Kingdom Mindset: Matthew 6:5-15

Prayer of Confession:

Almighty God, we acknowledge and confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed; we have not loved you with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength; we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. Deepen within us our sorrow for the wrong we have done, and the good we have left undone. Lord, you are full of compassion and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy; there is always forgiveness with you! Restore to us the joy of your salvation; bind up that which is broken, give light to our minds, strength to our wills, and rest to our souls. Speak to each of us, and let your word abide with us until it has wrought in us your holy will. Amen.

(Take a moment to pray silently and confess your sins to God and ask for forgiveness knowing that he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness)

CIT: Our prayers should be based on what Jesus has taught us, and it should ultimately be changing our lives.

How not to pray

How to pray

Prayer should change our lives

How not to pray

To be seen by people

When the hypocrite prays in the open they are not praying so that they may talk to God they are praying so that others may see that they are spiritual.

To be heard by people

When the hypocrite prays they are not praying so that God may hear their prayers they are praying so that they simply may be heard.

We must not be like the hypocrite. We must take prayer seriously! This is an opportunity that we have to talk with the creator of the universe! To our Heavenly Father, through Christ the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is a serious spiritual practice that is not only encouraged but it is required as a Christian.

How to pray

The Lord’s Prayer is broken up into two sections. The first section is Our Father through your will be done. The second section is Daily bread through deliver us form evil.

In worship of God

The first section is about Worshipping God through our prayers. Often times we simplify our prayers down to treating God like a cosmic Santa by only asking him for things. But prayer is not just about asking God for things, it is a time that we get to worship God in a very specific way.

In dependance on God

The second section is about proclaiming our very real dependance upon God for all things in our lives. from depending upon God for daily food to depending upon God to keep us safe from evil we are completely dependant upon God, and prayer is how we communicate this.

Charles Spurgeon has an incredible summary of the Lord’s Prayer that I believe will help all of us better understand each section of this model prayer for us.

There is but a step from rapturous worship [in declaring Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name] to the glowing missionary spirit, which is sure outgrowth of love and adoration, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Next follows the heartfelt expression of dependance upon God: “Give us today our daily bread.” Being further illuminated by the Spirit, he discovers that he is not only dependent, but sinful, hence he asks for mercy, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors,” and being forgiven, having the righteousness of Christ given, and knowing his acceptance with God, he humbly asks for holy perseverance in the Christian life, “Lead us not into temptation.” the man who is really forgiven, is eager not to offend again; the possession of justification leads to an eager desire for sanctification. “Forgive us our debts,” that is justification; “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” that is sanctification...

-Charles Spurgeon On Prayer

Prayer should change our lives

What we ask for we should be living out

Ultimately, as I said at the beginning, our spiritual practice of prayer should be changing our lives. Jesus illustrates this in Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Our forgiving of others shows if we have been truly forgiven. If we ask God for forgiveness, which he is faithful to always do, then we should be doing the same to others.

So tonight it is my hope that you have learned these things.

That prayer should change how we live

That prayer is necessary as a Christian

That prayer is a form of worship

So let’s finish tonight in worshipping through praying together.

Prayer of Worship:

'Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. '

(Psalm 95)

All: You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour

and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created

and have their being

You are worthy indeed Lord to receive not just the worship and praise

of our lips, but also of our hearts and souls.

You created all things for a purpose, and we are part of your purpose

in this place and at this moment in time.

All: Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks

honour and power and strength

be to our God for ever and ever. Amen

As we draw close to you, Lord, and the brightness of your love

we are made only too aware of our own shortcomings.

You planted a garden and set us within to tend and care for it

created minds to appreciate and voices to raise in worship.

All: Forgive our neglect of your garden.

Increase our awareness of the beauty of your creation

and our willingness to praise its creator

Through your Son Jesus Christ you opened up the way

for all to know and worship you.

All: Forgive us for those times when we ignored opportunities

to share the Good News of your Love and Grace with others

Through the indwelling of your Spirit you empower your Church

All: Forgive our uncertainty and lack of faith

that often causes us to limit your power in this present age.

As we draw close to you in worship, Lord, we trust in your unfailing love;

your forgiving love; your restoring love.

"For the Lord is a great God, the great King above all gods.

In his hands are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.

The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. (Psalm 95)

In the beauty of this moment

All: We worship you

In the fellowship of your people

All: We worship you

In the presence of your Spirit

All: We worship you

In the company of all creation

All: We worship you

Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Glorious Trinity

All: We worship you

Enfold us in your love

The warmth of your love

The comfort of your love

The reassurance of your love

The healing of your love

Enfold us in your love

All: That we might share that same love through our lives

As part of our act of worship we use those words which Jesus himself taught his disciples to pray

All: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen