Prayer School-2-The Lord's Prayer

Tonight we continue our mid week series, Prayer School. As we do, Pastor Brad takes a look at The Lord's Prayer.

Pastors Notes:

Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV
9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
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 forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
[a]For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

INTRODUCTION
Good evening, everybody!
I hope you enjoyed and learned from last time's teaching on the tabernacle model of prayer. I always enjoy looking at things from different angles and seeing what all we can learn from them.
Today, we are going to look at what has been coined as “The Lord’s Prayer.”

ILLUSTRATION
One of the things we have to safeguard in prayer is repetition. Many religions, and even some Christian liturgical denominations have prayer books.
I’ll never forget going to a funeral in a Lutheran church, and the priest read the prayer right out of the book. There was no heart in it whatsoever.
We teach our boys even at dinner time and bed time to not just repeat the same prayers over and over like a robot. Our communication with the Lord should flow from our heart as if we are taking to our closest friend.
Yet, that’s what some have done with the Lord’s prayer. I’d like to submit to you that Jesus wasn’t telling us to repeat something, but rather giving us a pattern. BACKGROUND
In our passage, Jesus is dealing with the heart condition of prayer. Not praying to be seen or to be heard, but shutting ourselves in with God in a secret place.
This speaks to the level of intimacy that prayer carries.
As I said last week, there’s no greater invitation that to sit at the feet of the Master!
Let’s look at the prayer: APPLICATION
1. Our Father in heaven
(Receiving the Divine Embrace)
Dwell on the wondrous fact that Jesus invites us to call God our “Father.” Thank God for his goodness; his blessings are far beyond what we know. Elsewhere, Jesus calls God “Abba, Father” — a term similar to “Daddy” in English—the sort of endearing term a child would use to address a loving parent. Paul, in his writings, also uses this term. Come to God openly, as a child embraces the love of a divine father or mother, first thing in the morning. For of such is the kingdom of heaven.

2.Hallowed be Your name.
(Adoration and Thanksgiving)
We praise God for who God is; we thank God for what God does. Let your awareness of God’s majesty, goodness, and grace fill you with praise and adoration. Praise is not part of a transaction we produce; it is the only appropriate response to the authentic contemplation of God’s glory. Jesus invites us to join the rest of creation in acknowledging the glory and holiness of the Creator. Praise God that God is the God God is, and let your life be filled with adoration and praise at the beginning of the day and otherwise. Also, thank God for what God has done. Our blessings are beyond what we can imagine; take the time to thank God now for family, friends, health, life, grace. Ponder each blessing until you are filled with gratitude. Thanksgiving is an action that is never wasted! Let your life be an ongoing chorus of blessing,
thanksgiving, and praise to God. Focus on His many names!

3.Your kingdom come.
(Declaration)
As well as lifelong vows to God, offer Christ your life anew— totally and unreservedly—at the beginning of this day. Foresee and forethink the obligations of your day, and envision God’s presence with you throughout the day as you meet those obligations. Respond to all things as though God were working in them and through them; we live by faith, not by sight. You can better face the already-scheduled events of the day and even developments that are unforeseen through this discipline of offering your life to God afresh. “Coincidences” happen; openings emerge; things we’d planned go better, and even surprises are more readily met by a life immersed in prayer.

4. Your will be done/ on earth as it is in Heaven.
(Intercession and Uplifting the Needs of Others)
Lift also the needs of the world and the needs of others in prayer, interceding on behalf of those persons and situations for which God has given you a special concern. Keep a prayer list, if you desire, or simply pray for those whom God brings to your attention as you are mindful of such. Lift up family and loved ones, friends and colleagues, projects and responsibilities, ministries and outreach opportunities — as partners in furthering the active reign of God. The kingdom may indeed come today, even in subtle ways, as people live in dynamic responsiveness to his leading and embody the way of the kingdom in the world. Intercession is where the history of the world is changed; it is there that the true business and work of life are carried forth. Intercession is the spiritual work—the heavy lifting we do as partners with Christ in the world, praying in his name because we have discerned and believe that it is according to His will.

5. Give us this day our daily bread.
(Petition and Uplifting Personal Needs)
Now lift to God your daily needs. God knows what we need even before we ask, and yet Jesus invites us to lift our needs to God in prayer. Amazing! The prayer of petition appropriately follows our adoration of God and our intercession for others, and yet an authentic sense of our need before God helps us be evermore keenly aware of our absolute dependence upon God for all things—even life itself. Lifting our needs to God, individually and corporately, also helps us release the particular ways we feel our needs should be met. In thanking our heavenly Father for provision ahead of time, desiring that our needs be addressed in God’s ways and in God’s timing, we assert our faith in what God is doing around us and within us.

6. And forgive us our debts/as we also have forgiven our debtors.
(Confession and Forgiveness)
Receive now God’s forgiveness and grace, availed through Christ Jesus, and extend such to others. He bore the sins of humanity on the cross, but acknowledging our sins and our need for grace leads us into the prayer for mercy. Christ died and rose for you and me. Those who extend mercy receive mercy, and our extending of forgiveness and grace deserves to be of the same character as that which we have received—or would like to receive. Turning to God with the conscious request for forgiveness further asserts our sense of humbled need before God. So, receive now the forgiveness and grace of God by faith, and extend forgiveness and grace to others by your faithfulness.

7. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
(Deliverance and Empowerment)
Trust God now for protection and empowerment. The prayer for deliverance from harm and ill asserts our trust in God’s care and protection, both in ways we anticipate as well as in ways we cannot imagine. While trials bear within themselves potential for developing strength of character, Jesus also invites us to pray for protection and empowerment along life’s way. Affirming the power and protection of God emboldens our courage and deepens our faith. As George Fox often declared, “The Power of the Lord is over all!” Abide now in the power of the resurrected Lord; it is available to all who believe.

8. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
(Centering and Meditation)
Close your time as you began it, with lifting praise to God and making your life a “living sacrifice” offered to his glory. Go through your day attending the business at hand, but also lifting prayers of adoration and intercession as you feel led. Attend the subtle promptings of the Spirit and live responsively to the divine will. This is the “centered” life —one that is attentive and responsive to the workings of Christ at the center of our lives. Give this day to God alone; dedicate it to the furthering of the way and work of the kingdom; extend the kingdom today by at least one life—yours.CONCLUSION