Acknowledge God’s Person
Series: The Blueprint for Prayer
Matthew 6:9-13
Introduction
More good is accomplished in ten minutes of genuine prayer than in ten hours of our human labors because when we work, it is just our efforts but when we pray God works. The primary role of prayer in the life of the Christian cannot be understated, nor can it be understated in the life of the church.
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 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. ’
The Lord’s Prayer is a model for how we should pray not just a series of words that we memorize and repeat. Jesus gets to the heart of the matter regarding the issue of prayer and tells us that this is how we should pray. But what exactly does Jesus mean here and how does this effect the way that we should pray?
Jesus really has two issues with the disciples here. The first is the matter of motivation. In other words, it is an issue of being sincere and genuine from the heart. Why should God answer any of our prayers if they aren’t genuine and from our heart? The second issue is the method. Jesus gives the a model for them to follow and way that they should pray. Jesus is literally giving the disciples the reason why they should pray and what they should pray for. If Jesus thought that this was important enough for the disciples to apply to their lives, shouldn’t we apply it to our lives?
Jesus has set His blueprint for prayer and we should put it to use in our own lives, not as some form prayer that we recite but rather as a form for praying. Jesus lays out His blueprint with a series of three acknowledgments and three petitions. Jesus gives acknowledgement to the person, position and power of God and then calls us to petition God for His provision, pardon and protection.
I. God wants to be your Father
Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name
The moment that you accepted Jesus as the Savior of your life and made Him the Lord of your life, something amazing happened. You were not only saved from the destruction and death that are caused by sin but we were also brought into the family of God. You see on the merit and work of Christ, you have been adopted into His divine family.
The simple fact is that there are only two families living on this planet; the family of God and the family of the world. Either you are a part of the family of God or you are a part of the family of Satan. You either follow the Father of love and light or you follow the father of lies. The point is this: the choice is yours. God wants to bring you into His family and will accept you with open arms. God wants to make you His child and care for you like a Father but He will never force you to do it. God wants you to make the choice to follow Him. The simple reality is this: if you do not have a saving relationship with Jesus, you will never be able to call God your Father.
When God is your Father it settles a number of issues in your life.
1. There is an end of fear: God loves you without question and without condition. There is no longer a need to live in fear of life and what life brings.
2. There is an end of hopelessness: God gives us a point of certainty in the midst of the uncertain situations of life. He is our source of strength and stability when the world around us is unstable.
3. There is an end of loneliness: God has given you a precious promise that He will never leave you or forsake you. So even if everyone rejects you or abandons you, you will never be alone.
4. There should be an end to selfishness: God makes us His children and we need to remember that our goal is no longer to do what is best for ourselves. Instead, we are to focus on what is best for the rest of the body.
5. There is an end to need: God is over all things and there is nothing beyond His ability to accomplish. The limitless resources that are at His disposal are now at the disposal of His children
6. There should be an end to disobedience: God expects His children to obey His guidance and direction. He is the Father and you are the child and you need to obey Him.
When you acknowledge God as your Father it is act of surrender. You are surrendering your authority in life to His authority. You are surrendering your control in life to His control over all things. You are surrendering your will to His perfect will. Literally you are giving up your life to gain the life that only God can give to you.
When you call God your Father you do give up some things but what you gain in return is so much more valuable. Paul gives us a glimpse of this truth in Romans 8:15.
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."
What Paul is saying here is vital to our understanding of our new relationship with God. When God adopts you into the family you have a new name for Him, Abba. This is a lot like our saying papa or daddy. It is a sign of a close and personal relationship that truly describes the relationship with God.
Far too often people mistake this relationship with God as our Father as one that is strict and harsh but the fact that we can call Him daddy dismisses the thought. You see we often apply our relationship with our earthly fathers to our heavenly Father and we get a distorted picture of God. God is our Abba, He picks us up when we fall. He is our papa who holds us when we hurt and he is our daddy who carries us when we are weak.
II. God holds the keys to your future
In heaven
God’s place is in heaven and to a degree this seems to baffle us and causes us to misunderstand some things about heaven. The Hebrew understanding was that three separate heavens existed. The first was the heaven that was the atmosphere of the earth that included the skies. The second heaven was seen as the existence of outer space that included the sun, moon and stars. Then third heaven was a place of spiritual existence and was unseen by the eyes. This is the place where God’s presence dwells.
Heaven is the place where all of God’s glory, splendor and presence can exist.
Heaven is the destiny of all who have placed their faith in Jesus. Heaven is the place where all of our hopes have their roots and where they will all come into reality. Heaven is the place where all of our divine help flows from. Heaven is completely perfect because it is not effected by the consequences of sin, the tragedy of sorrow or the pain of suffering.
III. God is the example of faithfulness
The word hallowed literally means to be considered holy and treated different. In the Old Testament specific items in the temple were considered hallowed because they were used only for the service of God within the temple. In other words, they were separated for God’s use and God’s use alone.
The application of holiness to God is somewhat different because God is completely and totally holy. He has no equal and in all reality has no true rival. There is none like God, not now or any time in the past or the future. He alone is the supreme ruler of the universe. God stands alone and separate from all of creation, after all He is the creator.
God is holy because of His very nature and he is the standard of holiness in this world. God is unique in His character, in His behavior and in His person.
The main issue here is that if you see God as being hallowed, He takes the place of absolute priority in your life. He is unchallenged as number one. He holds the highest place in your life. Anything less will never do.
The prayer also acknowledges the name of God as signifying exactly who Jesus is talking about. This allows a deep assurance to flow into our lives that the God of whom we speak, is the God of Israel.
What is God’s name?
The truth is that God has many names but there was one special name that is used throughout the Old Testament as the primary understanding of who God is. This name flows out of God’s revelation to Moses at the burning bush, I am. The Hebrew for that name was Yahweh and this name was held in a higher place than any of the other names of God.
Yahweh was held in such high esteem and seen as so holy that the Jewish people would not even speak this name in fear of bringing dishonor to God. So every time they wanted to acknowledge God they would say the Hebrew word adonai, which means Lord. When the Hebrew capital letters of the name Yahweh are combined with the vowels from the word adonai give us another familiar name for God, Jehovah.
God has made Himself known to His people in so many ways that He is known by many different names throughout the Old Testament.
Elohim – Creator, Lord of Lords
El Shaddai – Almighty God
El Eyon – Sovereign Ruler
Jehovah-jireh – The God who provides
Jehovah-rophe – The God who heals
Jehovah-shalom – The God who is our peace
Jehovah-sabaoth – The Lord of hosts
Jehovah-shammah – The God who is present
Jehovah-rohi – The God who is our shepherd
Jehovah-nissi – The God who is my banner
What do all of these names mean for us so many centuries from the Hebrew people that used them to describe their relationship with God? We see the faithfulness of God and the fact that through all of the ages he has never changed. He still is the Lord of Lords, almighty God, the one who provides our needs, heals our illnesses, gives us peace and is continuously present with us.
God always has been and always will be faithful. You can count on it.
When you pray remember these three things
1. God wants to your Father
2. God holds your future
3. God is faithful
