December 30, 2012

Transformational Prayer

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Introduction to the Lord’s PrayerMatthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4Matthew: Sermon on the MountLuke: Jesus praying in a certain

placeMatthew: Go to your room and

close the doorMatthew: do not use many words:

“for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

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Introduction

Our Father in heavenOur Father ... What feelings do these

words evoke?God is not a father in the human sense –

He is God the FatherGood news of Jesus is that he brings us to

his Father: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.” (John 14:6-7)

Jesus shares this close relationship with his Father with his followers (Matthew 11:27)

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Lord’s Prayer

Our FatherOur Father ...

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Lord’s Prayer

Six prayers within Lord’s prayer1. Hallowed by your name: the holy

Father God is wholly other (Isaiah 55:8-9)

2. Your kingdom come: the Father’s kingship

Accept his rule over our lives (John 14:23, Romans 6:12 not letting sin rule in our mortal bodies)

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Lord’s Prayer

Six prayers within Lord’s prayer3. Your will be done on earth as it is

in heaven: the will of the Father As God’s will is carried out in

heaven, we are called to mirror this task on earth

4. Give us today our daily bread: the Father as provider

Do not worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34)

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Lord’s Prayer

Six prayers within Lord’s prayer5. Forgive us our debts as we also have

forgiven our debtors: the forgiveness of the Father

If I refuse to forgive another, why should I expect God to forgive me? (Matthew 18:21-35)

6. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one: the deliverance and protection of the Father

Satan tempts us to destroy us. The Father tests us to help us know his will and grow us to maturity

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Lord’s Prayer

Prayer and relationship with GodYours is the kingdom, the power and

the glory, for ever and ever, AmenIt is in relationship with the Father

that Jesus continues in Luke 11“Ask and it will be given to you; seek

and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9)

“How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)

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Relationship with God

Relationships within the TrinityWe address God as FatherJesus is the way and the truth and the

life – he is the way to the Father (John 14:6)

Jesus shows us the Father: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

Jesus asks the Father to give us the Holy Spirit (John 14:16)

Holy Spirit will teach us all things and remind us of Jesus’ teaching (John 14: 26)

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Relationship with God

Relationship with Holy SpiritRole of the Holy Spirit to work within us

to change us from the inside out. “No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5)

“I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees” (Ezekiel 36:26)

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:10-11)

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Relationship with God

Our need for help in prayer“The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not

know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27)

We groan, we cannot tell God what our problem is

We don’t know God’s will, we see only our own needs and we may pray for things that God does not want to give us (for example, Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”)

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Relationship with God

Holy Spirit’s help in prayerHe is the friend who reminds us of

everything Jesus told usHe is the friend who warns us – convicting

us of guilt in regard to sin, righteousness and judgement (John 16:8)

He is the friend who makes heaven real to us – the “deposit” (Ephesians 1:14), “guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 5:5)

He is the friend who is always with us – the person who makes the presence of God a living experience

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Relationship with God

Friendship with the Holy TrinityPray the six prayers of the Lord’s

Prayer, while remembering that prayer is a relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit

Christian prayer is prayer to God the Father, through God the Son, by God the Holy Spirit

Our questions about prayer may be answered in the Trinity: the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit

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Relationship with God

Praying togetherWe are encouraged to deepen our

relationship with God. How would we like to do it? Find prayer companion(s)Keep a prayer journalConduct prayerful Bible studyMeditate on a passage of ScripturePrayer for spiritual directionPrayer for healing

“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)

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Community of prayer

ConclusionClement of Alexandria, one of the early

church fathers, from 2nd and 3rd centuries: “Prayer is keeping company with God”

Brother Lawrence, a monk in 17th century France: “There is no mode of life in the world more pleasing and more full of delight than continual conversation with God”

Jim Houston, in 20th century Vancouver: “I made up my mind that the desire to pray and keep company with God would become my primary concern in life. Prayer would come even before my public ministry.”

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Conclusion

ConclusionBut you, dear friends, by building

yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life (Jude 20-21)

Even in these closing words, we find the Trinity

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Conclusion