FATHERS, TEACH YOUR KIDS TO PRAY

Introduction

-There is a story about the Duke of Windsor visiting America. He was asked what most impressed him about America. He replied, “What impresses me the most is the way American parents obey their children.” The regrettable reality is that he was right! In many homes, it is the little ones who are doing the leading, but this obviously is not the way that it is supposed to be.

-Plain and simple, men, we are called to be the spiritual leaders of the home. Part of this includes the discipleship of our family. Whether it is regular devotion times and prayers and being spiritual examples, we men have been given a great responsibility for which we will have to answer to God.

-Part of discipleship is training our children on the spiritual skills that they need to cultivate their own relationship with God. It starts with making sure they know the gospel so that they can respond to the gospel by faith and repentance and be saved, but then demonstrating for them and teaching them the spiritual disciplines that they need so they can take responsibility for their own spiritual development and maturity.

-We may teach our kids some life lessons that they need to know to get by in this world such as some work skills and work ethic and how to be financially responsible. All of that is important. But if they do not have a living, vibrant relationship with God through Jesus Christ, their life will be lacking something of utmost importance.

-One of the most important of the spiritual disciplines (the one that most of us lacks to a great degree) is the spiritual discipline of prayer. No one can be in intimate fellowship with God without this most important practice. Men, as spiritual leaders, not only do we need to practice prayer ourselves, we also need to teach our kids to pray so that they have this skill all their lives.

-Jesus knew that being an effective member of God’s kingdom included communication with the Heavenly Father. Here in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives his disciples and the listening crowd a lesson on prayer that all of us can learn something from. Men, as husbands, fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and mentors, let us then retain this lesson for ourselves and then turn it around and teach it to those in our care.

Matthew 6:5–18 ESV

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 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. 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

-There are three lessons that we ought to teach our families about prayer:

I) The Heart of Prayer (vv. 5, 6)

-Jesus begins this passage in a similar way in which He spoke about giving to the needy in the previous passage. Just as we are not to give to the needy in such a way that it draws attention to ourselves instead of glorifying God, our prayer life is to be done in such a way so as not to draw attention to ourselves but to our Heavenly Father.

-We are not to be like the hypocrites (the actors; people who put on a mask to play a character). We are not merely to pray for the purpose of showing people that we are holy and righteous. That’s what a lot of the religious leaders would do in Jesus’ day. They’d go to the public places and give these dramatic dialogues in front of the people, pretending to pray but really just trying to impress those who could hear them.

-They would use impressive words with lots of flourishes, but God was not listening because they really weren’t even talking to God. The people who pray like this already have their reward—that is, they have already received the adoration of the people, but they will receive nothing from God.

-Instead, Jesus tells people to pray in such a way as if it was just you and God and nobody else was around, because it is God you are talking to in prayer, not anybody else.

-Now, when Jesus says to go into a secret room and shut the door and pray, He is not in any way discounting public, corporate prayer such as we do in worship services and prayer meetings. Instead, Jesus is getting to the heart of the matter. Even when we pray corporately, the posture of our heart is such as that we are talking to God one on one. We pray as if it is only Him and us as individuals.

-The posture of the heart of prayer is that of humility—we are not trying to impress God, others, or ourselves, but are there as poor, finite humans who need a touch from the living God and need to fellowship with Him.

-The second lesson Jesus gives is:

II) The Manner of Prayer (vv. 7, 8)

-In continuing to talk about how not to pray, Jesus next tells us we are not to pray using a bunch of empty, meaningless words like pagans who would repeat the same mantra over and over again.

-Now, Jesus is not saying to NOT persevere in prayer. What He is saying is that we do not have to use meaningless mantras to get in touch with the spiritual. So He is contrasting Christian prayer with the likes of the Buddhists and Hindus who try to get in touch with the spiritual by continually saying OM, which they think is the primordial sound of the universe, and by repeating it they think they can tune themselves into the spiritual part of the universe.

-That is not the manner in which we pray. When you see the examples of prayer given in Scripture, it is always people talking with God like they talk with anybody else (to an extent). There are no empty phrases or vain words, nor is there just a bunch of babbling nonsense.

-Neither do we pray in a way of using big, flourishing words thinking that the more impressive the language, the more likely God is going to hear and answer. Just like the pagan, Jesus says that they think that they will be heard because of their many words, but in reality they will not be heard. Instead, God hears and answers the simplest prayers of a child as much as (and probably even more so than) the PhD who uses big, scholarly words.

-Prayer is a 2-way communication between the one who is praying and the Creator God of the universe, being able to come to Him by the merits of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. In this interaction, we talk to God through human means of communication just as we would anybody else.

-And notice I say that it is 2-way communication, because part of prayer is listening to God as well, as He speaks through His Word, His Spirit, through godly counsel, and through circumstances in our lives.

-But Jesus not only tells us ways not to pray, He also gives a positive example of how to pray:

III) The Petitions of Prayer (vv. 9-18)

-Jesus gives what we commonly refer to as the Lord’s Prayer, although this was to be a sample prayer (a paradigm and example) that was for His disciples—so it might be better called the disciple’s prayer.

-This was not to be a prayer that itself was to be repeated over and over (since He just got done saying not to do that). Rather it was to guide disciples to various petitions that they can include in their prayers. There is nothing magical about the words, there is nothing magical about the order in which the petitions are given. Jesus, here, is teaching us how to pray. Fathers, as Jesus teaches us, let’s teach our kids.

-First, we recognize God’s:

A) Presence (v. 9a)

-The prayer begins OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN—there is a recognition that God is a father who is personal and is yet to be revered.

-It speaks of a close relationship that exists between the one praying and the one addressed in the prayer—you need to be a child of God if God is going to hear and answer your prayer.

-Although God has a common grace that He has shown to all people, when it comes to the communication of prayer, any sort of fellowship with God is based on relationship, and there is only relationship when you are a child of God through Jesus Christ. Jesus died and rose again, and anyone who places their trust in Him by faith and repentance for the payment of their sins becomes a son or daughter of the Living God.

-Thus, this beginning part is a recognition of that particular relationship, and then it is a recognition that the FATHER will be present to His children so as to hear their requests. God is not some absentee, estranged dad who has nothing to do with the lives of His children, but rather He is always present, ever available to communicate and commune with.

-Secondly, after knowing God the Father is present with us, we can offer Him:

B) Praise (v. 9b)

-The prayer goes on to say HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME---- the word HALLOWED means to recognize someone or something as holy, to hold in reverence, and to treat with honor.

-The name of God is to be treated as holy, with reverence and honor. The name of someone in the Bible is much more than a moniker or identity that is used to designate a specific person in contrast with all other people. Names in the Bible stood for something about a person.

-The name of someone in the Bible refers to someone’s person, character, and authority. So to hallow the Father’s name is to recognize the holiness of His character, and to honor and revere Him as the supreme, sovereign God over the universe.

-Thus, praise is to recognize who God is, what He is like, and to give Him due honor and recognition of worth because of these qualities.

-Once we recognize who He is and praise Him for it, then we are to thirdly submit ourselves to His:

C) Purpose (v. 10)

-The prayer goes on to say: YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

-The Kingdom of God is the area of God’s sovereign rule. Although God technically rules over all the universe all the time, the Kingdom is where God’s rule and majesty is recognized and submitted to.

-Right now, God rules in the hearts and lives of people who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, God has a reigning presence on this earth through His church, and our prayer is that His sovereign rule would advance even further on this earth as more and more people would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

-And the more people come under His sovereign rule, the more they will align themselves with His will and purpose while living on this earth. Right now in heaven, where God manifests His presence in a special way, all who are a part of that realm follow Him and honor Him perfectly. There are no rebellions or sins in heaven.

-Our prayer is not only that people would recognize God’s sovereign rule, but their lives would reflect it through their obedience to His Word and reflection of His love here on earth in the same manner it is done in heaven.

-And in recognizing God’s power and sovereign rule, we can then fourthly ask Him for our:

D) Provision (v. 11)

-The prayer goes on to ask God to: GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD----This is knowing that it is only through God’s grace and provision that we are able to obtain the necessities of this life.

-In Jesus’ day, food was scarce. Making sure you would get your next meal was a real concern for the poor and oppressed of the day. They didn’t have fast food joints on every corner. It was a desert and a wilderness outside the cities, and even then things were scarce.

-The people of Jesus’ day knew what it was like to have needs that were not being met, and they could only trust in God to provide. We need to have that same mindset—it is only by God’s grace and provision that I have that which I need. God is the one that gives food, shelter, and safety. We turn to Him to continually ask, day by day, that He would continue to sustain us.

-God not only gives provision of daily needs, He fifthly also provides for us:

E) Pardon (vv. 12, 14, 15)

-We are told to pray: FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS AS WE ALSO HAVE FORGIVEN OUR DEBTORS, and in vv. 14-15 we are told the consequences of not forgiving others.

-Jesus is talking about the debt of sin we owe to God. When we trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we are justified in God’s sight, being given a right standing before Him based on Jesus’ work, not ours. Through Christ the debt of all our sin is wiped entirely clean.

-Yet, even being a born-again, believing Christian, we still sin. And, although this sin does not change our standing before God, and it does not change our relationship with God, it does have an effect on our fellowship with God. We will not walk with God or hear from God or be close to God when there is sin in the way.

-Therefore, every day we need to confess and repent of the sin in our lives that we may walk with God unhindered. A big part of this is forgiving others. When there is a refusal in our hearts to forgive another, not only is there broken fellowship with the person you will not forgive, but there is a broken fellowship with God.

-As long as you hold on to bitterness and refusal to forgive, you are only hurting yourself, not the other person. The only way to walk with God without any chains tripping us up is to confess, repent, and forgive.

-Sixth, we can come to God for:

F) Protection (v. 13)

-We are told to pray: AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL (or THE EVIL ONE).

-We know that God does not tempt people to sin, but He does allow trials to come in our life, and He allows Satan and the world and the flesh to tempt us, although He always makes a way out.

-Our prayer is that God would not allow the trials of life to so overwhelm us that it would lead us to sin, and that the temptations of the enemy would not so grab hold of us that we are carried away to sin.

-Our prayer is that God would protect us against ourselves, against Satan, against the temptations of the world, and against the pull of the flesh. We in ourselves are not strong enough to endure these things nor to resist these things. Only through God’s protection will we be able to overcome the wrong ways that we can be pulled toward, and instead live a life that is pleasing to God.

-Seventh, and finally, we recognize that God is our:

G) Priority (vv. 16-18)

-vv. 16-18 talk about a spiritual discipline that goes along with prayer that we Baptists might not be overly comfortable with. I know that I am not. But it is talking about fasting.

-Jesus again talks about the fact that we are not to put on a show when we fast, but to do it for God’s sake, not for recognition.

-Fasting is the giving up of food for a period of time for a spiritual purpose of prayer and intimacy with God. When we fast, we are demonstrating to God that He takes priority over any sort of physical need or fleshly pleasure that can sometimes so entangle us in this world.

-Fasting is us telling God that we think it is more important to be close to Him, and it separates us from all the things of the world that distract us and hinder us from getting closer to God. Fasting is us telling God that He is our top priority, more than our own needs. Our spiritual needs are more important than our physical needs. Through fasting we recognize priorities that go against our natural tendencies and against the norms of the world. By prioritizing God through fasting we become more dependent on Him, more intimate with Him, and our prayer life is taken to a new level.

Conclusion

-So much more could be said about each of these petitions of prayer, but I hope the point has been made. Prayer is as necessary to the Christian as air and water and food. And as fathers, we do what we can to ensure that our kids have what they need to physically survive. Just as important is ensuring that they have what they need to spiritually thrive. We need to teach these lessons and principles to our kids.

-It has been said that children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.----the best impression to make is first making sure that you and they have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ by faith and repentance. Believe that Jesus is God’s Son, that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins, and rose again the third day. If you have never done that, come down during the invitation.

-But also important is growing spiritually. If you are not growing spiritually, you will not be able to teach your kids how to grow spiritually. Maybe you need to come to the altar and ask God for guidance and wisdom in this area….