Matthew 6:9-13
Prayer is one of the most misunderstood and neglected aspects
of the believer’s life. I think that our
biggest problem in prayer is that we simply don’t pray enough or that we lack
consistency in prayer. Our second
biggest problem in prayers is that when we do pray, our mind often wanders or
we fall asleep or that we lack concentration in prayer. Our third problem in prayer is that we pray
with thoughtless repetitions and for trivial, temporal things or that we lack
content in our prayer. In the passage
before us today, God addresses that third problem that we face in prayer. Unfortunately, His teaching on the content of
prayer has been used to accomplish just the opposite of what He taught in the
passage. The pray He taught His
disciples has become something that is thoughtlessly repeated in churches and
by individuals. I don’t believe that was
His intention especially since He had just finished criticizing vain
repetitions in prayer. I don’t think
there is a problem with reading this prayer out loud our quoting it from
memory. It is always good to read and
memorize God’s Word and to incorporate God’s Word into our prayers. However, we should be careful to not allow
the “Lord’s Prayer” to become a meaningless ritual that we mouth without
consideration of the true meaning in the words.
As we look at the content of this prayer it seems that there are two
different areas of emphasis in the prayer He taught.
PRAY FOR THE GLORY OF GOD:
The prayer starts out by addressing God as “our Father.” This expression demonstrates the intimacy we
have with God as well as the authority He has over us. It is a great blessing to be able to refer to
the Creator and Sustainer of the universe as Father. Being a part of the family of God is a
wonderful blessing in our lives. Jesus
then makes it clear that our Father is in heaven. We do not pray to someone who is on earth but
we pray to the God of heaven. He is
sovereign over us. He lives in glorious
perfection. The impact of heaven on
earth is something that we do not fully understand or appreciate but it is
important for us to remember to whom we are praying. Prayer is an act of worship. When Jesus taught us to pray “hallowed be thy
name,” He was teaching us to be reverent in our prayers. Part of prayer is to stand in awe and
admiration of God. We worship Him
because He is holy and as we pray we should spend time praising God for all of
His attributes. Jesus then tells us to
pray for God’s kingdom to come. God has
a mission to accomplish on this earth. He
wants to be worshiped in all the nations of the world and He wants His Son
Jesus to reign over the earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Unfortunately, that is not a reality in the
world in which we currently live. Sin, idolatry
and false religions dominate so many nations and the hearts of so many people. Things on this earth are not as they should
be; which is why we should spend a significant time praying for the advancement
of God’s kingdom on earth. We should
pray for the mission of redemption to advance so that Jesus will be known and
loved and God will be glorified in every nation, language and culture. The final aspect of praying for God’s glory
is to pray for His will to be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven. God is glorified by us when His will is
accomplished in us. In heaven, God is
obeyed perfectly. The angels do not
doubt, question or rebel against God’s will.
When we pray, we must commit ourselves to living in that way and we
should pray that this would be the reality of our own lives and the lives of
all people everywhere. There is no greater
delight than to live in obedience to the will of God. The conflicts we experience in our
relationships and the sorrows that burden our lives all stem from our rebellion
against the will of God. God is at work
in this world and His will is going to be accomplished on earth but we are
given the privilege of participating in that process through our prayers as
well as through the way we live our own lives in submission to His will and for
the purpose of bringing honor and glory to His name.
PRAY FOR THE GIFTS OF GOD: The second part of the prayer
focuses on requests to God. These are
not demands that we make of God; nor are they payments that we earn from
God. They are gifts that we request of
God. He grants them by His grace and in
accordance with His will which we have already prayed for and to which we have
submitted. The first gift we request
from God is His provision. We ask for “daily
bread.” God has promised to provide the
needs of those who live for His glory and kingdom. He is not obligated to do so but graciously
supplies our needs. Too often our
prayers focus on “yearly bread” instead of “daily bread.” We want to have enough provision so we can
have supplies for long periods of time.
Very few of us know what it is like to go without for a period of
time. There is nothing wrong with saving
money for emergencies or retirement but we should be satisfied and rejoice in
God’s daily provisions for us. The
second gift we are to request is for His pardon. None of us deserves forgiveness. God graciously grants us forgiveness through
the offering of Christ on the cross. As
we pray we should send time examining our own lives for areas of
sinfulness. Confession of our sin to God
is an important aspect of prayer that can often be neglected. As we come before God, we must take our sin
seriously, repent of it and ask Him to forgive us. We are also to examine our relationships with
other people and forgive any offenses that may have occurred between us and the
people God has placed in our lives. It
is hypocritical to ask God to forgive us if we are not willing to forgive
others. The third gift we request from
God is His protection. We live in a sin
cursed world in which temptations can be strong and frequent. When we pray, we are to ask God to keep us
from temptations. Sin and evil destroy
our lives and we are very prone to sin because of our fallen hearts. God has promised to provide His children with
strength to stand up in times of trial and temptation or to provide a means of
escape from them. However, He has also
instructed us pray that He help us avoid temptations. Praying for God supernatural and spiritual
protection in our lives is something we seldom do. Unfortunately, much of our prayer time is
focused almost exclusively on asking for God’s provision. It pleases God when we ask Him to provide for
our needs but we must also remember to ask for His forgiveness of sin and His
protection from sin.
APPLICATION: Be thankful for the privilege that we have of
praying. Make the glory of God the
priority in our prayer. Spend time in
prayer expressing our admiration of His attributes. Make God’s mission of reconciling the nations
of the world to Himself a matter of fervent prayer in our lives. Trust in God’s gracious provision with
gratitude in our hearts. Examine our
lives for areas of sinfulness we need to confess and areas of bitterness where
we need to grant forgiveness to others.
Ask God to protect us from temptations that Satan and the society in
which we live constantly strive to place in our path.
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