The Lord's Prayer part 1

by John Thomas Lowe
(Woodruff, S.C.)

Main Point: God wants us to spend time with Him in prayer.
Key Verse:
Jesus often went away to be by Himself and pray. - Luke 5:16
Background/Review
Jesus had come to earth to bring the Kingdom of God to men. Jesus made it clear that things in the Kingdom were very different from things in the world. In the Kingdom of heaven, people who have nothing to offer God are accepted. Those who are meek, peace-loving, and want what is right will finally have what they long for because Jesus came to conquer sin and death.
As Jesus taught on the mountainside, many people gathered to hear Him. Jesus taught that those who follow Him should never do good things just to call attention to themselves. The good things they do should be done in secret - just between them and God. God sees what we do in secret and will reward those things. (Matthew 6:4).
Prayer (Matthew 6:5-15)
One of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1). Jesus said that prayer should not be a way to get attention and praise from people. It is wrong to pray to impress people. It should be done with a right heart toward God.
"When you pray, do not be like those who only pretend to be holy. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues and street corners. They want to be seen by others. What I am about to tell you is accurate. They have received their total reward.
"When you pray, go into your room. Close the door and pray to your Father, who cannot be seen. He will reward you. Your Father sees what is done secretly." - Matthew 6:5-6
That would be like a husband who only talked to his wife when other people were around. He would publicly tell her how wonderful she was, so people would think he was a good husband. However, when they were alone, he would never say one word to her. Is that how a good husband treats his wife? No. Would she believe that he truly loved her? No. His actions show his true feelings. He could not wait to talk to her if he loved her. He would make time to be alone with her to talk to and listen to her. Jesus continued teaching:
"When you pray, do not keep talking on and on the way ungodly people do. They think they will be heard because they talk a lot. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need even before you ask Him." - Matthew 6:7-8
The original word that Jesus used (battalogeo) means do not say the exact words repeatedly (vain repetition). Big, fancy words do not impress God, nor does repeating a memorized prayer repeatedly.
Prayer is the time you spend being honest with God. It is when you pour your heart to Him. You can tell God anything and everything. You can tell Him when you are angry or hurt or disappointed. You can talk to Him about the good stuff that happened in your day. He is with you every minute, so it should be easier to talk to Him than to your best friend or even your mom or Dad. Prayer is also when you stop to listen to His voice (John 10:27).
Jesus gave a perfect example of how to pray. We call it "The Lord's Prayer." Many people can say this from memory, but remember, Jesus just said not to repeat the exact words. Reciting this prayer does not take the place of heart-felt conversations with your heavenly Father. Jesus wanted to tell His disciples the type of prayer to pray. These things are the type of things that God will honor in your prayers.
"This is how you should pray
.
"'Our Father in heaven,

may Your name be honored?

May Your Kingdom come.

May what You want to happen be done

On earth as it is done in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins,


just as we also have forgiven those who sin against us.

Keep us from falling into sin when we are tempted.

Save us from the evil one.'

"Forgive people when they sin against you.
If you do, your Father, who
is in heaven, will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive people their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." - Matthew 6:9-15
TL Note: When reciting the Lord's Prayer, we stop short of verses 14 and 15. Jesus took the time to elaborate on forgiveness; we must not overlook it. Forgiveness MUST be a part of our prayer time! Citizens of God's Kingdom understand God's forgiving, saving grace and can similarly extend grace to those who have wronged them.
In Jesus' prayer, He started by calling God His Father. If you have faith in God and have put your trust in Him, He is your Father. You are adopted into God's family. You, too, have the right to call Him Father or Daddy. Then Jesus praised His Father's name. This is the best way to begin a prayer! Praise honors God, and it reminds you that God can do anything! Next, Jesus asked for the Kingdom to break out on earth. In Jesus' model prayer, God and His Kingdom come first (Matthew 22:36-37). Then Jesus asked for His needs to be met that day. It is entirely correct to pray for what you need. The Bible says that every good and perfect gift comes from your heavenly Father (James 1:17). Next, Jesus said to ask for forgiveness and to forgive others. Jesus explained that if we are unwilling to forgive others, God will not forgive us. Finally, Jesus said to ask God to keep us from sinning; this comes only by God's grace (Titus 2:11-12).
Application: There is no magic formula for praying to your heavenly Dad! However, here is how this prayer may sound in your life:
Praise: Lord, You are fantastic! Thank you for making the different seasons. Today I looked out of my window and saw the beautiful fall leaves. You are so creative in painting the world with those cool colors!
Kingdom: Lord, I would love my friend Sam to know You and enter Your Kingdom. Please use me to show Sam how much you love Him.
Needs: Please help me with my Math test today. I studied hard, but I get so nervous about tests. Please help me to be calm about it today.
Forgiveness: I was mean to my sister yesterday, and I know that was wrong. Please forgive me and help me to be nice to her today. I need to forgive Jamie for laughing at me yesterday. It hurt my feelings, and I do not want to forgive him, but I know I should. Please help me to forgive him.
Grace: And Lord, give me grace so I will not sin today. Do not let me be tempted to look at anyone else's test paper today.
Say: Of course, there is SO much more you can say, and you do not have to touch on every point every time you pray! Just talk to God like you talk to your best friend. God handcrafted you! (Psalm 139:13) He knows how many hairs are on your head! (Matthew 10:30) He knows you better than anyone and wants to spend time with you daily.
Application: God promises to reward you when you come to Him privately in prayer. He will hear your prayer and answer you (Psalm 34:17, Matthew 7:10). This does not mean God will give you everything you ask for. However, you can be CERTAIN that He will hear your requests and will answer in the way that is BEST for you.
Jesus' Example (Mark 1:35)
Jesus not only told His disciples how to pray. By His example, He showed them how to pray. He prayed loudly in front of them so they would see God's hand at work right before their eyes (John 11:41-42). Moreover, very often, Jesus took private time to be with His Dad (Luke 5:16). The Bible says:
Jesus often went away to be by Himself and pray. - Luke 5:16
The Bible even tells of times when Jesus spent all night praying to His heavenly Dad (Luke 6:12). Most of these times, the disciples knew exactly what Jesus was doing (Mark 1:35-36, 14:32, Luke 9:18, 28). He was near enough that his close friends, the disciples, could see Him. This was an excellent example for the disciples to follow.
Let us talk about why Jesus took the time to pray. Jesus had left His Dad's side, where He lived in heaven, so as often as possible, He snuck away from other people so He could talk to His Dad again. In these quiet places, Jesus could simply be honest with God. He could talk to His Father about everything that was going on. He could give God praise, seek God's perfect will, and ask for the strength He needed to accomplish the fantastic task of healing, teaching, and ultimately paying the price for our sins.
Last summer, we had a large group of teenagers that went on a month-long mission trip to South America. The teenagers were told not to take their cell phones because they would not work so far away. Telephones were hard to come by in South America, so the students would not be able to speak to their families for over ten days from the day they left home. On the eighth day, the parents received an email from the group leader telling them when they could expect a phone call from their child. It would come the following Saturday, between noon and 4:00. Ask: Do you think the parents were excited about getting the phone calls? Yes! Say: All the parents canceled whatever plans they had so they would be home to receive that phone call! They missed their sons and daughters so much; they could not wait to hear everything that their child was experiencing on their trip.
Jesus was very much like a Son on a mission trip! He left His Father to come to us, to make way for us to enter the Kingdom. Prayer was a lot like that phone call. It was His opportunity to speak to His Dad. They were crazy about each other and wanted to talk as often as possible.
Application: All believers are on a kingdom mission. Your Dad in Heaven is waiting for your "phone call." The significant part is that there is no limit on the times we can go to the Lord in prayer!