LESSON 20
The Lord’s Prayer
As we begin our look at
prayer, it is important to note that this study is an overview and not an in
depth study. There are many other
materials on the subject of prayer that are very well done and can be a great
help to you.
We are going to briefly
look at the Lord’s Prayer.
Prayer is much of the
foundational part of our relationship with God.
Prayer is not something we do simply out of obligation. It is not a ritual or routine. Prayer is our very life line to the throne of
God.
There are two key
principles of prayer in these verses.
One is, you have not because you do not
ask. The other is that when you do ask,
you ask for the wrong reasons. There is
not only the need to ask, but to ask correctly.
Matt. 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and
ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
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The word ‘ask’ here
means to keep asking until you get it.
Keep on seeking until you find it.
Keep on knocking until the door is opened to you.
Luke 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be
given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it
shall be opened unto you.
There is not only the
need to ask, but to ask correctly. We
need to know how to approach God correctly.
This is why we have spent so much time on intimacy with God. We will not see the answers to prayer that we
should be getting, unless we learn to approach God correctly. There is a right and a wrong way to approach
God.
God tells us how to
worship. He also gives us instruction on
how to pray. Jesus lays the foundation
for the pattern for prayer in what we often refer to as the Lord’s Prayer.
There is a way to
approach God. There is a way to
pray. And there is a way to pray to get
your prayers answered.
Matt. 6:9-13 After
this manner therefore pray ye: Our
Father which 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, for
ever. Amen.
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In this verse, Jesus
says, ‘Here is the pattern of prayer.’
The word ‘manner’ here means, in this way or after this fashion. It is not saying pray these words
specifically. It is giving us the pattern,
or procedures for prayer.
Jesus gave us a pattern
for prayer. He forever established that
there is a right way to approach God in prayer and there is a priority in
prayer.
The 6 Key Elements of the Pattern of Prayer.
KEY
#1
You
must come before God worshipping and honoring Him for who He is.
Matt. 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye, Our Father who art
in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Before you ever ask God
for anything, you are to worship Him, giving honor to His name. The problem is most of us come before God saying,"Give me, give me, and give me some more,"
instead of praying God's way.
There is a way to
approach a natural king or royalty. They
have people on staff in charge of protocol.
If you were going to go before the Queen of
God has a formality in
approaching Him. His formality is this:
when you come before Him, come worshipping.
Psa. 100:4 Enter into his
gates with thanksgiving, [and] into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, [and] bless his name.
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This is a law, an
absolute biblical command. Remember in
the Bible order is everything. The first
thing you are to do is come before God recognizing who He is, He is your
Father. You are to recognize where He
is, He is in heaven. You are to worship
Him for what He is, hollowed be Thy name.
The word
"name" in the Greek speaks of His authority and character.
The manner in which we
are to approach God in prayer is FOREVER established.
If we do things that the
Bible does not give us license to do and does not instruct us to do, we are
operating in presumption. Presumption
can kill you or rob you of the promise of God.
We are not to operate presumptuously.
Cain presumed upon
God. Abel followed God's set pattern for
sacrifice. Cain presumed upon God and
tried to do it his own way and it brought judgment upon him.
Moses struck the rock
when God told him to speak to it. He
presumed upon God. Even though the
miracle still happened it did not mean God was pleased. Moses was forbidden to fulfill his destiny
because he presumed upon the Word of God.
If you want the
blessings of God, approach Him His way and do not presume upon Him.
KEY
#2
You
must pray for God's kingdom, authority, rule and reign, and God's will.
Matt.
The first two parts of
prayer require us to put God first.
First we worship Him, then we put His kingdom,
His will and His purposes before our own.
God says, ‘Here is how
you approach Me.
First you worship Me, and then you pray what I
want done.’ You pray for His will to be
done. You pray for His kingdom and
authority to be established.
Matt.
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You must put God’s will
and kingdom before your own needs. We
are to pray that God’s rule and reign are established here on earth in the same
dimension and depth that it is already established in heaven. We are also to pray for God’s will.
This forever sets and
establishes the pattern of God first. It
is a priority.
God often speaks to you
specific areas to pray about, to establish His will and kingdom on the
earth. You will find that when you spend
time praying in this way, that the stuff you came before God with, thinking you
should pray about, or need, begin to fade away and God begins to reveal to you
what you really need and what He wants for you.
You need to pray through
until you know on the inside that something has changed, that something in the
spirit is happening. It may take awhile , but we pray until we know we are locked into the
stream of God's will. We pray until we
know we are locked into the thought processes and patterns of God, so that when
we get to the point of asking for our needs we are already moving in God's will
and God's way, not our own.
If we approach God in
prayer in this manner then everything else in our prayers will be lined up with
the plan and purposes of God.
KEY
#3
GIVE
US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.
Matt.
Your daily bread is that
which you need today. Jesus establishes
a pattern here that we are not to be concerned about tomorrow, what we will eat
or what we will wear.
Matt. 6:31-33 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or,
Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For
after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your
heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all
these things. But seek ye first
the
Psa. 118:24 This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice
and be glad in it.
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God will provide for us
each and every day. Too many worry about
what tomorrow might bring. Come before
God asking Him to meet your needs.
Your needs are more than
just money and spiritual needs. We also
have daily emotional needs.
This verse doesn’t just
speak of money but every area of your life that you need from God. Those that battle with depression and other
emotional needs, should go before God daily asking Him
to meet their emotional needs.
We cannot simply rely on
other people to meet our emotional needs.
They may not always be able to meet those needs. But your Father in heaven knows you have
these needs and can always meet them. We
must come to the place where God can meet all of our emotional needs, whether
through other people or by His spirit.
KEY
#4
FORGIVE
US OUR DEBTS AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS.
Matt.
Debts are those things
you have specifically done wrong; ie. sins. Debtors are
those people who have done you wrong or sinned against you and in some way cost
you something: physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
Note the condition. God requires that you forgive others, before
He will forgive you. Your forgiveness is
dependent on you forgiving. If you do
not forgive those who owe you, who are in some way indebted to you, you will
not be forgiven.
Matt. 18:23-35 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king,
which would take account of his servants.
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed
him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be
sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and
worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee
all. Then the lord of that servant was
moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one
of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred
pence: and he laid hands on him, and took [him] by the throat, saying, Pay me
that thou owest.
And his fellowservant fell down at his feet,
and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into
prison, till he should pay the debt. So
when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were
very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him,
said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt,
because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou
also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even
as I had pity on thee? And his lord was
wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due
unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly
Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his
brother their trespasses.
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The king forgave the
first servant a tremendous debt. The
amount he owed is estimated to be $4.5 billion (if the talent was a measure of
Gold). The king was moved with
compassion and forgave the entire debt.
That same servant then
went out and found a fellow servant who owed him 1/3 of a years
wage, $10,000. He then aggressively
demanded payment of the debt.
Despite pleas for
forgiveness, the servant had the man cast into prison until the debt could be
paid.
When the king heard what
had happened he sent for the servant and called him a wicked man. The king then had him thrown into prison, to
the tormentors.
The word ‘tormentors’
here is the strongest word in the Greek language to describe demonic
oppression.
If you do not forgive,
not only will you not be forgiven, but you will be turned over to be tormented.
When we pray we must
remember to forgive others as Jesus instructed us in Matthew 6:12. Jesus not only wanted to be sure we were free
to receive forgiveness, but also to keep us from the ‘tormentors’.
KEY #5
LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL
Matt. 6:13a And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil:
John
1 Cor.
2:9-10 But as it is
written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart
of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed [them] unto us by
his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea,
the deep things of God.
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It is important to
remember that God does not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. If we are listening to what the Spirit is
telling us, He will often warn us of temptations satan is trying to throw our way. He will also warn us if we are leaving doors
open in our hearts, that make us more vulnerable to
temptation.
KEY
#6
FORGIVE
TRESPASSES.
Matt.
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This verse is different
from verse 12. The word ‘trespasses’
means errors, faults, or offenses; whether intentional or unintentional. God not only requires you to forgive those
who have done you wrong. He requires you
to forgive period; whether it is done to you or not.
This is the way Jesus
said to pray. This is the way we are to
pray every day.
In Review:
1. What
does “ask” imply in the scripture reference Matthew 7:7?
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2. What
outline did God give us to show us how to pray?
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3. What
is the first thing you should do when approaching God? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What
does the word “name” in the Greek speak of?
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5. What
can presumption do?
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Give examples.
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6. What
is the
7. To
what point are we to pray through to?
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8. What
are your daily needs for TODAY?
spiritual:
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emotional:
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9. What
has God promised in His Word that declares He will meet your needs (give
scripture references)?
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10. What
is your forgiveness from God dependent upon?
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11. What
are the results of unforgiveness?
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_________________________________12. What does the word “tormentors”
describe?
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How does God lead you not into temptation according to John 16:13 and 1 Cor. 2:9-10?
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14. What
does trespasses mean?
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15. Do
you have any unforgiveness in your heart? ___________
If so, confess it and repent of it.
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