A few weeks ago we began to examine one for the most important practices (one which should be paramount) in the life of every believing Christian – that of prayer. And prayer for the believer, as I’ve said before, is not an option, it’s an obligation. The very action of prayer should not be regarded as a passing fancy rather it should be viewed as a personal privilege. And prayer, when properly engaged can be recognized as powerful and also persuasive.
Prayer is so powerful because the results of it thereby reach upwards to heaven in the form of worship; reach downward to hell in the form of warfare; must be carried out to into the world by way of our works – prayer is powerful. But prayer is also persuasive. It’s persuasive in nature due to the mere fact that prayer was not designed to change the mind or heart of God but rather it was designed to alter the mindset of the one doing the praying. Prayer is persuasive.
But as we suggested a few weeks ago, truth be told, many Christians are reluctant to pray. Maybe it’s because we’re too embarrassed to pray; maybe it’s because we don’t really know how to pray or maybe it’s because we know that our hearts aren’t right with God so we don’t pray. Whatever our reasoning may be, the fact of the matter is you and I need to pray! Why, because prayer is simply the action of us fellowshipping with God.
Whenever we need to clarify a characteristic we should practice as Christians, we should look to Jesus as our pattern to follow. The very prayer life of Jesus was one to be admired. Reading the accounts of his life, whenever he needed to communicate with his Father, he would still away to a quiet place by himself and pray. Before he did anything, he would have fellowship with his Father. Before he approached anyone, he made sure that that was the will of his Father. Jesus’ prayer life was so solid and so exemplary that he would spend nights and mornings alone (nights after the son had gone down and mornings before the sun ever came up) in prayer. Jesus the person who was 100% God but also 100% man, spent hours upon hours fellowshipping with his Father. The disciples noticing the prayer life of Jesus and its effectiveness in his life, came to him one day and asked, (in Luke 11:1) “Lord, teach us to pray…”
The disciples recognized Jesus as he prayed in,
-Matthew 14:13 (over the 2 fish and 5 loaves feeding over 5,000)
-Mark 6:45 (prior to he and Peter walking on water)
-John 11:38 (before bringing back Lazarus from the grave)
It prompted them to more or less say, “Lord, teach us to pray like that!”
The very response Jesus gave his disciples in answering their request is what we’ve come to know as “The Lord’s Prayer.” But when you look at the context in which the prayer was given, you’ll notice that it’s not actually Jesus’ prayer, but rather it’s a model prayer – a prayer to pattern after - for his disciples. So instead of it being called “The Lord’s Prayer”, it ought to be called “The Disciples Prayer” or “The Model Prayer”.
Looking at how Jesus teaches his disciples in Matthew 6:9-13, biblical scholars suggest to us that this one prayer should be divided into two sets of three requests. The first set of request recognizes God and His glory. While the other set of requests refer to man and his needs. Notice the order – God first, then man (us). Remember that - we’ll get more into that later.
Using the modeled prayer as our guide, we want to use the acrostic A-C-T-S to recognize the proper way for us to fellowship with God in prayer. And the first thing Jesus advised his disciples to do, when fellowshipping with God in prayer, is to set forth Adoration.
And in having the mindset of adoration, you and I need to recognize (first and foremost) that we are speaking to God - the Creator of the universe; the chief architect of the world; the sustainer of life; the cultivator of character; the controller of all; the Great I Am; the One who is so big – you can’t go around Him, you can’t go under Him, you can’t go over Him, you can only go through Him – God!
And we are to adore Him because of His,
a)Person
Because of who He is. He’s great and He’s greatly to be praised! He’s all of that and a bag of chips!
b)Parenthood
The text reads, “Our Father who art in heaven…” He is our heavenly Father.
c)Perfect
The text goes on the say, “Hallowed be thy name.” And we discovered that hallowed is a word that simply means holy. Holy is his name. The name of God is purified, consecrated, sanctified, its set apart. The name of God is excellent! God’s name is so holy and perfect that there’s even a commandment warning against the use of His name improperly. Exodus 20:7 says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.” His name is perfect!
d)His will should be our Pursuit
Verse 10 says, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
A- Stands for adoration.
That’s what we covered in our first message entitled, Prayer and Fellowship.
Today we want to continue on in that same vain dealing with the A-C-T-S of prayer. Using the model prayer as our guide, we want to focus on the second letter of the acrostic - C.
C- Stands for confession.
When you and I pray, we should first approach God with and air of adoration and next we need to open up and confess. Confession is the prelude to forgiveness. And as some of us have faithfully memorized, 1 John 1:9, it tells us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and also cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” But the qualifier for forgiveness is confession.
The word “confess” in the original New Testament Greek language, homologeo is a compound Greek word (two words that equate the meaning of this one word). The first word homo means ‘together or the same’. While the second word logos means ‘word’. So in essence the word “confess” simply means to “say the same words” as God says. It also has a connotative meaning to it that says, “To see it just as God sees it”.
With that in mind, some of us have to recognize that the generalization of our confession prayers must now take on a spin of specificity to them. It’s important for us to remember that “a prayer of confession” in God’s eyesight means to call whatever it is just as God calls it.
Let me make it plain. For too long, we’ve been minimizing sin, the very things God wants us to maximize. For far too long we’ve been sugar coating and skating over our sins and treating them as if they’re just minor issues in the big scheme of life. How can I make such an indictment? I hear our conversations as we walk and talk by the way. The language we use tells me that we don’t recognize sin nor see it as God sees it. For example, one way we minimize sin is by using language something to the effect of calling people,
Exaggeraters - God calls them - Liars
Promiscuous - God calls them - Fornicators/Adulterers
Always tipsy - God calls them - Drunkards
Sticky fingers - God calls them - Thieves
Strong-armers - God calls them - Extortioners
Alternative lifestyles - God calls them - Homosexuals
And Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10 that such as these shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven.
So when you and I confess sin, it’s imperative that we call it just what God calls it!
So looking into our text of Matthew 6:12, we find that confession of sin is an,
I/. Essential Principle
Confession is essential to the Christian. It’s essential in order to continue our,
a)Heavenly Relationship
You and I can pray the most beautiful prayers that anyone has ever heard openly, but if there is unconfessed sin in our lives privately; our prayers won’t go any further than the ceiling! The psalmist writer plainly tells us what they’ve learned in Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” And another word for iniquity is sin. So confession is an essential principle to continue our heavenly relationship. But confession is also essential to foster,
b)Human Reconciliation
Whenever we do something wrong to another brother or sister in Christ, we need to confess our faults to that person and be reconciled. This was/is such a high priority on Jesus’ list that he stated it during the time of one of his most popular records of teachings – Sermon on the Mount.
He said, in Matthew 5:23-24, “If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.” When you confess to each other humanly, it helps start reconciliation. But not only that, it also helps start the healing process.
James 5:16 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.”
So not only is confession an essential principle for heavenly relationships and human reconciliation, but it’s also a,
II/. Conditional Promise
Look at what the text says, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Notice the language Jesus used here. In the model prayer, forgiveness is outlined as being conditional.
The text says forgive us as we forgive others – that’s conditional! Now whether you choose to see it that way or not, the fact of the matter is Jesus said it and that settles it! So with that in mind, if you ever want to be forgiven of your sins, you better forgive others!
So in essence, the outline of this fact is this; in order to,
a)Receive forgiveness
b)Reciprocate forgiveness
Jesus is so serious about this fact that he uses the second law of biblical interpretation (Law of Repeated Mention) to say it again two verses later in a different fashion. In verse 14 and 15 he says again by stating, “For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But (there’s that consecrated conjunction) if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”
Dr. Charles Spurgeon, one of the great pulpiteers of the pulpit, after preaching a message on forgiveness, a gentleman comes up to him after the service. The man told Dr. Spurgeon, “I have no problem with forgiveness, I never forgive.” Dr. Spurgeon answered the fellow in this fashion, “Well sir, since you never forgive I hope you never sin.”
In order for us to receive forgiveness, we’ve got to reciprocate forgiveness!
In Matthew chapter 18, Jesus once again speaks at length on this matter of forgiveness. He answered Peter’s questions as to how many times he should forgive his brother who sins against him. Seven? Jesus answered, no, but up to seventy times seven. In other words, Jesus was saying there’s no limit to forgiveness. Jesus was teaching Peter that true forgiveness comes from a heart of love. And Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:5, love keeps no record of wrongdoing. Jesus then ends his conversation with a parable about a king who settles an account with his servants.
The lesson of the parable is this: if the king could forgive the servant’s debt of about $12,000,000, certainly the servant could forgive his friend’s debt of about $15!
Dr. Warren Wiersbe says, “Christians who cannot forgive others have forgotten what Christ has done for them on the cross.” But I say,
The only some-body who has the right to withhold forgiveness is the one who was beat up for my mess ups.
The only some-body who has the right to withhold forgiveness is the one who was hung up for my hang ups.
The only some-body who has the right to withhold forgiveness is the one who was crucified for my carelessness.
The only some-body who has the right to withhold forgiveness is the one who laid down his life; conquered death, the grave and hell for me; and the one who rose again from the grave for me.
And although he has the right to withhold forgiveness, he didn’t use that right but prayed for release by saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they’re doing.”
So if Jesus, who suffered, bled and died for you and I can forgive us, surely we can forgive each other.
We need to forgive each other like our heavenly Father forgives us. When we confess our sins to Him openly, correctly and sincerely,
God forgives us immediately
God forgives us fully
God forgives us whole-heartily
God forgives completely
And God forgets our sins eternally!
For the prophet Jeremiah tells us in chapter 31, verse 34, God declares, “…for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
C – Stands for confession. Confession is a must for the Christian.
