The Gospel of the Kingdom - Matthew - Praying - Part 4

 

Text: Matthew 6:9a – In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

So, today we embark upon a brief study on the 9 aspects of prayer as given by Jesus to His Disciples. The first aspect is “Faith” – (6:9b) “Our Father in Heaven.” We are to have a personal connection to Him. He is our Heavenly Father, if we have accepted Jesus and have been adopted into the family of God. We must understand that we are not to have faith in our faith. Faith is only as good as the object of that faith. We are saved by grace through faith – but the question is “faith in what?” We must have faith in God. When we pray, do we believe that we are talking to the one true God of the Universe – our Father?

Next, Jesus says we are to Worship – (6:9c) “Hallowed be Your name.” Worship is defined as an ardent devotion; adoration; To regard with ardent or adoring esteem or devotion. When we speak of  His Name is hallowed, the word used here means to separate, to purify. It is the same as saying to be Holy (separated). It comes from the same Greek root word. We are proclaiming when we talk with God that his person is Holy.

The final aspect we will consider today is one of expectation – (6:10a) “Your kingdom come.” What is the kingdom? It is the territory of the King. We are to be daily seeking with a Biblical hope (in otherwise, a confident expectation) that God’s Kingdom will be established. When will this happen – in the Millennium. Are you aware that when you pray this prayer you are seeking the establishment of the Millennium Kingdom of God?

 Today, as you pray, be aware of these important aspects of your prayer time with God.

 

The Gospel of the Kingdom - Matthew - Praying - Part 3

 

Text: Matthew 6:9a – “ In this manner, therefore, pray…”

We are in a study of the Sermon on the Mount. We said that chapter 5 deals with the internal part of the Kingdom and Chapter 6 here starts dealing with the external part of the citizen of the Kingdom. Chapter 5 also deals with the righteousness we are to possess as Kingdom citizens, and chapter 6 shows the righteousness we are to practice. Both chapters emphasize the motive behind our behavior.

He starts with the emphasis on applying the Kingdom principles to real-life and powerfully applies it in verse 33. We are in the area of praying – we are considering it in two parts – the Essentials in Prayer and the Elements in Prayer. We started with the first part – the Essentials in Prayer.

We saw two aspects – the prayers that God Rejects (boastful and babbling), and the prayers that God Receives (sincere and simple)

Now over the next four days, we will be looking at the Elements of Prayer as Jesus describes them. He gives us 9 aspects that make up an acceptable prayer to God. This is called the Lord’s prayer, however, the true Lord’s Prayer is found in John 17. This is a model, an outline that He gave to His Disciples.

Look at this prayer as it is given in Luke 11:1-4 – “Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”

As He was praying the Disciples saw the power of His time talking with God. So they asked, “Lord, teach us to pray…”

In our verse today, Matthew 6:9a we read,  “In this manner” the NASV translates it as, “In this way”. This tells us that this is:

• ·      NOT a liturgical prayer
• ·      NOT a rote prayer
• ·      NOT a prayer of any special powers

Notice the use of the word “therefore.” When you see the word “therefore” always ask yourself what is the therefore there for. It is a hinge connecting the following statement with the previous statement. What were the previous statements? Jesus is connecting this to the elements we have studied – this prayer is:

• ·      Not Boasting
• ·      Not Babbling
• ·      It is Sincere
• ·      It is  Simple

So, we see that  He gives us an example from which to build our own times of prayer.

We will look over the next three days about the 9 aspects that make up this model for us.

Today, take time to consider your prayer time with the Father. What is it like? How can it be better? Am I actually taking time to pray every day?

 

 

 

The Gospel of the Kingdom - Matthew - Praying - Part 2

 

Text: Matthew 6:5-8 ““And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. ⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray….”

Hope the short time studying Thanksgiving has been a blessing to you. I pray that you and your family had a blessed and glorious Thanksgiving Day.

The issues Jesus is addressing – giving, prayer, fasting, treasures, and trust are all practical considerations. He starts with the emphasis on applying the Kingdom principles to real-life and powerfully applies it in verse 33. We have looked at giving, now let us move into the second of these areas – the area of praying – we will consider it in two major parts – the Essentials in Prayer and the Elements in Prayer.

To start with the essentials in prayer, we need to see that Jesus teaches about prayer that God receives in these verses.

That brings us to consider the prayers that God does receive.

Jesus tells us that we should pray from the heart, pray in private (verse 6). He speaks about going into our closet, this is a metaphorical picture of having a special place, a place where we withdraw from the world.

He wants us to remember that prayer is a matter of the heart – the inner motives of a time with the Father. Jesus says it is marked by two important elements. The first is sincerity (verse 6) – it is between you and God. Go back and read what He says about our charitable deeds. God is not interested in personalities and boastfulness, He is looking at our hearts.

Next, Jesus reminds us to pray with simplicity (verse 7). We don’t need to use theological jargon, flowery speech, memorized phrases. No, Jesus is telling us to get down to the nitty-gritty and tell the Lord what you have on your mind. Pay attention to verse 8 – “For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” We don’t need to impress God – in fact, there is nothing we can do that would impress Him. Even though He knows what we need, He wants us to come and ask.

We have talked about the essentials of Prayer. We saw the Prayers God Rejects – Boasting and Babbling Prayers, and also the Prayers God Receives – Sincere and Simple.

We will continue the study next with the Elements of Prayer in verses 9 – 15 in our next devotion.