Lord, Teach Us To Pray
Series: Introduction - The One Goal Of Prayer
gtcotr/ws091306
Key Scriptures: James 4 NKJV
13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit";
14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."
16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
Tonight we begin our series on prayer. In the few weeks we will spend on this most powerful subject we will study:
* The Model Prayer
* The Lord’s Prayer
* The Five Prayers of Paul
* The Prayer of Jabez
* Jacob’s Covenant Prayer
We will look at the difference between:
* Individual and Corporate Prayer
* Praying With Our Understanding and Praying In The Spirit
* Praying Under Authority and Praying In Authority
(The ‘not my will’ prayers; ‘Pray for’, not ‘pray against’)
* Prayer; Confession & Command
(We pray to God; Confess to ourselves; Command spirits)
(Prayer is only to God - we may voice command in Jesus’ Name to bind and loose or move mountains, but prayer is to God)
* Prayers God Hears and Prayers God Refuses To Hear
(1 John 5:14ff; John 9:31; 1 Peter 3:12)
In this series we will find that our praying should be:
* Instant
* Frequent
* Purpose-filled
* Persistent
Together we will see that There is one goal for all prayer. This will help us keep our focus and not become distracted, detoured, derailed, disillusioned, disconnected or dissatisfied in prayer.
What is that one goal? Lets see if we can find it tonight as we introduce the series: “Lord, Teach Us To Pray”
Luke 11 NKJV
1 ¶ 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."
2 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.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 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."
At this particular point, Jesus and His disciples had just left the house of Mary and Martha who lived in Bethany, a small village on the Mount of Olives just a short walk outside the city walls of Jerusalem. Jesus’ disciples had seen the effects of Jesus’ constant dependence on prayer and had heard Him speak to multitudes about prayer and it’s importance in daily life.
Perhaps they had forgotten what Jesus had told the crowds gathered on a hill just on the North shore of the Sea of Galilee some time ago. Maybe they were too busy assisting with crowd control or other duties to have been able to sit and listen to Jesus teach the multitudes how to pray.
So now, in this place, a long distance from the Sea of Galilee, apart from the crowds of people, they ask for themselves: “Lord, Teach Us To Pray”
Jesus immediately went back and repeated the lesson He had given on the Mount of Beattitudes. Lets turn there to hear what he said: Matthew 6.
In this passage in Matthew, on the Mount of Beattitudes, Jesus is talking about three powerful practices of a follower of God.
* Giving
* Praying
* Fasting
He deals not only with methods but also with motivations for giving, praying and fasting. Jesus reveals that results will vary depending on the motivation and method of the individual. He discourages hypocritical approaches and self interest or pride motivated prayers.
Lets look at Matthew 6 NKJV
7 "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.
8 "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: 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.
Tonight is only introductory to the topic of prayer, however I do want to set the stage for our next lesson and give you at least one central truth concerning prayer.
Just the simplicity of reading these two accounts where Jesus instructs both the multitude and the individual disciple to pray after the same manner, gives us great understanding into the overall scope of prayer.
First: There is an evident Pattern of Prayer supported by the statements:
* Matthew 6:9 “In this manner, therefore, pray …”
* Luke 11:2 “When you pray, say …”
It’s like a plan. Remember: fail to plan, plan to fail. Having a plan removes so many elements of distraction and insures we cover all the bases. We will talk about developing a prayer strategy next week if -
The next thing we recognize is our Position in Prayer as we acknowledge our relationship with God, “Our Father”
Then there is the always important offering of our Praise to God in prayer. “Hallowed be Your Name”
Next Jesus teaches the Purpose of Prayer.
This is the central truth I want to leave you with tonight.
There is one goal for all prayer … One goal for each and every prayer. It is the Purpose of Prayer. Can you guess what it is?
The One Goal of Prayer:
“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
The one goal of each and every prayer should always be connected and directed toward God’s kingdom and God’s will being advanced and enhanced in the earth as it is in heaven.
This is one reason why it is imperative that prayer warriors, intercessors and others given to prayer know the Word of God, the scriptures, the Holy Bible. Without knowing God’s word, how can one pray God’s will with understanding and faith.
And, when we are petitioning God for what we want, we must always be very mindful of our place.
Are we praying as one under authority or one in authority?
One in authority, under the authority of God but in authority over the subject of our prayer request, can rightfully petition God for whatever they desire, followed by “Not my will but Thine”.
However, one under authority both to God and to man concerning the subject of our prayer request, need be conscious in prayer, seeking the will of God while supporting the desire of the one God has placed in charge and not championing their own individual interests in the matter.
Our basic posture in prayer is a posture of petition and support. We are always instructed to:
* Pray for, not against!
We are straightly instructed not to pray even against our enemies, but rather for them.
Remember: We pray to God for His will.
Here at our church we ask all of our dedicated prayer partners and prayer groups to keep their prayer focused on the revealed will of God and the primary vision of our church: Souls
The primary aim of our prayer is that souls might be born again, freed from sin and secure for all eternity. If we can accomplish this in prayer, we have been most beneficial to God. You see, God is not willing that any perish. Salvation of souls is God’s highest will and greatest priority. This is why we have the power.
Luke 10:20 "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
