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May 01, 2016

Prayer 101: Foundations of Relational Conversations with God

Prayer 101: Foundations of Relational Conversations with God

Passage: Matthew 6:1-15

Preacher: John Repsold

Series: Master Class: Prayer

Category: Prayer

Keywords: compass, prayer, private, public, the lord's prayer

Summary:

The first in a series on the prayers of Jesus, this message looks at The Lord's Prayer, the seeming paradox between Jesus admonition to develop our private prayer life and his call to make the content of our prayers corporate. Using the four points of the compass, we look at some of the content our prayers should have.

Detail:

Prayer 101:  Foundations of Relational Conversations with God

Series: Master Class—Prayer

Matthew 6:1-15

INTRO:  The writer of the book of Hebrews in the N.T., chapter 12, has this to say about running the spiritual race of life.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

            If you’ve never been to a Bloomsday race in Spokane, you probably wouldn’t know this but just before the race starts, a whole lot of people leave a whole lot of excess clothing up in the trees.  They literally throw if off and leave it hanging for city workers to come along and collect.  Would that getting rid of sin…or losing real weight…were that easy!

            Doing this life-long run of being a follower of Jesus not only demands getting rid of dead weight; it requires “fixing our eyes on Jesus” in every possible experience of life. 

            For the next few weeks, we’re going to be experiencing Jesus’ College of Prayer.  We’re going to examine Jesus’ actual prayers.  While we will occasionally examine what He prayed, when, where and how, the real focus will be on His actual prayers. What do the Master’s prayers teach us about prayer? 

            Hence the series title, “Master Class”. 

ILL:  When I was in high school at Lewis & Clark just a few blocks from our new building, a cellist named Leonard Rose came to town.  If you’re not a cellist, you probably won’t appreciate this.  But Mr. Rose was one of the world’s foremost cellists at that time, the early 1970’s.  He was also famous among cellists because he arranged more cello music than anyone I knew.  His name was on probably half the sheet music I played. 

            So Leonard came to play as guest artists with the Spokane Symphony.  But that afternoon, he held a “Master Class” with a bunch of budding cello students in town.  And I got to sit in on that class.  Mr. Rose played and heard us play.  And we could ask him any question we wanted.

            Someone asked him who he felt were other world-class cellists he knew?  I remember him saying at the time that he had a young student named Yo-Yo Ma who he was convinced would become one of the world’s best cellists.  He was right.  Today, Yo-Yo Ma is, without a doubt, THE premier cellist of this century. 

            Master classes are wonderful because they expose you, at close range, to someone you would never get a chance to have a private lesson with… even if you could afford it.  That’s what listening to Jesus’ own prayers is like.  It’s as if we’re listening in on his private conversations with the Father…at least one end of that conversation.  And hopefully, in the process, we’ll be inspired to pray differently…better…more deeply, more effectively and more fervently.  That’s what watching Leonard Rose did for my cello playing.  I’m sure Jesus can do the same for our praying.

The prayer I would like us to be impacted by this morning is what has been misnamed “The Lord’s Prayer.”  It’s really meant to be “A Jesus-Follower’s Prayer.”

            We’ll come back to the context of this prayer a little later this morning.  But for now, I want to inform our worship…before we try to worship through music. 

            There is an interesting little paradox in this prayer.  It’s the teaching Jesus gives just before modeling to us HOW and WHAT to pray.  Jesus is teaching the crowds present for The Sermon on the Mount.  He’s just warned us all to “be careful not to practice [our] righteousness in front of others [for the purpose of being] seen by them” (Mt. 6:1). That “righteousness”, Jesus says, could be the way we give to the needy OR it could be the way we pray. 

            In Jesus’ day, people who wanted to be known by other people as “spiritual” or “religious” would take to praying standing in the synagogue or in other public places where people would be sure to notice how spiritual they were. 

APP:  It’s definitely not a cultural value to pray in public these days.  It doesn’t win you points in a secular society.  So that’s probably not the application point to us.  Maybe the closest to us would be not to engage in any form of spiritual practice, be it giving or serving or worshipping or praying or…teaching, etc. Pastors are probably the one’s most in danger (and guilty) of doing “religious” stuff to influence others’ opinion of them/us.  This is Jesus’ point.  We’re to live, especially with regard to following Christ, to God’s applause, not people’s. 

            But to be honest, I’ve rarely found that most of us have a problem praying too much in public.  Most of us have a problem praying at all in public…even if it is a small group…in church.  We’ve probably all got varying reasons:

  • Maybe you’re just shy and don’t even like to speak up in a group of friends.
  • Maybe you’re not used to praying even privately. So trying to have what feels like a one-sided conversation when other people are listening feels even more awkward.
  • Maybe you care too much what other people think of your praying. Interestingly, I think that is the same problem Jesus addressed except in a different coat of paint:  people who, in his day, prayed publicly because of what other people thought of them.  Maybe you’re not praying because of what people might think of you??? Jesus says, that’s just as bad as trying to impress people with your prayers. 

What’s Jesus’ solution to the problem?  He exhorts us to “go into our closet/room, close the door” and pray in secret because God is the only one who knows and sees the secret life of each of us. 

Prayer is all about you and God.

            Prayer is first and foremost a connection you and I have personally with God.  It is first and foremost a relationship we cultivate in private. It’s like the intimate talks two lovers had that led them to marriage.  Remember how “easy” it was to talk to your sweetheart?  Weren’t they amazing for just letting you pour out your heart and listening to you.  Isn’t God like that? 

ILL:    You can tell when two people are “in love,” can’t you?  

When Sandy and I were on our honeymoon, we spent several days in Banff, Canada.  Much of our trip was spent camping in an old VW pop-up van.  But the one big “date night” we had that whole week was to get all dressed up and go out to dinner at the Banff Springs Hotel dining room.  I still remember a couple stopping at our table as they left just to ask us, “Are you newlyweds?”  It was that obvious just watching us sit across from each other over dinner.  Quite different from what you see so many couples looking like after 15 or 30 years when they go out:  bored, texting, non-communicative.

            Prayer is the love language of heart hungry for God. 

APP:  Which leads me to the question, If the only prayers God answered in your world were the ones you made in secret…in your own private prayer life with God…what would the world look like?  What would…

  • your spouse be experiencing today?
  • your children?
  • your church?
  • your friends?
  • your coworkers/classmates?
  • your housemates?
  • your neighbors?
  • our city?
  • our nation?
  • our leaders?

God is telling each of us, “Get to know me in the private closet of personal prayer.  That’s where you and I will have our best conversations.”

APP:  What is God nudging you…asking you…pushing you to change about your private prayer experience? Will you do it?  When?  What?  How?

[Recommend the movie War Room.]

But here is the paradox in Jesus’ teaching:  While our deepest praying must be in private, our praying is not to be individualistic.  Look at the pronouns used in The Disciples’ Prayer.

  • “OUR Father…
  • “Give US today OUR daily bread,
  • “And forgive US OUR debts, as WE also have forgiven OUR debtors.”
  • “And lead US not into temptation, but deliver US from the evil one.”

Nine times we’re told to pray for each other by the 9 uses of the plural pronouns. 

Private doesn’t mean self-focused. 
Private doesn’t mean self-centered.

Private doesn’t mean all about ourselves. 

In fact, according to Jesus’ prayer pattern here, most of prayer is pictured in a corporate, community, shared sort of context. 

My praying must include YOU! 

Your praying must include ME! 

And all OUR praying must be God-focused, God-driven, God-engaged, God-consumed.  Listen!

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.”

We’ve got to start praying about the problems and challenges we have on this earth by realizing, acknowledging that the God we are praying to who answers prayer is IN HEAVEN!

            We’ve got to recognize that when we’re talking to God, He’s not some distant, aloof, unfeeling being.  We’re talking to our Daddy…our Father…our Papa! 

He’s not harsh; He’s a hugger.

He’s not distracted; He’s deeply enthralled with His little kids.  He’s not dispassionate; He’s consumed by His father’s heart that delights to have his children come running and crawl up into his lap and snuggle into him. 

            Sound too childlike?  Well, it is!  There is nothing that melts a daddy’s…or Grandpa’s heart…like little arms and eyes and voice reaching out saying, “Can I sit on your lap and just be with you, Daddy…Papa?” 

            And there is nothing in our prayers or our worship that will help us pray more than getting our focus right about God.  His very name is holy.  He rules supreme from heaven.  His kingdom will triumph over every king, premier, president, governor, and kingdom.  His will is the only will that cannot be thwarted in this universe.  He is able, willing and anxious to have His will prevail in the very world we live in. 

            That’s why we use musical worship to help us pray when we come together.  That’s why we sing songs about God’s greatness, his holiness, his power, his will, his love…in short, HIM!  When you and I sing these songs, it is like praying the opening lines of this prayer.  That’s why we must engage in worship that engages with God as He is, not as we “feel” about him.  Worship must be supremely God-centered, truth-driven and heart-engaged. 

So LET’S DO THAT!  Let’s pray together…in song…hearts engaged…minds focused…drawing near to the God who loves to draw near to His children. 

[Worship Songs]

The bulk of Jesus’ model prayer for us deals with 4 compass points of prayer.  That might be an easier way for some of us to remember the 4 major themes or focuses of prayer Jesus makes here when it comes to requests. 

NORTH:  (Picture it coming down from heaven.)  Vs. 10—“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” 

            Remember the movie Red Dawn, the fictitious movie about Spokane being invaded by a Soviet backed North Korea?  Yah, it wasn’t a very good movie either.  But, let’s imagine that we were to advocate for trying to establish the rule of North Korea’s “Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un” in the United States, what would it look like? 

  • Military state
  • 30% malnourished
  • 1 Christian out of 100 people with no religious freedom
  • Public firing squad executions
  • Labor/reeducation camps
  • 2/3rds of families living in 2-room apartments with extended family members (read “in-laws”)
  • Darkened country…in many ways.

Contrast that with what we are called to ask God for when it comes to His kingdom and will.  Our prayers are to be undergirded by our desire to see God’s lordship extended in this world, His truth dominating the hearts and lives of people, His justice, his compassion, his kindness, grace, forgiveness, b and so much more dominating the evil, sin, sickness and sadness of this world. It’s all about making God visible in our day and world.

Implicit in this “true north” part of prayer must be our commitment to God’s will above all things. Jesus prayed for the Father’s will to be accomplished, even when he knew it would require him to suffer horribly at the hands of evil people.  Jesus has and ever will only ask the Father for what is His will, not ours.  As much as we may think that we know better than God, praying that follows the heart and footsteps of Jesus is praying that seeks only  and always God’s will above our own.  We can certainly ask for many things.  But the Father’s will and advancement of His kingdom in our world must be our paramount concern. 

APP:  When and where is this most challenging to pray? 

  • When we don’t know clearly what God’s will is.
  • When God’s will involves suffering, loss, pain, sorrow, even death.
  • When people’s decisions and choices are contrary to God’s declared will and God chooses not to override human free will.

APP:  Write down 1 issue/person/challenge where you are not totally clear on what God’s will is but you will pray this pray over them/it for a month. 

From north we go to SOUTH—the other end of Jesus prayer, vs. 13—“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

There is plenty of debate about the original Greek meaning here, whether it should be translated “evil one” as the NIV does or simply “evil” as the ESV, NKJV & NASB.  Actually the latter seems to be more likely.  In that case, we’re being told to pray for “deliverance from temptation, shame, evil impulse, evil events and sickness, evil thoughts and dreams…[1]”, basically anything evil that may want to come against us. We are not called to pray against the evil itself but for our deliverance from it…or basically its influence over us. 

            Regarding the phrase “lead us not into temptation,” this is the very thing Jesus commands his disciples to pray when they are in the Garden of Gethsemane, drowsy and having a difficult time staying awake to pray for an hour.  “Watch and pray,” Jesus told them, “so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt. 26:41). 

            What was the “temptation” they were in danger of falling into?  Luke 22:32 tells us that Jesus specifically prayed for Peter (one of the 3 who should have been praying this prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane) that his “faith would not fail” after he had denied Christ 3 times.  It appears that Peter’s potential self-disillusionment at failing the Lord with his 3 denials had the potential to seriously derail him from ongoing faith. 

            This part of praying is all about crying out to God for deliverance from damaging temptations and evil. The “southern prayer coordinate” (think “South—Satan”) calls out to God for victory over evil in whatever form it seeks to attack us through our old nature/flesh/etc.  “Southern coordinate praying” humbly recognizes the danger that always exists in our lives for self-damaging sin. 

APP:  Are you aware of where evil tries to press in on you?  Make that a matter of prayer…daily.

Do you know in what sorts of things you are most likely to cave to temptation?  Make that a matter of prayer…daily.

Have you fallen, sinned, given in to temptation in some way that threatens to derail your daily walk with Christ…cause you to think that your faith is hopeless…that you are hopeless?  Pray to be delivered from that lie, that evil, that temptation and defeat. 

North (God’s kingdom will)…south (Satan’s deceptions/ temptations/evil).  EAST…vs. 12—EVERY DAY NEEDS.

“Give us today our daily bread.”  Talk about basic!  Do you see a pattern here?  If I’m praying about today’s needs, what about tomorrow’s?  Well, I’ll just have to pray tomorrow for those, right?  Jesus is pushing his followers to make prayer a daily endeavor.  Prayer is to be very present-focused.  It’s all about God’s intervention in the here and now.

  • We don’t need deliverance from tomorrow’s evils today. We need deliverance from today’s evils…today! 
  • We don’t need God’s provision for next year’s expenses today; we need His provision for today’s needs…today!

ILL: Talking with someone this week about the uncertainty of life and how we really should live in the present and not ruin it by fearing the future, I was reminded of how my mother often let her fear of my father dying ruin her enjoyment of the gift of my Dad’s life in the present.  Since no one in my Dad’s family had lived past 65 that anyone could remember, my Mom would often harp on my Dad about things she feared might shorten his lifespan, things like…salting his food too much…or working too hard.  Her harping would cause friction between them at times and ruin the simple joy of life in the moment. 

            As it turned out, she needn’t have worried.  My Dad lived to be nearly 98 years old!  To which some of you who are worriers too might be tempted to respond, “See, worrying worked!”  

God doesn’t prohibit us from praying about the future.  But clearly the present is where God wants to work.  The present is where God wants us to see Him provide.  The present need is what God wants to invade and meet and answer. 

            And here is clearly where other people’s needs come in too.  “Give us today our daily bread.”  Praying for the present needs of those around us moves God’s heart and grows our joy and faith when we see Him answer.

APP:

  • What is 1 present need in YOUR life that you are looking to God to provide? Are you praying daily about that?  (Prayer journal?)
  • What is 1 present need of each of your family members, your roommates, your closest friends, your work associates, your neighbors that you are bringing to God? Just letting people know you are praying for something specific in their lives can open up huge witnessing opportunities, big God-honoring experiences that may be just what people need to believe in God. 

APP:  Maybe by now you are beginning to realize that your prayer life might need a little more organization…a few more reminders… a little help?  Let me encourage all of us to take a couple of simple steps during this Master Class of Prayer with Jesus this month:

  • Start…or develop…a prayer journal. This might simply be a blank notebook with a few sections for different people we’re praying for, answers we’re seeing, etc.
  • Set aside a time and place that works most days for personal conversation with God.

Do these 2 things for a month, and then ask yourself if it hasn’t deepened your connection with God.

Thursday, May 5th—National Day of Prayer.  Meeting at Life Center, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

North (God’s Kingdom & will come down), South (Satan and evil vanquished), East (every-day needs provided by God)…

WEST:  Last/4th Prayer Coordinate—WILLING REPENTANCE, FORGIVENESS & RELEASE of offenses.  Matthew 6:12—“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”  We’re asking God, “Please cancel my massive debts of sin against you, just as I’ve canceled the relational debts of others against me.”   

            Three of the hardest words to say in the English language are, “Please forgive me!”  It’s hard enough to say, “I’m sorry.”  But there is something even more humbling about “Forgive me!”  That requires the humility to recognize that you’re not perfect.  In fact, it’s worse than that.  We’ve sinned against God and often against other people.  Recognizing that, repenting of it and asking forgiveness is something that will constantly build the gracious humility we need to make room for God daily.

            The essential importance of this part of our prayer life is underlined with Jesus’ concluding words about forgiveness in vss. 14-15.

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

            Forgiveness means to release from a debt.  God is telling us that He’s not going to release us from the weight of our sins unless we engage in releasing others from the weight of their sins against us.  Our relationships with each other on the human plain have direct implications and consequences for our relationship with God on the vertical plain.  To fail to embrace the forgiving, merciful and gracious heart character of God once we’ve experienced His forgiveness will stop us cold in our tracks of growth in Jesus.  But daily practicing releasing of others from their sins against us will open us up to amazing freedom from our own sins.  Keeping short accounts with people will help us keep short accounts with God. 

ILL:  I thought about this just this weekend as Sandy and I watched a movie together about a single mom, a policewoman, who’s daughter was raped and murdered and whose killer basically got off scot-free.  The mother’s unwillingness to forgive her daughter’s killer eventually drove her to kidnapping, abuse, and murder of her daughter’s murderer. 

            I couldn’t help contrast that with a woman I know whose family grew up here in Spokane.  Her brother was murdered in a gas station robbery when she was in her 20s.  He was convicted and sentenced to serve, I think, at least 20 years in jail.  This woman chose to forgive this stranger and even went so far as to meet with him in prison and express that personally to him.  He never admitted his guilt or even received her forgiveness in any observable way.  But it set her free to keep moving in life and to be used by God to bless her family and everyone her life and story touched. 

            Sin is powerfully destructive…but confession and forgiveness is more powerfully transformational. 

APP: 

  • What part does confession of sin play in your own daily prayers?
  • Who is it that you feel or think “owes” you an apology for some hurt done you? Forgiving…and continuing to forgive… is Jesus’ call to you when you remember that offense.  

CLOSE:  Time of personal, silent prayer right now.

  • Northward praying: Ask God to accomplish His will and bring His kingdom to someone/something needing that today.  “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
  • Southward praying: Ask God to protect you from some particular temptation and deliver you from some evil.
  • Eastward praying: Everyday needs/challenges that you or someone else you know need God to invade.
  • Westward praying: willingly repent/ask forgiveness for your own sin while willingly releasing others from offenses and sins against you. 

9 “This, then, is how you should 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 today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one.’

[Keep “UNITE SPOKANE” Slide up at end of service.]

[1] Kittel, G., Bromiley, G. W., & Friedrich, G. (Eds.). (1964–). Theological dictionary of the New Testament (electronic ed., Vol. 6, p. 561). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.