Lord! Teach us to pray.
A Summary of Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer in Matthew 6:5-15
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
As we look at what Jesus taught, here’s a guide to using this as a model for your own prayers.
Remember - this applies to both private prayer and public prayer (whether praying with friends, in a group, or even in our worship gathering).
You don’t have to pray every single element in every single prayer (although that wouldn’t be a bad thing), but be sure that if you were to “summarize” your prayer life over a day or two, that all of these elements are pretty consistently present.
PRAYER IS BREATHING!
Don’t hold your breath - develop a rhythm of prayer in your daily and weekly routine.
Remember: Prayer is ultimately about God and His glory!
Prayer is an act of submission to God
Recognizing who He is
Acknowledging our absolute need of Him
Verses 5-8
Prayer is not a performance - it’s opening your heart to God
Come to Him in confidence - wanting His glory first, always putting yourself in second place.
He is your loving Father - He knows your needs better than you do.
Summary Statements about each of the Six Petitions/Parts of the Model Prayer
1. Our Father in Heaven
This is a reminder of the personal intimacy of our relationship with God!
Hebrews 4:16 – Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
This is our attitude/mindset in prayer - we come to Him as children come to their Daddy.
2. Hallowed be your name.
Remember - He is holy and you are not. Always remember who He is. Think about His many glorious, awesome attributes. Pause to wonder at who He is. Earnestly strive to see God’s name honored as holy.
1 Chronicles 16:29-30 – Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; 30 tremble before him, all the earth;
Allow prayer to be the primary place where your pride is dismantled and you focus on His aweseomeness.
3. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
We need to be fully committed to being God’s people living under His rule - seeking His blessing. (in that order).
Colossians 1:13 – He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
Do you desire God’s Will over yours? Really? - this must be a constant theme of your prayer life. Keeping His will first will be a battle you’ll wage your entire life.
After focusing first on God and His glory, we then turn to our needs. In the midst of this, we should still see our overwhelming need for God’s grace in all things.
4. Give us this day our daily bread.
We are dependent on Him daily for literally everything! Jesus is the only One that provides for our greatest need and our daily needs. We need Him every minute of every hour of every day.
Acts 17:28 – ‘In him we live and move and have our being’
1 Thessalonians 5:17 – pray without ceasing
Don’t forget to breathe! All day, every day! Seek for provision for your needs (all of them, physical, spiritual, etc.) to be met by God. Recognize that when they are met, it was by God’s hand.
5. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
We must remember that we are in need of forgiveness. First in salvation, but also in our daily lives. We must strive to not have any unconfessed sin in our lives.
1 Peter 1:15 – as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct
We acknowledge our sin and bring it before God. We must strive toward sanctification - holiness - spiritual growth and maturity.
We must also forgive others. As the Lord has forgiven us, we forgive others.
Colossians 3:
Matthew 6:14-15 –
6. lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
We will all struggle with temptation every day. We must pray and ask God to help us combat and overcome our tendency toward sin. Seek to know what your own greatest personal struggles are and pray regularly for strength to endure and overcome.
James 1:2-4 – Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Remember that trials, struggles, tribulation - it’s about your sanctification.
Willpower isn’t enough - you desperately need Christ!
The Doxology: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
This phrase was probably not part of the prayer that Jesus modeled for His disciples, but the teaching of Scripture is clear - it’s always appropriate to pause for praise. No matter what the situation, no matter where you are, no matter what you’re praying for - always pause for praise.
As you think through your daily rhythm of prayer…
• Use your Prayer Guide
On page 2 is the guide to praying for our church
There are also blanks to write down names & specific requests
On the back page - Paul’s guide to praying for others.
• Tuesday Morning: 7:30-8:30 a.m.
The Sanctuary is open. Come and pray.
Pray for just a few minutes, or stay and pray for the whole hour.
If you can’t make it to the church - pause and pray with us from wherever you are.
• Wednesday Evenings: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
In the Fellowship Hall - join this group of faithful saints in praying for our Body.
• Sunday Mornings: 9:00 -9:15 a.m.
Join us in the Sanctuary to pray for our Worship Gathering
• Sunday, August 26 - 5:00 p.m.
Join us for this all-church prayer gathering
• Get together throughout the week with others
Why not meet with some friends to pray together?
• When someone asks for prayer, pray RIGHT THEN
Develop a habit of praying with people in the moment.
Then - follow up with them later to see how they’re doing.
All of these things will move us in the direction of truly being A Praying Church!
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