Submitting To God In Prayer Series

We continue this morning in our series on the Sermon on the Mount.

Last week, we started a somewhat “mini-series” within the larger series, as we began to study the Lord’s Model Prayer.

This is the portion of the Sermon on the Mount wherein Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray.

This is not the only time this model for prayer is give by Christ.

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is asked specifically by His apostles to teach them to pray.

Luke 11:1-4 “Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” [2] And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. [3] Give us each day our daily bread, [4] and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

This portion in Luke’s Gospel maintains the overarching themes of the prayer given in Matthew, with just a few slight variations.

It is a good reminder that the prayer is meant to be a TEMPLATE for prayer, providing not just a set of words to be memorized and recited, but instead it is the FRAMEWORK upon which a proper prayer should be built.

In our last message, we noted that proper prayer begins with REVERENCE.

When we approach Him, it is both in the VENERATION of His holy nature, and in the WARMTH of His Fatherly embrace.

This morning, we are going to look at the next two statements which move us from REVERENCE to SUBMISSION in our prayers.

Probably the least popular subject in Christian discipleship is that of “Submission”.

Whether it is the admonition of Scripture that wives submit to their husbands, or that believers submit to one another, or that the church should submit to the leadership of the elders, or that citizens submit to governmental authorities, anytime the subject of submission comes up, there is almost always an argument as to why it is not required “in my case”.

Yet, the Bible is not uncomfortable with this language - on the contrary, the Bible is peppered with the language of submission.

And the ultimate authority which we are told to place ourselves under is the authority of Almighty God.

In fact, all other authorities are expressions of that authority.

Whenever we are told to submit to any authority, it is because we are - by extension - submitting to God in the process.

Yet, therein lies the problem.

The thing that most of us have the biggest problem with is our submission to God.

As has been aptly quoted many times, “It is not the parts of the Bible I understand that bother me. Its the parts I do understand, but do not want to do.”

Our problem is not often that we are ignorant of the Bible, we just lack the desire to be obedient to it.

In our text today, Jesus gives two statements which are meant to be expressions of submission in our prayer life.

v.10 “Your kingdom come, Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.”

In this we see two expressions of submission.

1 - Submission to His Sovereign Rule

2 - Submission to His Sovereign Will

SUBMISSION TO HIS SOVEREIGN RULE

v.10a “Your kingdom come,...”

When Jesus says, “Your kingdom come”, He is making reference to God’s Sovereign Rulership over the universe... God is King of both heaven and earth.

It is God’s authority which Jesus wants us to acknowledge in this prayer.

The Psalmist describes the sovereignty of God to us, so that we can see the extent of God’s authority.

Psalm 33:6-15 “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! 13 The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.”

When we say, “Your kingdom come”, we are making a statement of submission to God’s rulership in our lives.