Teach Us To Pray

5/19/24

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Sermon Transcript

Good morning. Please open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6. I want us to look today at the wonderful model prayer that Jesus gave us in Matthew chapter 6, starting in verse 9. But perhaps we should start with this question, why do we need a model prayer?

You know, I think we need a model prayer because for most people, prayer is difficult. That certainly seems to have been the case with the early followers of Christ. In the model prayer that we just heard read from Luke chapter 11, we find that Jesus was there responding to a request, a request from one of his disciples, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1.

And I think many of us can sympathize with that disciple. Because prayer can be difficult, can be very difficult. What should we say? What should we ask? Didn’t I just say all this yesterday and the day before? Why am I telling God things he already knows? Can I get God to change his mind about something? Should I ask God to change his mind about something? How does prayer work?

Yes, there are many hard questions when it comes to the subject of prayer, but I think Jesus gives us the starting point right here in Matthew chapter 6. If our question is how to pray, then Jesus answers that question for us right here in Matthew chapter 6, because this prayer teaches us how to pray. And if our goal is to pray more or to pray better, then we should look first at this great model prayer that Jesus left for us and that he gave us starting in verse 9.

“Our Father in Heaven.” Now, for those listening to Jesus when he said that, the first words of this prayer would have been a shocking thing for them to hear, that Jesus was telling them to call God our Father. We today may take that description of God for granted, but that was not true in the first century. We might recall the reaction that Jesus received when he called himself the Son of God and referred to God as his Father. John 5:18, “This is why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own father.”

And here Jesus is telling us that God is also our father. Jesus is telling us that we can share in that special relationship between God the Father and God the Son. How can that be? Well, we know that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. John 1:14. We are not begotten children of God, but we are children of God. How? We are children of God through adoption. Adoption. Galatians 4:4-6. “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father.’”

God is our father because God adopted us. And God adopted us because God redeemed us. And that, Paul tells us, is why we can cry, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:14-15, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption, crying Abba, Father.”

We often begin our prayers by addressing God as our Father, as we should, but let’s not rush past that starting point of our prayers. Yes, God is the Father of all in the sense that he created all, Acts 17:28. But that is not how the word father is used in this model prayer. In this prayer, God is our father, not because he created us, but because he redeemed us. He adopted us. What a wonderful blessing. What a wonderful blessing it is that we, the redeemed, can say, Abba, Father. 1 John 3:1, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God, and so we are.”

We have been given the great privilege of addressing God in the same way that Jesus addressed God as our Father. And this model prayer teaches us that every prayer we pray should begin with that thought in mind, that God is our Father, our loving Father. And note the pronoun that is used here. Jesus says that God is our father. This prayer reminds us that we are a family. We are the family of God. This prayer reminds us that we are the household of God, Ephesians 2:19, our father. And this prayer also reminds us that our father is in heaven, in heaven. That God is in heaven points both to his power and to his holiness. Our father is the all powerful, all knowing, creator of the universe. God created the universe, but he’s not confined to the universe. Our father is in heaven.

And so our prayers begin. “Our Father in heaven. Hallowed be your name.” Now, here’s a tough question. When I pray, is the name of God the very first thing I pray about? Or do I just instead jump straight in with my own concern? Yes, this model prayer will address my own concerns. We’ll get there in the model prayer. But notice how far down it is in the prayer. First we see God’s name, then we see God’s kingdom, then we see God’s will, then we see my daily bread. Is that how I pray? If not, then I’ve just learned something very important from the model prayer, and not just from the words of the prayer, I’ve learned it from the order of the prayer. I should be concerned for God before I’m concerned for myself. Where does my concern for God begin? In this model prayer, it begins with the name of God.

We should note something very important about this phrase, “hallowed be your name.” It is not a description of God’s name, it is a petition to God about his name. We are not telling God that his name is holy, but we are asking God that his name will be hallowed. We are praying to God that everyone on earth will honor and respect the name of God. Why is that petition so important? Why does it come first in the model prayer? Our concern for the name of God comes first in this model prayer. Because if we have no concern for the name of God, then nothing good will follow. We do not honor and revere the name of God. If I have no regard for the name of God, then I have no regard for God. No worship, no adoration, no obedience, none of it can flow from a heart that has no respect for the name of God.

If I am dishonoring the name of God, I may treat that as a secondary issue, just a slip of the tongue. But the truth is, if I am dishonoring the name of God, then I am about as far from God as I can be. And the same is true for our society today. And there is perhaps no better indication of the sickness of our sin-soaked society than how it dishonors the name of God. We need to pray that God’s name will be honored. And if we follow this model prayer from Jesus, we will begin our prayers with that petition. But if I’m praying that God’s name will be honored and then I dishonor God’s name, or I remain silent and idle while others dishonor God’s name, what does that say about my prayer? I think we’re gonna find today that we have our own role to play in our petitions to God. And that’s certainly the case with this first one. “Hallowed be your name.” If I am praying that God’s name will be honored, then I must honor God’s name myself.

“Your kingdom come.” Now, we can understand that petition narrowly or broadly. As for the narrow view, some would say that we shouldn’t even be praying that part of the prayer today at all. Why do they say that? Well, they say that church is the kingdom of Christ. That’s true. Church was established in Acts chapter 2, also true. And they say that, well, while the kingdom had not yet been established, Jesus could tell us to pray this prayer, but now that the kingdom has been established, we shouldn’t be praying this prayer anymore about thy kingdom come. Well, I certainly agree the kingdom of Christ in Acts chapter 2, but I disagree that we should be reading this prayer so narrowly. And I disagree that we should not be praying thy kingdom come today. Why?

Well, for starters, we need to keep in mind that although Jesus said that part of the prayer prior to the establishment of the kingdom in Acts chapter 2, Matthew and Luke both wrote it down for us by inspiration after the kingdom was established in Acts chapter 2. And when I look at what Matthew and Luke wrote, I don’t see that it’s any suggestion that part of that prayer had expired. Also, when we open the Bible, what we find is that the coming of the kingdom is not a one-time event. Although God’s kingdom certainly came when the church was established in Acts chapter 2, that’s not the only way that it can be said that the kingdom of God comes. And in fact, when we look at the Bible, what we find is our descriptions of the coming of the kingdom prior to Acts chapter 2. Matthew 12:28, God’s kingdom came when Jesus did mighty works by the spirit of God. Luke 10:8-9, God’s kingdom came when the followers of Jesus did mighty works. Luke 11:20, God’s kingdom came when Jesus did mighty works by the finger of God. And in Luke 17:20-21, God’s kingdom came when the king came, Jesus came.

You know, it’s been said that the task of the church, the task of the church is to make the invisible kingdom visible. And I think that when we do that, when we do that, we can say that the kingdom has come. Kingdom has come. That the kingdom of God has been manifested on this earth. When we proclaim the gospel, the kingdom of God has come. When we obey the gospel, the kingdom of God has come. When people see Jesus in us, the kingdom of God has come. When we do the work of the Lord’s kingdom, the kingdom of God has come. When we are the salt of the earth and the light of this world, the kingdom of God has come. And of course, some day the King will literally come again to claim his own. And on that great day, we can again say, the kingdom of God has come.

So what then are we asking when we pray, “your kingdom come”? We are asking that the kingdom of God will intrude into this world. We are asking that the kingdom of God will be seen, heard in this world. We are asking that the kingdom of God will transform this world. We are asking that the King will come. In fact, I think we’re going to see in the next petition that it explains this one. God’s kingdom comes whenever God’s will is done on this earth as it is in heaven. So yes, we should always pray “your kingdom come.”

“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In this petition, Jesus tells us two things about the will of God. He tells us it is always done in heaven. He tells us it is not always done on earth. Now if we compare our own prayers with this model prayer, one difference we might find is that our own prayers have a lot more personal petitions and requests in them than this one does. And there is nothing wrong at all with making personal requests to God. Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” But, but our requests must be in accordance with the will of God. 1 John 5:14, “This is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

And it is with petition in the model prayer that we make our own petitions to God. By this petition, we are placing our complete trust in God when we make those petitions to Him. But note something very important here. We are not asking that our will be done in heaven as it’s done on earth. We’re asking the opposite, that God’s will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And Jesus not only gave us this petition in the model prayer, Jesus also left us an example of this petition in his own prayer. Luke 22:42, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.” That is our example for how we make our own personal petitions to God. “Father, if you are willing, grant my request. Let not my will, but yours be done.”

That’s what it means to pray that God’s will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. When we pray like that, we are submitting to the sovereignty of God. When we pray like that, we are placing our faith in the goodness of God. When we pray like that, whether the answer is yes or no, we are trusting God to do what is best. And when we look at the cross of Christ, there can be no doubt, no doubt about the love of God. And it is that great, great love of God that makes it easy for us to pray, “Thy will be done.”

“Give us this day our daily bread.” Now, if you’re like me, you may be thinking, “Well, finally, we get to what I want.” And yes, we do. But again, we need to look at the order in this prayer. We’ve already prayed a whole lot about what God wants before we ever get to what I want. So what is it we want here? We want our daily bread. Well, what is that bread? Well, some say it includes our spiritual bread, the word of God, and maybe it does, but you know, I think sometimes bread is just bread, and I think the bread right here is the physical bread that we physically eat every day.

But how do we expect that daily bread to arrive from God? Do we go out every morning looking for that manna from heaven? No, I don’t think any of us expect that, and it certainly hasn’t been promised to us today. So how does God provide our daily bread? Well, there’s a lot involved here. And once again, we have our own role to play in that. First, God has provided for us a country, a nation, in which bread is produced and is readily available. Second, God has provided for us health so that we can work and earn money to buy that bread. Third, God has provided for us a physical family that can provide us bread. And fourth, God has provided for us a spiritual family that can provide us bread. So when I ask God for my daily bread, I’m asking for a lot more than just bread.

But of all the things that we require, all the things that we need, all the things that we want, why did Jesus choose bread for this model prayer? I think there’s an important lesson for us in that choice. You know, a few of us in this country have experienced a famine, but I suspect that if we talk to those who have experienced a famine, who are today elsewhere in the world experiencing a famine, I think we would learn from them that when there’s nothing to eat, that’s about all you can think about. That you really can’t focus on anything else. But when I know that I will have my daily bread, and when I know I don’t have to worry about that next meal, what that means is that I can turn my attention to the kingdom of God. What that means is that I can focus on the things of God rather than on just my own needs and my own survival.

That Jesus told us to ask for our daily bread, our daily bread tells us something very important about our request to God. Something that James also tells us. James 4:3, “You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly and spend it on your own passion.” Whenever I ask God for something, I should ask myself a question. Why am I asking for that thing? Why? Do I want it just for me? Or do I want it because it will help me do the work of God? Now, just a moment ago, we prayed, “Thy kingdom come.” Am I trying to advance the kingdom with my request or just advance myself? James tells us that if we are asking for something just to spend it on our own passions, then we are asking wrongly. So how do I ask rightly? I ask rightly when I ask for things that will further the kingdom of God, that will help me do the work of God. I ask rightly when I ask for things that I can spend, not on me, but on God, on the work of God. Jesus again left us the perfect example to follow. Mark 10:45, "For even the Son of Man "came not to be served, but to serve, “give his life a ransom for many.”

Is that our goal in our prayers to God? Are we going to God in prayer to be served or to serve? First thing we learned about prayer from this model prayer is that our concern for God must come before our concern for ourselves. If we are to pray as God wants us to pray, then our goal must always be to obey God and to please God. 1 John 3:22, “Whatever we ask, we receive from Him.” Why? “Because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him.”

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” The most common metaphor for forgiveness in the Bible is the cancellation of a debt. We see that here in the model prayer. When we sin, we create a debt to God that must be repaid. Our forgiveness by God is a cancellation of that debt. Well, does the cancellation of that debt mean that it’s never repaid? No, it just means that we don’t repay it. So who then repays the debt? We all know the answer to that question. In fact, we all sing the answer to that question. Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Now, that is our background.

Let’s look very, very closely at what Jesus is telling us to pray with this petition. Now, we know that we must forgive others as God forgives us. Colossians 3:13, Ephesians 4:32, we know that. But that is not what we find in this prayer. As he so often did, Jesus turns things completely around. When I follow this model prayer, I am not praying that I will forgive others as God has forgiven me. No, what I’m praying is that God will forgive me as I have forgiven others. Well, what if I haven’t forgiven others? What then? Well, if I haven’t forgiven others, then when I pray this prayer, I am specifically asking God not to forgive me either. This is a dangerous prayer. This is a prayer that should really get my attention. This is a prayer that should instill in us deep appreciation for the utmost importance of our forgiveness of others.

Now, we could have a discussion here about the role of repentance and the forgiveness of others, and I don’t think it would be a very long discussion. After all, we just learned that God has told us to forgive others as God forgives us, and we certainly know the role of repentance played in our own forgiveness. But that question is really beside the point here. If I am forgiving others as God forgives me, then I am doing everything possible to forgive others. The father of the prodigal son did not turn to the elder brother and say, “Oh no, look who’s coming back. Now I have to forgive him.” No, the loving father ran down the road to meet that returning son. We should never be looking for some reason not to forgive somebody. Instead we should always be ready to forgive, quick to forgive, longing to forgive. Why? Because that is how God forgives us. Remember what it is. We’re being told to pray here. God, please forgive me as I have forgiven others. That prayer alone should be enough to give each of us a great desire and a great longing to forgive others. Yes, forgiveness is a difficult topic. Very often. It’s a very difficult thing to do. C.S. Lewis said it best. He said everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have someone to forgive. But we must never forget, never forget that we are in the kingdom of Christ because of forgiveness. We have an eternal home laid up for us in heaven because of forgiveness. We enjoy all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus because of forgiveness. Absent forgiveness we would all be hopeless and hell-bound. So, yes, we must ask God to forgive us each time we come to him in prayer. But likewise we must forgive others and that point is so important that Jesus immediately reminded his disciples about it as soon as he finished this model prayer. Look at verses 14 and 15, “for if you forgive others their trespasses your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your father forgive your trespass?”

“And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” If the previous petition is the most difficult thing to do in the model prayer, this petition is the most difficult thing to understand in the model prayer. Is Jesus suggesting here that God somehow leads us into temptation unless we specifically ask him not to? Well, let’s start with what this petition does not mean. I start with what we know it does not mean. This petition does not mean that God tempts us with evil. It does not mean that. How do we know that? Because God never does that. James 1:13, “Let no one say when he is tempted. I am being tempted by God for God cannot be tempted with evil. He himself temps no one.” But, but God sometimes tests us and for good reason, for good purpose. James 1:2-4, “Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

How would I hold up if my faith was severely tested? I think we can each ask ourselves that question. You know, in the first century, Christians were given sometimes a very stark choice: blaspheme the name of Christ or you and your family will be killed. How would we hold up in the face of such a test? Well first we should be very thankful that we don’t face that test in this country. And we should also be praying for those who live in other parts of our world today where they are facing that test. Yes, we need to be prepared for such a test. But here is the point of this petition. We don’t need to invite it. We shouldn’t seek it out. And yes, God may lead us into such a situation, into such a test, but there is nothing wrong at all for asking God not to. How do I know that’s not wrong? Because once again Jesus prayed this part of the prayer himself. We see this same petition in his own prayers. In the example we looked at earlier, Luke 22:42, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.” Not my will, yours be done. That cup was a severe, severe test. Jesus asked God to remove it. But that was not the Father’s will, so that cup was not removed. Jesus knew that great test was coming for Him, and Jesus also knew that His followers would also undergo great tests of their faith. And Jesus told them, and Jesus tells us today, to pray that we be spared that cup.

“Deliver us from evil.” What does that mean? You know, I think the common English translation of this part of the prayer could be improved. Rather than temptation, I think we should look at the trials rather than the temptations here. And rather than deliver us from evil, I think it means deliver us from the evil one. We know that Satan is the evil one. We know that Satan is out to get us, 1 Peter 5:8. Like a roaring lion, he’s out to get us. But we also know that our fight with Satan is a fight that we can win with God on our side. James 4:7. And we know that God will deliver his children from Satan, from the power of Satan, from the power of death. Hebrews 2:14-15. And Jesus tells us here that we should pray, pray for that deliverance from the evil one.

Now that we’ve reached the end of this model prayer, let’s note something very, very important about it. This model prayer is not a prayer for me. It is a prayer for us. Look at it again. “Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” When I pray, I should also be praying for your daily bread, and for your forgiveness, and for your trial, and for your deliverance, and you should be praying for mine. Yes, we each have an individual responsibility to God, before God, and to God, but let’s never forget that we are not in this fight alone. We are in this fight together. The words I, me, my, mine, they never occur even one time in this model script. That’s what it means to be a body. That’s what it means to be the body of Christ. That’s what it means to be the family of God.

We prayed “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” and we know that to do God’s will we have to know God’s will. So let me ask you a question, what is God’s will for you? What is God’s will about your salvation? If you’re praying this model prayer, then you are praying, you are asking God that His will in heaven will be done on this earth. What is God’s will today about your eternal destiny? The Bible answers that question. And the answer we find on the pages of scripture is the most wonderful thing you will ever hear. It is God’s will that you be saved. 2 Peter 3:9, “Not wishing that any should perish, that all should reach repentance.” 1 Timothy 2:3-4, “Desires all people to be saved, come to the knowledge of the truth.”

It is God’s will that you be saved. Is that also your will? “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” When it comes to your own salvation, the answer to that prayer right now depends on you. God has done everything and has withheld nothing so that you can be saved. The only thing God has not done. Salvation is the one thing God cannot do. God cannot force you to obey the gospel of your own free will. Whether or not you obey the gospel of Christ is your decision and yours alone. Do you want to be saved today? We know that your salvation is God’s will. We know that. Is it your will? If so, you must obey the gospel of Christ. You must be buried in the watery grave of baptism. Be raised to walk in newness of life, a new creation. That was God’s plan for your salvation in Acts chapter 2. It is still God’s plan for your salvation today. That is God’s plan. What is your plan? We can help in any way this morning. Please come while we stand, while we sing.