Until We Pray-4 Series

UNTIL WE PRAY-IV—Matthew 6:5-15

Attention:

We have discovered that our independence as a nation is tied to prayer. We have also found that our ministries as a church are bound to prayer as well.

Our VBS is worth celebrating when we embrace truth...

Our VBS is not worth celebrating when we shirk/release truth.

We cannot celebrate ministry efforts unless we celebrate independence from sin, self, & the world, thru a dependence upon God in Christ.

Need:

?Can America receive God’s blessings when she will not embrace the true & living God?

?Can our ministry efforts receive God’s blessings when we will not embrace the true & living God?

Jesus presented a model to guide His disciples praying.

God’s people have guidance to help them in prayer.

How are God’s people to direct/guide their prayers?

When are our prayers successful?

10 realities which must be embraced for successful prayer.

Until we Pray we are not free...

We are not praying & we are not free until we embrace...

1. God’s MANNER(:9a)

2. God’s FATHERHOOD(:9b)

3. God’s REVERENCE(:9c)

4. God’s SOVEREIGNTY(:10a)

5. God’s DESIRE(:10b-c)

6— We are not praying & we are not free until we embrace...

God’s PROVISION(:11)

Explanation:(:11)

:11—“Give us this day our daily bread.”

God’s people are to ask God to provide for their “daily” sustenance. This does not mean that I am to wait for God to prepare a meal with no input from me, from field to table. God’s people are instead to recognize the provision of their Father. They are also to desire & expect their Father’s “daily” provision from His hands. We are to ask for His provision. We are to keep His “daily” provision in heart & mind at all times so that it will animate our prayers.

“Bread” is also representative of all our needs. Therefore our prayers for provision tie together physical as well as spiritual needs. Without having our physical needs met, there is not need for spiritual ones.

Our very sustenance is a concern & provision of God.

Argumentation:

**2Cor. 9:10-11—“Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, & bread for food, supply & multiply the seed you have sown & increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.”

**Lk. 18:29-30—“So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, & in the age to come eternal life.””

**Acts 17:24-28—““God, who made the world & everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven & earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, & all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, & has determined their preappointed times & the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him & find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live & move & have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’”

Illustration:

A conservation area/Tate’s Hell State Forest--Apalachicola National Forest, etc./An environment is maintained from without for the support of native animals & plants/Given abundant freedom/God’s PROVISION

A godly family/A child may not realize that they are a product of that godly family/Within the realm of that family’s infrastructure, their needs are accommodated/God’s PROVISION

Application:

?Your Prayers embrace God’s PROVISION?

?Can we receive God’s blessings when we will not embrace God?

7— We are not praying & we are not free until we embrace...

God’s FORGIVENESS(:12, 14-15)

Explanation:(:12, 14-15)

:12—“And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.”

God’s people must also ask that God “forgive” their(individual & corporate) “debts.”

“As” says that our “forgiveness” of others—who are indebted to us—illustrates/speaks directly to the manner in which God “forgives” us(:14-15). Thereby our decision to “forgive” or not to “forgive” is a continual reminder of God’s willingness/decisiveness regarding our own capacity for “forgiveness” before Him. Thus our prayers must recall our indebtedness to God at all times.

“ “Trespasses” is a mistranslation made common by the Church of England Prayer Book. It is correct in verse 14 in Christ's argument about prayer, but it is not in the Model Prayer itself.”—RWP

Parallel:

Lk. 11:4—“And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.””