Pray Like This (Matthew 6:9-14)

Introduction:

Bckgrd: This section of Scripture is known as the greatest sermon ever preached: the Sermon on the Mount. It’s the longest section of the recorded words of Jesus. And in this section of Scripture, Jesus gives people some basic instructions on how to live. And the part we’ll be focusing on is where Jesus shares w/His followers some simple pointers on prayer.

-What are the pointers? Well, we’re going to see from the model prayer Jesus gives us some items our prayers ought to include. The 1st item our prayers ought to include is:

Matthew 6:9–14 CSB

“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. 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 do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well.

The 1st item our prayers ought to include is:

DIV. 1: PRAISE (v. 9)

Exp: I really hope this is a helpful tool for us in our prayer life b/c I really believe a lot of us would like to know how to communicate w/God; to know how to speak to God. But I think a lot of us just don’t do it b/c we don’t know how to. The good news is Jesus gives us an example of what our prayers should be like.

A. Now when I say Jesus gives us an example of what our prayers should be like I’m not saying that He’s telling us this prayer in Matthew 6 is the one we’re supposed to say all the time. This prayer is simply an example of what our prayers should be like. The phrase, “This, then, is how you should pray” could also be translated as “pray along these lines” or “pray in this manner.”

1. And in this prayer, we get a glimpse of some things our prayers should include.

And the 1st item I notice should be included in our prayers is the item of praise.

Praise to whom? Praise to God! Notice our text says, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”

a. Let me tell you something and this might surprise some of you. The object of our prayers is not us! Sometimes I find myself using prayer to help fulfill my personal wish list. But Jesus reminds me here that the focus of my prayer is to be God and not me!

b. Look and see how Jesus brought praise to God. He said, “Hallowed be your name.” What in the world does “hallowed” mean? It means “to treat as holy, to revere.” How do we do that? For one, you revere God by simply praying to Him. As we talk to God we’re recognizing that He has power over all things. That’s an important facet of prayer b/c when we call out to God it shows our need for Him.

2. Ps. 20: 7-“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

If you’re not taking time to speak w/God, to talk to Him, then you’re not revering His name. You’re giving a demonstration thru your life that you trust in things other than God.

a. Another way to give praise to God is simply by giving Him thanks. You know what I’ve noticed @ my prayers? That I oftentimes forget to give God thanks for His blessings in my life. But the Bible says that thanksgiving and praise should be a part of me.

b. 1 Thess. 5: 16-18-“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Think of some things right now that you can give God thanks for in your life. When was the last time you thanked God for your family? When was the last time you thanked God for your church? When was the last time you gave thanks to God for your job and your home? For your friends; for life itself; for God’s mercy and grace in your life?

B. How else can we give God praise; how else can we hallow the name of God? By the way we live. Jesus said in Matt. 5: 16-“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

1. Now let me ask you a question. Do your actions point people to Christ? Do your actions give evidence that you belong to Christ; that you follow Him? One of the best ways we can give praise to God is by conducting ourselves the way Christ would. It’s said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

ILLUS: When my son Gabriel was younger, he was very into LEGO sets. I would buy him one every Friday after school. When he first got into the sets I would help him put them together. We would look at the instructions and follow the directions until we had in our hands what was on the box picture.

One day I had bought him a set and he took the set to his room and a few moments later, he came downstairs excited to show us his finished creation. He was excited that he had put the set together by himself. The tip of the Iceberg for Gabriel was that he put the set together himself and that he read the INSTRUCTIONS!

a. You know, I think that’s a pretty good example of how we should respond in this life. Christ isn’t physically here w/us anymore. But we should ask the question, “What would He do if He were here?” He’d follow the instructions as given in the Bible.

b. And if we want the pieces of our lives to go together we should do the same thing. And I can guarantee you that will make the difference between living in victory or defeat. Now I’m naïve enough to think that’s an easy task. But I know it’s possible to do. And as we live like Christ, we’ll bring glory and honor to Jesus and others will be drawn to Him as they see us living like Jesus.

Reiterate: The 1st item our prayers ought to include is praise. The 2nd item our prayers ought to include is:

DIV. 2: PROVISION (vv. 10-11)

Exp: Sometimes I’ll hear people tell me that they never pray for themselves. I’ll ask them why and they’ll tell me, “B/c I don’t want to be selfish. God’s got a lot of other things to deal w/other than my piddling problems.” Now while that may sound noble, it’s not.

A. I said earlier that the focus of our prayers is to be God. But that doesn’t mean that our earthly needs are to be totally ignored in our prayers. Notice that v. 11 says, “Give US this day our daily bread.” Having our daily bread may not seem like that big of a deal to us today.

1. If we want bread the only thing we have to do is run down to the Food Lion or Publix and pick up a loaf.

But to the majority of the world, food doesn’t come so easily.

But the reference to bread has an even greater meaning.

The famed theologian Martin Luther observed bread as being symbolic of all our physical needs.

a. You know what that tells me? It tells me that God, who is infinite, who created all things, who is infinitely holy, cares @ the minor details of my life. He wants my needs to be met! Isn’t that incredible? But v. 10 reminds me that my needs are to be tempered by God’s plans. Notice v. 10 tells us “Your kingdom come, your will be done.”

b. There is a huge difference between what I need and what I want. I need water to survive. I don’t need a new car. I need shelter. I don’t need a 25,000 square foot home. I need food to live. I don’t need a DQ Milkshake every Tuesday.

2. So how should that affect my prayer life?

It means as you pray you need to express the desires you have that you’d like to see met.

But temper your prayers with “but not my will, but yours be done.”

a. And what will happen as we pray like that? God will answer our prayers! Now He won’t always answer them the way we want Him to, but He’ll answer them according to His will. But if we’re praying for things that are a part of God’s will we can know that they will happen.

b. Ps. 37: 4-“Delight yourself in the Lord and He’ll give you the desires of your heart.” These things are easier for me to understand when I recognize the relationship that’s been established in our text. What’s God called in v. 9? He’s called “Father.” For those of us who are believers, our heavenly Father is God Almighty.

B. Now what is a Father supposed to do? He’s supposed to take care of His children. If you’re a parent you understand what this means. Now it’s my desire as a father to meet the needs of my children. I want to feed them, provide shelter for them, and provide them w/love and stability.

1. But can you think of times when your kids have asked for things that you said “No” to? I remember begging my dad to get me a monkey when I was a kid. Guess what. I never got one. Some of you can probably remember asking for a brand new car when you turned 16.

a. But b/c we didn’t get those things did it mean that our parents didn’t love us? Of course not! They just knew that some of the requests we were making weren’t what we needed. Most of our parents did a good job of providing what we needed, not necessarily what we wanted.

b. Well, God works in a similar manner. He is willing provide His children w/what they need. And as we pray for the needs we have we can be confident that God will provide us w/what He’s promised.

2. Jesus said in Matt. 6: 25, 32-33-“Therefore I tell you, do not worry @ your life, what you will eat or drink; or @ what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek 1st His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

a. The point I’m trying to make is be willing to include yourself in your prayers as well. I don’t know what your specific needs are. But some of the things I pray for is for God to give me peace; for God to help me to control my temper; to stay away from impure things; to protect my family; to save my daughter.

Reiterate: The 1st item our prayers ought to include is praise. The 2nd item is provision. The 3rd item our prayers ought to include is:

DIV. 3: FORGIVENESS (v. 12)

Exp: The word “debts” isn’t in reference to monetary debts. It’s in reference to sin; to spiritual debts we owe to God. The Bible tells us there is a price to pay for sin. Rom. 6:23-“The wages of sin is death.”

A. To keep from having to pay the wages of sin, we need a benefactor to take care of that debt for us. And that benefactor is Jesus Himself. That’s why Jesus came and died on the cross, to pay for our debt of sin. If you’re a believer then Christ has paid for your debt of sin.

1. The good news @ that is your eternity is squared away. You can know w/confidence that when you die you’ll spend an eternity in heaven. But just b/c a person is a follower of Christ doesn’t mean they’ll never sin again. Example after example is given to us in the Bible.

a. But if believers don’t ask for forgiveness for their sins it will affect their lives here on earth. How so? Ps. 66: 18-“If I have sin in my heart, God will not hear me.” Unconfessed sin in our lives hinders our communication line w/God. If we’re not willing to turn away from our sins and ask for God’s forgiveness, then there’s really no need in us praying.

b. That’s why asking for God’s forgiveness needs to be a part of our prayer life. Otherwise we’re just wasting our time; we’re just talking to a wall instead of God.

2. What does God do when we ask Him for forgiveness? He cleanses us! He erases that sin from us. 1 John 1: 9-“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

a. The key is to confess. And that’s not an easy thing for us to do. Very few people are willing to admit they’re wrong. If you don’t believe me, just ask a wife who’s seen her husband look for stuff for hours b/c he’s not willing to look thoroughly.

ILLUS: There is a show on TV called “My 600-LB Life. ON this Show people are well over 600 lbs and they have a desire to lose weight. Their goal is to lose just enough weight so that they can get weight loss surgery. But the caveat is they have to go before the very honest doctor known as Dr. Now. Dr. Now calls each patient to the carpet as he has to tell many that they can not get the surgery because they have not lost the right amount of weight. Dr. NOw makes each patient own their wayward behavior. He also helps them to understand that if you correct your poor behavior, then you will be on your way to weight loss.

b. There has to be a recognition on our part that we’re dirty before we can ever be cleansed. Confession of our sins; simple honesty w/God needs to be a part of our prayer life.

Reiterate: The 1st item our prayers ought to include is praise. The 2nd item is provision. The 3rd item is forgiveness. And the final item our prayers ought to include is:

DIV. 4: DIRECTION (v. 13)

Exp: One thing I know I need is for God to lead me. I’ve tried to lead myself on numerous occasions in life and I’ve discovered that I’m not real good at avoiding the pitfalls of life on my own. You know why? B/c, crazily enough, I’m drawn to them! It is a part of man’s nature to be drawn like a magnet to things that do NOT honor God!

A. So if we’re naturally drawn to things that don’t honor God, how in the world do we avoid them? We follow someone other than ourselves. We place ourselves under someone else’s leadership.

1. And it can’t just be anyone. If we’re going to avoid the pitfalls of life then our leader must be Christ! A part of our prayer life should be to ask God to “lead” us. Why is God the leader we would want to follow? B/c He has the ability to deliver us from the pitfalls of life.

a. As much as we want to stay out of the pitfalls of life; as much as we want to stay out of sin; ever so often we’re going to slip into the slimy pit of sin. The good news is that when we do, we have a God who doesn’t look at us and say, “Well, you screwed up. I’m out of here.” Instead, we have a God who has the power and ability to deliver, to pull us out of the slime of sin and restore us.

b. Ps. 40: 1-2-“I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”

2. Maybe you struggle w/the direction you find yourself going in life. You struggle w/anger, lying, cheating. Maybe you struggle w/faithfulness to your family or negativity. Let me encourage you to pray and ask for God to lead you, to direct you; and if need be, to restore you.

Conclusion

a. Today we’ve seen 4 items our prayers ought to include.

They are praise, provision, forgiveness and direction. Let these things mark your prayer life.

At this time I’d like for us to simply take this time to pray and include all of these elements in our time of prayer. (PRAY)

b. Some of you may be ready to ask Jesus to lead you.

You’re realizing on your own you end up in the soggy pit of sin and now you’re ready to be delivered.

If so, pray this prayer after me. Dear Jesus I know I’ve sinned against you. Forgive me. Restore me.

I believe you died for me and rose from the grave and I ask you to save me.

B. If you prayed that prayer, contact me. Put your name on it and check the box that says you committed your life to Christ.