THE MODEL PRAYER

INTRODUCTION

OPENING STORY: JUMPER CABLES. WE’VE ALL SEEN OR BEEN THERE HAVEN’T WE? TWO CARS PULLED OVER ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD FACING EACH OTHER, CONNECTED BY SOMETHING CALLED A JUMPER CABLE. WHAT’S GOING ON? SOMEONE HAS A DEAD BATTERY, WHILE THE OTHER HAS THE ALIVE BATTERY, AND THE JUMPER CABLES PUMP THE LIFE OF THE ALIVE BATTERY INTO THE DEAD BATTERY, CAUSING IT TO COME ALIVE. THIS IS WHAT JUMPER CABLES DO- THEY TRANSFER LIFE.

CONNECTING TO THE AUDIENCE: JESUS SAYS THAT HE HAS COME THAT WE MIGHT HAVE LIFE AND LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY. BIOS VS. ZOE. JESUS USES ZOE…WE ARE ALL IN NEED OF ZOE. AND JESUS GETS IT TO US THROUGH THE JUMPER CABLES OF PRAYER...

THE PROBLEM: WE DON’T SEE THAT WE ARE IN NEED OF LIFE. AT OUR CORE WE ARE PRIDEFUL, INDEPENDENT PEOPLE WHO THINK WE CAN MAKE IT ON OUR OWN…THIS IS WHY ALL OF US KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO GO THROUGH SIGNIFICANT STRETCHES OF PRAYERLESSNESS…JESUS, IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, IS TALKING TO HIS FOLLOWERS AND HE IS SAYING DO NOT BE LIKE THAT. IF YOU ARE GOING TO LIVE INTO THE FULLNESS OF THE KINGDOM YOU MUST BE PEOPLE OF PRAYER!

CONTEXT: BUT WHAT EXACTLY IS PRAYER? PRAYER IS A COMMUNICATIVE ENCOUNTER WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHRIST-FOLLOWERS AND THEIR HEAVENLY FATHER. AS TIM KELLER SAYS, PRAYER IS NOT SO MUCH GETTING WHAT YOU WANT, BUT ENCOUNTERING WHO YOU WANT.

ILLUSTRATION OF BEING IN A GROCERY STORE WITH MY WIFE’S LIST THAT SHE TEXTED ME, AND I HAVE NO CLUE WHERE THINGS ARE. ONE OF THE WORKERS NOTICED ME LOOKING CONFUSED, AND HE TOOK MY LIST AND WE KNOCKED IT OUT QUICKLY. I SAID THANKS AND THAT WAS IT, HAVEN’T SEEN HIM SINCE. THERE WAS NOT RELATIONSHIP THERE. THAT’S HOW MANY OF US USE PRAYER WITH GOD. HERE’S MY LIST, NOW LET’S CHECK IT OFF. PRAYER THIS WAY IS A MEANS OF CONTROL. GOD YOU FULFILL MY LIST AND I’M HAPPY. BUT THIS IS NOT WHAT PRAYER IS…IT’S ENCOUNTER

SEE ADAM AND EVE IN THE GARDEN. MOSES. JESUS.

BUT THIS PRAYER SHOWS US HOW TO PRAY. REVIEW OF LAST WEEK AND THE BIG THREE BUCKETS. NOW WE ARE GOING TO GET INTO THE WEEDS, AND JESUS SAYS WE ARE TO, IN PRAYER, ADORE, ACCEPT AND ASK.

ADORING- VERSE 9

EXPLANATION: SERMON ON THE MOUNT IS NOT MEANT TO BE PRAYED VERBATIM. NOT WRONG IF YOU DO, BUT YOU MISS OUT ON SO MUCH. I THINK THIS IS WHAT MARTIN LUTHER WAS GETTING TO WHEN HE WROTE:

“How many pray the Lord’s Prayer several thousand times in the course of a year, and if they were to keep on doing so for a thousand years they would not have [really prayed or tasted it at all]. In a word, the Lord’s Prayer is the greatest martyr on earth … Everybody tortures and abuses it; few take comfort and joy in its proper use.”

MORE LIKE THE TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE IN A BOOK…THEY ARE CHAPTER HEADINGS, AND THE FIRST CHAPTER HEADING IN THE BOOK OF PRAYER IS WHAT WE WOULD CALL ADORING…TO HALLOW HIS NAME IS TO DECLARE HIS NAME TO BE HOLY. IT IS AN IMPERATIVE. IT IS REALLY THE IDEA OF PRAISE OR ADORATION. WHY DOES JESUS USE THE TERM NAME? BECAUSE NAME SIMPLY MEANS CHARACTER. IN THE BIBLE, WHENEVER THEY WOULD NAME SOMEONE IT WAS A HOPEFUL ASPIRATION OF WHO THE PERSON NAMED WOULD BECOME. SO NAME IS CHARACTER.

PRINCIPLE: HERE’S WHAT JESUS IS SAYING: THE MORE WE KNOW GOD’S CHARACTER, THE DEEPER OUR ADORATION. THE MORE LOST WE WILL BECOME IN WONDER. THIS IS THE STARTING POINT OF PRAYER…ADORATION.

ILLUSTRATION: IMAGINE YOUR AT A DINNER AND YOU’RE SITTING ACROSS AN ELDERLY GENTLEMAN YOU’VE NEVER MET BEFORE. BEING POLITE YOU ASK HIM HIS NAME AND HE SAYS LOUIS. AND YOU’RE LIKE COOL, TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF, WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN? AND HE’S LIKE NOT MUCH NOW, I’M ALMOST 100, BUT I USED TO RUN. REALLY? LIKE TRACK? YEP. WERE YOU GOOD? WELL I RAN IN THE 1936 OLYMPICS. REALLY? NOW YOU’RE INTRIGUED. WELL, DID YOU MEET JESSE OWENS THERE? SURE DID. ANY OTHER COOL PEOPLE? YEP, WELL, HE’S NOT COOL, VERY EVIL. I ACTUALLY GOT CALLED UP TO HITLERS BOX AND SHOOK HIS HAND- THIS WAS BEFORE WE KNEW HOW BAD HE WAS…WOW. HE GOES ONTO TELL YOU HE SERVED IN WWII…HIS PLANE GETS SHOT DOWN IN THE PACIFIC, HE MIRACULOUSLY SURVIVES FOR WEEKS, GETS PICKED UP BY THE JAPANESE, SPENDS YEARS IN A CONCENTRATION CAMP. COMES OUT AND GETS SAVED AT BILLY GRAHAM’S REVIVAL, AND HAS GONE BACK TO JAPAN TO FORGIVE THOSE WHO TORMENTED HIM. THIS IS ALL TRUE BY THE WAY- LOUIS ZAMPERINI. AND BY THE END OF THE DINNER YOU ARE ADORING THIS PERSON. WHY? BECAUSE YOU’VE GOTTEN TO KNOW THEM AND THEIR CHARACTER. THE MORE WE KNOW SOMEONE’S CHARACTER THE MORE PRONE WE ARE TO ADORE THEM. THIS IS WHAT JESUS IS ASAYING.

POINT: SHOW ME ANYONE WHO STRUGGLES ADORING GOD AND I WILL SHOW YOU SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T REALLY KNOW GOD. WORSHIP BEGINS WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. GOD IS SAYING ‘GOOGLE ME’. AND YOU’LL ADORE ME. GET TO KNOW HIS NAMES- JEHOVAH…THE PERSONAL GOD WHO PUTS FOOD ON OUR TABLE. ELOHIM. THE STRONG GOD WHO CONQUERS OUR ENEMIES. Lord OR MASTER WHO IS IN CONTROL.

GRAND CANYON ILLUSTRATION: BUT I’M NOT JUST TALKING BOOK KNOWLEDGE, WHICH IS IMPORTANT. BUT ALSO ENCOUNTER OR EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE. IT’S ONE THING TO FLY OVER THE GRAND CANYON…IT’S ANOTHER THING TO STAND IN IT. THERE’S NO WAY YOU CAN STAND IN THE GRAND CANYON AND NOT REALLY WORSHIP OR ADORE. GOD IS SAYING IT’S THE SAME WITH HIM. WHEN YOU’VE REALLY ENCOUNTERED HIM, YOU’LL ADORE HIM.

APPLICATION: OH FRIENDS, I WONDER IF THERE’S SOMEONE HERE WHO’S REALLY ENCOUNTERED HIM?!

ACCEPTING- VERSE 10

EXPLANATION: NOW WE MOVE TO ACCEPTING. LOOK AT VERSE 10. WE ARE TO PRAY YOUR KINGDOM COME AND YOUR WILL BE DONE. WHAT IS GOD’S KINGDOM AND WILL? WELL, LOOK AT THE GOSPELS AND WHAT JESUS DID. IT’S AS SIMPLE AS THAT. WHEN JESUS CAME TO ANNOUNCE THE KINGDOM WE SEE THAT INVOLVED TWO THINGS. FIRST IT INVOLVED THE SALVATION OF SOULS. THAT’S WHY JESUS WOULD SAY REPENT FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND. BUT THERE’S MORE. JESUS WOULD ALSO FEED PEOPLE, CLOTHE PEOPLE, HEAL PEOPLE AND MINISTER TO THEIR PHYSICAL FELT NEEDS. SO THAT WHEN WE PRAY FOR THE KINGDOM TO COME WE ARE PRAYING THAT PEOPLE WOULD COME TO KNOW JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOR, TURNING FROM THEIR SINS AND TURNING TO HIM. AND WE ARE ALSO PRAYING THAT POVERTY WOULD BE ERADICATED, DISEASES WOULD BE HEALED AND PEOPLE’S PHYSICAL NEEDS WOULD BE MET. NOW HERE’S THE SNEAKY THING. WHEN YOU PRAY THAT YOU SUDDENLY REALIZE THAT JESUS IS INVITING YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT. AND SO AS DISCIPLES OF JESUS WE NOW ACCPET HIS INVITATION TO BRING HIS KINGDOM HERE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. IT’S ACCEPTING!

ILLUSTRATION: RECENTLY KORIE AND I WERE IN A SECTION OF GREECE WHERE WE DROVE IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION…WE ALL KNOW WHY. IT WAS OBVIOUS ENGLAND HAD BEEN THERE. THIS FOREIGN COUNTRY AT ONE POINT WAS UNDER BRITISH RULE. AND BECAUSE OF THAT THE AGENDA, MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF ENGLAND HAD BEEN TRANSPORTED THOUSANDS OF MILES TO THIS NEW COUNTRY, AND THE MARKS WERE STILL THERE. THAT’S THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. WE ARE CALLED TO TAKE THE AGENDA OF A FAR AWAY PLACE LIKE HEAVEN AND BRING IT TO BEAR ON OUR SPHERES OF INFLUENCE SO THAT PEOPLE CAN SAY, GOD WAS HERE.

PERSONAL ILLUSTRATION: WHERE I GET MY HAIRCUT, VILE MUSIC, SMELL OF WEED, FOUL MOUTHED, BUT THIS WEEK GOD SAID I NEED YOU TO DIVE IN AND JUST SHARE THE GOOD NEWS. SO I DID…PRAYING THE KINGDOM WILL BREAK OUT. GOD WAS HERE. HOMELESS PEOPLE UNDER AN OVERPASS. HOLY SPIRIT IS LIKE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT. YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRING THE KINGDOM TO THEM RIGHT NOW. GOD WAS HERE. 20/20 VISION AND PEOPLE WHO WENT TO MEXICO EARLIER THIS YEAR TO BUILD A HOME FOR THOSE WHO NEEDED IT, AND SHARE THE GOSPEL. THAT’S BRINGING THE KINGDOM! GOD WAS HERE.

APPLICATION: WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT YOU AND I EXIST TO NOT FULFILL OUR AGENDA, BUT GOD’S. GOD WANTS YOU TO BRING HIS KINGDOM IN YOUR SPHERES OF INFLUENCE...

ASKING- VERSES 11-13

EXPLANATION: HAVING FULFILLED GOD’S AGENDA BY ADORING HIM AND ACCEPTING HIS INVITATION TO ADVANCE HIS AGENDA HERE ON EARTH, NOW WE CAN GET TO OUR AGENDA. NOW WE CAN ASK. SOME OF YOU ARE LIKE, FINALLY! HE TELLS US TO BEGIN BY ASKING FOR DAILY BREAD. TAKES US BACK TO THE EXODUS EVENT AND MANNA FROM HEAVEN. DAILY. THEY HAD TO DEPEND ON GOD. AND JUST ENOUGH FOR THAT DAY. THIS IS THE IMAGE. NOTICE, IT’S DAILY BREAD, AND NOT DAILY CROISSANTS. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? GOD IS FOR OUR NEEDS, NOT OUR GREEDS.

ILLUSTRATION: MY KIDS WILL COME TO ME ASKING FOR THE JORDAN’S. LIKE $200. I TELL THEM MY JOB IS TO SUPPLY YOUR NEEDS, NOT YOUR GREEDS. SO I GIVE THEM A REASONABLE LIMIT, AND IF THEY WANT TO ADD TO THAT TO GET WHAT THEY WANT THAT’S FINE. BUT WHERE MY HEART GETS MOVED IS WHEN I’LL LOOK AT THEIR PANTS AFTER GOING THROUGH A GROWTH SPURT AND IT’S TOO SHORT, AND I’M LIKE, LET’S GO SHOPPING, THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. THIS IS WHAT FATHER’S DO. WE PROVIDE FOR NEEDS. .

KORIE AND I HAVE SEEN GOD DO REMARKABLE THINGS IN OUR LIVES ALONG THESE LINES. ONE OF OUR SONS CAME TO US AND SAID, HEY, JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW I CAN’T GET WITH THIS JESUS THING. HE’D SEEN HYPOCRISY AT HIS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL (BEWARE)…WE PRAYED FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS…GOD SHOWED UP AND HE’S SAVED AND WALKING WITH JESUS. BUT WE SAID WE HAVE A NEED AND WE KNOW YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW YOU. THIS IS DAILY BREAD STUFF.

APPLICATION...

EXPLANATION: ASK FOR FORGIVENESS. INTERESTING, THIS TAKES HUMILITY TO ADMIT YOU ARE WRONG. CONFESSION. BE SPECIFIC AND CONFIDENT. . . WE CAN BOLDLY APPROACH FOR FORGIVENESS. AND JUST AS IT TAKES HUMILITY TO RECEIVE FORGIVENESS IT TAKES HUMILITY TO EXTEND FORGIVENESS. IT’S THE EPITOME OF HYPOCRISY TO SAY LORD FORGIVE ME WHILE YOU REFUSE TO FORGIVE OTHERS.

ILLUSTRATION OF THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT.

EXPLANATION: ASK FOR PROTECTION. LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION. LORD YOU KNOW MY WEAKNESSES…PROTECT ME!