Praying Heaven Down
Text: Matthew 6:9-13
Introduction: Smith Wigglesworth was a man who knew how to reach heaven. He understood the powers available from above and knew how to bring those powers into this realm. Wigglesworth once said:
"If you want anything from God, you will have to pray into heaven. That is where it all is. If you live in the earth realm and expect to receive from God, you will never get anything."
In a message on prayer, John G. Lake said:
"The Church has been negligent in one thing...she has not prayed the power of God out of heaven."
Praying is perhaps the most difficult undertaking in the Christian walk. It is usually the first thing we skimp on when our time is limited. We fail to recognize and understand our desperate need for prayer in our daily lives. We tend to turn to prayer when times get tough; when we run up against difficulties; when we’ve exhausted our own personal efforts. Prayer is more a crutch in our lives than the foot we need to be standing on.
Prayer is so much more than simply making our requests known to God. First of all, He already knows them so you are not introducing Him to anything new. Prayer is a relationship builder. Prayer develops intimacy between us and God. Prayer gives us strength, encouragement, the ability to make it through another day.
Look at Wigglesworth’s guote again: "If you want anything from God, you will have to pray into heaven. That is where it all is. If you live in the earth realm and expect to receive from God, you will never get anything." He’s talking about getting serious with God. Prayer is not a flippant action. Prayer is a serious undertaking. Prayer is going into the throneroom of God, touching the heart of God, and receiving from the benefits of God available there in heaven. Prayer must break past this earthly realm. You’ve got to go beyond this realm and enter the Kingdom realm to take advantage of what God has stored up for us. To get from God, you’ve got to get to God.
The Lord’s Model Prayer provides the clearest instruction on how we bring the reality of His world into this one. Revivalists of the past stood on the truth that: "If you pray, He will come!"
It is important to understand that Biblical prayer is always accompanied by radical obedience. God’s response to prayers with obedience always release the nature of heaven into our impaired circumstances.
This model provided by Jesus reveals there are really only two priorities in prayer:
(1) intimacy with God expressed in worship
(2) to bring His Kingdom to earth to establish His dominion over the needs of mankind.
Before we take this any further, let me clarify one more thought that might help us to better understand the purpose behind prayer: as disciples, we are both citizens and ambassadors of another world. This world here is our assignment, not our home. Our purpose is eternal. The resources we need to complete our assignment here are unlimited. The only real restrictions are those we have between our ears.
Let’s look at what Jesus is trying to teach us here. The first phrase says:
1. "Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy."
A. That word "Father" is both a title of honor and a call to a relationship.
- Simply understanding how far He went to make it possible for us to call Him "our Father" is all we need to begin to become true worshippers.
B. Hallowed means respected or revered - another expression of praise.
C. Worship is our number one priority.
1. Everything else we do is to be affected by our devotion to this call.
2. God inhabits the praises of His people.
3. God responds with a literal invasion of heaven to earth through the worship of the believer.
Application: To become a worshipper, you need to begin by understanding the steps God took in order to bring you into a relationship with Him. As you do, worship and praise will become a natural part of your daily walk and it will flow forth from you very naturally.
The passage continues with these words:
2. "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
A. The primary focus for all prayer is - if it exists in heaven, it is to be loosed on earth.
B. When the believer begins to pray according to the revealed will of God, faith becomes specific and focused.
1. Faith grabs ahold of "that reality" - God’s revealed will.
2. An enduring faith doesn’t let go.
3. By this faith, we invade heaven with our petitions which cause the circumstances here to come into line with those in heaven.
4. Everything that happens here, in and through our lives, should be a shadow of heaven.
Application: Jesus was not speaking futuristic in this model prayer. He was speaking for the here and now. He lived out this principle in His life as an example of how we should be living our lives in this world - praying God’s kingdom down, praying God’s will in all things here as it is above. For total victory in your life, you’ve got to begin to live in the Kingdom now.
Jesus continues by saying:
3. "Give us today our daily bread."
A. Heaven is a place of complete and perfect provision.
1. No one is starving in heaven.
2. The same is promised here on earth for those who trust in His daily provision.
B. Paul said: "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory."
1. According to what? - His riches
2. Where? - in glory
C. Heaven’s resources are to affect us here and now.
Application: The principle of heaven’s abundant supply affects our here and now. If we understand and believe the Kingdom principles for the now, then we must believe that God’s supply is available to us right now. As Jesus prayed for daily sustenance from above, so we should learn to do likewise.
Jesus continues by saying:
4. "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."
A. Heaven is a place of complete forgiveness.
B. Heaven provides the perfect model for our earthly relationships with others.
C. Paul writes in Ep 4:32: "Be kind to each other, sympathetic, forgiving each other as God has forgiven you through Christ."
Application: The perfect model of forgiveness is seen in Jesus Christ. As He was enduring the pain and agony of the cross, He forgave His executioners. If we intend to model heaven here on earth, we must learn to display a constant attitude of forgiveness in all things.
Jesus then prays:
5. "And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
A. Heaven is free of all sin and temptation.
B. Heaven is free from the presence of the evil one.
1. Keeping separate from evil is a practical evidence of our coming under our King’s complete rule and authority.
2. This praying helps us to understand our complete dependancy upon God for all things.
Application: Complete freedom from the evil one is the cry of the believer’s heart. That’s why James tells us to "Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." As we learn to place our confidence and trust completely in God, we find we have an unseen power working to help us overcome spiritual battles and oppression.
Jesus closes this model prayer by saying:
6. "For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever."
A. The prayer closes in a declaration of praise unto God.
1. His authority is praised.
2. His complete rulership is praised.
B. This praise closing also indicates a display of our own personal recognition of God’s divine authority over us.
Application: To arrive at the place in life where we come to complete peace and satisfaction, we must journey towards the kingdom of God. We must learn to set our sights upon His power, His ability, His authority and then trust completely in Him.
Conclusion: As He continues His teaching here in Matthew 6, verse 33 records these words: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you." Above all else, we must be in pursuit of God’s Kingdom for our lives here and now.
This model prayer indicates our need for dependancy upon God for all things as well as our need for intimacy with God in all things. We were designed to be intimate with God. We were designed to find completion in our relationship with Him.
How is your relationship with God today? Have you talked with Him lately? Have you expressed your desire to be completely dependant upon Him for all things? Do you recognize your need for Him? As I said early on in this message, there are two basic priorities for prayer:
(1) intimacy with God expressed in worship and
(2) to bring His Kingdom to earth to establish His dominion over the needs of mankind.
God desires a relationship with all of us. We must learn to pray and pray in such a way as to bring the power and glory of heaven down upon our world right now.
Disclaimer: Portions of this message or ideas contained within this message may have been gleaned from other sources. Please feel free to use this message as the Lord leads for His glory.
