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Lord, Teach Us To Pray - Part 3 Series
Contributed by Rick Crandall on Mar 17, 2021 (message contributor)
Summary: Great prayers are nourished by great praise, and God is worthy of our praise! 1. Praise God for His kingdom. 2. Praise God for His power. 3. Praise God for His glory.
Lord, Teach Us to Pray - Part 3
The Gospel of Matthew
Sermon by: Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - October 1, 2017
(Revised March 17, 2021)
BACKGROUND:
*Tonight, we will finish our study of the Lord’s Prayer by focusing on the last part of vs. 13. Jesus gave us this prayer as a model to teach us how we should pray, so let's start with a quick review of the lessons we have already seen.
[1] First, Jesus said to pray, "OUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN," and we all need to make sure that His Father is OUR Heavenly Father. We must make sure we are in the Father's family by believing in His Son Jesus Christ.
[2] "HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME. . ." Albert Barnes explained that this means "Let Your holy name be celebrated, worshiped and revered as holy everywhere. Let Your name receive proper honor from all people." And the lesson for us was to pour out our praise to God. (1)
[3] "YOUR KINGDOM COME. . ." Rodney Buchanan noted that when Jesus put God's Kingdom first, He was teaching us to be more concerned about eternal things than earthly things. And we shouldn't just care about our own needs, we should care about other people, especially their place in the Kingdom of God. That why James McCullen called this "an evangelistic prayer." (2)
*Also remember that in Luke 17:20-21 Jesus said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."
*People will never have a place in the eternal Kingdom of God until God's Kingdom has a place in them. Christians: That is why we must pray, "Father, Your kingdom come."
[4] Then "YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. . ." This is one of the most holy, Christlike prayers we can ever pray, because it is the prayer Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before the cross. God calls us to pray with this devoted, Christlike spirit. And we can pray this prayer with total confidence in God's will for our lives, even when it puts us on the hard roads in life.
[5] Next, Father, "GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD. . ." Christians: We can always talk to God in prayer. And this part of the Lord's Prayer teaches us to have daily, ongoing conversations with our Heavenly Father. Frequent conversations with God will help us get to know Him better and trust Him more every day. And this relationship in our prayer life is always more important than the results. If God gave us everything we could ever dream of asking, that could not compare with the blessing of knowing Him!
[6] Next, "FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS. . ." In other words, "Forgive our moral and spiritual debts to You, God. Forgive our faults, our offenses, our sins, as we forgive our debtors." John Gill said this means "we should forgive injuries from our enemies, as well as unkindness from our friends. We should forgive all sorts of snubs and offences." (3)
*The Bible clearly teaches us that forgiveness is not an option for Christians. If you have trusted in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, if you have received Him as your Lord and Savior, then all your sins have been forgiven by God. And now God wants you to be like Him. That's why Ephesians 4:31-32 says, "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you."
*Our forgiveness is necessary because sooner or later, all of us are going to need it. But remember that forgiveness is not a feeling. It is both a command from God and a choice of our will. As Christians, we can forgive because we have been born-again with the nature of Jesus Christ and because we have the Holy Spirit of Christ living in us to help us.
*I ask people to picture God asking them if they are willing to forgive. And then to pray something like this, "Yes Father, since I know that you have commanded me to forgive, and since I know that I can because I am born again, and since your Holy Spirit is living in me to help me forgive, right now, I choose to forgive that person." I have had this conversation with probably five to ten people over the years, and all of them have told me that it helped them almost immediately. It has certainly been a help in my life too.
