Pray to the Father (2)

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Good Morning One HopeName / Matt 6:9-10 / BiblesTwo Week Series - Pray Like Jesus — Thru Lord’s PrayerMost Famous, Most Well Known PrayersIn danger of losing it’s power. Many who have recited it will little or no understanding of it’s meaning.Perhaps some of you in here. But this PRAY HAS POWER. In-fact, this PRAYER CONTAINS EVERYTHING.

You ever known someone and wished you had their faith? they seem so knowledgable and joyful.

This is what the disciples noticed in Jesus.

He seemed to know how to pray with power and passion.

they wanted that. So that asked him.

Lord, teach us to pray.

They meant by this that they would like to be able to pray as He prayed. `We wish we knew God as You know Him. (Lloyd Jones)

​Luke 11:1 ESVNow 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.”

But Jesus is not teaching us to pray these words exactly. Altough that is a fine thing to do. Rather, is is showing us how to pray. He is giving us a PATTERN OF PRAYER. It is this PATTERN that we will look at over the next two weeks. It informs of WHO WE SHOUDL PRAY TOHOW WE SHOULD PRAYWHAT WE SHOULD PRAY

PRAY

Nation. Lift up the name of Jesus.

WHO WE PRAY TO: THE FATHER

The first thing we see is taht Jesus indeed does tell us to prayThe very first word (in greek) is crucial for everything that follows

FATHER OF US (OUR FATHER)

This is perhaps the MOST SIGNFICANT WORD.God is OUR FATHER.We ask why?b/c of Jesus Christ. Jesus calls him “My Father”When we believe in Jesus we are made children of God

​John 1:12 ESVBut to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

B/C God is our FATHER, we can ask anything of him. And he will listen to us. This is the beauty of the Relationship.

Who do kids go to when they want or need something?

Ans: Their Parents.

Why? B/C they know they these are the people that God has put on this earth to take care of them, to know them, to love them, to instruct them.

This is espically true of younger kids. In this, we have something to learn from kids in our we relate to God, our Father.

​Matthew 18:3–4 ESVand said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

What does this mean?It means we all grew up and became foolish. We thought that ‘honoring God’ was becoming independent of him. But this is a lie. God is glorified when we have our needs met in him. We see this in our own kids. The older they get the more independent they want to become. Now, part of this is right and true.But we are never raising kids to be truly independent. Our goal in parenting is that kids would find their dependence on God, the father. As parents we need to raise our kids in the discipline and instruction of the lord so that they too will come to him in prayer. That GOD IS OUR FATHER through Jesus Christ is EVERYTHING. ADOPTIONDo you know the difference between God as Creator and God as Father?Like why doesn’t Jesus just pray “Our Creator” ?The difference = RELATIONSHIPThere is a warmth, a love to the Father-child relationship. I realize in saying that, that some of you don’t have warm feelings when you think of your father. but try to imagine everything you wish a father was. Loving, ecnouraign, present, caring, involved, invested. This is God, our FATHER

IN HEAVEN

Where is OUR Father?Notice it says “in heaven”What does that mean?First it means that he is ETERNAL, INFINITE AND ALMIGHTYSecondly it means that he is NEAR.Heaven is not so much a different PLACE as it is a DIFFERENT PLANE Luke 17:20-21 ““The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”The Father then, is always Near.

WHAT DO WE PRAY FOR

Three things we ask for:God-Centered. When we pray, we dont’ start with us, we start with God.

1. HONOR TO YOU NAME

Matt 6:9b “Hallowed be your name”What does this mean?CSB “your name be honored as holy”Hallow = make holy, to honor, respect. The first thing we pray:That God’s Name be honored, lifted up, respected, revered. Basically, may your name be GLORIFIED

This is the essence of the first three of the Ten Commandments: “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything.… You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God …” (Ex. 20:3–7; Deut. 5:7–11)

So we can ask…when we pray. Is the first thing we pray, the thing we most care about, the thing we long for most...is that God’s name would be lifted up?Most of us are just concerned with what we want or need. This isn’t bad, as we’ll see next week. It’s just not what’s most important. This is the highest prayer, the highes call, the greatest desire.That the name of the lord be honored among the nations. And of course: we can start with us.Is God’s name honored in my life?the princple here is when we get our priorities in life right, all the other things (that we pray for) more easily fall into place, some of them dissappear all together.

2. YOUR KINGDOM COME

MATT 6:10 “Your kingdom come”What is God’s Kingdome?Ans: Anywhere that God is reigning. The whole world is under the power of the evil one (John 14:30, 1 John 5:19)We were all born as children of wrath (Eph 2:1)You want to know what’s wrong with the world?God’s Kingdom has not fully come. It means, that God isn’t reignign and ruling in the hearts of men and women. If he were, the world would be a much better place. And so we long for this…we pray for this. In-fact this is really the oldes prayer known.“Come Lord Jesus!” (1 Cor 16:22)So again we can ask ourselves:Is God’s Kingdom coming through my life?

3. YOUR WILL BE DONE

The third thing we pray for is that God’s Will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. What this means then is God’s will be done, not ours. it is all good and find to ask for things, but not to demand themGod does know what’s best. And so we pray that ‘thy will be done’ rather than “my will be done”Jesus prayed this in his hour of deepest distress.

​Matthew 26:39 ESVAnd going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Here more clearly than anywhere the purpose of prayer becomes plain: not to make God do my will (which is practicing magic), but to bring my will into line with his (which is what it means to practice true religion). (Packer 180)

What it cost him to pray thus we shall never know. What it may cost us to accept God’s will we cannot say either—which is, perhaps, as well.

God’s will here is two things, his purpose for events and his command to his people.

In relation to the former, “thy will be done” expresses the spirit of meekness, which accepts without complaining whatever God sends, or fails to send.

In relation to the latter, we are asking God to teach us all that we should do and make us both willing and able for the task.

Can you pray this from the heart? It is not so easy as it looks.

God’s will is ALWAYS DONE in HEAVENWe ask now that it will be done here on EARTHAnd again, it starts with us:God, how can your will be done in my life?

APPLICATION

This then, is how we should pray. To OUR FATHERFor HIS GLORYfor HIS KINGDOM TO COMEfor HIS WILL TO BE DONE.Prayer is first and foremost — radically God-Centered. One Hope Church — Can we begin to pray this way in 2020?The PATTERN for prayer is laid out by Jesus. It’s first and foremost about God