Sermon Tone Analysis

*Praying God's priorities *

/A practical look at the Lord's prayer/

 (Matthew 6:5-15; Luke 11:1-13)

 

By brother Michel Lankford

 

 

 

 

*Look at Matthew 6:5-15 below:*

 

Matthew 6:5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others.

Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.

\\ Matthew 6:6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

\\ Matthew 6:7 “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.

\\ Matthew 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

\\ Matthew 6:9 “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

\\ Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come.

Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

\\ Matthew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.

\\ Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

\\ Matthew 6:13 And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.

\\ Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; \\ Matthew 6:15 but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

\\ Matthew 6:16 “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting.

Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.

\\ Matthew 6:17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, \\ Matthew 6:18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

\\ \\

*We "Need" to Pray*

 

Bible studies on prayer are by far one of the most requested by Christians.

There are indeed countless books, audio~/video cassette series, and workbooks on the subject.

As a young believer, I even attended a 13 week course of study on the subject.

Why is prayer such a popular study topic?

The answer to that is simple.

Prayer is the primary way that we can connect with God, and connecting with God is one of the deepest psychological needs of the human being.

We were created to live in relationship with the Creator.

Much the way our physical bodies were designed to breathe oxygen, whether people understand it or not, they crave a relationship with God.

Since we were designed for it, it is both natural and supernatural that we would crave such a relationship.

Prayer is the way that our relationship with God begins, and it is the primary way that such a relationship is maintained.

Although usually practiced as a monologue (meaning us talking to God in a one-way conversation), prayer is really intended to be a dialogue, which includes both our talking to God, and our listening for His direction.

*"Lord Teach Us to Pray*" (Luke 11:1)

 

In Christ's day people had the same inner craving to connect with God as we do now.

The disciples who walked with Jesus could clearly see that Jesus' prayer life was much different than what was typical in their day.

Before Jesus came along, the prayer of a God believing covenant person would sound something like this:

 

"Blessed are you oh Lord our God; creator of heaven and earth.

It is you who made us and not we ourselves.

Thank you oh Lord, that you did not make me a woman.

Thank you that I was born one of your people instead of an uncircumcised heathen Remember Lord, that I tithe, I fast, I gave to the blind man... " etc..  Well you get the idea.

In any event, the disciples realized that the way they learned to pray wasn't very effective.

It didn't change lives or positively affect situations.

When Jesus prayed, blind people could see, bread was multiplied to feed thousands, and people were drawn to his warmth, love, and caring by the thousands.

Obviously, something was deeper more effective and powerful about the way Jesus connected with God.

Naturally, they wanted to enjoy such a connection with God also.

In Luke 11:1, they asked for the beautiful favor.

"Lord, teach us to pray."

We will get into what Jesus taught them in a moment, but what I love about this whole situation is what Jesus didn't say.

He did not say, well, I'm the Son of God, so I have a connection with God you will never have.

Although that is certainly true, Jesus didn't even go there.

I love the fact that Jesus was all about elevating other people and getting them closer to God.

He wasn't about competing.

Jesus did not take a dog - eat - dog attitude.

He is all about bringing people to the Father.

*Understanding The Lord's Prayer*

* *

If you grew up in a traditional denominational church such as Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal or Methodist, you most likely recited the words of the Lord's prayer every week.

What's unusual about approaching the Lord's prayer that way, is that if you look at verses 5-9 above, you will notice that traditionalism and reciting the same things over and over was exactly what Jesus was trying to avoid.

Jesus wanted prayer to be a heart opening conversation between us and the heavenly father not just something we recite verbatim.

Don't get me wrong, the Lord's prayer is wonderful, but Jesus intended to give us much more when he gave us these words.

I sincerely believe that Jesus intended to give us an outline of priorities when he gave us what we affectionately call the Lord's prayer.

Why do I say that?

Well, because I look carefully at Matthew 6:9.

Notice that our Lord *did not say/ /*/pray this.../.

What He said was,“Pray then in this way."

That means, that there is a method, manner, or a way of praying that he was attempting to demonstrate in the prayer that would follow.

The "our Father" was clearly intended to be a demonstration, or an outline to a method of prayer.

I believe that when Jesus gave us these glorious words he was attempting to get us to use them as an outline for prayer, not just a prayer in itself.

That's why he said, "pray then in this way."

Now, let's look at how to use the Lord's prayer as more of an outline in our prayers.

*Using the Lord's Prayer as an Outline in Our Own Praying*

 

 

When you were taking notes in school, they were probably teaching you how to use an outline (hopefully they did), because I will make it easier for you to visualize the Lord's prayer that way.

The "Our Father" model is really nothing more than a very important list of praying priorities.

In giving us this great prayer model, and Jesus was trying to help us get our prayer priorities in unison with God's priorities and desires.

*I)**       **Our Father...*

A)    God's first priority is having and maintaining a thriving relationship and unity between us and Himself.

Remember God is all about our relationship with Him.

This is the part of the prayer where you talk to God about your specific relationship with Him, and where you would like for things to improve.

Consider things like.

1)      How close and do I feel I am to God as my Father right now?

2)      How close do I feel to Jesus Christ as my friend and all loving Big Brother?

3)      How close do I feel to the Holy Spirit right now?  Am I able to feel or sense God's presence?

Do I sense that God is directing my steps and that I understand and can follow that direction?

Do I sense that I am better able to hear and receive God's correction?

If not, these things are something we need to regularly bring before God.  (See Psalm 89:26; Psalm 32:8; Luke 11:27-28; Hebrews12:3-11)

*II)**    **Who Is in Heaven*...

A)    God’s second priority is that we recognize who He is and His position.

This is important because human beings have an awful temptation toward idolatry, meaning that we have the inclination to put things ahead of God.

We don't want to do that.

This is the part of the outline prayer where you want to remember things like:

1)      God is perfect in love where I am not; therefore I can trust Him to care for me and my situations

2)      God is perfect in knowledge and wisdom where I am not; therefore I can trust Him to instruct in direct me.

3)      God is perfect in understanding; therefore I can be honest with him and myself concerning my problems.

4)      God is all-powerful and all capable, he made me and has a purpose for me; therefore I need to live for Him, not to please myself.

*III)** **Hallowed Be Your Name*

A)    God's third priority is that once we recognize and acknowledge Him and His position, we should Worship Him in spirit and in truth.

This is the part of the prayer where you deal with issues like:

1)      Lord, will you please renew my heart.

Please transform and fill me with Your love so that I will indeed be completely devoted to You and love You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.

I really want to be the kind of worshiper that God looks for; I want to be one who worships God in spirit and truth.

(John 4:23; 1 Peter 3:15)