Pray Like This #2

v1 - “Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them” - instead, let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works & give all the glory to your Father

vv2-18 - “3 pillars of piety” - giving, prayer, fasting

False righteousness vs Spirit-enabled righteousness

2 weeks ago, “Pray in Secret,” vv5-6, definition of prayer: To call upon God for the fulfillment of a need or hope

Addressed the problem of prayerless praying - pretending to communicate with God in order to impress others - fake piety

The practice - pray in a way that God gets all the glory - pray “in secret” and your Father who sees in secret will reward you (in heaven and by answering your prayers now)

Last wk, Pastor Steve - the Lord’s Prayer vv7-10, and who it is we are called to pray to - Our Father, the one who provides. Unlike earthly fathers, God the Father is perfectly good, loving, righteous.

vv7-10

Structure - Lord’s Prayer is two parts - vv7-10 = “God-centered” ; 11-13 - Humble requests.

- Manna, “Then you will know and see”

At end of , after ten plagues that deprived Egypt of water, safety, comfort, health, grain, livestock, light, and the lives of their firstborn, Israel walked out of slavery by God’s hand.

Again and again, in the days leading up to the great rescue of Israel, the LORD told Israel and Egypt in advance what He would do, and that in the midst of each plague He would provide for Israel, so that everyone would know that He was the LORD, who cared for His people and had come to deliver them.

He guided them up from the verdant lowlands of the Nile delta until their backs were to the Red Sea, and Pharaoh sent his terrifying war chariots after them. But the LORD provided a way through the sea, and cut off Egypt’s pursuit forever. He led them into the arid wastes called Shur, and when they found no water, the LORD provided.

tells us that after Elim, the people entered another deserted land, the wilderness of Sin. Israel immediately exchanged faith for fear.

into the arid Egyptian wastes,

The whole reason they were on the other side of the Red Sea, out of slavery, an open horizon before them, with treasures strapped to mules and oxen that had been given by the Egyptians - was because God had heard their prayers.

When Israel reaches the shores of the Red Sea,

Exodus 2:23–25 ESV

23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

But now, in the wilderness, they were afraid and grumbled against Moses.

Exodus 16:6–7 ESV

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?”

And the people looked out on that open horizon and saw the glory of the LORD in the pillar of cloud,

Exodus 16:12 ESV

12 “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”

exod 16.12

And every evening, the LORD sent enough quail to fill every belly, and every morning He showered the earth with something strange. They didn’t know what it was, so they called it “manna,” which is Hebrew for “What is it?” But the LORD called it bread, so they ground it into flour and it was perfect for bread.

It was always enough for each day, and if they left any overnight, it was ruined in the morning. He provided, according to His promise, and they knew.

Every time they thought things were impossible, God led them through. Even in their grumbling and complaining, the God who saves sinners remained true to His covenant word. In the wilderness, He set a feast for them.

Jesus introduced what we call the LORD’s Prayer, or what Steve called the Disciple’s Prayer, with a reminder in

Matthew 6:7–8 ESV

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

As we turn to the next section of the Lord’s Prayer today, we’re going to focus on verse 11, “Give us this day our daily bread.” But I want you to remember something that the Israelite’s kept forgetting on their way out of Egypt: God knew where He was taking them. He knew there was a sea in the way. He knew there were two separate wildernesses before they could reach Sinai. He knew there was no water and no food. He knew what they needed before they grumbled, before they complained, before they asked, every single time.

The Gentiles thought they had to heap up empty phrases to get their gods’ attention, because they were insignificant to their gods. For the Gentiles, prayer was sort of like a Presidential press conference - Zeus and Baal only had so much attention to go around, so you had to trick them into listening to you. When Elijah gathered all the prophets of Baal at Mt Carmel in , 450 prophets spent all day shouting out to Baal, to no effect. They limped around the altar. At noon, Elijah mocked them saying, “Hmmm. Baal must be spaced out. Shout louder! Maybe he’s in the bathroom. Isn’t he a god? Why doesn’t he answer? Maybe he’s on a journey. I’ve got it - he must be asleep. Shout louder!”

But no matter what they did, Baal didn’t answer. He didn’t respond when they cut themselves in ritual blood offerings. They raved till the end of the day, to no effect.

But Elijah called out to the One True God, YHWH, with just 34 words in Hebrew, and God answered. Unlike the false gods of the nations, the LORD heard every word.

1 Kings 18:37 ESV

37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”

1 ki 1

Here in , Jesus says, “Don’t be like the Gentiles, because your Father in Heaven is not like their false gods." He is, first of all, Father to all who come to Him by faith in Jesus Christ. And He knows what you need, and He stands ready to answer every prayer, every plea, even the half-grumbled prayers of the half-crumpled disciple.

If you look at the Lord’s Prayer in your Bible, it can be divided the prayer into two sections - Pastor Steve took part one, and I’m taking part two. Part one is incredibly God-focused. When you pray the first part of this prayer, you remind yourself who it is that we have access to in prayer. He is Our Father in Heaven - the creator of all that is, who as Steve reminded us last week is both near to us as Father and wondrously, gloriously over all - in Heaven.

And God answered. He did not need

Verses 9-10 help us as Jesus’s disciples refocus our attention in prayer on what actually matters.

“Hallowed be your name.” We are asking God to do in our age what He did in Moses’s day - to make His own Name great. To set apart His Name in our own hearts, and in the world around us.

“Your kingdom come.” We are calling upon God to fulfill His great plan, that every tribe and tongue and nation would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord.

“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Pastor Steve said that God has no rivals in heaven. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He said to His Father, “Your will be done,” and here on earth, not only did He perfectly do what His Father willed, but He accomplished our redemption so that saved sinners could begin to do their Father’s will.

____

In the second section of the Lord’s Prayer, verses 11-13, Jesus models for us how Kingdom-focused disciples will bring their needs to God. In just these 3 verses, Jesus teaches us how to bring every kind of need to God. Earthly needs in verse 11, spiritual needs in verse 12, and moral needs in verse 13.

But Jesus didn’t stop there. In the second section of the Lord’s Prayer, verses 11-13, Jesus models for us how Kingdom-focused disciples will bring their needs to God. It’s no exaggeration to say that in just these 3 verses, Jesus teaches us how to bring every kind of need to God. Earthly needs in verse 11, spiritual needs in verse 12, and moral needs in verse 13.

He first says, “Your kingdom come,” and then, in that context, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Towards the end of chapter 6, Jesus tells us not to be anxious about what we will eat. And he says, “look at the birds of the air. They don’t sow or reap or store up grain, but your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Matthew 6:32–33 ESV

32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Kingdom People know that God loves them, and knows what they need, and the Cross is absolute proof that He holds nothing back. So, he says, seek the Kingdom and pray "your kingdom come,” and bring your needs to God without anxiety or fear, with confidence that your Father hears.

Let’s dig deeper into verse 11 and answer the question: How should Kingdom People pray about earthly needs?

I. Seek God before bread (“Give us...”)

Just as we saw in verses 7-10, Jesus calls us to put the One to whom we pray before the things we pray about. The prayer is not, “We need our daily bread,” but a call to our Father, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Just as we’ve seen throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus never lets the relationship between God and His people out of the center. Think about what’s implied in those two words, “Give us.”

It's a prayer of faith - faith that God is able to give. And it acknowledges God’s grace - every good thing is a gift from a gracious God.

Those two words start us off on the right direction because the Father to whom we say “Give us” is the Father whose kingdom comes in salvation, whose Name is hallowed by rebels and sinners who wanted nothing to do with Him being overtaken by the foundation-shaking thunderclap of His love when they hear the Good News and repent. And believe. And come to know Him personally.

Kingdom People are people who have come to know Him as Savior and Lord, and they know that His steadfast love is better than life. As David says in , our souls will be satisfied as with fat and rich food when we remember Him and meditate on Him. Seek God before the bread.

ILLUST: In , before the Sermon on the Mount, we read of Jesus’ time in the wilderness. Like Israel in Exodus, there was no food, and at the end of his 40 day fast, Jesus was hungry. And the tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

ILLUST:

mat 4.4

Matthew 4:4 ESV

4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

Quoting , Jesus pointed back to the truth that it was His relationship to His Father that sustained Him, not bread. To put God before food is to have all that you need; to put food before God is to trade eternity for a full stomach like Esau trading his birthright.

Kingdom People pray for earthly needs by putting the Giver before the gift. Treasure God over all else.

Look back at verse 11 again, and we’ll take the next two words:

II. Ask boldly for a speedy answer (“Give us this day”)

III. Ask in complete dependence

When we pray “Your Kingdom come,” we’re asking God to finish His plans. The final prayer in the Bible comes after Jesus says, “Surely I am coming soon.” The Apostle John writes his response, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” We do not know when He will return, when our faith will turn to sight, when our sorrows will all be wiped away and joy will replace weeping for eternity. But our prayers ought regularly to include a plea for Him to return quickly.

We don’t have to ask tentative, vague, open-ended prayers. He says in v9 right before the Lord’s Prayer, “Pray then like this:” Give us this day.

Lord, don’t wait. Don’t delay. Today, Lord, send the rain.

When Peter stepped out of the boat in faith, to go out to Jesus,

This is not a timid prayer. There’s no diplomacy here.

Have you ever had someone offer over text message to do something for you, but you’re not quite sure how to respond without sounding demanding? Like maybe you get a text, “Want anything from Starbucks?” And you’re thinking, “Well, what I want is a triple iced grande double foam upside down caramel macchiato with an extra straw,” but you don’t know if they really meant it. What if they just meant “Can I buy you a $2 cup of plain coffee and maybe put some creamer in it?” but you’re not sure. But how do you put that in a text?

So then you txt, “Sure, I’ll take a triple iced grande double foam upside down caramel machiatto with an extra straw,” and it looks ridiculous. So you delete it, then type, “Sure - I’ll take a tall coffee with half and half,” but that’s not actually what you want. So you delete that and send a compromise text: “Sure - I’ll take an iced latte.”

And all out of relational anxiety, you end up making your friend spend their money on a drink you don’t really want. Or even worse, you end up just responding, “No thanks,” not because you don’t have a request, but because you don’t know what to say.

, and so you type out the message, then delete it, then try to write it again, then just admit defeat an

Jesus says you can call upon God with boldness. You can call upon Him for a speedy answer. He knows your need before you ask.

The author of the Hebrews puts it this way:

Hebrews 10:19–25 ESV

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:19–22 ESV

What good thing are you afraid to ask God for? I knew a man who had served as a missionary before returning to the States for medical reasons. He was still doing evangelism and discipleship, and at the same time he was trying to make ends meet in a very difficult sales job. Not only was his paycheck intensely tied to sales commissions, but his company set targets designed to weed out all but the absolute best of the best. We sat together and he said, “I don’t know what to pray for. Is it wrong to pray to make sales? It feels like I’m just praying for money.” But it hit me that no Israelite was ever afraid to pray for rain and a good harvest. I said to him, “Why should you be afraid to ask God to provide for your family?”

I expect some of you are afraid to ask God for help, because you’re not sure you’re supposed to, even though you pray for others all the time. Or you’re afraid to pray specific prayers with specific requests. Jesus says, “Pray like this: Give us this day our daily bread.”

I mentioned two weeks ago that missionary George Mueller recorded 50,000 answered prayers over 60 years, and 30,000 answered within a single day.

Ask boldly, and ask for a speedy answer.

And now, let’s turn to the end of the verse:

III. Ask in complete dependence (“Give us this day our daily bread”)

"Daily bread” - what does that phrase call up in your mind? If you thought of manna in , you’re on the right track. Since the Lord gave manna in the morning and quail in the evening, it became common among the Jews to think of a loaf of bread as the basic daily need. To pray “Give us this day our daily bread” is to ask the LORD to provide today what we need for the day ahead of us. Remember what God said before He began to send manna to Israel in the wilderness:

Exodus 16:12 ESV

In a moment of complete dependence, Israel had everything they needed with daily bread. And they knew who sent it.

In , the LORD

“Daily bread” is

This is one of the more difficult words for our Bible translators. In fact, the word translated “this day” does not occur in any known Greek text except here and in later writings by Christians about the Lord’s Prayer. It either means “

Later in , before Elijah confronted the 450 prophets of Baal, the LORD had already sent him to remind Ahab that it was the LORD who was in charge of the rain. And when He sent a drought on the land, He provided for Elijah every day in the wilderness east of the Jordan.

Then, in obedience to the LORD, Elijah went to Zarephath to a widow. She had just enough flour and oil to make one loaf of bread to share with her son, and then she was sure they would die. But the LORD spoke through Elijah that the flour and oil would be enough. Day after day, she was able to make enough for herself, and her son, and Elijah. The LORD provided her daily bread.

“Give us this day our daily bread" is a prayer for enough. Not a prayer for luxury. And not a prayer for too little. Why did God give manna each day? And send ravens to Elijah each day? And give enough oil and flour for each day?

Agur son of Jakeh, who wrote chapter 30 of the book of Proverbs, prayed

Proverbs 30:8–9 ESV

8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, 9 lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

Godly wisdom knows that wealth and poverty are both hazardous to the soul. The Israelites were warned, when they were in the wilderness, fed by manna, that one day they would come into the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey, a paradise compared to the wilderness. In , Moses says, “When you enter that land, take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”

“Daily bread” is a request to have what is needed, and to know that it came from the LORD. In other words, it’s not just a request for our earthly needs to be met, but for them to be met in a way that keeps our eyes on the LORD and His Kingdom.

“Give us this day our daily bread” is a prayer of utter dependence. And the amazing thing about utter dependence upon God is that it teaches us Christ-centered contentment.

Paul understood this, which is why he says in

Philippians 4:11–13 ESV

11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

philippians 4.1

Conclusion

Christ-centered contentment

APPLICATION

So it turns out that every piece of this verse points us not to ourselves or our earthly need, but to our heavenly Father, because He is our greatest need and the One who can fill our daily needs.

Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

We are called to seek God more than we seek bread, to ask with boldness, and to ask in utter dependence.

So what does that look like?

Illust:

In prison, in Rome, Paul writes to the Philippians “I have learned the secret - I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Just a few verses earlier

Philippians 4:4–7 ESV

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

God knows where He is taking you

Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

- The Unforgiving Servant

- Elijah fed by ravens & the widow’s jar of flour and oil

Q. What should we pray for?

I. The Giver - The Father

II. The Gift - Bread

III. The Receivers - The Children

IV. The Regularity - Daily

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