Sunday Morning January 13, 2002 Bel Aire Baptist Church
Series: Kingdom Business [#2]
MEETING WITH THE BOSS
Matthew 6:9-15
Introduction:
1. At your workplace or at school, how do you know what is expected of you and what the rules are? [Communication].
2. And what does communication involve? [Talking and listening].
3. In communication, which is more important: Talking or listening? [Listening].
4. We as Christians often time forget this when it comes to communication with God.
5. In order for you to be close to your Heavenly Father, there must be communication. In order to know what you should be doing in your life, you must be in communication with your Father.
6. In Matthew 6:5-15, Jesus gives us a model in which to communicate with the Father. Notice, I said a model. This is not meant for us to recite all the time but for us to notice the important components of prayer.
7. This morning, as we continue to study how to be better stewards of what God has given us, we need to identify the components of this model prayer.
Approach
Begin prayer by approaching God with praise and adoration.
“Our Father” reminds us that God is a personal God. He is not just out there somewhere. He is with us and it is a personal relationship.
“In Heaven” reminds us of God’s power, authority, and greatness. You are not just speaking words to the wind. You are speaking them to Almighty God, creator of all things. This ought to humble us and bring us to the point of praising and worshipping God.
Asking
After we approach God, then we are to make our request known to God. How do we do that? By simply asking. In this prayer, there are two areas of request.
1. God-centered prayer.
9 …hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
These requests are that God’s Name, Kingdom, and Will be established here on earth.
The word “hallowed” means “to make holy”, “to set apart” and that is exactly what we ought to do with the name of God.
Notice again. Who’s Kingdom? Gods! Who’s will? Gods! It is extremely important that we realize that as Christians we are to fulfill God’s will in our lives in order that His Kingdom will benefit. We have no say so in that!
2. Men-centered prayer.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 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.
These requests are those in which the believer prays for his needs and the needs of others. That is why it says “give us” and not “give me”. There are four areas that we should ask for:
1. Provisions.
2. Pardon.
3. Perseverance.
4. Protection.
Affirming
We should continue our prayer by affirming God’s power and desire to hear and answer our prayers.
In some of the manuscripts of the Bible, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen” is not included. It is not found in most of the newer translations of the Bible, but it is included in the King James Version.
I do believe that we must not forget that everything we have is from God and since it is His only He should get the glory and honor.
I don’t know about you, but I praise God that He hears and answers my prayers.
Anticipation And Action
Acknowledging the fact that we truly believe God will answer our prayer and then doing what He has told us to do, conclude the prayer. Remember we are to not just be hearers but also be doers.
Notice what David says in Psalms 5:3: “In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”
After Jesus finished praying in the Garden of Gethsemane He did not stop at that prayer, He went and finished what the Father had told Him to do; which was to go through a phony trial, be abused and mocked, and then to hang upon a cross like a criminal.
Conclusion:
When you pray, are these components in your prayer?
1. Do you approach God humbly, praising Him for Who He is?
2. Do you pray that God’s Name, Kingdom, and Will be established here on earth? When you make your requests to God, are they request for things for you and your family or do you pray for other’s needs?
3. Do you really believe that God hears and answers your prayers? Do you come to God boldly as we are told to in the Book of Hebrews?
4. Once God has given you the answer do you act upon it or keep praying? Our favorite thing to do is instead of doing what God has already told us to do, we try to stall God’s plan by saying, “Why don’t we pray about this some more”. Why? God has already given you the answer.
5. If we are going to be good stewards of the life God has given us, then we are going to have to communicate with Him.
6. If you are here and you do not know Jesus as your Savior, I want you to understand that God does not hear your prayers because Jesus is the mediator between God and us. The only prayer that God will hear from you today is the prayer of repentance and surrender to His Son Jesus Christ.
