The Lord's Prayer, Part 1 - Our Father In Heaven Series

Dr. Bradford Reaves

CrossWay Christian Fellowship

Hagerstown, MD

www.mycrossway.org

Kids are amazing when it comes to relating to God, especially when it comes to prayer. Here are some prayers from children ages 6-8

Dear God: The new baby you sent cries too much; please send a puppy instead. Debbie, 7

Dear God: Who did you make smarter? Boys or girls? My sister and I want to know. Jimmy, 6

"Dear God, my Grandpa says you were around when he was a little boy. How far back do you go? Sam, 8

Dear God: How many angels are there in heaven? I want to be the first kid in my class to know the answer. Norma, 8

Dear Lord: Thank you for the nice day today. You even fooled the TV weatherman. Hank, 7

Dear God: I need a raise in my allowance. Could you have one of your angels tell my dad? Thank you. David, 7

Dear God: This is my prayer. Could you please give my brother some brains? I think You forgot when you made him. Angela, 8

"Dear God, I say your prayer every night, 'lead us not into temptation and deliver us some e-mail,' but I never get an e-mail from you. Do you have my right address?" Jenna, 7

(Chris Jorda, Sermon Central)

We are discussing prayer in our study of the Sermon on the Mount, and this morning we’re looking at the first part of the Lord’s Prayer. For most of us, we grew up memorizing, reciting, and regularly praying the Lord’s Prayer. I remember being in Catechism as a boy and having to write it from memory.

But recently, a question arose during Jeopardy about the Lord’s prayer. The question was: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, ______ be thy name,’” Not one contestant could answer “Hallowed” to the $200 question. After Bialik read the famous verse, there was no response from any of the three contestants, and social media lit up with people who were blown away:

“Not one contestant on Jeopardy! last night knew the answer to this.....” wrote one user, whose tweet garnered more than 5,700 likes. “Are you waking up yet?”

“I’m an atheist, and even I knew the answer to that [Lord’s Prayer] question,” wrote another.

I think it speaks to the condition of our country and underscores my concerns about the level of biblical illiteracy. We must recapture the hearts and minds of children, and it is not through entertaining them or focusing on moralism. The prevalence of the Word must return to the Church.

Prayer also stands at the forefront of the issues in the Church today. D.L. Moody said, “I’d rather be able to pray than to be a great preacher; Jesus Christ never taught his disciples how to preach, but only how to pray.” In fact, the disciples came to Jesus in Luke 11:1 and asked him to teach them how to pray.

When asked about his regrets in life, Billy Graham said, “I would also spend more time in spiritual nurture, seeking to grow closer to God so I could become more like Christ. I would spend more time in prayer, not just for myself but for others. I would spend more time studying the Bible and meditating on its truth, not only for sermon preparation but to apply its message to my life. It is far too easy for someone in my position to read the Bible only with an eye on a future sermon, overlooking the message God has for me through its pages.”

I share in that harkening from Dr. Graham. I think we miss out on the best of God’s blessings because we’re too busy. I find myself sacrificing valuable in communion with the Lord for the sake of business. The trade-off is that I engage in spiritual battles that would likely be averted if I had stopped and prayed first. I think we don’t pray because we can do everything we want to do ourselves if we work hard. But, if we embrace this posture of praying together as a church, one thing we’re reminded of is that our mandate extends far beyond our capabilities. Friends, I believe this Church was started for a great purpose, but before we can realize that mandate, we must be known as a house of prayer.

With the increasing illiteracy of our nation comes an increasing misunderstanding of prayer. The Word of Faith movement or name-it-and-claim-it heresy has degraded our understanding of prayer to a simple way for you to get everything you want. Many prosperity preachers like Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, and Benny Hinn want to present God and Christianity as a genie in a bottle that is people-centered and greed-centered, and use Scripture out of context to convince people of their false teaching. They aren’t preaching the biblical gospel of Christ Crucified, death to self, and Christ’s imminent return.