Teach Us How To Pray
“Teach Us How To Pray”
Matt. 6:9-13 – PPHC 11/28/07
The Lord’s Prayer is a prayer outline with seven major topics, each representing a basic human need:
I. The Paternal Need: “Our Father” – v. 9
· When you pray, all needs are met by the benevolence of a loving Father.
A. Personal Intimacy - RELATIONSHIP
1. Had not been realized up to this point…
a. The Jewish people did not have a relationship with God as we do today. At times, that relationship was very legalistic. They wanted someone to speak in their behalf (Moses, priests), so that they would not have to speak to God for themselves.
b. Very few individuals in the O.T. had an intimate “relationship” with Yahweh. (Abraham, Moses, David – these are only the glimpses, the “back parts” as in comparison to the open face of our Father revealed in Jesus Christ.
2. A new note of personal intimacy originates in Jesus as He relates to the “Father” (Jn. 14:9)
· “For you have not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba Father.” Romans 8:15
· “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba Father.” Gal. 4:6
II. God’s Presence: “Hallowed Be Your Name” – v.9
A. Prayer is Established On the Precept of Worship
1. Entering His presence with “praise”
· “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” – Ps. 100:4
· “I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people, In the courts of the LORD’S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.” Ps. 116:17-19
2. Yet, the verb is in the imperative mood (it expresses a command to the hearer to perform a certain action by the order and authority of the one commanding).
a. It literally means “may your name be hallowed”…by my actions.
· And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Is. 60:3
· “…from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.” Mal. 1:11
III. God’s Priorities: “Your Kingdom Come…” – v. 10
A. The Petition of the Coming Kingdom of God
1. When is it to come?
· What would this have meant for the disciples; under Roman rule, taxation, etc…? The kingdom that would break the authority of the Roman gov’t.
· The petitioner of the prayer (Jesus) asks for the establishment of God’s rule, not only in its consummation in the Age to Come, but in lives and situations now. Spirit Filled Life Study Bible
2. Where is it to come?
· “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Rom 14:17
· The kingdom of God does not consist of external things like food, but in spiritual realities like righteousness in action and thought, peace that seeks harmony, and joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. Nelson’s Illust. Bible Commentary
a. So His kingdom priorities shall be established in you, your loved ones, your church, and your nation.
1) Righteousness has respect to God (Matt. 6:33)
2) Peace has respect to our neighbors (“concord” among the brethren) (Eph. 4:3)
3) Joy in the Holy Ghost (1 Thess. 1:16)
IV. God’s Provision: “Give Us” – v. 11
· Jesus, the need-meeter, told us to pray daily, asking Him to supply all our needs.
A. Our Daily Bread
1. Literal Rendering: “Give us this day the bread which this day’s necessities require.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
a. Early commentators translated this as spiritual food (heavenly bread) for the day…later commentators felt that this was the essentials of life for the physical body.
· “In limiting our petitions, however, to provision for the day, what a spirit of childlike dependence does the Lord both demand and beget!” Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
1. Ruth and Williard Howell - “You pray while I go chop the wood…” God provided groceries…
V. God’s Forgiveness: “And Forgive Us…” – v. 12
A. Prayer for Forgiveness
· For our “debtors” - one who has not yet made amends to whom he has injured - Strong’s
· Notice here, prayer for forgiveness is qualified by a readiness to forgive personal injury.
· “If believers are unwilling to forgive those who wrong them, how can they expect to be in fellowship with their Father who has freely forgiven them for their wrongdoings?” Believer's Bible Commentary
· “God sees His own image reflected in His forgiving children; but to ask God for what we ourselves refuse to men, is to insult Him. So much stress does our Lord put upon this, that immediately after the close of this prayer, it is the one point in it which He comes back upon (Mt 6:14, 15), for the purpose of solemnly assuring us that the divine procedure in this matter of forgiveness will be exactly what our own is.” Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
· *The reason many today have not felt the healing hand of God in areas of their lives is because in spite of all that God is trying to do to bring healing to them, they continue to pick at past hurts.
1. You must daily set your will to walk in love and forgiveness
VI. Power Over Satan: “And Do Not Lead Us…Deliver us from the Evil One” – v. 13
A. Depend Upon the Lord
1. This petition expresses a healthy distrust of one’s own ability to resist temptations or to stand up under trial.
2. It acknowledges complete dependence on the Lord for preservation. Believer's Bible Commentary
B. Pray a Hedge of Protection
1. About yourself and your loved ones (Job 1:9 - “hedge”, 10; Ps. 91 – “cover w/His feathers” )
C. Put on the Armor of God (Eph. 6:14-18).
VII. Divine Partnership: “For Yours Is the Kingdom” – v. 13
· Praise God for sharing His kingdom, power, and glory with you (2 Tim. 4:18; Luke 10:19; John 17:22).
A. Praise God for Partnering with Us – Sharing His:
· “And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom.” 2Tim. 4:18a
· “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Lk. 10:19
· And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: Jn. 17:22