07-01 Lords Prayer

I really believe that by the time we are done today, it will be a life-changing experience for all of us. It will do in our prayer life what I believe the Beatitudes do in the area of our commitment and consecration. It is monumental in terms of its instructive capability. Now, as we begin the series on the disciples’ prayer, we need to have it in mind. So let us read it through verse 13. After this manner therefore pray ye, our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. Now what we face in this tremendous portion of Scripture is one of the most vital subjects in all of the Christian life. We face the subject of prayer. Much discussed, much talked about, much taught about, and yet nonetheless vital for all that has been said and perhaps much misunderstood. The believer must learn how to pray.

In order to experience the fullness of communion with God, in order to open the floodgates of heaven, and to know the fullness of blessing from God, we must know how to pray. This marvellous pattern of prayer will teach us that. And of course I think we are all aware of how important prayer is. The Apostle Paul said, pray without ceasing. Pray without ceasing. Pray and never stop praying. Now anything that is so consuming in Christian experience must be understood. If we do not know how to pray, if we do not know for what to pray, then it does us little good to keep on praying.

If, however, we do know what to pray and how to pray, then praying without ceasing has tremendous import. So the concept of prayer then is very very basic to all giving and all fasting. And that is why when the Lord picks out three areas of religious life, praying, giving and fasting, he concentrates most of the things he says on the subject of praying. It is a very essential thing. In fact, Martin Lloyd-Jones has put it into these words, man is at his greatest and highest when upon his knees he comes face to face with God.

And that is true. Jesus then is challenging the religion of his day, and he is saying in effect, your prayers, just like you are giving and just like your fasting, are substandard. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 8 verse 26, and he said this about the church, he said this about people on that side of the cross, the side we live on. He said we know not what to pray for as we ought. He said two things there, we do not know what to pray for, and we don’t know how we ought to pray for what we don’t know to pray for.

We do not know how or what in our prayers. Therefore, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us. In other words, God is ever and always aiding our prayers, because we do not know how to pray or for what to pray. So, we have the same problem. Many who are not even Christians pray. That kind of praying is no different than that of the Pharisees and the scribes’ inadequate and substandard prayer. So our Lord then, in his corrective to giving, in his corrective to fasting, hits very specific religious activities, but never does he hit so hard as he does in his category of prayer.

The most verses in this section are given to the theme of prayer, and what our Lord is doing affirming the need for a proper prayer. He says regarding giving, do not do it this way, do not do it this way, do not do it this way. Regarding fasting, do not do it this way, do not do it this way, and do not do it this way. But regarding prayer, he says, do not do it this way, don’t do it this way, but do it this way. This is the only one where he gives a detailed description of how we are to pray.

There are two ultimate tests of true spirituality. One is the study of the Word of God, and two is prayer. Those are the two ultimate tests of true spirituality. And I personally believe, and I think the Bible supports this, that the study of the Word of God comes first. Why? Because we will not even know how to pray, unless we know what the Bible teaches about God, about God’s will, about our lives, and our problems. Therefore, it is the study of the Word of God that gives birth to a meaningful prayer life.

You cannot pray in a vacuum. It is not virtuous to say, well, so-and-so never studies the Bible, but prays all the time. Well, if he would study the Bible a little bit, he could probably cut down the time he needs to pray, because he’d eliminate a lot of superfluous stuff. When Jesus gave a pattern for prayer, he gave it very, very brief. It is not how long your prayer is, it’s whether your prayer touches on the vital and necessary elements. And frankly, you can do it in 66 words, or you can do it all night long, as long as it intersects with these elements.

But the study of the Word of God comes first. Let me show you what I mean. There are people who plead with God to give them the Holy Spirit. They already have the Holy Spirit. There are people who plead with Christ for strength. The Bible says, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. I have heard people stand up and say, Lord, be with us. And the Bible says, lo, I’m with you always. There are people who plead for love for someone. The Bible says, the love of Christ is shed abroad in your heart.

You do not need it. You just need to let it out. What I am saying is that unless we understand the truth of the Word of God, we do not really know how to pray. So that the two ultimate tests for spiritual maturity or spirituality are the study of the corollary prayer, prayer that is guided by a comprehension of God’s truth. And when we study God’s Word and discover God’s truth, we also discover the real condition of our own hearts, the real condition of our own spiritual lives. And that drives us into a private, prayer.

The Bible says that Jesus very often would rise a great while before dawn and go into the mountain to pray. The Bible indicates that in the evenings, he would go down the slope of the backside of Jerusalem, cross the Kedron Brook, ascend the small slope of the Mount of Olives, and there he would take his place to commune with the Father and often pray with the Father all night long. The disciples saw in Jesus a tremendous commitment to prayer. And probably that’s what prompted some to say in Luke 11 verse 1, Lord teach us to pray.

And when that question is asked in Luke 11 verse 1, Jesus repeats to them this very same pattern for prayer that is here in Matthew 6. But that is a different incident, but he gives them basically the same pattern. And maybe right here, as Jesus is speaking and he says, I don’t want you to pray like the Pharisees do, to do it before men. And I don’t want you to pray vain repetition, like the pagans. And I don’t want you to pray thinking you’re informing God. God, I’ve got to tell you some things you really need to know.

I don’t want you to pray like that. Jesus knows in their minds they’re going to be saying well, then teach us how to pray. If we’re not to do it like that, how are we to do it? So, the Lord then says to them, almost presupposing the question, verse 9, after this manner therefore pray ye. Here is the way I want you to pray, not like that, but like this. And so the Lord touches the great need for proper prayer. Beloved, this comes at a marvellous time in the midst of the manifesto of the king, at a great time in the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, setting for us for all time the understanding that prayer is vital to a kingdom citizen.

For those who follow the king, prayer is a very essential part. Now, I believe this must have hit them extremely hard, because the Jews had given a priority place to prayer. But in the process of time, they had abandoned the purity of genuine prayer, and they had forsaken real prayer for the routine and the ritual of their religious exercises. They have their little formulas, their little set prayers, that they prayed at set times, and all of this had supplanted by Jesus’ day the reality of genuine prayer. Thank you for joining us in this exploration of the Lord’s Prayer.

Until next time, remember to keep the faith, stay strong, and continue to shine your light in the world. To hear these daily devotions of your daily bread, please log on to goddessgovernment.com. Goodbye, and may your faith always lead the way. [tr:trw].