THE LORDS PRAYER

August 17, 2009


MESSAGE ONE
THE LORD’S PRAYER

ALTERNATE TITLES:
PRAYING THE LORD’S PRAYER
8 TRUTHS ABOUT THE LORD’S PRAYER
UNDERSTANDING THE LORD’S PRAYER
PRAYER BASICS 101

HUMOROUS INTRODUCTION -- Two secretaries were taking a tea break when they began to talk about their respective churches.
"I never knew you went to church," said the first one. "I'll bet you twenty dollars you can't even recite the Lord's prayer."
"Oh yes, I CAN," said the second.
"Well, then, let's HEAR it," said the first.
The second one began, "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray Thee, Lord, my soul to keep..."
The first secretary listened with astonishment. "Wow!" she said. "Here's your twenty dollars. I sure didn't think you knew it!" (Elbourne Illustrations)
TRANSITION – Well let me tell you, if you just happen to know the real Lord’s prayer, I want to encourage you to blow the dust off it and begin unleashing the tremendous power that is available through it. Let’s read it from the Gospel of Matthew.

TEXT -- Matthew 6: 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.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

TRANSITION – We call this passage the Lord’s prayer because it is the prayer the Lord taught his disciples to pray. It is no learning to recite it but to pray it in faith and to live by it. This prayer is very powerful because it targets our prayers in some very important areas. Through praying this prayer we begin to focus upon:

Through praying this prayer we begin to focus upon:
I. THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD
“Our Father in heaven,”

In the Christian life we relate to God on different levels. These are borne out in the Bible.

A. A servant
B. A friend
C. A Son

We make a great advance in our walk with God when we receive the revelation that He is our Heavenly Father. It is then we experience great security and agree with the cry of the Holy Spirit within us who cries out through us “Abba.” This is the word that means “Daddy” or “Papa.”

Jesus modeled for us how he lived in communion with His Father. It is through viewing God as Father that we begin to understand the depth of His intimate love for us.

Through praying this prayer we begin to focus upon:
II. THE HOLINESS OF GOD
“Hallowed be Your name.”

-The holiness of God is one of the foundational attributes of the nature and character of God. He is altogether “whole” and “holy.”
-He possesses none of the attributes of evil and is the source of all goodness.
-Sin is not found in Him nor can it abide near Him.
-In declaring the holiness of God in our approach to Him, we acknowledge His transcendent goodness and perfection. His moral virtues are without even the reflection of a flaw.

As his creation, we Hallow His Name!

God is above and beyond all--He is holy!

Through praying this prayer we begin to focus upon:
III. THE RULE OF GOD
“ 10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.”

-Desire to do and promote God’s will.

Question: Do you want God to be in charge of the world? Then, is He in charge of your life?

Through praying this prayer we begin to focus upon:
IV. THE PROVISIONS OF GOD
“ 11 Give us this day our daily bread. “

-Acknowledgement of where our blessings come. He is our Provider.
-The fact that our pantries are full should cause us to pray all the more--thanksgiving!

Illus-Man who always prayed for God to help the poor but never helped them himself. His little boy told him one day. “Daddy, I wish I had your corn crib. then I could answer your prayer.”

Through praying this prayer we begin to focus upon:
V. THE FORGIVENESS OF GOD
“12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.”

A. Forgiveness received
Our loving Father God sees us through the blood of Jesus not through our sins.
B. Forgiveness given
Because we have received forgiveness, we are to pass it on. Otherwise, we close our hearts to the effects of the forgiveness we so desperately need.

Question: Is there someone you need to forgive? Do not refuse to do so.

Through praying this prayer we begin to focus upon:
VI. THE GUIDANCE OF GOD
“ 13 And do not lead us into temptation,”

-This is another facet of learning to walk with God. You rest in the knowledge that He knows what you need better than you know yourself. You also realize that He knows your weaknesses better than you know them yourself.

Through praying this prayer we begin to focus upon:
VII. THE PROTECTION OF GOD
“ But deliver us from the evil one.”

-Awareness of Satan’s schemes and our own soul’s snares.
-This is something we fo not appreciate unless we feel its absence.

Through praying this prayer we begin to focus upon:
VIII. THE GLORY OF GOD
“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
In the end--He is all in all.
When the show is over--God’s glory will be at center stage.

CONCLUSION – After having shared all this with you, let me conclude by simply saying, “The proof and power of this prayer is discovered through the praying of it.”