How should we pray, then?

Matthew 6:9–13 NIV

“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today 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 the evil one.’

II. Introduction

Why do we do what we do?

I hope you all are aware of what we are doing here. Today is the fourth time we are look into the series ‘Why do we do what we do?’. First, we’ve looked at the worship itself, and then we talked about preaching being in the center of the worship, and last week, we talked about the prayer that we do in the service as well as the prayer itself, right? Hope you remember these. Do you remember what did we actually talk about prayer? Since, today, we are also going to talk about prayer, it might be good to remember some of the things we’ve said last week.

I hope you all are aware of what we are doing here. Today is the fourth time we are look into the series ‘Why do we do what we do?’. First, we’ve looked at the worship itself, and then we talked about preaching being in the center of the worship, and last week, we talked about the prayer that we do in the service as well as the prayer itself, right? Hope you remember these. Do you remember what did we actually talk about prayer? Since, today, we are also going to talk about prayer, it might be good to remember some of the things we’ve said last week.

I hope you all are aware of what we are doing here. Today is the fourth time we are look into the series ‘Why do we do what we do?’. First, we’ve looked at the worship itself, and then we talked about preaching being in the center of the worship, and last week, we talked about the prayer that we do in the service as well as the prayer itself, right? Hope you remember these. Do you remember what did we actually talk about prayer? Since, today, we are also going to talk about prayer, it might be good to remember some of the things we’ve said last week.

Hope this helped you remember some of the things that we’ve learned last time.

So, today, we are going to talk about How then we can pray. Have you ever struggled with prayer? Did you have those moments when you doubt yourself whether you were praying rightly or well enough after praying before the crowd? I wonder if you have those experiences where you don’t actually have anything to say to God but everybody around you were praying passionately, so what you could do was just sitting there trying to come up with something to pray or just repeat the same prayer you’ve already prayed twice. And you know what, it gets worse when you start to get used to that. After getting used to those prayers, your prayer will be very good to hear because you now figured out how to pray in terms of the expressions, but the prayer will easily become hollow, have no actual contents and meanings. And without contents and meanings, you cannot say that you prayed with your heart and soul, even if you spent hours in praying.

So, we should learn how to pray following the teachings in the Bible. And, to that end, there is no greater teacher than Jesus himself and no greater example of prayer other than the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples.

III. The Structure

Lord’s prayer can be divided into three big parts.

Lord’s prayer can be divided into three big parts.

If we want to cover all things there are in Lord’s prayer phrase by phrase, we would need much more time. Instead of doing that, we are going to divide the Lord’s prayer into three blocks, and then try to learn from Jesus’ teaching. Ok?

If we want to cover all things there are in Lord’s prayer phrase by phrase, we would need much more time. Instead of doing that, we are going to divide the Lord’s prayer into three blocks, and then try to learn from Jesus’ teaching. Ok?

If you look at the Lord’s prayer carefully, you will find that the whole prayer can be divided into three main parts.

The first one is the first part of verse 9.  “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven’” which is the calling of the father. This part tells us to whom we are praying.

The second part is from the second half of verse 9 to verse 10. “hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” And here we pray things about God.

The first one is the first part of verse 9.  “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven’” which is the calling of the father. This part tells us to whom we are praying.

In the third part we pray about things about ourselves, which is from verse 11 to 13. “11 Give us today 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 the evil one.”

So, let’s look at some of the details in each part, shall we?

IV. Who do we pray to?

We pray to God in heaven who is our father

First, Jesus teaches us to pray to God in heaven. But not just any God in heaven, but God in heaven who is the father of ours. You know, Israelites prayed, too. We know from the Bible Daniel prayed even when King forbade praying to other than himself. Nehemiah prayed when the King he was serving asked him the reason why he looked so sad in his face. But, we don’t see anywhere in the Old Testament we could pray to God who is in heaven by calling him our father.

First, Jesus teaches us to pray to God in heaven. But not just any God in heaven, but God in heaven who is the father of ours. You know, Israelites prayed, too. We know from the Bible Daniel prayed even when King forbade praying to other than himself. Nehemiah prayed when the King he was serving asked him the reason why he looked so sad in his face. But, we don’t see anywhere in the Old Testament we could pray to God who is in heaven by calling him our father.

I wonder how much of you are appreciated being sons and daughters of your current father and mother. Some of you might have only father or only mother. That counts as well. And we can ask them when we need something. From the very small things such as a quick ride to the nearby dollar tree, or buying a pack of donut on their way home, to the very big things such as paying for the college tuitions or helping you find a place to live when you have to live out of town because of the college or work. They might say ‘no’ to you, but you can still ask them. And even when they said ‘no’ at the first time, we could always ask them again, right? I have a little brother in Korea who is three years younger than me. And when I was in high school he was in middle school. We loved playing video games. Because I was older than him and thought that I knew our parents better than him, I said ‘no way’ when my little brother asked me if we have to ask dad for a play station one. Yes, that’s true. Play station one. Hope this makes you respect me some more for having played the legendary game console. I thought there is no way our strict mom and dad would let us buy the gaming console, right? Guess what? When my little brother asked them, they agreed to buy that! I was so surprised. I should have just asked, right? Anyways, we could play that together all along. And, two year, I think, has passed and my brother came to me and said to me again. Hyong, Hyong, Do you think we can ask dad for play station 2? I was so sure that time. I said, No— you would only make dad mad, there is no way he would buy that to us. To my shame, my little brother went for it anyways. But guess what? Dad gave us an affirmative answer! What? How is that possible? Anyways, we went to this game place and bought the play station 2 with happiness. And we donated our play station 1 to the other kids who lived in china back then. What do you think made my little brother dare to ask mom and dad for the gaming console, not only once but twice!? Yes, I do think it was possible for him because he was younger and had little understanding of financial things compare to me. But still I do think he had this faith that he could ask anything to the father. The answer could be no. But he did not afraid of taking that answer. It might have been disappointing or even upset to hear ‘no’ from the father. But he could always ask him for anything. You know what? I was the good boy in the house. I listened to the parents all the time, I always had gotten good grades from the school. On the other hands, my little brother hasn’t adjusted to the school that well. He was picky when he eats. He sometimes make trouble in school and there were times when my parents were called to school. But my brother have this strong faith in the love of our parents. “He is father, and he loves me. He might say no. but I can always ask him.”

I wonder how much of you are appreciated being sons and daughters of your current father and mother. Some of you might have only father or only mother. That counts as well. And we can ask them when we need something. From the very small things such as a quick ride to the nearby dollar tree, or buying a pack of donut on their way home, to the very big things such as paying for the college tuitions or helping you find a place to live when you have to live out of town because of the college or work. They might say ‘no’ to you, but you can still ask them. And even when they said ‘no’ at the first time, we could always ask them again, right? I have a little brother in Korea who is three years younger than me. And when I was in high school he was in middle school. We loved playing video games. Because I was older than him and thought that I knew our parents better than him, I said ‘no way’ when my little brother asked me if we have to ask dad for a play station one. Yes, that’s true. Play station one. Hope this makes you respect me some more for having played the legendary game console. I thought there is no way our strict mom and dad would let us buy the gaming console, right? Guess what? When my little brother asked them, they agreed to buy that! I was so surprised. I should have just asked, right? Anyways, we could play that together all along. And, two year, I think, has passed and my brother came to me and said to me again. Hyong, Hyong, Do you think we can ask dad for play station 2? I was so sure that time. I said, No— you would only make dad mad, there is no way he would buy that to us. To my shame, my little brother went for it anyways. But guess what? Dad gave us an affirmative answer! What? How is that possible? Anyways, we went to this game place and bought the play station 2 with happiness. And we donated our play station 1 to the other kids who lived in china back then. What do you think made my little brother dare to ask mom and dad for the gaming console, not only once but twice!? Yes, I do think it was possible for him because he was younger and had little understanding of financial things compare to me. But still I do think he had this faith that he could ask anything to the father. The answer could be no. But he did not afraid of taking that answer. It might have been disappointing or even upset to hear ‘no’ from the father. But he could always ask him for anything. You know what? I was the good boy in the house. I listened to the parents all the time, I always had gotten good grades from the school. On the other hands, my little brother hasn’t adjusted to the school that well. He was picky when he eats. He sometimes make trouble in school and there were times when my parents were called to school. But my brother have this strong faith in the love of our parents. “He is father, and he loves me. He might say no. but I can always ask him.”

This is how much difference you can make depend on what kind of perception you have about the person you want to ask. My brother’s father was my father. I knew my father loved me. But maybe deep inside my heart, I had this perception that my father would not love me if I am not a good boy, or a good student. I might have been doubting the love of my father and mother. So I just couldn’t ask for it. Because I thought I was not enough for my dad’s standard to ask for those things. Saying it in a good way, maybe I can say that I was too responsible, but still I think I should have more trust in my parent’s love. Our prayer to God is quite similar. I told you last time that Jesus died not only because of our sins but also for making us possible to pray to God with confidence. That makes our prayer a big deal. Jesus shed his blood for it. It’s not to be ignored. And the fact that we just learned, the fact that God being our father and we can actually pray to him and call him father is not a natural thing, either. Because even the Israelites could not do that. Even the people who was the only ones who knew YHWH God in the world back then could not call their God father. But now we can because Jesus made us his children. Jesus made us his brothers and sisters. When you pray. Please remember that you are praying to God in heaven, who is your father, who loves you as much as shedding the life of his only son for you. Think God would say no? That is okay. Come to God and tell him what you need, tell him what you want, tell him what you have in the bottom of your heart. He will listen to you.

This is the first point. We pray to God who is our father in heaven.

V. His kingdom and his will

Now we turn to the next part of the Lord’s prayer. This is the part where Jesus taught us to pray for God’s kingdom first.

After we started our prayer by calling God, Jesus taught us to pray for the kingdom of God first. Verse 9 and 10. “hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” I don’t know if you remember hearing a verse like this. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” It is something Jesus said some verses after our passage today. It is in 6:33. And it summarizes this two parts of Lord’s prayer really well. Jesus taught us to seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness first and then all other things would be given to us. This just matches this two parts of our prayer. First we pray for the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And then we freely ask him about our earthly needs. And we are going to talk about the first part first.

• After we started our prayer by calling God, Jesus taught us to pray for the kingdom of God first. Verse 9 and 10. “hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” I don’t know if you remember hearing a verse like this. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” It is something Jesus said some verses after our passage today. It is in 6:33. And it summarizes this two parts of Lord’s prayer really well. Jesus taught us to seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness first and then all other things would be given to us. This just matches this two parts of our prayer. First we pray for the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And then we freely ask him about our earthly needs. And we are going to talk about the first part first.

What do you think it means? Does this mean we should pray for Jesus to come again to us as early as possible? Does this mean we should all become missionaries or pastors since that looks like to seek his kingdom first? In fact, we need quite a discussion just to tell you about what this first part means, but today is not the day to talk about that. Let me put it as clearly and easily as possible. The reason Jesus taught us to pray for the Kingdom of God first is because he wanted to lay our first interest in God. This is what christian is, really. Our prayer reflects our deepest desire. If you don’t pray, it means you don’t have anything to desire in God, which is a mistake. If you pray only for yourself, it means, at least for now, your interest and desire is in yourself. If you stop praying after praying for your closest family, it means your desire and interest does not surpass that boundary. Our prayer really reflects where our heart is.

Do you love Jesus? Do you love God? Do you want his will to be realized in the world? Do you really want his sovereign grace to be known to others as well, including your closest school friends who are not christians? Do you feel more sad and disappointed on yourself when you failed to listen to your God than you had a bad mark in the latest test? If your answers are ‘yes’, then it will show in your prayer. Your prayer will reflect your deepest desire towards God and his will to be manifested in this world through you, through your christian friends, through COBY and through all the churches in Chicago area and beyond.

VI. and, Everything

We can ask for everything we need in our lives

At this point, you might ask, ‘so pastor Hwang. Do you suggest that we can’t pray for small things or at least things that might look trivial before God? No. And my ‘no’ is not just based on my gut. It is based on what Jesus himself taught us. After teaching the disciples to pray for the kingdom and the will of God first, Jesus taught them to pray for their own earthly needs as well. Let’s read verse 11 to 13. “11 Give us today 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 the evil one.”

• At this point, you might ask, ‘so pastor Hwang. Do you suggest that we can’t pray for small things or at least things that might look trivial before God? No. And my ‘no’ is not just based on my gut. It is based on what Jesus himself taught us. After teaching the disciples to pray for the kingdom and the will of God first, Jesus taught them to pray for their own earthly needs as well. Let’s read verse 11 to 13. “11 Give us today 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 the evil one.”

Here bread does not literally mean that we could only pray for bread but not rice or kimchi or pizza. We definitely need food. So we pray for that. But we need more than food just to live by, right? We need things to wear, we need things to drink, we need things to work, we need things to play. All of that are included in this expression ‘daily bread’. So you may ask everything. He might say no, or he might say that it is not yet needed for you, but he will never ever blame you for just asking. What do you need? You might need extra strength for studying, for making contribution to your sports team, you might need safety while you play gobbowl next week, you might need time or the wisdom to use the time efficiently, you might need friends who can share your deepest things of your heart, you might need a mentor who is sincere, who loves you and cares about you and gives you wiser advice, you might just need the guidance to your future, maybe you need the restoration in the relationship with one of your friends or parents. You can alway pray. And please remember he is our father and that makes you his child. Come to Jesus, pray in Jesus’ name to our father God. I really hope that we all could experience more answers to our prayers in our lives. That would make our relationship with God more abundant.

VII. Closing (Wrap-up)

ok. So, till now, we’ve looked at Lord’s prayer really quickly. We saw that we pray to God who is the father in heaven, and we were taught that we put our desire for the kingdom of God first into our prayer and then lift up our needs to him whatever they are.

• ok. So, till now, we’ve looked at Lord’s prayer really quickly. We saw that we pray to God who is the father in heaven, and we were taught that we put our desire for the kingdom of God first into our prayer and then lift up our needs to him whatever they are.

And do you remember that we are going to insert a time in the service in the future and we will take turns each week and let him or her whose turn is in that week lead a short prayer for us. In other words, it is just basically come to the front and pray, with which you supposed to prepare in advance. So, let me give you some tips for your prayer. Please keep these in mind. First, call out the father God when you pray. It’s easy, right? You can add other names belong to him when you call upon him ‘father’, but I encourage you not to miss ‘father’. Second, pray for his kingdom and his will first. You can ask yourself, what you would desire for his kingdom. How do you want his kingdom to be realized in this world? You can pray like this. ‘Father God, I pray that the worship we lift up to you today is worthy of your glory.’ Because to wish this worship to be worthy of his glory is to seek his will first. You might as well pray “Heavenly Father, I pray that we could all love you more than anything.” To love him is the purpose of our lives according to the scripture. So it is totally fair, or even great to pray like this. After you prayed for his kingdom you can go on and pray for our earthly needs. You may pray for special events that we have to prepare, you may pray for the retreat we are going to have, you may pray for the people who are sick, you may also pray for your school or school life, for your upcoming exam, and everything. After done with all the petitions, we finish our prayer with Jesus’s name. Because he is the only bridge to God. Okay? If you remember these four points, then, no matter how clumsy your language is, no matter how you feel about yourself after go down from the stage after praying, it is a good prayer. He will take joy in you for trying. Okay? I will announce the details in coming weeks. We will gradually do this step by step, so you don’t have to be panicked.