JESUS’ TEACHING ON PRAYER

SERIES: THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
TEXT: MATTHEW 6:5-13

 

Prayer is communication with God, Relationships thrive on communication, your closeness to God thrives on prayer.

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place when He finished, one of his disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples”- (Luke 11:1).

Praying is a worldwide phenomenon that is seen in all religions. Even people who claim to be non-religious, pray every now and then to their “gods”.

There is one true God (YHWH) and one mediator between man and God, the man-Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5).

The Lord’s prayer is a simple life-changing pattern on how to talk to God, the Christian model of prayer.

Prayer is one of the pillars of the Christian faith. Anyone who ever became great before God was a person of prayer. It’s hard to pray; it’s not easy. We do not know how to pray. Sometimes Jesus our Lord was in prayer all night. For all the things that He had to accomplish, Jesus did not one of them by himself, but He only did what the Father commanded Him to do. He spent much time in prayer.

Jesus’ ministry on the earth was a 100%success, because He involved the Father in everything He did (John 8:29). He said, “And He that sent me is with me; the Father has not left me alone, for I do always those things that please Him.”

To overcome temptations, Jesus told His disciples, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation” (Matthew 26:41).

Concerning the great temptation of apostle Peter, the Lord told him, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to have you, that he might sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you.” Without prayer it’s virtually impossible to live an overcomer’s life. Yet in many Christian circles prayer is taken very lightly. At the height of the Lord’s trials He asked His disciples “could you not watch with me for one hour? watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Matthew 26:40,41).

What the Lord taught about prayer was not a recital to be spoken as a poem absent-mindedly as many Christians do in the Lord’s prayer but a heartfelt communication with the Father. What the Lord taught:-

OUR FATHER THAT ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME

• Our communication with God is only possible because there is a relation between us and Him. He is a Father, we have been born (again) in His family. God will not listen to a prayer from a person not born-again, except the prayer of repentance (John 9:31).

Right at the beginning, this prayer establishes a few things:-
(i) It establishes God as our Father (not for everyone)
(ii) It establishes that there is a Heaven
(iii) It establishes that Heaven is where God resides
(iv) It establishes that God and His name are sacred. The name of God is too frequently used inappropriately in our society to swear, as an exclamation etc. This should not come out of a Christian’s mouth.

“THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN”

• This a request or desire for God’s sovereign rule to be fully established and acknowledged both in individual hearts and through the entire world.
• Submission to God’s rule: it expresses a personal surrender, asking God to reign over your own life, decisions and desires rather than your own self-control will.
• God’s kingdom was inaugurated on earth through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, yet it is not fully consummated. Praying this acknowledges what is present now and anticipates Jesus’ second coming to the earth.
• An anticipation of dismantling of sin and the influence of Satan’s systems in the world, replacing it with God’s righteousness.

“GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD”

• Physical dependence: It invokes God’s dependence every single day; depending on God totally, daily, for everyday survival, food, clothing, and sustenance like Israel received manna daily, in the wilderness.
• Living one day at a time: praying for daily provision rather than a lifetime supply cures anxiety and breaks the mindset of human autonomy, reminding us to trust God fresh every morning.
• “Give us” shows that you have to not just pray for yourself but go further as pray for others.

“FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES”

• This imperative clause in this prayer comes to show there’s no exemption. No one is excluded from asking for forgiveness for there is no one born-again, without sin (1 John 1:8)
• Sin cuts off communication network between us and God even when born-again (Isaiah 59:1-2). Without repentance and confession a prayer will not be heard by God, it will be noise to Him.

“LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, DELIVER US FROM EVIL”

• God does not tempt anyone (James 1:13)
• Satan entices man into sin, from the time of Adam and Eve.
• Human frailty: Anyone can fall into sin. This acknowledges human frailty, asking God for daily guidance, protection and strength to avoid succumbing to spiritual compromise.
• God sees all temptations and trials coming your way but will only deliver you as far as you are willing to let Him.

“FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, POWER AND GLORY, FOREVER AND EVER, AMEN”

• This acknowledges that God is the supreme King who rules over all creation and nations, with the ultimate authority.
• Power: affirms that God possesses unlimited strength and the all-sufficient ability to accomplish His will and answer prayer.
• Glory: Recognizes that all honor, magnificence, and praise belong exclusively to God and not to human achievement.
• Forever and ever: means God’s reign, might and majesty have no end.
• Amen: means “so be it” or “truly”.

CONCLUSION

Your Christianity is as good as your prayer life.