Matthew 6
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
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 And 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.’
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
What a prayer!
I submit to you that this is the most recited prayer on mortal tongue!
This morning as we speak literally thousands of Christian congregations a reciting this prayer in unison in there time of worship.
Tonight at recovery meetings throughout the world NA and AA meetings are concluding with their meeting with its participants reciting this prayer
Catholic in confessionals are being told by their priests to recite this prayer a certain number of times as a part of their penance, as I had time so many times as I grew up in the Roman Catholic church.
BUT DO THEY REALLY KNEW WHAT THEY ARE SAYING? AND DO THEY REALLY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE PRAYING?
I SUMIT TO YOU THAT THOSE SO MANY YEARS AGO WHEN I PRAYED THIS PRAYER – I DID NOT!
That is why I am so happy to return on our journey through the life and the ministry and message of Jesus, and why I am so happy that God providentially would return us to it at this time, at the beginning of a new year, and at this point of our journey thru the scripture the portion of scripture that we call…
The Lord’s Prayer.
Because I am convicned that what has kept my life on track, and in the Lord’s will, for these past 25 years now as a Christian, and what had secured me innummeral blessings, and kept me from untold calamities is my own personal commitment to THE LORD’S PRAYER!
Why is that?
Well I like what…
Samuel Wemmer - "Every possible desire of the praying heart is contained in this, it contains a whole world of spiritual requirements, it combines in simple language every divine promise, every human sorrow and want, and every Christian longing for the good of others."
Anyway what I would like for us to do is analyze this jewel of a prayer. Because….
An analysis of the “The Lord’s Prayer” will reveal to us several characteristics of what real praying contains.
The first characteristic of real praying is….
I. Purity.
By that I mean it is…
A) Void of hypocrisy.
What do I mean by that?
Well Jesus said…
Matthew 6:5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
Q: What is that all about?
B) Prayer was a big part of the Judaic lifestyle.
1. Jewish Law made it their duty to pray three times daily: in the morning, in the afternoon and at nightfall.
2. The custom/concept of praying three times a day was originally introduced by the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Abraham introduced prayer in the morning, Isaac—in the afternoon, and Jacob added one at night.
3. These prayers are called:
a) The morning prayer - 9AM (shacharit = morning).
b) The afternoon prayer - 3PM (minchah = gift-offering) This hour of prayer was known as the "hour of confession."
c) The evening prayer (maariv = evening prayer). Began at sundown.
Wherever they would be – you would just begin to pray.
The People’s New Testament - The Pharisees took pains to be in some public place, where they could strike an attitude of prayer in the sight of many observers, to make a public show of their devotions that they may have the name of sanctity.
BUT REAL PRAYER..
B) Real prayer is:
1. Pure.
2. Personal.
3. Private.
Its not that Jesus is forbidding public prayer – but rather
a) Public praying should be an overflow of much praying that takes place privately.
b) The ear of the LORD is attentive to those who fear Him, not towards those who perform for others before Him.
c) Prayer is not meant to be for public show, but rather is meant to manifest a private devotion.
Anyway…Jesus said…
Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
F B Meyer – In prayer there must be deliberateness, the secret place, the inner chamber, the fixed time, the shut door against distraction and intruders. In that secret place the Father is waiting for us. He is as certainly there as He is in Heaven…
And oh how true that is, and as the song says…
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
How God has helped me stay the course – because of that…
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
I love what the puritan writer says…
Thomas Brooks - The power of religion and godliness lives, thrives, or dies, as closet prayer lives, thrives, or dies.
Arthur Pink - The most eminent saints, in Old and New Testament times, applied themselves to private prayer. "And Abram planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God" (Gen. 21:33). Why did Abram plant that grove—but that he could have a secluded spot where he might pour out his soul before his Maker. "And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide" (Gen. 24:63): the Hebrew word for "meditate" also signifies to pray, and is elsewhere rendered "commune" and "pray." So, too, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, David, Elijah, Hezekiah, etc., were men whose private devotions are recorded in Holy Writ. Concerning Daniel, we read, "he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God" (6:10). As busy as he must have been, he allowed not public duties to crowd out private prayer
Private Prayer - Joel Nederhood
Morning by morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; morning by morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation (Ps. 5:3).
Those who develop the habit of private prayer follow Jesus in a very special way. The Bible says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed” (Mark 1:35).
Kneeling Christian - Why are many Christians so often defeated? Because they pray so little. Why are many church-workers so often discouraged and disheartened? Because they pray so little.
Why do most men see so few brought “out of darkness to light” by their ministry? Because they pray so little.
Why are not our churches simply on fire for God? Because there is so little real prayer.
The Lord Jesus is as powerful today as ever before. The Lord Jesus is as anxious for men to be saved as ever before. His arm is not shortened that it cannot save: but He cannot stretch forth His arm unless we pray more—and more really.
We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer.
Another characteristic of real prayer is also that it is….
II. Plain.
By that I mean…it is…
A) Precise
B) To the point!
C) Not paganistic
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.
NASB - Meaningless repetition - The idea is talking much but without content or repeating the same thing over and over again
Matthew 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“The Pagans thought that by endless repetitions and many words they would inform their gods as to their needs and weary them into granting their requests"
Remember Elijahs story?
1 Kings 18
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
1 Kings 18
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
You don’t need to pray much, you just need to be living on praying ground.
Why is it not necessary to say a lot?
Psalm 139 (NIV)
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
Ray Pritchard – “We do not pray to inform God of anything. Because God knows all things from the beginning to the end, he knows the future as well as he knows the past. It is not as if God “needs” our prayers in order to gather accurate information. God doesn’t need our prayers, but we need to pray. We pray in order to express our complete dependence on our Heavenly Father. We pray to build our faith. We pray because he is God and we are not. We pray because God has ordained that our prayers are part of his unfolding plan for the universe”
III. Pluralistic
By that I mean…
A) Pluralistic - Having multiple aspects or parts.
Well it has more than just a lot of..…
1. Personal pronouns – I, me, my.
But…
2. Plural pronouns – Us, we, our.
Matthew 6:9a “This, then, is how you should pray: “ Our ”…
Why is that?
John MacArthur - We have developed a self centeredness in prayer even today in the church that is unbiblical, where we are really preoccupied with ourselves. We have isolated ourselves out, we don't communicate, we don't bear each other's burdens, we don't share the way we should, and consequently our prayers run down this very narrow track. And we need to learn to pray as they prayed in an unselfish manner, do what is best for the whole. True prayer encompasses the community of faith it never isolates one individual out to have their needs met no matter how it affects everybody else. Prayer is to be unselfish.
It is quite possible to be a man of prayer and be totally selfish. But God is pleased with those who are unselfish in prayer.
One of the best examples of it is…
Exodus 32 (NIV)
1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
Exodus 32 (NIV)
9 “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
Wow….what an example!!
IV. Paternal
Paternal - of or relating to a father.
Matthew 6:9a “This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father
S. Lewis Johnson - The Lord introduces this petition with the words, “Our Father,” which in a sense, is a kind of compact summary of the entire Christian faith, “Our Father.”
Why is that?
S. Lewis Johnson - We could never call God Father were it not for the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus. And by virtue of the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus, we are able to call him Father. We have no right to call God, our Father, if we have not responded to the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus.
That’s why….the work of Christ was to accomplish this….
John 20: 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
So? So?
C H Spurgeon - A Father! There is music in that word. Consider the grace contained in the Lord's deigning to take us into the relationship of children, and giving us with the relationship the nature and the spirit of children, so that we say, "Abba, Father." Did you ever lie in bed with your limbs vexed with sore pains, and cry, "Father, pity thy child"? Did you ever look into the face of death, and as you thought you were about to depart, cry, "My Father, help me; uphold me with thy gracious hand, and bear me through the stream of death"? It is at such times that we realize the glory of the Fatherhood of God, and in our feebleness learn to cling to the divine strength, and catch at the divine love.
V. Perceptive.
Matthew 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray:“‘Our Father in heaven,
A) The phrase - in heaven - reminds us of his transcendent nature.
1. Transcendence is a theological term referring to the relation of God to creation.
a) “Our Father Who is in heaven" implies that he is “other” or “different” from His creation, independent and different from His creatures.
Isaiah 55
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
b) He thinks differently than we do, He sees things differently than we do, He does things differently than we do!
What are his ways?
Psalm 77: 13 Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?
Psa 145:17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.
Psa 25:10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
So loving that…
c) His priorities are higher than my priorities.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
VI. Praiseful.
Praiseful – Full of praise!
Matthew 6:9 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
Hallowed (hagiazo) Set apart, holy, sanctified.
Name (onoma) In both the Old and New Testament times "the name" concisely summed up all that a person is. One's whole character was implied by their name. And so it follows that the Names of God denote not just His title, but also include all that by which He makes Himself known and all that He shows Himself to be.
Elohim: My Creator - Genesis 1:1
El Elyon: Most High God - Sovereign Over All - Genesis 1:18
El Roi: God Who Sees - Genesis 16:13
Jehovah Sabaoth , LORD of hosts (of armies) - Isaiah 6:3
Jehovah Mekeddeshem (M'Kaddesh) LORD Who Sanctifies - Exodus 31:13
Jehovah Nissi: The LORD Our Banner - Exodus 17:8-16
Jehovah Shalom - The LORD our Peace - Judges 6:24
Jehovah Jireh: The LORD Will Provide - Genesis 22:14
Jehovah Rapha: The LORD our Healer - Exodus 15:26
Jehovah Roi: The Lord is My Shepherd - Psalm 23
Jehovah Ezer: The LORD our Helper: - Psalm 121
But look at how the name Father is used in the NT..
2Cr 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
Eph 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
1Pe 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Jo 3:1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Finally in conclusion:
VII. Prioritized.
Matthew 6:10a your kingdom come…
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
A) Messianic Kingdom.
Matthew 6:10b your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
B) Fulfillment of the Great Commission.
Jhn 20:21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
Acts 1: 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Close….What we have seen so far….is that prayer is all
PRAYER IS ALL ABOUT GOD AND HIS GREAT SALVATION!!
Ephesians 1
9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
And so…..the best example I can think of….
Jonah 1 (NIV)
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.
4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
Jonah 1 (NIV)
11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”
12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
Jonah 1: 17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 2:1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.
What?
Jonah – “GOD, GET ME OUT OF HERE!! PEW – IT STINKS IN HERE. I’M GOING TO DIE IN HERE, LORD HELP ME!!!”
Jonah 2 (NIV)
2 He said:
“In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the depths,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah 3;1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”
3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
This prayer is all about God!!!!!!
There are only 2 families on the earth.
Children of light – Children of Darkness
Children of God – Children of the devil
John 1: 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
I never knew my prayers would lead me into the ministry
I never dreamed my prayer would lead me to start a church at 2615 Market St.
I never dreamed my prayers would take me into a penitentiary.
Are you will to pray this prayer too?
Maybe you want to come and pour yourself out…
Matthew 6
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.
