What Is Prayer? Series

This is NOT a full sermon, but a lesson/devotional on the basics of prayer that serves as an introduction to the Model prayer given by Jesus in our Scripture. It is a launching off point for a study on prayer that will last several Wednesday evenings and will be coupled with our congregation entering into a time of focused and intimate prayer time each Wednesday evening after the study!

Sermon Brief

Date Written: January 26, 2014

Date Preached: January 29, 2014

Where Preached: OPBC (Wed PM)

Sermon Details:

Series Title: A Study on the Lord’s Prayer

Sermon Title: An Introduction

Sermon Text: Matthew 6:9-13 [HCSB]

Series Basis Text:

Matthew 6:9-13 [HCSB]

9“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy. 10Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]

Essence of the Text: Jesus wanted His disciples to know how to pray…

Essence of the Sermon: Jesus wants believers today to know how to pray…

Objective of the Sermon: Prayer is vital for the believer, but prayer is not so much in the words as it is in the attitude behind those words. This model prayer lays forth a template that guides the believer in the direction of their prayer and the attitude of their heart.

Introduction:

Have you ever had the thought… How do I pray about this? Maybe there is a situation in your life where you know what you want out of it, but you also know that what you want and what God wants may not be on the same page… how do we pray for those things?

Maybe a situation arises in your life where you just don’t know where to turn or what to ask or what to pray… How are we supposed to pray about those things?

How about this… let’s say you are a believer and the troubles of life and the circumstances of this life are bearing down hard and you have lost your job OR you have had a car accident where you were at fault OR your children may be involved in something you just can’t believe they are involved in…

Whatever IT may be… there is something in your life that you KNOW you should pray about but you just cannot come up with the words… you just don’t know how to approach God with your heart’s prayer!

Well, I want to encourage you… FIRST as a believer, your prayers will NEVER fall on a deaf ear. The answer you get from your prayer may not be what you wanted but your prayers will never be ignored by God. Sometimes His answer is the total opposite of what we desire… and sometimes His answer is silence, but we can know that He IS there…

Second, we must realize that God is not some sort of Cosmic Vending machine where we can insert our prayers and make the selection we desire and it come to us… Prayer is NOT a formula to get what you want!

Prayer is an intimate time with the Creator God of the universe who already knows the most intimate secrets and desires of your heart, so prayer is NOT to announce your requests to God… prayer is a tool God created for us to communicate with Him and for us to grow closer to Him!

Prayer is FOR us… Prayer sharpens our focus… Prayer strengthens our resolve… Prayer slays our doubts and fears… Prayer is our direct link, our ‘hot line’ , if you will, to God to share all of who we are and to seek all of who He is! But so many believers are starved of that intimate communion with God because they simply do NOT have a vibrant prayer life. Most believers who do NOT have a vibrant prayer life… don’t have it because they have convinced themselves that they do NOT know how to pray!

Well we are going to cure that fact over the next several weeks… We are going to teach ourselves HOW to pray and our instructor is going to be Jesus! So turn with me in your Bibles to Matt 6 and we are going to read v9-13… I will be reading from the HCSB.

Matthew 6:9-13 [HCSB]

9“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy. 10Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]