Today, as we think about kingdom living, I want us to give thought to the prayers of a kingdom disciple.
In our passage for today, we have the model prayer that Jesus gave to His disciples. Luke tells us that Jesus shared this with them in response to their request, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). We find the same model prayer here given as part of the Sermon on the Mount.
We often refer to this prayer as “The Lord’s Prayer.” In reality, however, the Lord’s prayer, His great high priestly prayer, is found in John 17, where Jesus prays for His disciples and for those who would believe on Him through their word.
This is more accurately referred to as “The Model Prayer,” because Jesus gave it as a model of how to pray and what to pray for. Let’s look at it together.
(READ TEXT)
1. The person of the prayer - God, our heavenly Father!
Who is the person to whom we pray? It is our heavenly Father. The fact that God is referred to as our Father speaks of our relationship with Him. We have a God with whom we are personal related and to whom we can come to about anything at any time!
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” - Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
What’s ironic about this prayer, is that people often forget this first lesson about how God is our heavenly Father who we have the
privilege to approach because of our personal relationship with Him. As a result, they misapply this prayer by quoting it as a prayer offered to God. Now, in and of itself, this is not bad. But Jesus didn’t give this to us as a “magical” prayer to recite mindlessly over and over and over. Consider the words of Christ that led up to this prayer:
“The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.” - Matthew 6:7-8 (The Message)
“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.” - Matthew 6:7 (NKJV)
There is something about repetition that makes people believe God will pay more attention, or that He’ll be impressed because of the intensity of their devotion. But you don’t have to do that. God’s not impressed by how many words we use. The “formula” for praying an effective prayer is NOT in repetition or ritual. The formula for effective prayer is – carrying on a conversation with God.
It’s like a phone conversation. Imagine calling your best friend. And you start out your conversation saying:
“O Fred . . . O Fred . . . O Fred! My most marvelous friend and confidante! Please share with me your insights and your wisdom and your gracious knowledge” And then you continue that prayer using flowery language that’s not quite real. In fact it’s a little forced. And every time you call Fred you repeat the same words . . . day after day after day.
You know, after a while, Fred’s going to put you on caller ID and he won’t pick up.
When you call Fred he wants to have a REAL conversation with you. He wants to hear how things are going with you. He wants to listen to you. He’s your friend . . . he likes you. When you call your friends you do that to have a CONVERSATION, where you not only talk and they listen, but also where they talk and you listen!
Jesus says when we pray we’re praying to our Heavenly Father. He’s your Heavenly Father. He likes you. He wants to have a conversation with you. He wants to listen to you and he wants you to listen to Him; because has a plan for your life that involves His kingdom.
2. The passion of the prayer – That God’s name be hallowed!
The passion of every kingdom disciple is to bring glory to God! The kingdom disciple has a passion to hasten the day foretold by Habakkuk:
“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” - Habakkuk 2:14 (NIV)
Now, there are a lot of worthy things for us to be passionate about. We can be passionate about our spouse, our family, our kids, our job, our friendships; hey, it’s even OK to be passionate about the Cowboys.
OK, that might be a little extreme. The fact is, we can be passionate about many things that are wrong, as well.
My point is this: what every kingdom-oriented child of God should be chiefly passionate about is God’s glory! And guess what? If that is the chief goal and passion of my life, then I will also be passionate about other things in a way that will honor Him and bring Him glory.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” - 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)
“If your gift is speaking, your words should be like words from God. If your gift is serving, you should serve with the strength that God gives. Then it is God who will be praised in everything through Jesus Christ. Power and glory belong to him forever and ever. Amen.”
- 1 Peter 4:11 (Easy to Read)
The passion of every Child of God should be that God be glorified in their lives and that His glory be expanded through-out the earth.
Therefore, in everything we do, we will seek to bring Him glory and give him glory. That is what we live for; that is what we work for; that is what we pray for.
3. The purpose of the prayer – That God’s kingdom come - v. 10!
A kingdom disciple will pray for God’s will to be done on earth,
which means . . .
A. He will pray with his eyes on the horizon.
“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” - Revelation 22:20b
B. He will pray with his eyes on his fellow man.
“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” - 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NLT)
C. He will pray with his eyes on himself.
“Send a revival, O Christ, my Lord, Let it go over the land and sea. Send it according to Thy dear Word, And let it begin in me.”
4. The practicality of the prayer – vs. 11-13
The Kingdom refers to God’s rule and reign; and the church exists to demonstrate what life is like lived under that rule and reign.
A kingdom disciple daily depends completely on the Lord for . . .
A. Provision - “Give us” - v. 11
B. Pardon - “Forgive us” - v. 12
C. Direction - “Lead us” - v. 13a
D. Deliverance - “Deliver us” - v. 13b
Every public disgrace began as a private decision.
Every powerful testimony (consistency) has its basis in personal time with God (consistency).
5. The power of the prayer - v. 1
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” - Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)
If God has touched and transformed us; then we will also want Him to touch and transform others. Therefore we will pray and seek to be used of God to see Him . . .
A. Provide for the needs of others.
B. Pardon the sins of others.
C. Direct the lives of others.
D. Deliver the souls of others
