The Lord's Way of Prayer

It’s the first Sunday in the new year and the first Sunday in a new sermon series called “The Way of Prayer.”

And I called this a NEW sermon series, but really this series is almost an extension of our previous series called THE WAY.

We finished out 2020 making sure PURPOSEFUL DISCIPLESHIP was our LIFESTYLE… more than words on a page… more than a bullet point in our family values statement...

At Oak Hill, we exist to make disciples… which means that we proclaim Jesus, equip servants, and send witnesses to the glory of God.

And we set out a vision at the end of 2020: for every person to take their next step in the way of a disciple together.

Really that’s a vision for every season… every year… every person taking their next step in the way of a disciple together.

Just last week, we summarized that sermon series and challenged everyone who calls Oak Hill “home” to take a self-assessment that’s available on our website.

It’s something that we have created as a tool to help you grow.

And so we are very much STILL APPLYING and focusing on PURPOSEFUL DISCIPLESHIP as we get into this next series which is about another one of our family values… FERVENT PRAYER.

You can’t have PURPOSEFUL DISCIPLESHIP if you don’t have FERVENT PRAYER.

You can’t walk in the way of a disciple if you aren’t walking in the way of prayer.

That’s because a disciple is someone who is growing in their dependence on and devotion to Jesus.

Dependence and devotion.

How do we express our dependence on God? FERVENT PRAYER!

You WILL NOT walk in a way that is DEVOTED to Jesus without first being DEPENDENT on him in prayer.

And so we’ve titled this series “The Way of Prayer: Praying TOGETHER on the Path of Discipleship.”

The focus is going to be on PRAYING TOGETHER...

If we are going to take our next steps in the way of a disciple TOGETHER… then we have to learn to pray TOGETHER.

Now that might sound scary… but let me assure you: there is nothing more NATURAL to discipleship than talking to our Heavenly Father and Lord together.

A lot of people are afraid of praying in front of other people... or with other people…

They think it sounds prideful...

Or maybe they ARE proud and they are self-conscious about saying something wrong...

But once we really understand prayer… and we understand the CRITICAL role it plays in WALKING IN THE WAY of a disciple, we will see that there is nothing more natural than for the church to pray TOGETHER.

Soccer teams pass the soccer ball around to warm up together.

Orchestras practice music together.

Soldiers train together.

Churches pray together.

Disciples talk to their Master together like their lives depend on it… because they do.

And so we have three goals that will help us support one another by praying together on the path of discipleship: (We’ll know we are supporting one another in prayer when…)

Prayer is the common "First Response" in our times of fellowship - Stop, Drop, and Pray TOGETHER. (One-on-One)

Each Gospel Community experiences full participation in the practice of Spirit-led, Scripture-fed, Worship-Based prayer in the pattern Jesus taught us. (Gospel Communities)

Engaged, expectant prayer TOGETHER marks every activity at Oak Hill. (Whole Church Prayer)

If we get after those things, we will be well on our way to supporting one another by praying together on the path of discipleship… and we will grow closer to Jesus.

Now if we want to understand a theology of praying TOGETHER, we can go to a lot of places in the scriptures..

But if we SPECIFICALLY want a theology of praying together on the path of discipleship, I can think of no better place to go than Luke-Acts.

That’s where we are going to camp out in our reading plan and sermon series for the next two months, and we are going to look at how the early disciples… the early church... prayed together as they learned to walk in “The Way” for the very first time.

Luke wrote both Luke and Acts as a two volume set… and he did it so that a guy named Theophilus would be CONVINCED concerning the things he had been taught about Jesus and what it meant to follow him.

And so today we are going to look at the role of prayer in JESUS’ life...

And then the rest of the series we are going to look at the role of prayer in the early church.

If we are going to be disciples of Jesus… then we need to understand how important prayer was to Jesus.

Big Idea: Walk in the way of a disciple by walking in the Lord's way of prayer.

Your Bibles are open to Luke 11 - Just to give you some context...

We aren’t even halfway through Luke’s Gospel… but at this point in the book, Jesus already has set his eyes toward Jerusalem…

This section is about his focus and teaching to prepare himself and his closest disciples for his death, resurrection and ascension in Jerusalem.

He has just sent his disciples out on a mission trip to prepare the way for him to come and preach in various towns throughout Israel, and they soon returned rejoicing because they had done BIG THINGS in Jesus name… the DEMONS listened to them!

But Jesus wanted them to understand that wonder of being a disciple is not about big fantastic moments… but in deep relationship with God… He said, “Marvel at this, that your names are written in the book of life.”

Luke goes on to show us through the parable of the Good Samaritan that being a disciple was’t about big ritualistic performance like the religious leaders of their day… it was about simple care and love for neighbor… it was about the way we RELATE to others.

And in the most recent context, through two sisters named Mary and Martha, we saw that being a disciple wasn’t about what you could do FOR Jesus… like the busy Martha who was anxious with much serving.

It was about sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to his teaching… like Mary… who chose the good portion that would not be taken from her.

It’s these familiar stories of the mission of the 72, and the parable of the Good Samaritan and the hospitality of Mary and Martha that lay the context for chapter 11:1… this ordinary extraordinary relationship of prayer.

This is the teaching commonly known as the Lord’s prayer.... and in it we learn so much about our Lord’s WAY of prayer.

[Read Luke 11:1-4]

Walk in the way of a disciple by walking in the Lord’s way of prayer.

Here we are going to see...

Three Steps to Following the Lord’s Way of Prayer

1) Observe the Lord's way of prayer.

Look at verse 1 - “Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray...”

Explain: Notice what is happening here - they are observing the Lord’s prayer life and they want some of it for themselves.

In Jesus, they saw a type of praying that was unique... they saw intimate relationship and devotion like they had never seen before.

Understand what’s happening when Jesus prays: The Eternal Son of God who enjoyed perfect relationship with God the Father from eternity past found it most natural to remain in constant communication with him while on earth.

THAT’S what drove JESUS’ prayer life.

Do you think he had some pretty kickin’ times of prayer?

But here’s the amazing thing: He taught US to pray with the exact same intimacy of relationship...

His model prayer teaches us to come to God and call him FATHER… it’s a word of intimacy.

We get the privilege of the Son from our union with the Son!

Because we are IN CHRIST we get to call God, “Father.”

We get to boldly come before the Father in the name of the Son and (according to verse 9) “…Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9)

We have to understand that Prayer is a RELATIONAL activity… not a ritual activity.

In the moment of prayer, we are expressing our relationship TO the Father THROUGH the work of the Son led by the Spirit who indwells us.

As Megan Hill says in her book Praying Together, “We are never praying alone.”

Prayer is a relational activity.

That’s the foundation for our praying TOGETHER as disciples… we come as a family talking to our Father.

When the disciples Observed the Lord’s way of prayer, they observed an intimate relationship… a relationship that defined Jesus’ habits and routines of everyday life.

See... you have to understand.. these disciples weren’t just observing Jesus in this moment… they were observing a REGULAR HABIT of Jesus’ life.

Luke, more than any other Gospel writer, wants to show us Jesus’ habit of prayer.

Jesus prayed. To follow Jesus is to pray.

Jesus prayed from the very start of his ministry. (Luke 3:21-22)

“Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”” (Luke 3:21–22, ESV)

Jesus prayed when other needs seemed more pressing. (Luke 5:15-16)

“But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” (Luke 5:15–16, ESV)

Jesus prayed at critical decision moments. (Luke 6:12-13)

“In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles...” (Luke 6:12-13)

Jesus prayed with his true disciples (Luke 9:18)

“Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”” (Luke 9:18, ESV)

Jesus fought for the priority of prayer among his people. (Luke 19:46)

“And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”” (Luke 19:45–46, ESV)

Jesus prayed for his true disciples. (Luke 22:31–32a)

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” (Luke 22:31–32a, ESV)

Jesus told his disciples to pray so that they wouldn’t fall into temptation on the night of his betrayal. (Luke 22:39-40)

“And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”” (Luke 22:39–40, ESV)

Jesus prayed to align his will with the Father’s as he took God’s just wrath toward sin upon himself at the cross. (Luke 22:41-42)

“And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”” (Luke 22:41–42, ESV)

Jesus prayed on the cross, asking the Father to forgive those who mocked him (Luke 23:34)

“And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

And Jesus' last words on the cross were words of trusting, surrendered prayer. (Luke 23:46)

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit! (Lk 23:46).

Jesus prayed. To follow Jesus is to follow him in the way of prayer.

Imagine following Jesus in person… watching him pray again and again… watching him ENJOY intimate relationship with God… would you want to pray more?

The disciples wanted to grow in prayer because they observed the LORD’S way of prayer.

A fervent prayer life is developed through observation and experience… first of our Savior… and then in those who demonstrate his same patterns of dependence and devotion to his Father.

Prayer is not something that can be merely taught in a classroom or in a lecture… or EVEN in a sermon series.

It must be MODELED and IMITATED.

Illustrate: I've been learning how to do very basic woodworking lately...

And I could listen to someone explain how to use a router or a table saw effectively...

But until I see it… and even more until I try it myself… I’ll never really get it.

Discipleship in prayer comes best through observation and experience.

We need to observe good models of prayer. We need to become immersed in the language and patterns of prayer.

That’s what we are going to do in this series… today we are observing Jesus…

We OBSERVE how Jesus prayed through the Gospel writer’s accounts of him.

In the weeks to come, we will observe those who immediately followed him and walked in his way.

Apply: Not only that, but one of the reasons we pray together is because that’s how we learn to pray.

In our Gospel Communities, we are going to go lighter on sermon discussion for a short season, and heavier on PRACTICING Spirit-led, Scripture-fed, Worship-based prayer.

We want to grow more and more comfortable with prayer as our native tongue.

As you are praying together, learn to practice prayer by observing those who pray like it’s their habit.

Learn to practice prayer by testing out the Lord’s way of prayer yourself.

Maybe you are more accustomed to praying because it IS your habit and this is one way you can disciple a younger believer: just start praying with them!

Think about this right now: who do you know that really has a vibrant prayer life?

NOT… who uses big fancy words… or sounds all prim and proper...

NOT… who says all the right things all the time...

Here’s the test: When they pray, you can tell they have an intimate relationship with God.

Take some time observing that person.

Maybe even take the next step and ASK them to mentor you in prayer.

That’s actually where the disciples go next in Luke 11...

Look at verse 1 again - “Now 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.””

The disciples had observed… and it made them want to learn for themselves...

2) Learn the Lord's way of prayer.

Explain: Look at the specific words this disciple uses… he asks, “Lord, Teach us...” There is so much in those first three words...

First, “Lord.”

He saw Jesus as the authoritative expert on prayer.

He is speaking to his Master… his Rabbi.

He want’s a distinctly “Jesus” way of praying.

Second, “Teach.”

The word for teach is interesting.

It implies he wanted a FORM of prayer… a PATTERN of prayer that Christ’s disciples could replicate.

It was common for different rabbis to have a specific pattern of prayer that was associated with THEIR disciples.

You could know who your Rabbi was by the way that you prayed.

It was a common language that the disciples could use to reflect the WAY of their master in prayer.

And this is exactly what Jesus gives them.

But he doesn’t want something MERELY for PRIVATE prayer…

Notice the third word: Us

He wanted a form of prayer for praying TOGETHER.

How can WE, disciples, pray together?

And again, this is what Jesus will give him.

Jesus responds by saying, “When you (plural) pray, say...”

ALL of the first-person pronouns in the Lord’s prayer are “US” and “OUR” instead of “me” and “my.”

In our culture, we tend to think of prayer as a PERSONAL and PRIVATE.

I hear people say, “I don’t pray in front of other people.”

Some people act like leading corporate prayer is some proud, arrogant activity (like what are you saying about the rest of us who lead corporate prayer???).

Jesus made ONE statement about praying alone in your closet (which is actually a poor translation as we see next week)… but he made ONE statement like that and we tend to act as if that’s ALL he said about prayer.

We act as if that one statement about not being proud in prayer is an excuse to neglect the consistent pattern of the New Testament, which is praying TOGETHER.

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t pray alone...

Jesus obviously did plenty of that...

But the consistent pattern of the early church was to pray TOGETHER.

To be a disciple is to grow comfortable with praying with other disciples.

And maybe that’s a step of growth that God wants you to take over the next few months.

Maybe that needs to be part of your purposeful discipleship next steps that you share with your GC.

Because praying TOGETHER is the way of a disciple. Here, Jesus responds to this disciple’s request with THE pattern for corporate prayer.

He gave them a pattern to stay together…

To stay on the same page as they prayed...

To make sure that one person wasn’t going off on some tangent and leaving everyone else behind...

He gave them a pattern to make sure their hearts stayed aligned to God’s as the Spirit led them through the various corridors and passages of the Lord’s prayer.

Jesus gave us a pattern, but too often we are satisfied with trite understandings or misunderstandings of prayer that appeal to our personal desires.

Illustrate: I saw this sponsored ad by a popular church growth guru this week: If it’s on your mind, it’s on God’s heart.

He describes the post this way: “Prayer is simply communicating with God - that’s it. When you talk, God listens. Scripture makes it clear that there’s no “right way” to pray. It’s not the words that matter to God as much as what’s in your heart.”

I’m sure you’ve heard… probably even SAID something like that.

And in ONE SENSE he’s right...

We bring what is on our heart to God… the words that Jesus gives us here are not some magical incantation to be repeated…

You don’t have to have some special vocabulary when you pray… talk to God freely!

So hear me correctly… I affirm all of that.

But I wonder if we don’t take this thought too far sometimes.

I read this, “Scripture makes it clear that there’s no “right way to pray.”

But then I actually read scripture, and a disciple asks Jesus to teach him to pray, and Jesus does NOT respond by saying, “There’s no right way to pray.”

He actually GIVES him the way to pray!

We DON’T just ask God for what’s on OUR heart… we SEEK God for what’s on HIS heart.

We BRING what’s on our heart for sure… but prayer is bringing that into alignment with what GOD wants.

We’re not seeking our kingdom: we’re seeking HIS!

And so Jesus answers the disciple, “When you pray, say...”

It’s not a suggestion. It’s a command.

Now the words he uses implies that he is not as concerned about us repeating the specific words… but rather the pattern and contours of the prayer.

In fact, he uses the SAME PATTERN with different words in Matthew 6...

That was a different teaching at a different time.

So his goal is not word for word… but thought for thought alignment with this prayer.

And we need to learn this pattern.

All throughout church history, the major catechisms to teach new disciples the way of Jesus included teaching on the Lord’s prayer.

But if I recall my own discipleship, I learned the Lord’s prayer secondary to other patterns like the ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication)…

The Lord’s prayer given here is not just one of many patterns… it is THE pattern.

I would suggest that by and large we’ve neglected the pattern of the Lord’s prayer and I have to admit… I’m not really sure why.

Maybe we are reacting to a thoughtless repetition of the “our Father” in some Catholic churches...

Maybe we are over-embracing the idea that God doesn’t care about the words or the pattern we use...

Maybe we prefer reciting our lists of requests rather than humbly positioning ourselves before the holiness of God’s name.

Maybe we just lost the pattern over generations of not passing it on.

Sure we memorize it… but do we USE it?

We want to regain this pattern during this series and learn how to apply it when responding to God in a variety of circumstances… and a variety of scriptures.

And to do that, we will need to observe the Lord’s way of prayer… LEARN the Lord’s way of prayer… and then finally:

3) Practice the Lord's way of prayer.

Again, this is not about specific words as it is about a pattern of thought.

Each of these phrases can be used as a prayer from our heart by themselves...

Or we can allow them to kick-start a longer time of prayer.

I would recommend memorizing the prayer if you haven’t already… because then you will be able to USE it as a pattern!

There are many ways that the PATTERN of the Lord’s prayer has been broken down ad described… but generally I like a two-step description that I was taught by one of my prayer teachers, Daniel Henderson: “HE is worthy, We are Needy.” [say that with me]

First, He is worthy! (Adore and Align)

Father, hallowed be your name.

We already talked about the word Father indicating intimate relationship… but that doesn’t mean that he stops being God.

He is both intimate and personal, and transcendent above the heavens: THAT’S the wonder of prayer.

HALLOWED be your name… in other words “make your name as holy in our hearts as it truly is.”

God’s NAME is the representation of all that he is.

It describes his attributes and activity and holiness.

His NAME is to be kept HOLY...

It is to be considered altogether BETTER and DIFFERENT than any other name.

And in one sense, this is a request…

But that request is also an expression of worship.

We keep God’s name HOLY by magnifying what that name means… by acknowledging who God is and what he has done.

Every prayer should start with ADORATION… THAT’S the pattern.

Telling God who he is and what he has done so that we recognize him as holy as he truly is.

This is the essence of our relationship with our God: he is our FATHER… we have intimate access to him...

And he is HIGH and HOLY.

HE IS WORTHY of our WORSHIP.

So take time right from the beginning of prayer to ADORE God… don’t rush to your grocery list of requests...

Let your heart resonate with his attributes… think through his names that he has revealed… and WORSHIP him.

You could sing… you could list a bunch of attributes… you could focus on just one and how you’ve seen it recently or how you’ve seen it over a period of time…

Right now Kayla is working on designing a poster for all of you… it should be ready in the next week or two...

It’s called the ABC’s of Knowing God.

Katy created the pattern with our kids… they learned a lot of the attributes of God using the alphabet to remember them…

They memorized verses…

And now when we pray, we say, “Pick a letter” and then they praise God for the attribute associated with that letter.

It’s a simple way to keep the name of God holy and teach your kids how to do that, so we are working to equip you with that.

It should be out later this week.

But whatever way you do it, take time to acknowledge that He is WORTHY… which will mean ADORING his holy name… and then we ALIGN our hearts to his.

Your Kingdom Come.

Not MY Kingdom come… YOUR Kingdom come...

Not all the things that will make me feel comfortable on MY throne and in control…

The things that advance YOUR KINGDOM… and make me long for eternity with you.

The Kingdom of God is the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of God’s rule and reign in the hearts of his people.

It comes in part now… as we PRAY and acknowledge his rule.

And it will come in FULL later when Jesus returns and sets up his throne on earth and reigns for a thousand years… followed by the eternal kingdom in the new heavens and new earth.

That’s what we are seeking.

It’s not that we don’t ever pray for what we need... that’s coming next in the prayer… but the order is SO important:

We HAVE to start here: YOU ARE THE KING… YOU ARE HOLY… YOUR KINGDOM COME.

This pattern sets our hearts in the right direction as we make requests of God.

This might involve remembering some of his kingdom priorities...

It might include confessing where our desires and his desires clearly have not aligned...

And it will definitely include asking God to do HAVE HIS WAY in our lives.

It’s amazing what happens in our hearts when a disciple prays, “Your kingdom come.”

The pattern of the Lord’s prayer... starting with, “He is worthy...” sets us up for the next part...

We are needy! (Ask and Acknowledge)

Once we see how great God is, our need for him becomes evident.

It’s so important that we learn to both ACKNOWLEDGE our need and ASK God for what we need.

This part of the prayer is critical… because we don’t like to NEED anything.

We want to be self-sufficient.

We don’t want to have to ask anyone for anything...

We think of God as too high and too holy to want to address our basic needs.

But the Bible continually reveals that God draws near to those who REALIZE their need for him.

He gives GRACE to the humble.

He raises up the poor in spirit.

He loves when we can see our weakness… because that’s the best position to view his power.

And so Jesus makes it clear in the verses that follow that we can come to God with ANYTHING that we need and he will give it generously.

But our needs are shaped by the first half of the prayer.

God gives us what we need to worship HIS name as holy.

He doesn’t give us what we need to worship our idols… he doesn’t give us stuff so that we can find our satisfaction in the gifts...

He gives us what we need so that we would find our satisfaction in HIS holy name.

God gives us what we need to build his kingdom.

He doesn’t give us all the materials to build our own kingdoms.

He doesn’t give us what we need to be distracted from him.

He gives us what we REALLY need which is right relationship with him.

That’s why the order and pattern of our prayer is so important.

Our hearts must be set on who God is so we can rightly understand what we need.

Once we see God as the Holy King over all the Earth, we can come to him FREELY as our Father and ask him for what we NEED in his kingdom… we see three types of needs: Physical, Relational, and Spiritual

First, we are Physically Needy

Give us each day our daily bread.

In other words, supply our basic physical needs so that we can work to see your kingdom come.

God created us as physical creatures with physical needs...

That’s not unspiritual… in fact it’s an incredibly spiritual experience to rely on our Creator as his creation.

Psalm 145 says, “He opens his hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing.”

God created Adam in the garden… and he gave him what he needed physically to keep relating to his God and fulfilling his responsibilities.

As Israel wandered in the wilderness, God gave them Manna...

God calls us to eat and drink to his glory, and he gives us the daily bread to do it.

Now we tend to think, “Why do I need to pray for daily bread? I have a job… I have a fridge full of food to last me a week!”

But who gives you the ability to do that job?

And who caused the vegetable to grow and gave life to the meat you eat?

And who could take that all away in a SECOND like he has done a million times before throughout history and around the world?

If 2020 taught us anything, it should have taught us about how fragile our physical circumstances are.

And so asking for our physical needs is realizing the provider of those needs is God.

But we aren’t just physically needy… we are...

Relationally Needy -

“and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.””

This is about our ongoing relationship with God.

This is not primarily about forgiveness for salvation… when we repent of our sins, trust Jesus, and receive the Holy Spirit, God forgives our sin past, present and future.

But the ongoing EXPERIENCE of that forgiveness and the resulting relationship is broken by our ongoing sin.

And we need to turn and acknowledge our sin before God… and ASK for his forgiveness.

This keeps our hearts from getting hard against God in our sin.

It keeps us from becoming OK with ongoing patterns of sin in our lives and in our church.

But notice… this is a CORPORATE prayer… FORGIVE US!

We want to assume our sin is private and personal...

But it actually affects all of our relationships… especially in the church.

Your sin does not just stifle your own growth… it stifles the growth of the church… because you are a vital member of the body.

So all SIN has a corporate nature… and therefore our confession and request for forgiveness is has a corporate nature.

Now, not only does our sin against God affect our relationships with others… our forgiveness of others affects our relationship with God.

Forgive US… FOR we ourselves forgive EVERYONE who is indebted to us.

We are too often satisfied to allow bitterness to fester in our hearts.

We are OK with gossip and slander and malice to continue.

And that’s a foothold of the devil in any church.

The reasons for potential unforgiveness are endless because if we live in relationship with other sinners, we are going to KEEP needing to forgive them.

But if we pray in this pattern… OFTEN… forgiveness will win in our church.

Friends, can I urge you: pray this together often.

One on one… in your Gospel Communities:

God FORGIVE US...

Forgive us for the selfish ways we live… forgive us for fixing our eyes on ourselves instead of you...

Forgive us for the things we let come between us...

FORGIVE US!

Which will mean WE MUST FORGIVE OTHERS.

There is NOTHING that someone has done to us that is GREATER than the offense we have committed against our INFINITELY HOLY GOD.

And therefore we can forgive… because God freely offers his forgiveness through Christ.

Our physical neediness and our relational neediness then require this third request that acknowledges that we are...

Spiritually Needy

“And lead us not into temptation.” (Luke 11:4, ESV)

Now I always thought that this was a strange request… because God is not in the habit of tempting his children...

In fact, the book of James assures us that God CANNOT tempt his children.

So why would we ask God to lead us NOT into temptation?

And I was thinking about it this week, what do we often ask God for?

The things that we are TEMPTED to put our hope and trust in.

The things that TEMPT us to think that we NEED them… rather than needing God.

So that’s one reason we should pray “Lead us not into temptation.”

“God, don’t let me have the things that would draw my heart away from you.”

Another reason is that the word temptation can mean “testing.”

God allows a certain amount of trial and testing to strengthen our faith.

But within every test are pitfalls of temptation.

It’s like walking on a narrow trail at the ridge of a mountain...

The way through the trial is narrow… and the pitfalls on both sides are dangerous.

And so the prayer is then about seeking God for the way of escape.

1 Cor 10:13 - “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV)

The way of escape is often the way of prayer.

I see the temptation and I rush to the Lord’s pattern of prayer.

We are spiritually needy… there is a devil prowling around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

There are rulers and authorities in the heavenly places seeking to destroy us.

And we need our Father who is the King of Heaven to protect us.

The enemy has made his intentions and his presence known… the question is, will we respond in fervent prayer?

Will we pray TOGETHER - Lead US not into temptation?

When we are talking to one another about any trial or situation, will our first response be to stop, drop and pray for the mercy of God to lead us through the testing away from temptation?

He is worthy. We are needy. Adore and Align. Ask and Acknowledge.

That’s the pattern of the Lord’s way prayer… does your practice of prayer reflect the pattern he gave to his disciples?

Is it relational and corporate?

Do you START by setting your heart on the worthiness of God...

Do you fully acknowledge your need for him… physically, relationally and spiritually… and then ASK him confidently to meet those needs?

I want to challenge you this week… every time you are praying, walk in the Lord’s way of prayer.

Pray often and in all circumstances like Jesus did.

Pray TOGETHER with others… call someone up from your GC… pray with your spouse… pray with your kids....

Every time you are with someone, take an opportunity to pray together.

And then every time, you do, use the pattern the Lord gave us...

Memorize the prayer word for word if you have never done that.

Memorize the pattern: He is worthy, we are needy.

Around the dinner table, repeat it over and over with your kids until they are tired of it… he is worthy, we are needy.

And then PRACTICE the pattern.

Find creative ways to worship God...

Explore all the ways you need him.

I guarantee you will never run short of things to pray for.

He is worthy in every way imaginable and we are needy in every way imaginable.

Let’s pray right now to this WORTHY and CARING Heavenly Father.