However, just picking a verse or two can be very dangerous. That is, we may not receive all the blessings from the scripture we may select. We must read more to discover the context of the passage. For example, one passage that is often taken out of context is what is commonly called the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:9-14. When we pull this out by itself we often miss the entire purpose the Lord was desiring to accomplish in giving this passage to us.
We receive much more from this when we examine WHEN IT WAS GIVEN. It was given when Jesus was concerned about the lifestyle of the Pharisees and scribes. Most of them were living hypocritical lives. Jesus was concerned that His disciples might be affected by that in three ways.
We see in Matthew 6:1-4, that Jesus did not want the disciples to be like the hypocrites in their ALMS GIVING.
We see in Matthew 6:5-8, that Jesus did not want the disciples to be like the hypocrites in their PRAYING.
We see in Matthew 6:9-13, HOW WE SHOULD PRAY DIFFERENTLY from the hypocrites.
His dealing with these three areas is the result of what He told them in verse 8, “BE NOT YE THEREFORE LIKE UNTO THEM...” However, some believe the reason Jesus gave this prayer was...
(1) So His followers could learn it and recite it often.
(2) To teach His followers NOT WHAT TO SAY, but HOW TO SAY IT.
The latter is held by many for two reasons:
I. In Matthew 6:8, Jesus said, “Be not ye therefore like unto them...”
Since Jesus did not want His disciples to be like the hypocrites in praying the same prayers repetitiously, He certainly was not teaching the disciples to commit this prayer to memory to pray again and again.
II. The second reason many believe that Jesus gave this prayer was because it was the prayer between a child of God and the Heavenly Father.
Note, it begins, “OUR (HEAVENLY) FATHER...”
All of us have been in a public gathering at one time or other when someone would say, “Let us all recite the Lord’s prayer.” Then they would proceed, SAINTS and SINNERS, to recite what is commonly called “The Lord’s Prayer.”
Listen, the sinner cannot rightfully pray, “Our Father...” Why? Because God is not the sinner’s “Father.”
Jesus told the ungodly, in John 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do...”
Illus: Many in America are alarmed because we have people now who call themselves “SATAN WORSHIPPERS.” Listen, this is nothing new. The fact is, the man, or woman, who does not know Christ, is of Satan.
Each day the gods of this world are placed before sinners and they “bow” to them in “worship.”
If they are going to pray, they would have to call upon SATAN because he is their “father.” The Bible says, of the godless, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do...”
If we are to know how to use the prayer Jesus gave in Matt. 6, we must keep in mind the context in which it was given. We should remember that this is a prayer given specifically to God’s children so we would not pray as the hypocrites prayed.
Let us look at a couple of things the model prayer teaches us about our prayers.
I. THE MANNER OF OUR PRAYERS.
In preceding messages in this series we talked about THE METHOD OF PRAYER. We saw Jesus does not want us to pray as the hypocrites prayed.
Look at verse 9, “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
Look at the words, “After this manner...” Christ had just gotten through telling the disciples that they were not to be as the Pharisees and scribes.
He said, “This is the way a child of God is to pray.” (Our paraphrase.)
Then Jesus went on to show them A GOOD PRAYER has certain ingredients just as a good cake has certain ingredients.
Illus: Most of us observed our mothers as we were growing up when they would bake a cake or make cookies. Most of us have heard them say at one time or other, “Oh dear, I forgot to put in the salt (or sugar).”
God gives us a list of at least THREE INGREDIENTS to prayer that we should be sure not to leave out. Verse 9 tells us what they are. First it tells us...
A. Who God is.
The first thing Jesus said we should do is recognize WHO GOD IS and WHO WE ARE.
We who have trusted in Christ for salvation are God’s children and God is our heavenly Father. When we pray, we are to pray to God, the Father. You see, Jesus said, “After this manner therefore pray ye...”
Jesus gave us the example of directing our prayers to OUR HEAVENLY FATHER in Jesus name!
Illus: Often, when Christians pray, they will pray to JESUS or to the HOLY SPIRIT. That may be all right, but the correct way that Jesus gave to pray was directly to OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.
Jesus not only taught BY WORDS, but he ALSO TAUGHT BY EXAMPLE. In Matthew 26:39, we read, “And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.”
The first thing Christians should do as we pray is recognize WHO WE ARE and WHO HE IS! We are His children. He is our HEAVENLY FATHER. ALL OF OUR PRAYERS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TOWARD HIM.
Aren’t you glad that God is OUR HEAVENLY FATHER and that He does not show FAVORITISM to any of His children?
He wants us to know WHO HE IS and SECONDLY, He wants us to know...
B. Where God is.
He said, “...which art in heaven...” The word “heaven” is plural in the Greek so the word actually is “heavens.”
-THE FIRST HEAVEN refers to the atmosphere surrounding the earth. This is where the birds of the air live.
-THE SECOND HEAVENLY is commonly called SPACE. This is where the galaxies of stars reside.
-THE THIRD HEAVEN is the location of God’s dwelling.
Illus: Remember when the Russian cosmonaut, who was an atheist, came back from a trip into outer space and made the ridiculous statement that there is no God. He said he had looked everywhere and had not seen God.
The reason he had not seen GOD was because he had not entered God’s dwelling place--THE THIRD HEAVEN. He had only barely stepped into THE SECOND HEAVEN. He went to the wrong address.
One can not carry on an intelligent conversation with a person if you do not know where he is.
Illus: One of the real disadvantages of living in a large house is communication. That is, a lot of times you may think you are talking to someone and when you walk around the corner you find that person is not even within listening range and everything you have said was heard only by the walls.
Many Christians do not even stop to think where God is when they begin to pray. We do not have to wonder where God is. The Bible tells us that when we pray we are to address our prayers to God, “WHICH ART IN HEAVEN.”
Illus: We all remember that exciting day when the first man landed on the moon. One of the things that so amazed us then was that the man on the moon was talking to the people on earth about that one “Giant step.” Very few people on earth have had the privilege of having their names recorded in any book because they were so far away. Very few have had their voices transmitted from so far away. Yes, the list of names of people falling in that category would be small indeed.
But, the fact is; every time a child of God gets on his knees and prays, his voice goes even farther than the moon, or any of the planets or stars. His voice goes all the way into the third heaven!
As we continue to look at this prayer to learn what a good prayer consists of, we see the Lord wants us to recognize...
C. What God is,
The word “Hallowed,” (haglastheto) is from the word which means: “To be counted holy; to be treated holy; to be counted and treated as different.”
The one part of that definition that stands out is: “To be counted and treated as different.”
One common mistake we make is we humanize God.
Illus: In January of 1996, the news story broke of a cow, in the north country, that happened to walk out on some water that had frozen. The ice cracked and the cow fell into the pond up to her neck. She could not get out, so a rescue team was brought in to help her. In a short time there was a large gathering of people standing on the shore line, watching the rescue. Then some cows that had been in the pasture came up to the shore line and they also began to watch the rescue. After the cow was rescued, one of the reporters began to ask some of the observers some questions. One of the questions that made national news was, “Did the other cows seem worried while they watched the rescue efforts?” Then some of the comedians picked up on the stupidity of that reporter’s question. They poked fun, saying, “Yea, they stood in horror as they watched, and they were thinking, ‘I sure hope they can get old Betsy out of there.’”
The point is, people will even try to humanize a cow. They do this all the time with God.
But, the word “hallowed” means God is to be treated differently because He is different.
Many, out of respect for God’s holiness, recognize that God’s man is not just another man. They do not refer to him by his first name. They speak with respect by saying, PASTOR..., PREACHER... or MINISTER.
The biggest mistake many make in their prayers is approaching God without recognizing that He is not to be approached in the same way one would approach a man on the street.
For example, we have heard many say, “I need to talk to the man upstairs.” When they approach God, that is exactly the way they approach Him--as if He is a man who is upstairs.
Illus: We are told that those who are privileged to visit Queen Elizabeth at the Buckingham palace have to go through quite a bit of training. They are told...
-Which gate they are to come to.
-Which part of the palace they are to enter.
-What to wear.
-What they are to SAY and NOT SAY.
-That they are not to speak unless the Queen speaks to them.
-Who are to bow in honor of her presence.
In other words. She is to be treated as ROYALTY.
It would be completely improper for anyone to walk up, slap her on the back, and say, “Hi, Liz, old girl, how are you doing?”
Many feel that because God told us we were to “come BOLDLY,” (Heb. 4:16), that means we can approach Him as spoiled brats, demanding that He do this or that!
Illus: One television preacher said that verse meant God has what we need in His hands and we are to boldly walk up and “snatch” what we need out of His hands.
Listen, can you believe that someone would be so spiritually ignorant that they could believe God would want His children to be so rude!
Illus: We all know what would have happened if we had “snatched” something out of our parent’s hands when we were young! In most cases, that would only happen one time because the next time we were tempted to do such a rude thing we would remember what had happened the last time we tried such a thing!
To enter God’s presence with boldness has nothing to do with RUDENESS. It has everything to do with REVERENCE FOR HIM.
Illus: The Jew of Jesus day could relate to this perhaps better than we can today. God had set up the order for their taking their requests to God that they should go to the “high priest” and the high priest would enter the “Holy of Holys” once a year to atone for the sins of mankind. Before he could enter that holy place, he first had to offer sacrifice for his own sins. If he entered the Holy of Holies without doing this, he would be struck down, dead! There was always a rope tied to his leg. If he was struck down, the people had to drag him out by that rope. If he confessed his sins and repented, then he could enter the holy place and intercede for the people.
Because of the sacrifice that Christ made for us on Calvary, shedding His blood for our sins, we now can enter into God’s presence with complete confidence, as His child. In Hebrews 10:19, we read, “Having therefore, brethren, BOLDNESS to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.”
If it were not for the precious blood of Jesus being shed, you and I would not have that privilege of entering into the presence of God.
The word “boldly,” in Hebrews 4:16, does not mean we throw away our reverence for God and enter his presence like some television preachers have taught.
It does mean we are to enter God’s presence with a sense of reverence and awe. For example, as we enter His presence, we must recognize that God is not as we are.
Illus: Remember when we were children, how big our parents seemed to be? We knew we were not like them, but often we would play games, pretending to be like them. Why? Because we recognized they were different from us.
AREN’T WE GLAD THAT GOD IS NOT LIKE US? That is, God the Father has:
-ALL wisdom.
-NEVER broken a promise.
Illus: The way some people approach God, you would think God was the biggest liar that ever existed. They present themselves as being “holy” and they let God know they are going to “trust” Him, one more time--but if He “blows” it this time they are not going to trust Him again!
We are to recognize:
-WHO HE IS--He is OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.
-WHERE HE IS--He dwells in the third heaven.
-WHAT HE IS--He is a holy God that is to be revered.
Conclusion:
We have looked at the manner in which we are to pray. That is, we must recognize:
I. Who God is
II. Where God is
III. What God is
