Lord, Teach Us to Pray - Part 2
The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 6:9-15
Sermon by: Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - September 24, 2017
(Revised March 13, 2021)
BACKGROUND:
*Do you ever wish you could learn how to pray better? You are not the only one. In Luke 11:1, one of the disciples saw Jesus praying, and when the Lord finished praying, that disciple said, "Lord, teach us to pray." Jesus replied by giving them a prayer very similar to the Lord's Prayer here in Matthew 6.
*In Luke 11:2-4:
2. . . He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
3. Give us day by day our daily bread.
4. and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.''
*These two prayers are so similar that for years I thought Luke 11 was a different report on the same event. But I was wrong. The Lord's Prayer here in Matthew 6 was given at the beginning of Christ's 3-year ministry. And the prayer in Luke 11 was given just a few months before the cross.
*John Gill explained that "though the prayer in Luke 11 is similar, the prayer in Matthew 6 was given at another time and in another place. In Matthew 6, Jesus was in Galilee. The Luke prayer was given in Judea. The Matthew instructions were given as part of the Sermon on the Mount. But in Luke, the instructions came after a request from one of the disciples who saw Jesus praying." (1)
*But the thing that stands out to me, is that after 3 years of following Jesus, this disciple was still hungry to learn more about prayer. And God wants us to have that same kind of hunger! He wants us to know more about prayer, so our prayer life will grow stronger than ever before.
*Please think about this as we read Matthew 6:9-15.
MESSAGE:
*Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer as a model to teach His followers how to pray. And it gives us vital lessons for today.
*The first lesson last time was to make sure that His Father is our Father. We must make sure we can truly call the Lord's Heavenly Father "OUR FATHER." We must make sure we are in the Father's family by believing in His crucified and risen Son Jesus Christ.
*The second lesson was to pour out our praise to God. As vs. 9 says, "Our Father who is in heaven, 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." (2)
*The third lesson came from vs. 10, where Jesus told us to pray to the Father and say, "Your kingdom come. . ."
*Rodney Buchanan explained that when the Lord put God's Kingdom first, Jesus 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 said, "Thy Kingdom come" is an evangelistic prayer." (3)
*Luke 17:20-21 tells us that when Jesus "was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and 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."
*The fourth lesson last time also came from vs. 10. Jesus told us to pray to the Father and say, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
*Remember that "Your will be done" 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 surely calls us to pray with this devoted, Christlike spirit. And we can pray this prayer with total confidence because we can always trust God's will for our lives. But we must not think that following the will of God will put us on easy street. Sometimes it will put us on the hardest road we have ever walked.
*Tonight, the Lord gives us more vital lessons about prayer.
1. FIRST, JESUS TEACHES US TO HAVE FREQUENT CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR FATHER.
*For Christians, prayer should be an everyday, ongoing conversation with God. And Jesus reminds us of this truth in vs. 11. Here the Lord taught us to pray, "Father, 'Give us this day our daily bread.'"
*This verse reminds us how constantly dependent we are on God. Every bite of food we have ever eaten was ultimately provided by God. James 1:17 tells us that every good thing comes down from our Heavenly Father, so it is most appropriate for us to pray, "Father, Give us this day our daily bread."
*But why should we pray for our "daily bread?" That seems so inefficient. Why didn't Jesus teach us to pray, "Give us our bread for a week or a month"? He surely could have. But instead, Jesus told us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread."
*This verse reminds me of the manna the Children of Israel gathered as they wandered in the wilderness. Psalm 78:24 tells us that manna was the bread or corn of heaven. And Exodus 16 tells us that this manna was very strange food. It was a small and round, as fine as frost on the ground. Manna melted when the sun became hot, so God sent it every morning, that is, except on the Sabbath day.
*You could gather all you needed, -- but if you gathered too much, you still only had what you needed. And if you tried to keep it overnight, it got worms and started stinking. That happened every day except on the sixth day. On the sixth day, the Children of Israel gathered and prepared twice as much as any other day, and the miraculous manna did not go bad that night. God gave them enough food for two days, so they wouldn't have to work on the Sabbath.
*Right now, we've got peanut butter at home that's good until January 20th of 2023. And you can get freeze-dried survival meals that will last for 25 years!
*Couldn't God make some food that would last more than a day or two? Yes of course! God could make food that would last forever. But He wanted the Children of Israel to learn to trust and obey him day by day. And He is trying to teach us the same thing.
*God wants us to learn to trust Him, even if Wal-Mart runs out of bread, and it did during the ice storm a few weeks ago. So, we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." This kind of prayer request calls for an ongoing conversation with the Lord. It calls for a conversation that will help us know God better and trust Him more every day.
*Surely this is one of the main reasons why God wants us to pray every day. And in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, the Apostle Paul went so far as to tell Christians to "pray without ceasing."
*This doesn't mean we stay on our knees all the time. It means that our prayer life should go beyond our regular times of prayer. It means that our lives should be lived in a spiritual atmosphere of prayer, just as we live in a physical atmosphere of air. We should have ongoing conversations with God, because He is always with us, everywhere we go.
*Years ago, one of my friends told me that she started buckling the seatbelt beside her whenever she was alone in the car. It was a reminder to her that Jesus was always there.
*You see, we can always talk to God in prayer. And this relationship in our prayer life is always more important than the results. Yes, the results will be great, but the relationship is greater. If God gave us everything we could ever dream of asking, that could not compare with the blessing of knowing Him! And God wants us to know Him better every day, so Jesus teaches us to have frequent conversations with our Heavenly Father.
2. THE LORD ALSO TEACHES US TO FOCUS ON FORGIVENESS.
*This lesson is vs. 12 where Jesus said to pray, "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 explained 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." (4)
*The Lord explained more about forgiveness down in vs. 14-15, where He said, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
*This raises the question, "Are we saved by forgiving people who sin against us?" The answer is NO. The Bible clearly teaches that we are saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We put our trust in the cross of Christ, believing that God loves us, and that God the Son came into the world to die on the cross for us. We believe that Jesus paid the price for all of our sins, and then He rose again from the dead. So, we trust God to forgive us, and He does.
*But the Bible also clearly teaches us that forgiveness is not an option for believers. Our forgiveness is necessary because sooner or later, all of us are going to need forgiveness. Along life's course, we all will fall short. Sometimes we will be the one in the wrong who needs to say, "I'm sorry." Other times we will be the one who needs to say, "That's okay. I forgive you." We all will need forgiveness, and we all will need to give it.
*Back in 2006, I got a letter from a woman who lives in another part of the state. It was one of most bitter letters I have ever read. This woman overflowed with anger and venom from a painful break-up that had happened years before. She had been betrayed and deeply hurt by someone she trusted.
*Here is part of my answer to her: "If I were your pastor, I would ask you to do one of the hardest things I ever ask people to do. I would ask you to choose to forgive those who have hurt you, -- not because they necessarily deserve it or ever will. Rather, I would ask you to choose to forgive them, because I know that your forgiveness will bring healing in your heart from the Lord.
*Years ago, I heard Charles Stanley speak on this topic, and he helped me to understand forgiveness in a brand new way. Most people think that forgiveness is a feeling. But it is not a feeling.
*Let me also say here that forgiveness is not giving people a blank check to abuse us. It does not mean that we allow ourselves to be a doormat for someone. Yes, Jesus told us to turn the other cheek. But in Matthew 18, He also gave a process to deal with fellow Christians who mistreat us. So, forgiveness is not a blank check for people to abuse us.
*But remember that forgiveness is not a feeling. Some people say, 'I can't forgive him or her.' In those times, they may be waiting for a feeling of forgiveness to spring up in them. But forgiveness is not a feeling. It is both a command from God, and a choice of our will. And as Christians we can forgive, because we have been born-again with the nature of Jesus Christ. We can also forgive, because we have the Holy Spirit of Christ living in us to help us forgive.
*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.
*Here are a couple of other important points: First, this is mostly a matter between you and God. It does not mean that you have to tell the person who offended you that you have forgiven them, though sometimes that might be helpful. But sometimes the person doesn't think they did anything wrong in the first place, or in the worst case, they may even laugh in your face.
*One lady I know needed to forgive her father who had abused her in the worst possible way. But he was dead. Her forgiveness wasn't for the dad's sake. It was for her sake, and it did help her.
*One other note is that this is not a one-time thing, in part because people can offend us more than once. On top of that, a few days after we choose to forgive someone, that hurt may come to the surface again. When that happens, I just go through the process of talking to our Heavenly Father again, and in God's presence, choose to forgive that person again. It helps me every time."
*God's Word tells us here 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 of your sins have been forgiven by God. And He wants us to be like Him. As Paul said in Ephesians 4:31-32, "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."
*When it comes to prayer, the Lord teaches us to focus on the forgiveness we need and the forgiveness we need to give.
3. JESUS ALSO TEACHES US TO PRAY FOR GOD'S LEADERSHIP.
*We all need God's leadership, so in the first part of vs. 13 the prayer request was Heavenly Father, "Do not lead us into temptation," or "Lead us not into temptation." In other words: "God, please lead us in the good and right direction."
*Think about it. Where are you headed in life? Are you growing stronger in faith and goodness? Is there any evidence of salvation in your life? Are you reflecting the light of the Lord? Is Jesus shining through?
*We all need to be led away from temptation, so God's Word gives us other examples of this kind of prayer. In 1 Chronicles 4:10, "Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, 'Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You WOULD KEEP ME FROM EVIL, that I may not cause pain!' So, God granted him what he requested."
*In Psalm 19:12-14, King David began his prayer with a question and said:
12. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.
13. KEEP BACK YOUR SERVANT ALSO FROM PRESUMPTUOUS SINS; LET THEM NOT HAVE DOMINION OVER ME. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression.
14. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
*A few hours before the cross, Jesus twice told the disciples to watch and pray so they wouldn't fall into temptation. Sadly, they fell asleep. But listen to the Lord in Luke 22:39-46:
39. And coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.
40. When He came to the place, He said to them, "PRAY THAT YOU MAY NOT ENTER INTO TEMPTATION.''
41. And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed,
42. saying, "Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.''
43. Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.
44. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. And His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
45. When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.
46. Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep? RISE AND PRAY, LEST YOU ENTER INTO TEMPTATION.''
*The disciples desperately needed God to lead them away from temptation, and so do we. We need God's guidance every day to overcome the sin in our lives, so Jesus teaches us to pray for God's leadership.
4. AND HE TEACHES US TO PRAY FOR GOD'S DELIVERANCE.
*This is the Lord's lesson for us in the last part of vs. 13. Here Jesus said to pray for our Heavenly Father to "deliver us from evil." The NKJ says, "deliver us from the evil one." This original word for "deliver" has the reassuring thought of God rushing to rescue us, or drawing us close to rescue us from danger.
*It's the same word Paul used in 1 Corinthians 1:8-10. There the Apostle gave this report:
8. . . We do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.
9. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,
10. who DELIVERED us from so great a death, and does DELIVER us; in whom we trust that He will still DELIVER us.
*"Deliver us from evil." John Gill explained that the evil mentioned here could be evil people, evil accidents, and evil thoughts, but it certainly includes deliverance from Satan, the source of all evil. And to be delivered from him, is to be rescued from his snares, and delivered from his temptations." William MacDonald added that "this is the prayer of all who desperately desire to be kept from sin by the power of God. It is the heart's cry for daily deliverance from the power of sin and Satan in one's life." (5)
*"Deliver us from evil." This original word is also the word Paul used in Colossians 1:13-14. There he tells Christians that God the Father "has DELIVERED us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins."
*This is the ultimate deliverance that all people need, and it can only come through the Son of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without Jesus, we are hopelessly trapped by Satan in spiritual darkness and death.
*But God the Father sent Jesus to deliver us from darkness and death! In Him and Him alone "we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." Salvation then can only come by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for us.
*"What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus; What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus." And that's what God wants to do for people. He wants to give them a clean slate! He wants to wash their sins completely away by the blood of Jesus Christ!
*And then, through His Holy Spirit, our Heavenly Father is always close by, loving us, watching over us, hearing our prayers, and answering our prayers, according to His perfect will. Believers, we can fully trust in our Heavenly Father!
*Gene Appel told one of my favorite Dad stories. It was about a family who went to the lake for vacation one summer. Dad was fiddling around by the boat house, while his 12-year-old and 3-year-old sons played on the dock. Older brother was supposed to be watching little brother, but he got distracted just when little Billy decided to check out the fishing boat at the end of the dock.
*Billy put his foot in the boat, but it shifted, and he fell in. His older brother screamed, and Dad came running. But when he jumped in, he couldn't find Billy. Sick with panic, Dad took another gulp of air, and went back down in the murky water, feeling around everywhere.
*Finally, on his way back up the second time, Dad felt Billy's arms locked tight around one of the posts under the dock. He was about 4 feet under the water. Dad pried the boy's fingers loose and they popped up together for a breath of air.
*When everybody calmed down a little bit, Dad asked his son: "What on earth were you doing down there hanging onto the post so far under the water?" Billy replied, "I was just waiting for you dad, -- just waiting for you." (6)
*That little boy trusted His dad! And that's the way we can trust in our Heavenly Father. But is He your Father? God wants to be your Heavenly Father. And He will be, if you will receive His Son Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
*You can do this right now, as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) Adapted from JOHN GILL'S EXPOSITION OF THE BIBLE by Dr. John Gill, D. D. - 1697-1771 - Published in 1746-1766, 1816 - Luke 11:1 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2000-2019
(2) ALBERT BARNES' NOTES ON THE BIBLE by Albert Barnes - Published in 1847-85 - Matthew 6:9-13 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2000-2019
(3) Sources:
-Rodney Buchanan online sermon "Jesus' Approach to Prayer" - Matthew 6:5-15 - 03/13/2005
-Cross & Crown Sermons - "Looking at the Model Prayer - The Focus of the Prayer" by Dr. James McCullen - Matthew 6 9-13
(4) JOHN GILL'S EXPOSITION OF THE BIBLE by Dr. John Gill, D. D. - 1697-1771 - Published in 1746-1766, 1816 - Matthew 6:12 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2000-2019
(5) Sources:
-Adapted from JOHN GILL'S EXPOSITION OF THE BIBLE by Dr. John Gill, D. D. - 1697-1771 - Published in 1746-1766, 1816 - Matthew 6:13 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2000-2019
-BELIEVER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY by William MacDonald - Edited by Arthur Farstad - Thomas Nelson Publishers - Nashville - Copyright 1995 - "Jesus Teaches the Model Prayer" - Matthew 6:9-15 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2000-2019
(6) SermonCentral illustration submitted by Dennis Murphy - SOURCE: Story told by Gene Appel
