Gladys Brown in Bucyrus, Ohio, talks about being at a midweek prayer service where someone requested prayer for a neighbor woman who was having a difficult time and was feeling “just miserable.”
Volunteering to take the request, a man fervently prayed, “O God, bless this miserable woman!” (Gladys Brown, Bucyrus, Ohio, Christian Reader, “Lite Fare;” www.PreachingToday.com)
Oh my! People don’t always know how to pray, and it comes out all wrong. Mercifully, Jesus taught us that God honors sure, simple, sincere prayers from the heart, so we don’t have to worry about using long, flowery phrases when we pray.
Even so, it would be nice to know what kind of requests to make to God, requests that He would be delighted to answer. Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Matthew 6, Matthew 6, where Jesus gives us 7 short, simple requests to make when we pray, requests which move the heart of God to respond.
Matthew 6:9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (ESV)
First, Jesus teaches us how to address God, as “our Father in heaven.” Wow! That’s a mouthful, and I could preach a whole sermon just on that phrase, but don’t worry. I won’t. Suffice it to say that when you pray, first...
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS.
Recognize that He is both near (He is our Father) and He is far (He is in heaven). Appreciate that He is both loving and holy, i.e., wholly other. Realize that He is familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. He is close to His own, but very distinct. He is intimate, but also infinite.
That recognition affects how you pray, for some people treat God like the “Geek Squad.” You know, if you have a problem with your computer, you call the Geek Squad, they fix your problem, and then they leave you alone.
In his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, C. S. Lewis described approaching God in a similar way. At a young age, when he learned that his mother was dying, he remembered that he had been taught that prayers offered in faith would be granted. When his mother eventually died, Lewis prayed for a miracle. Later, he wrote:
“I had approached God, or my idea of God, without love, without awe, even without fear. He was, in my mental picture of this miracle, to appear neither as Savior nor as Judge, but merely as a magician; and when he had done what was required of him, I supposed he would simply—well, go away. It never crossed my mind that the tremendous contract which I solicited should have any consequence beyond restoring the status quo.” (C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1995, pp. 18-19; www.PreachingToday.com)
When you expect God to fix your problem, restore the status quo, and leave you alone, you’ve treated Him like the Geek Squad, but God is NOT like the Geek Squad. He is your “Father in heaven.” He is the Almighty One, the One deserving your greatest respect, who wants to be in a loving relationship with you! So prayer is not just about getting your needs met; it’s about a personal relationship with an Almighty, Holy God, One that invites you to call Him “Father.”
William Barclay in his commentary on Matthew, tells the story of a Roman emperor, coming home victorious from battle. He came into Rome with all his troops at the head of a great parade, celebrating his triumph. The prisoners of war, along with the defeated kings and generals, followed in his train. The streets were lined with cheering people, and tall [guards] lined the streets’ edges to keep the people in their places.
At one point on the triumphal route, there was a little platform where the empress and her family were sitting to watch the emperor go by in all the pride of his triumph. On the platform with his mother, there was the emperor’s youngest son, a little boy.
As the emperor came near, the little boy jumped off the platform, burrowed through the crowd and tried to dodge between the legs of a guard to meet his father’s chariot. The guard stooped down and stopped him. He swung him up in his arms: “You can’t do that, boy,” he said. “Don’t you know who that is in the chariot? That’s the emperor. You can’t run out to his chariot.”
The little boy laughed and said, “He may be your emperor, but he’s my father.” (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Vol.1)
That’s how God wants you to approach Him when you pray. He’s the all-powerful LORD, but He’s also your Father if you have trusted Jesus Christ, His Son, with your life.
You see, prayer is not simply making requests. It’s part of an intimate relationship with an infinite God. So when you pray, first acknowledge who God is. Then second...
ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT GOD WANTS.
Put His desires before your own. Talk about His interests first. Jesus said...
Matthew 6:9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (ESV)
That is, may your reputation be honored as holy or special. This request asks God to glorify Himself in all that we ask, to work in such a way that people appreciate Him all the more.
Lauri Johnson of Hudsonville, Michigan, talks about taking her two sons, 12-year-old Matthew and 6-year-old Ryan, to her parents' house for an afternoon visit. They spent some time playing and socializing with their grandparents. When they were ready to leave, her dad said to Matthew, “You made my day.”
Matthew replied, “God made your day; we just put the icing on it.” (Lauri Johnson, Hudsonville, Michigan; www.Preaching Today.com)
That’s a little of what it means to ask God to “hallow His name.” He makes the day, to be sure, because He is the Creator! But He wants to use us to put icing on it; He wants to use us to cause people to appreciate Him even more! So ask God to hallow His name through you!
Then ask God to rule in your life and in your circumstances. Ask God to have His will and His way in your world. That’s what the next two requests are all about. Take a look at them.
Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (ESV)
These two requests are just two ways to ask for the same thing. To ask for God’s Kingdom to come is to ask for God’s will to be done. You see, the Kingdom of God is anyplace where God rules. Does He rule in your life? If not, ask Him to have His will and His way with you.
John Powell, a pastor in Houston, Texas, has a sign on the mirror in his bedroom, which He sees every morning when he first wakes up. It says, “WHAT HAVE YOU GOT GOING TODAY, GOD? I'D LIKE TO BE A PART OF IT. THANKS FOR LOVING ME.”
Powell says, “I have to find my place in God's plans, rather than make my own little plans and then ask God to support them: ‘Come on, God, give me an A in this course. Come on, God, do this for me.’ Instead, I pray, ‘What have you got going today, God? You love this world. You loved this world into life. You created this world. We're all yours. What's my part in the drama? What part do you want me to play? I will play any part you say. Want me to be a success? I'll be a success for you. Want me to be a failure? I'll fail for you. Whatever you want.’” (John Powell, "Prayer as Surrender," Preaching Today, Tape No. 108; www. PreachingToday.com)
Now, that’s a prayer God can and will answer, because prayer is not about getting my will done in heaven; t’s about getting God’s will done on earth. Through prayer, God allows you to be a part of what He is doing around the world!
So when you pray, put God’s interests first. 1st, acknowledge who God is. 2nd, acknowledge what God wants. Then 3rd...
ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT YOU NEED.
Recognize your own needs and present those to God. Admit those areas where you lack and ask God to provide.
Begin with your needs for today.
Matthew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread... (ESV)
This request looks to God, the Father, our creator and sustainer, for today’s needs, not tomorrow’s needs, just today’s needs. At the end of the chapter Jesus says, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34).
In his book Alive, Rick Christian recounts a low point in Thomas Carlyle's life. The noted historian had just spent two years writing a book on the French Revolution. On the day he finished his manuscript, he gave his only copy to a colleague, John Stuart Mill, to read and critique. Then the unthinkable occurred. Mill's servant used Carlyle's manuscript as kindling to start a fire.
As Mill reported the devastating news, Carlyle's face paled. Two years of his life were lost. Thousands of long, lonely hours spent writing had been wasted. He could not imagine writing the book again. He lapsed into a deep depression.
Then one day while walking the city streets, Carlyle noticed a stone wall under construction. He was transfixed. That tall sweeping wall was being raised one brick at a time. It was a “eureka” for him. If he wrote one page at a time, one day at a time, he could write the book again. And that is exactly what he did.
Christian observes, “When faced with seemingly impossible situations, we often see the wall and not the individual bricks… but taken day by day, task by task, the load is more manageable… (Rick Christian, Alive, Zondervan, 1995; www.PreachingToday.com)
Christ taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” not all the bread we need for the rest of our lives, not all the bread we need for this month, and not even all the bread we need for today and tomorrow. NO! Give us just what we need for today. When you acknowledge your need, begin with your needs for today.
Then deal with the needs from your past.
Matthey 6:12 ...and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (ESV)
Release us from the debt of our sin in the same way we release those who are indebted to us.
This request looks to God, the Son, our Redeemer and Savior, who died on a cross for all our sins. You see, Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.
Lee Strobel in his book Experiencing the Passion of Jesus, talks about an acquaintance, who called with what he said was an “embarrassing request”: His little girl had been caught shoplifting from their church bookstore, and he wanted to know if Lee would represent the church so she could come and apologize. He said he wanted to use this incident as a teaching moment. Lee Strobel agreed—but he had a much bigger lesson in mind.
The next day, the parents and their eight-year-old daughter trooped into Lee’s office and sat down. “Tell me what happened,” Lee said to the little girl as gently as he could.
“Well,” she said as she started to sniffle, “I saw a book that I really wanted, but I didn't have any money…” Now tears formed in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Lee handed her a tissue. “So I put the book under my coat and took it. I knew it was wrong. I knew I shouldn't do it, but I did. And I'm sorry. I'll never do it again. Honest!”
Lee told her, “I'm so glad you're willing to admit what you did and say you're sorry. That's very brave, and it's the right thing to do. But what do you think an appropriate punishment would be?”
She shrugged. Lee thought for a moment before saying, “I understand the book cost five dollars. I think it would be fair if you paid the bookstore five dollars, plus three times that amount, which would make the total twenty dollars. Do you think that would be fair?”
She nodded sadly. “Yes,” she murmured. She could see the fairness in that. But now there was fear in her eyes. Twenty dollars is a mountain of money for a little kid. Where would she ever come up with that amount of cash?
Then Lee opened his desk drawer, removed his checkbook, and wrote out a check on his personal account for the full amount. He tore off the check and held it out to her. Her mouth dropped open. “I'm going to pay your penalty, so you don't have to,” Lee said. “Do you know why I'd do that?" Bewildered, she shook her head. "Because I love you,” Lee said. “Because I care about you. Because you are valuable to me. And please remember this: That's how Jesus feels about you too. Except even more.”
At that moment, she reached out and accepted Lee’s gift. Lee says, “I wish I could find the words to describe the look of absolute relief and joy and wonder that blossomed on her face. She was almost giddy with gratitude.” (Lee Strobel and Gary Poole, Experiencing the Passion of Jesus, Zondervan, 2004; www.PreachingToday.com)
When you think about your past failures and sins, don’t try to deal with them on your own. Just reach out and accept Jesus’ gift of forgiveness.
Then forgive others in the same way He forgave you. Release them from their debts to you. You see, Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.” That is, IN THE SAME WAY we have forgiven our debtors.
Some people say, “I can forgive, but I cannot forget.” Is that how you want God to forgive you? Then you really don’t want to pray this prayer. You see, true forgiveness involves erasing the record of past wrongs, deleting the hateful emails and texts, choosing to forget the wrong others have done to you.
Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, was reminded one day of a vicious deed that someone had done to her years before. But she acted as if she had never heard of the incident. “Don't you remember it?” her friend asked. “No,” came Barton's reply. “I distinctly remember forgetting it.” (Luis Palau, “Experiencing God's Forgiveness,” Christianity Today, Vol. 34, no.1; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s how God promises to forgive us. He said, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). If that’s what you want, then be willing to forgive others the same way. Look at Jesus’ explanation in verse 14.
Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (ESV)
It’s not so much that you earn God’s forgiveness by forgiving others, because forgiveness is not earned. No! But those who realize how much God has forgiven them find it easier to forgive others, because receiving God’s forgiveness and extending it to others are inseparable.
Gary Preston tells the story about a traveler making his way with a guide through the jungles of Burma. They came to a shallow but wide river and waded through it to the other side. When the traveler came out of the river, numerous leeches had attached to his torso and legs. His first instinct was to grab them and pull them off.
This guide stopped him, warning that pulling the leeches off would only leave tiny pieces of them under the skin. Eventually, infection would set in.
The best way to rid the body of the leeches, the guide advised, was to bathe in a warm balsam bath for several minutes. This would soak the leeches, and soon they would release their hold on the man's body.
Then Preston comments, “When I've been significantly injured by another person, I cannot simply yank the injury from myself and expect that all bitterness, malice, and emotion will be gone. Resentment still hides under the surface. The only way to become truly free of the offense and to forgive others is to bathe in the soothing bath of God's forgiveness of me. When I finally fathom the extent of God's love in Jesus Christ, forgiveness of others is a natural outflow.” (Gary Preston, Character Forged from Conflict, Bethany, 1999; www.PreachingToday.com)
Oh, my dear friends, bathe in the soothing bath of God’s forgiveness. It will set you free from those past hurts.
When you acknowledge your need before God, begin with your needs for today; deal with the needs from your past;
Then leave the needs of your future with God.
Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (ESV)
Ask God to keep you from a state of testing, and to rescue you from the evil one, i.e., from Satan himself. You see, the word for “temptation” literally speaks of an examination, a test, which can either bring out the best or the worst in people (James 1:2, 12). Satan tests us to bring out the worst. God tests us to bring out the best. These last two requests in this prayer ask God for protection from Satan’s testing, and they look to the Holy Spirit, our counselor and guide, who leads us in paths of righteousness.
There’s an old British film called The Servant, which tells the story of the second son of an entitled and wealthy British family. The son has come back to England after serving in the army in India. It’s the early part of the 20th Century at the height of British imperial power, and the young man realizes he needs help navigating his return to upper class society. So he hires a “man servant,” who teaches him what clothes to wear, what club to join, who his friends should be, what to eat at a restaurant. The young man quickly becomes quite a success.
However, in the process of helping his master become a “gentleman,” the servant introduces the young man to gambling, the use of drugs, and the use of women who are willing to sell their bodies to men. The servant does it, because that is what single, rich, English gentlemen are supposed to do, so he says.
By the end of the movie, however, the young man squanders his wealth, becomes a hopeless drug addict, and is arrested for killing a woman with whom he had an affair. In the last scene of the movie, the servant simply walks away as his master is being arrested. As it turns out, the servant had planned his master’s destruction from the very beginning. (Stanley Hauerwas, “Explaining Why Will Willimon Never Explains,” A Peculiar Prophet, Abingdon, 2004), pp. 124-125; www.PreachingToday.com)
That servant is Satan, who has planned your destruction from the very beginning. He will lead you down a path to destruction if you let him. Please don’t. Instead, ask God to protect you from Satan’s destruction and lead you down a different path.
Now, that’s a prayer God can and will answer. So when you pray, put God’s interests first. 1st, acknowledge who God is; 2nd, acknowledge what God wants; then acknowledge what you need (past, present, and future).
Archbishop Richard Trench once said, “Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance… it is laying hold of His highest willingness.”
So let’s pray and lay hold of God’s highest willingness!
Would you pray with me:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
