The Lord's Prayer as a Pattern for the Prayer Life of the Believer
Introduction
As Christians we are to love the Lord our God with all
our heart and mind and soul and strength - which means we
will pray to him regularly as the one we love. We are
also called to love our neighbour as ourselves - which
means, in part, that we will be regularly praying because
we love our neighbours and bring the needs of our fellow
man to God. So prayer is essential to our relationship to
God and part of our duty toward our neighbour. While
there is no command in the Bible "thou shalt have a
daily quiet time" it is fairly obvious that prayer
is to have a large part of the Christians life. Commands
such as "pray without ceasing", "pray at
all times in the Spirit" indicate regular times of
prayer which were meant to be kept up. People who are on
fire for God are people who pray regularly. However
prayer is an art form and a bit of a struggle at first.
Many people give up on prayer because they expect it to
come easily and spontaneously. It doesn't - you have to
be taught how to pray.
One of the first things you need is a simple flexible
structure to direct your praying. If you don't at least
have some idea of a structure then daydreams and
distractions take over. Our minds tend to run away from
prayer. Structure in prayer trains us to be successful in
prayer.
Next we need help expressing our thoughts and emotions to
God - at least to start with. Praise is a fairly
unnatural activity for Australians and we are not much
given to outbursts of passion. Our hearts and minds need
to be directed upward.
Thirdly we need open-endedness so we can keep on growing
in God.
Fourthly our prayer style should guide us into the will
of God and the realm of answered prayer.
The Lord's Prayer does all these things when it is used
as the structure behind your prayer life. The first five
minutes of your quiet time can be spent hallowing God's
name, the next five minutes praying for "Thy Kingdom
come , thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven..." touching on everything from missionaries
to wise decisions.
Then on to your needs "give us this day our daily
bread", another few minutes asking for forgiveness
of self and forgiving the hurts others have done to you,
finally asking for protection from the evil one and
perceived threats and temptations ending the eyes being
raised to God in praise. If only five minutes is given to
each section - you can easily pray for half an hour.
Without that structure most of us are flat out praying
for ten minutes. This sermon will simply teach you how to
use the Lord's Prayer as the backbone of your prayer
life.
The Lord's Prayer Explained
The "Lord's Prayer" breaks a few of the
conventional rules of prayer. For instance confession is
one of the last activities, not one of the first. There
is much praise and intercession before there is any
confession. There is no grovelling in sin. The cross of
Christ is foreshadowed in this prayer in that for the
Christian sin is not a catastrophe. All your sins past
present and future have been dealt with by Christ
according to the kindness and grace of God. Sin should
never be treated lightly and confession is important to
your spiritual health. However its place is last not
first. We can come boldly into the presence of God and
find grace and help in time of need.
The next unusual thing about the Lord's Prayer is its
apparent brevity. It takes only 30 seconds or so to say.
It is almost disappointingly short. There are I think two
reasons for this - firstly it was meant to be memorised.
Secondly it had two uses 1. As a guide to praying 2. As a
model prayer. In both uses Jesus wanted His Kingdom
prayer to contrast with the "meaningless babble of
the pagans", or the extended vain-glorying of the
scribes and Pharisees. So His ideal prayer was to the
point and focused on the glory of God.
Thirdly the prayer at no points attempts to persuade God.
God is presented as a loving Father who knows our needs
and is willing to answer them. He is not abstract or far
removed but close and personal.
Fourthly it is unusual in that there is only one
condition for it being answered - and it is not that we
be good boys and girls. The condition is that we forgive
those who have been bad boys and girls.
Self-righteousness is the only thing that can stop the
Lord's Prayer being answered.
We are all seen as in need of forgiveness. We are all
called sinners in need of grace by the Lord's Prayer and
we are to extend grace. Softness of heart will overflow
with blessings from God.
Some verses I often come back to on this topic are found
in Luke 6:35-38.
Luke 6:35-38 But love your enemies, do good to them, and
lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then
your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the
Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and
wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not
condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you
will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A
good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running
over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure
you use, it will be measured to you."
Fifthly and perhaps most startling, the Lord's prayer
invites us into the very counsels of God. His name, His
Kingdom and the doing of His will are now our concerns.
We are allowed to call Him Father and ask for heavenly
things that are "too high for us". I cannot
think of anyone in the Old Testament who called YHWH
Father . up until the Lord's prayer and the resurrection
and ascenscion of Christ, the business of heaven was in
general, the business of the Lord alone. Now we are
invited in. You and I in our quiet time can pray that the
angels in heaven may praise and serve God more
faithfully, we can pray that nations may bend to the will
of God, we direct some of the resources of heaven to
places of need in the Kingdom of God. We can pray for the
salvation of souls. We can influence angels, men and
nations.
Getting Inside The Lord's Prayer
So far we have had a few brief glances at the Lord's
prayer and what it means to us. Whole books have been
written on that topic and we have to leave that section
behind to move on to the "how to " bit. How can
we change the Lord's Prayer from a boring ritual into the
living backbone of our quiet time? We need to "get
inside" the Lord's Prayer and picture what it is
about. This is best done one phrase at a time.
Firstly repeat the phrase in your mind, or even aloud
until it starts to click - maybe two, three or four
times.
"Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be your
name.." Let the picture build in your mind , see god
on his throne, see the angels praising Him. Maybe you
feel like singing a chorus ......
As you do this a picture may form of a need "Lord
help our church to really worship you.." or
"Lord make my heart holy, teach me to praise
you...As the though fades come back to the Lord's Prayer
and the phrase Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be
your name...let it soak in a new w picture might come to
mind, pray for that, just keep the thought of hallowing
God's name before you, treating him with respect, seeing
him as Holy, Beautiful, wonderful, Almighty, worthy of
praise.
Then move on to "Your kingdom come, Your will be
done , on earth as it is in heaven." Focus on the
battle, on God moving forward, on God overcoming, on the
wonderful return of the Lord Jesus to judge the living
and the dead. Picture what it would be like if God's will
was done on earth as it is in heaven. Picture everyone
healthy, picture all tears wiped away, picture all
wickedness banished forever, picture total love, picture
families together, picture glory covering the earth.
Picture God's perfect will done in every single life and
pray for it.
Give us this day our daily bread. The bills on the fridge
spring to mind. Pray for your neighbours needs as well.
Pray for the needs of the church. Remind God we need to
function. Put down your self-sufficiency and admit to God
that you really need His blessing. Grab hold of God and
don't let Him go until you are blessed.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those that sin against
us. Confess pride, greed, bitterness, self-centredness,
desire for glory. Forgive the annoying, the ungrateful,
the jealous, the backbiting. picture your sins being put
on the cross and nailed there out of the way. Or picture
them as balloons that pop when you confess them. Picture
your most unfavourite person and then picture Jesus
forgiving that person just as Jesus forgave you. Ask God
to forgive them of their sins, their failures, forgive
them for disappointing you, forgive them for not loving
you. Take all your anger towards that person and drop it
over the side of a boat travelling over the sea, watch
all your anger float away then sink down, turn around
feeling lighter. Bless the person you just forgave in the
Spirit.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
Think of the tough situations you are going through. Ask
God to reduce the testing, to have mercy on you, to take
Satan out of the way if the evil one is involved.
Think of a temptation. Picture the fridge door with your
temptation written in big letters across it. Pray for
self-control. See yourself doing the right thing over and
over. Picture yourself winning in the strength Christ
supplies. Praise God that He will lift you above it.
Rehearse in your mind and your Spirit how you will
overcome your temptations and tests. Do it until you are
sure of God's strength helping you through. Commit your
life to Him.
For Yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory.
Raise yours eyes to God again. See His greatness. See Him
in control of the Universe, see Him hearing and answering
your prayers. Give Him praise and perhaps sing a hymn or
chorus. Rest in God. Finish your prayer time.
God has given us the ability to dwell on His word vividly
and to "get inside" Scripture and experience
it. We do not do this to empty our minds like in New Age
meditation, rather we do it to fill our minds with the
truth of God's word. We always come back to the Scripture
properly interpreted as the basis for our thinking and
picturing. I want you to get inside the Lord's prayer in
anyway you can and turn it from a boring ritual into the
exciting backbone of your prayer life.
Believing The Lord's Prayer
One of the great advantages of the Lord's prayer is that
it leads you to pray in the will of God. Therefore when
you use it as a structure for your quiet time you are
quite likely to have your prayers answered. It is easier
to have faith when you are sure what you are doing and
saying is in the will of God. How then can we have
faith-filled Spirit filled quiet times?
1. Remind yourself of your position in Christ and of the
great grace of God.
2. Open the Word of God and think on it , ask God to
allow His word to come alive to you and bring response
from the Holy Spirit who dwells in all who believe.
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you pray.
4. Turn to the Lord's prayer, taking one phrase at a
time.
Think on and repeat each phrase. Make requests on the
same theme as that phrase. Picture the things happening.
5. Be confident that Jesus taught us to pray that way
because it is in the will of God and because it leads to
answered prayer. Thank God He has answered your prayers
and rejoice.
Lets go over those steps again.
Awareness
of Position and Grace
Bible's Inspiration
Spirit's Help
Lord's Prayer
Faith and Thanksgiving
Conclusion
Because we must love God and our neighbour we must pray
and pray regularly. However we need a way of overcoming
boredom and distraction. I suggest the Lord's Prayer to
you as God's Model Quiet Time.
Tonight I want you to go back committed to renewing your
times with God, to improving both the quality and
quantity of your praying and to learn how to dwell in the
Spirit and to walk with God. You and I were made for
prayer - let's get on with it.
Some of you may have been touched by tonight's sermon and
want to do business with God. Bring the burdens of your
heart down the front and set them before God. There will
be elders here to talk to you if you want someone. While
the front is open to any and every need some of you may
want to take this moment to promise God that you will
renew your prayer life and ask Him to teach you how to
pray.
Come down the front and let it al be dealt with and make
a fresh start for God.
Blessing
Jesus said, "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek
and you shall find; knock and it will be opened to
you." May the Lord teach you to ask seek and knock,
and may you see His grace and kindness to in open and
obvious ways . May you grow in the love of God and may
the peace of God surround your hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus. Amen.