beginning in verse 9 Jesus says, “Pray then like this...” They key phrase here is “like this”. It’s translated from the Greek word “houtos”, and it’s the idea of that a person should pray in such a way or in such a manner. In other words, what Jesus is saying is, “When you pray include these elements or these components for your prayer.”
Which to be honest, isn’t the best title for it. In fact, many theologians actually refer to it as “The Disciples Prayer”. Which makes sense, since this is prayer that Jesus teaches the disciples to use when they pray.
So, what’s the prayer he teaches them? Well, it’s one we are all familiar with.
So, what Jesus is doing is giving us a model for prayer. Something that we can use to guide us and help us pray better.
So, tonight, that’s what I want to look at, because as we corporately devote ourselves to prayer, this is a great place to start as Jesus gives us direction on what that prayer should look like.
So, with that as our basis, let’s jump into the prayer as Jesus identifies 5 key components as he teaches us how to pray.
He begins by saying, when you pray, begin by praying:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (ESV)
What Jesus is saying is, a great way to begin your prayer is by addressing God first. And when it comes to addressing God, Jesus gives us some direction.
First, when we pray we are to address him as Father. The word here for father is “abba”. It could also be translated “daddy”. It’s the idea that we are to consider God as accessible as a loving human parent.
It’s the picture of a 3 or 4 year old running into his/her’s daddy’s arms. As the child runs to his/her father, they know daddy is going to kneel down, extend his arms, and sweep them up.
That’s the kind of confidence we can have when we go to God. That’s how God will receive us.
The Apostle Paul writes:
11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Paul says we can approach God with confidence and boldness. The writer of Hebrews puts it like this:
16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
So, right up front Jesus want us to know when we pray we are coming to a God who loves us and deeply cares for our needs, and so we approach with confidence.
Second, Jesus says when we pray we need to give Him the praise and honor due Him. That while he is our daddy, he’s also our God. That He is in heaven, and we’re on earth. That He is above us and we are below Him. That His name is holy and deserving of praise.
So, yes we approach his throne with boldness, but we also approach it in reverence recognizing how awesome and amazing He is. How unlike us He is. How deserving of praise He is.
What that means is when we pray, we should always start with loving praise and worship. Praising God for how amazing He is. Thanking God for His love for us. Giving him the adoration that is due Him.
Just like the little child wrapped in his/her daddy’s arms, in that moment we hug back as we express our love and thankfulness for all that God has done for us.
You see the challenge for a lot of people, is they start their prayers with a selfish focus as they begin by stating their needs. Or they start with ungratefulness as they remind God of what He hasn’t done for them yet. Jesus says, “Don’t do that. Start your prayers by thanking God for who He is. Start by recognizing how amazing He is. Start by focusing on how big He is.
Because here’s the deal, if you start that way, you start at a place of hope. You start by remembering you are coming before a God who loves you and is bigger than any problem you have. And that my friends will build your faith. That’s why you can approach with confidence.
So, what does that look like? It looks like . Listen to how the Psalmist gives praise to the Lord:
A Song of Praise. Of David.
1 I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you!
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works.
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
Jesus says, when you pray, pray like this.
From there, Jesus says we are to pray:
From there, Jesus says we are to pray:
“your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (ESV)
Jesus says we now move from loving praise and worship, to asking God for His will to be done in our lives as we now submit our needs before God, and in doing so we pray for His will to be done in our situation.
We pray for His will in our finances.
We pray for His will with our health.
We pray for His will in our marriages.
We pray for His will in our job situation.
We pray for His will when it comes to our kids.
We pray for His will when it comes to that decision we need to make.
We pray for His will to be done.
You see, this isn’t, “God I need you to do this. Or God I need you to provide this.” This is you praying, “God at the end of the day, I want your will in your way in my life. So Lord, close or open what ever door you want. God direct and guide me on whatever path you want me to take. God, lead me to where you want me to go and I will follow.
And why wouldn’t we pray that. I don’t know about you, but I want God’s will in my life, not my will. I want His direction, not my direction. I want his decisions, not my decisions. I want to walk in the path He’s set for me, not the path I’m trying to make for myself.
So, we pray, “God, in this situation, in my life, in what I’m facing, let your will be done here on earth as it has already been established in heaven.”
Think of it like this, as you start your day tomorrow, who do you want to lead your day? You or God?
When it comes to your kids, do you want your will or God’s will.
When it comes to your job situation, do you want God’s will or your will.
The Bible says:
12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.
You see, this is where we pray for wisdom. This is where we pray for direction. This is where we pray, “God show me what to do? God lead me and I will follow.”
You see, this is where we pray for wisdom. This is where we pray for direction. This is where we pray, “God lead and I will follow.”
Jesus says when you pray, pray for God’s will to be done.
Why is that important to understand? It’s important because he should eliminate any idea that God is to busy or doesn’t care about
From there Jesus moves to our needs. Listen to what he encourages us to pray next:
“Give us this day our daily bread...” (ESV)
The idea here is that we are to pray for our necessary existence for the day. To be honest, this is something I don’t think many American Christians consider. Largely because we live in a country of abundance. The truth is, I highly doubt nobody in the room is concerned about how or what they’re going to eat tomorrow.
So, a good question would be then, “How does this apply to our prayer life?” It applies in the sense that when we pray we should recognize that all we have has been provided by God and should not be taken for granted. Yes we are blessed, but we are blessed because of the provision of God.
Second, it applies in that when we ask God for provision, it should be based on what we need and not on our greed.
Again, a real challenge for the American Christian. So much of what we have isn’t necessary for our daily survival, yet we finding ourselves asking God for more.
That’s where we have to be careful that when we ask God for provision, that we are asking him for provision that we actually need. James puts it like this:
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
James says the problem for some people is they are asking for things they don’t need to spend on fleshly desires. Now, does that mean we can’t ask God for something we don’t need but want? Not necessarily, but we need to be careful with that.
And so to evaluate that, you need to ask yourself questions like, “Why am I asking God for this? Is this something I need? Is this strictly for my benefit, or for others?”
For example, maybe your a family of 5 living in a 2 bedroom apartment with limited space. And while your thankful for a place to live, you’re praying that God would provide you with a larger home. Is there anything wrong with that? No. You’re asking God to provide you with something you need.
However, if you’re a family of 3, and you live in a 5 bedroom house, and you’re praying for a bigger home so you can have a bigger man cave, then I think maybe you need to reevaluate that prayer.
Another example would be praying that God would increase your paycheck. Is there anything wrong with at? Well, it depends. Why do you want to make more money? Is it so you can spend it on more stuff? Is it so you can buy another useless piece of plastic? Or is it so you can build a college fund for your kids? Is it so you can give more to a charity? Is it so you can provide your family with a needed vehicle?
You see the difference? When we pray for provision we need to pray with thankfulness for what we have, while not asking for something we don’t really need.
Jesus says when you pray, pray for your daily bread.
Following that, Jesus then encourages us to pray for our relationship with God and others. Jesus says when you pray, pray:
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
What Jesus is referring to here is our sins. This is where we address the sinful issues in our life on two levels. The first is the sin we are aware of. These are the areas of our life we know we are struggling with. Maybe it’s gossip. Maybe it’s some form of sexual immorality. Maybe it’s an attitude or behavior. Something the Holy Spirit has convicted you of. And it’s in this moment that you seek forgiveness for sin that you have given yourself to.
Where you pray, “God forgive me for the way I treated that person. God forgive me for looking at that man/woman lustfully. God forgive me for talking about that person behind their back.”
Second, this is where we ask God to identify sin we may not be aware of. Like the Psalmist this is where we pray:
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
The truth is, we all have areas of sin in our life we may not be aware of. Something we’ve deceived ourselves with. Something we are blinded by. So, in this moment we pray for God to reveal it so we can repent.
From there, Jesus then says we need to deal with those who have sinned against us. We need to forgive those who have hurt us. Why do we need to do this? Skipping to verse 14 Jesus tells us. Jesus says:
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
I know we don’t typically process our relationship with God like this. But what Jesus is saying is, if we want God to forgive us of our sin, we have to be willing to forgive others.
It’s the idea of how can we expect God to show us grace if we aren’t willing to extend it to others. So, this is where we have to be honest with our relationship with others. This is where we need to truly forgive someone that may have hurt us. And to be honest, that may even require a conversation with that person. In fact Jesus says you need to take care of that first. In he says:
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.
Jesus says deal with the earthly relationship first, and then come back to the altar.
24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Jesus doesn’t make it easy, does He? But the truth is, if you have unforgivness in your heart, it’s like a cancer, and it will eventually destroy your relationship not only with the people in your life, but with God.
Jesus says, when you pray, pray for forgiveness between you and God and others.
Finally, Jesus closes out the prayer by saying, “When you pray, pray:
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
The idea here is that the Lord would help us not to give ourselves to temptation. So, this is where you ask for God’s help. This is where you pray, “Lord as I deal with sinful desires, give me the strength I need to overcome them. Lord, as I face the trials before me, give me the strength to overcome them.”
In fact, I would say this is where we pray that God would fill us with His spirit. Where we pray, “God equip me and empower me to overcome the enemy. God equip me and empower me to say no to sin and yes to you.”
This is where we put our dependence on the Lord for the trials and tests we will face. Knowing that through the trial God will help us, strengthen us, and grow us. James writes:
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Peter adds this:
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Jesus says, when you pray, pray for strength to overcome.
This is the Lord’s prayer. This is how Jesus encourages us to pray.
Now, is this the only way to pray? No. But it’s a great place to start. In fact, that’s why Jesus gave it to us. It’s a place for us to start as we develop our prayer life. A place for us to get grounded as we learn to seek God, trust God, and allow him to strengthen and develop us.
So, here’s what I want to do with the time we have left tonight. AS you came in you recieved a handout, and on that hand you will find this template. To begin with, I’d like you to take a few moments and fill it out.
Write down what you are thankful for. Write down some praise to give to God.
Write down areas of your life where you need God’s will.
Write down some of your needs.
Write down areas of sin you need to ask for forgiveness and for those you need to forgive.
Write down trials you are face so you can pray for strength to persevere.
So for the next 5 minutes, fill it out, and then I’ll come back to give further direction.
Now we’re going to pray. Pray through what you’ve written down. Begin with praise. Follow that with asking God for His will in your life. Move to your needs. From there go to forgiveness. And then close your prayer out by asking God to strengthen and empower your for the trials you are facing and will face.
So, let’s pray, and after a season I’ll come back and close us out.
As we leave tonight:
Devote yourselves to daily prayer. Take at least 30 minutes a day to pray.
Devote yourselves to be at the prayer meeting every week.
Devote yourselves to pray for our church and church family.