P90X for your Soul
Prayer
Luke 11:1-4
Slide
Intro
Well, we are continuing in our series “P90X for your Soul.” We have been taking steps to put ourselves in positions for God to grow us in godliness so we can be spiritually fit just as we seek to be physically fit.
It seemed to be that years ago, when you wanted a good workout for your physical fitness, all you did was do whatever you could to sweat a lot. You could go running or just go lift a lot of weight and you had a good workout if you worked up a sweat.
But as people have learned, you have got to mix things up so you work out different muscles and it is not so much about working up a good sweat and being out of breath as it is about keeping your heart rate in a certain zone depending whether you are trying to burn fat or increase your cardio stamina.
It is as people have continued to study the body and have seen the affects that they have learned about how to work out so that it is most effective.
Transition
Well, in our spiritual life, there are some disciplines that we think we know a lot about but as we study God’s word, we find out that there is more to it than we may have thought in the past.
This morning, as we continue our series “P90X for your Soul”, we are going to talk about prayer.
Slide
Now prayer seems like something that is so easy. It is certainly something a child can do, but I think sometimes we believe we know all we need to know about prayer that we miss what it is really intended to do and our prayer life becomes some shallow, ineffective time where nothing really seems to happen, either in our relationship with God or in response to our prayer.
The fact is that there are some things that I believe we need to learn about prayer.
The disciples felt that way. They saw Jesus pray and knew there was something different about his prayer and the effectiveness of his prayer that they wanted him to teach them.
So today, it is my hope that we too will have Jesus teach us how to pray in a way that helps us grow and to live the righteous and godly life that the Lord wants us to live so that our prayer life will be “powerful and effective”. (James 5:16).
Turn with me to
Luke 11:1-4
Slide
Here we are going to see some familiar verses that are probably familiar to most of us here we are going to read both Jesus’ teaching to the disciples in Luke about prayer as well as His teaching to a wider audience in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6.
Let’s start in
Luke 11:1-4
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
2 He said to them, "When you pray, say:
"’Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’"
His teaching on this topic of prayer in Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount as he teaches to more people reads like this.
Matthew 6:9-13
9 "This, then, is how you should pray:
"’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 today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
Pray
Ok, we see that these passages as Jesus teaches how to pray are very similar although with a little bit more added in the Matthew passage.
Now, did anyone here grow up in a church where you would recite this as a prayer or pray this prayer together or maybe in a religious system where you would say this prayer a certain number of times as some form of penance to pay for some sin you committed?
I know I did.
Now, I don’t think it is bad to quote or recite or pray recorded Scripture back to the Father.
However, we must be cautious that our memorized words don’t become meaningless babbling. Jesus spoke against that in the verse right before his teaching on prayer in Matthew.
Matthew 6:7 - And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Memorized words can just become words without meaning if we are not careful.
Not meant to be a prayer to be prayed
And besides, although many denominations have instituted the Lord’s prayer as a corporate and ritual prayer, I don’t believe that Jesus actually intended for this to be a prayer that we memorized and prayed.
I think that for a couple reasons.
First, If he did, I think we would find that the wording of the prayer would have been identical in the passages where it was recorded. It is not.
Second, if this is something that Jesus was giving for us to pray, I think we would find the apostles praying this throughout the rest of Scripture. And while we find other prayers recorded by the apostles, we don’t find them reciting this anywhere.
Meant to be a model of prayer
This teaching that Jesus gives on prayer, I believe is meant to be a model of prayer to help us have a deep relationship with the Father like Jesus had.
The disciples wanted Jesus to teach them to pray, not teach them a prayer. They wanted a relationship with the Father like Jesus had and desired their prayers to be powerful and effective like Jesus’ were.
I believe that is what we would all desire, so as we consider what Jesus taught the disciples, let’s see if we can learn how we too can pray like Jesus to grow in our relationship with the Father.
Notice first that Jesus begins with “Father” recognizing the personal relationship He had.
If we are going to pray like Jesus, we have to
Be a Child of the Father
Slide
Now many people think that everyone is a child of God. And while that may be true in a creative sense, in that God is the creator of everyone, it is not true in a salvation sense.
We only become a child of God when we receive and believe in Jesus Christ and what he has done.
John 1:12 - Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
The reality is to be able to pray like Jesus requires that you be a follower of Jesus, that you be a Christian.
It is only to those who believe in the way the that Father has provided for our salvation, that being through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, that we are able to become His child and truly address Him as Father.
If you have never received Jesus as your Savior, you will never be able to pray powerfully and effectively and in a way that you grow deep in relationship with the Father.
We read in the gospel of John that “He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.” (John 5:23)
So we need to be a child of the Father by receiving Jesus Christ as Savior.
But not only do we need to be a child of the Father to pray like Jesus, but we need to
Honor the Father
Slide
Luke 11:2b, c - "’Father, hallowed be your name,
Matthew 6:9b - "’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
Jesus teaches us to address him as Father and reminds us that He is Holy and His name is holy and to be honored.
While it is amazing that we can be in a personal relationship with the God of the universe, we still need to have a respect and honor for whom we are speaking to, just as a child to their father.
The use of the term Father itself, is personal yet respectful.
He is not the “Big guy in the sky” or just our “Buddy.” By addressing Him as Father, we remind ourselves of who it is we have the privilege of speaking to.
We need to “hallow” his name, revere it and recognize Him as holy.
So in our prayer life, if we are going to pray like Jesus teaches us, we need to pray as a child of the Father and honor Him.
Not only that, but we also need to
Prioritize the Father’s Will
Slide
Luke 11:2c - "’Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
Matthew 6:10 - your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Jesus’ focus was on the will of the Father and in seeing his kingdom established in all He did and wanted to do.
John 6:38 – “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.”
We see this in the garden right before His arrest as well as he was praying.
Luke 22:42 - "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
If we are going to pray like Jesus, we have got to make doing his will a priority in our life.
And to truly live that way, we have got to be praying that.
“Father God Almighty, you are holy and pure and true in all things. I honor your name and want to see your will accomplished in my life and in this world. Work in my life to establish your kingdom and your will upon this earth.”
To truly see the Father’s kingdom and will established on this earth, we need to recognize that it needs to be established in our own hearts.
Jesus tells us in
Luke 17:20-21 - "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, ’Here it is,’ or ’There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you."
Is God’s kingdom being established in you?
Are you prioritizing His will in your life, or have we prioritized our wants and desires?
So often when we pray we go right into what we want and that is where our focus is.
“Lord bless me in my job.”
“Lord make things clear and easy for me.”
Yes, I do believe we need to be praying about the needs in our life, but if we are in a growing relationship with the eternal Father who does all things well, we will be seeking his will first and foremost because it is in His will that God can work all things for good for those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28).
That “called according to his purpose” means following his will.
When we pray, we have always got to begin with recognizing who we are in relation to the Father and that relationship he has made available through His Son, and seek to honor his name and prioritize His will in our life and for this world because that is where powerful things happen.
Transition
It is then, when we have gotten a proper focus and perspective that we are able to pray effectively for other needs.
And to do that effectively, it is always imperative that we
Recognize who Provides for our Physical Needs
Slide
Luke 11:3 - Give us each day our daily bread.
Matt 6:11 - Give us today our daily bread.
In this affluent society we live in, I think it is easy to come to the conclusion that we are the ones who provide for our needs.
Jesus tells us that we need to be praying to God to provide for our physical needs on a daily basis.
Doesn’t God already know what we need?
Why would we need to ask him for it?
We need to ask and pray about our physical needs, not so much for the Father to know what we need, but for us to recognize and remind ourselves of whom it is who provides for our needs.
And it is also beneficial to help remind ourselves the distinction between needs and wants.
We have a hard time in this country differentiating between needs and wants.
Sometimes when we have so focused on our want of abundance, we confuse what we really need and it draws us ways from deep relationship with the father.
The writer of proverbs recognized that.
Listen to what he writes in
Proverbs 30:7-9
7 "Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ’Who is the LORD?’
Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
He wanted to keep his reliance on the Lord daily and did not want anything to come in the way of that relationship or to be put in a position where he might dishonor the Lord.
We need to stay dependant on the Father for all things in life.
When we come to the point of thinking that it is us who provides for our needs, or we have so much that we confuse our needs and wants, we begin to worry about how we will provide and we lose our focus on seeing God’s will accomplished.
Jesus says, “do not worry, saying, ’What shall we eat?’ or ’What shall we drink?’ or ’What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:31-33)
Remember who provides for your physical needs and stay focused on His kingdom and His will being accomplished and He will continue to provide.
It is not only our physical needs that we need to recognize who provides for, but we also need to
Recognize who provides for our Spiritual needs
Slide
Luke 11:4a, c- 4 Forgive us our sins...And lead us not into temptation.’"
Matt 6:12-13 - Forgive us our debts... 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
The Father is also the One who provides for our spiritual need of forgiveness and protection from Satan’s temptations.
In regards to forgiveness, confessing and seeking forgiveness of our sins should be something that is happening on a daily basis so that we can stay in close relationship with the Father.
We need to recognize that sin breaks our fellowship with the Father and we become ineffective and powerless to accomplish anything of value.
But, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
We are purified from unrighteousness and he restores to us the righteousness of His Son.
We need to be seeking forgiveness and recognize who provides that forgiveness.
But that goes for our spiritual protection too.
We need to be protected from the attacks and temptations of the evil one.
The Father provides that protection and much of that comes from knowing His word and relying on his promises.
Look at what James tells us
James 4:7-8, 10 - 7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ... 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
When we are submitted to God, we know we can
Resist that devil and he will flee,
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to us and protect us
Humbly come before the Lord and He will lift us up.
Don’t try to defend yourself against temptation, rely on the Lord to provide the protection and the way out from the temptations you face and be praying about that before you face it.
Transition
Ok, we need to
Be a child of the Father
Honor the Father
Prioritize the Father’s Will
Recognize who provides for our needs, both physical and spiritual.
One more thing to be able to be growing in relationship with the Father through prayer like Jesus did.
We have to be praying to be able to
Respond with Forgiveness like Jesus does
Slide
Luke 11:4b - for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
Matt 6:12b - as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Now this is stated as a response to what the Lord has done in our lives.
We can recognize God as our heavenly Father and honor Him and prioritize His will in our lives, but if we don’t respond to his leading, we will never grow in our relationship and our prayers will be useless.
Jesus has told us to forgive those who sin against us.
Jesus gave us this example on the cross as well.
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)
Paul tells the Colossians and us in
Colossians 3:13 - Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
If we are not willing to forgive those who sin against us, these other words we have spoken in our prayer as Jesus has taught are just words, they are not an expression of our hearts.
Now this is not easy. We need to be praying and seeking the Lord’s help and as we seek and receive his forgiveness, we will be much better able to forgive those who sin against us.
Conclusion
As I was preparing for this message, I came across another pastor’s summary of this prayer that I thought was great.
It reads,
I cannot say “our” if I live only for myself.
I cannot say, “Father” if I do not endeavor each day to act like His child.
I cannot say, “hallowed be your name” if I am playing around with sin.
I cannot say “your kingdom come” if I am not allowing God to reign in my life.
I cannot say “give us this day our daily bread” if I am trusting in myself instead of in God’s provision.
I cannot say, “Forgive us our sins” if I am nursing a grudge or withholding forgiveness from someone else.
I cannot say, “lead us not into temptation” if I deliberately place myself in its path.
As quoted by Brian Bill, How to Pray the Lord’s Way, accessed 9/16/2010 at
http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/how-to-pray-the-lords-way-brian-bill-sermon-on-prayer-how-to-58334.asp
If we are going to pray like Jesus teaches and experience the power and effectiveness of a close relationship with the Father in our prayers, then we have got to have faith and trust in Christ who teaches us these things.
Jesus tells us in John 14:12-14 - 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
When we are in
close deep relationship with the Father through the Son and
have prioritized his will and
trust Him to meet all of our needs, and
are walking obediently to his leading,
we are going to have a rich and deep prayer life as we rely more and more on the Father and our relationship with Him.
I want to take a few minutes for us to pray, to actually implement what we have learned today. I am going to give a few minutes for you to pray to the father
If you are not his child, turn to him and receive Jesus as your Savior
Honor Him, pray to put his will ahead of your own, recognize that he is the provider of every need, both physical and spiritual, forgive those that the Lord brings to mind just like Jesus did.
Take a few moments and then I will close us before we sing.
Pray
Closing song – The Lord’s Prayer
