Would you please in your Bibles just now turn back to Matthew chapter 6 where we've read page 978 in our Bibles.
!
Well, let's just pray just for a moment before we study the Word together.
Heavenly Father, we come as always to the Bible with that sense, Lord, of expectation.
We want to hear your voice. We want to hear what you are saying to us out of Scripture.
And so we pray that today you would guide our thoughts and our hearts to be fed and nourished from these things.
That our faith may grow and deepen. That we may know our Lord and Saviour Jesus better because of what we discover.
That we would live our lives to his glory and to the praise of your name.
And so we ask today that these things will be done not through the effort of flesh and blood,
but through the work and power of the Holy Spirit.
So grant us that working in our hearts today. In Jesus' name we ask. Amen.
There is a wonderful phrase that I discovered. It chimes with maybe some ideas that you'd find in other writers as well like John Piper.
But certainly Derek Kidner writing a commentary on the book of Psalms has this wonderful phrase,
The greatest happiness is to be in close agreement with God.
And that's a theme that runs through the psalm that we've read today, Psalm 32.
And I think looking together at Psalm 32 is perhaps an illustration of some of the points I'm going to make today.
And some of the teaching that we can draw out of the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6.
I think it gives us an important insight into the prayer life of the Christian.
So I want this week and next Sunday as well, while Calamurto's away, I want to take a little time thinking about our prayer life.
Today, this morning, we're going to be thinking about it in terms of our private or personal prayer, our walk with God.
And next Sunday evening, if we're spared, God willing, we'll think about public prayer.
And immediately, as I say public prayer, people think, oh, you mean what happens in the prayer meeting?
No, I mean corporate prayer.
Because all Christians everywhere should and do pray with other Christians.
It is inconceivable, in fact, that you could be a Christian and never pray with another Christian.
And so we'll think about corporate prayer next Sunday.
The key, of course, to both of these is actually the idea of fellowship.
So as we go through our lives, we are, as Christians, we're in fellowship with God and also with one another in the church.
There's a fellowship within the circles of our families.
There's your fellowship within the circles that we have of the friendships that we have.
And there's your wider fellowship within the congregation.
And perhaps even wider still within the church at large in the world.
And the key to good fellowship is always to walk in harmony with the person you're walking with.
It's a proverb, a very simple one, that if two people are in disagreement, they cannot walk together.
And that's especially true in our lives spiritually.
If we're in disagreement with God over something, then we cannot walk together.
That's why Derek Kidner's phrase is so apt.
The greatest happiness is to be in close agreement with God.
So the greatest happiness that we can experience in life is to be found when we are walking in agreement with those we share in fellowship with.
With God in our private lives.
With God in our own personal headspace.
And with those around us, whether it's in your marriage or your family or even in the life of the church.
And so I want this morning to suggest four ways in which your prayer life will deepen that close agreement with God.
In which you will find the greatest happiness.
And I hope these will be helpful to you.
Now, as always, I just want to preface this with the three groups that I have in mind.
I think, as a rule, this is how I preach.
I always have three groups in mind when I'm preaching.
The first of these is those who have not yet entered in by the narrow gate.
The Bible speaks about following after God and being saved as entering by the narrow gate.
And there are those who have not yet done that here.
There are those who are still perhaps seeking.
They're interested.
They want to know what this salvation is.
You today might still be looking for someone who can take away your guilt and your shame.
Who will offer you a sure hope.
Maybe you're seeking salvation.
And I want to say to you that today, what I have today, I hope, is for you.
The relationship that you need to have with Jesus as a Savior is found through prayer.
And so if you are not yet already praying to God, and I would suggest that you do so urgently,
I hope that what I have today will help you and give you some guides on how you would go about that.
There's those today here who have entered by the narrow gate and who are on the road to salvation,
but have not long been on that road.
Perhaps you are new to walking together with God.
A young Christian.
Someone who has not yet taken many steps along that way.
And I hope that today, what I have for you will be a blessing to you today to help you and encourage you
as you think about how you pray, but more than just how you pray, just how you relate to God entirely.
Like just what it means to be a Christian living today.
And then there are many of you here today who, I suspect probably what I have to say today,
you will think this is familiar, well-trodden material.
You'll think, I've heard most of this before.
And I would urge you today not to switch off.
The reason I would say that is because when it comes to our relationships with people,
what is often the greatest danger to these relationships is complacency.
We become familiar with the beat and the rhythm of life.
And so perhaps we neglect to spend time conversing deeply with our spouses.
And that can lead to trouble in your marriage.
And it's the same with God.
Complacency can set in in our lives.
And we can become slow to fellowship with God.
And weary, perhaps, along the way.
And find that it's not God that has shifted, but it's us that have departed from a close walk with Him.
And so I hope today these will be reminders to you of the basics that we can get right,
so that we can discover the greatest happiness is found in a close walk with God.
First of all, then, we should note that Jesus, when He teaches the disciples to pray,
He teaches them firstly about the reputation of God.
When Jesus teaches the disciples to pray, He says, pray like this,
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
And just to very briefly unpackage the language there,
the word hallowed means to make something holy.
You know, we talk about hallowed ground.
It's ground, normally talking about a cemetery, in fact.
It's talking about ground that's been set apart for a special purpose.
The church today is hallowed ground.
Not because there's something intrinsically holy about the church,
but because the building has been set apart for the worship of God.
It's a place where we want to come to worship God.
And we've created this space for that purpose.
So if something's hallowed, it's simply set apart, kept special.
And when we talk about God's name being hallowed,
what we really mean is not simply the name of Jesus,
but the whole reputation that God has.
So if we were to think about Ali, who's presenting today,
and there are a lot of things you could say about Ali's reputation,
but a lot of the young people in the church know him by his alter ego of Captain Toothpaste.
That's his reputation, his name.
He's got a name for brushing your teeth.
And when we think about our God, he has a reputation, a name,
a reputation for salvation, for hope,
for granting relief to those who are lost and in darkness,
for bringing light into the world,
for bringing hope into the hopeless darkness of our lives.
And so when Jesus is teaching the disciples to pray,
he begins by teaching them to adore God,
simply to express adoration for God.
Now, in our generation, certainly, there is a rush, isn't there,
to meet our needs.
We would tend to want to prioritize our needs.
And it's very tempting to think of that as being a unique situation in our generation.
People today are very interested in near instant gratification.
If you want something, you just take it.
If you want to order something off the internet,
you can expect it to be delivered the next day,
so long as you order before 12,
and so long as the ferry goes.
But we want things instantly.
We want the immediate delivery of that need to be met.
But the truth is, actually,
in all of human history,
the desire to put our wants and our needs first,
even in prayer,
has always been there.
Because one of the fundamental problems
with sinful human hearts
is what I would call the idolatry of self.
For most people,
the idol is not something external
that you fall down and worship.
Rather, the idol is often something internal,
whether it's our own ego,
our own sense of self and worth.
But we primarily want to put ourselves
at the fore of all things.
And so even in prayer as Christians,
we can fall into that very easily.
We can make our own reputation,
our own glory,
our own comfort,
our own fame,
whatever it might be.
We can make these things,
the first things that we rush with,
into prayer.
And we can almost say,
well, God,
the most important thing today
is not my relationship with you.
It's not your glory.
The most important thing
is what I'm getting out of this.
My needs been met.
But Jesus teaches us to pray
firstly for God's reputation.
Indeed, the greatest happiness,
if this is truly the case,
if the greatest happiness
is to be found in close agreement
with God,
then the greatest happiness
is to be found
when we align our priorities
with God's priorities.
And what does God want?
And what is God's desire?
Well, we could say today,
well, it's to save people.
Yes, but to what end?
Why does God save people?
Why does God bless
and prosper his children?
Why does God give us
the promise of himself
as our everlasting reward?
And it is simply because
God is jealous
for his own reputation.
God being God
wants and deserves,
ultimately,
he's entirely right
in longing for this,
wants the praise
of the nations.
There is nothing
self-indulgent in that
if you are the creator
and sustainer
of all things.
If you are indeed
the highest,
then there is nothing wrong
or flawed
in God wanting
to be glorified.
and the way he is glorified
is in showing us
his salvation,
principally,
in rescuing
rebels and sinners
through the work
and person
of Jesus Christ,
his son.
And so,
God's greatest priority
is, in fact,
for his own reputation.
And so,
of course,
there are many things
that God has promised.
There are many things
that we can claim
and lay hold of
in prayer.
There are many things
that we can ask God for.
But above all of them
and first and foremostly
in all of them,
there needs to be
a desire
that our own hearts
will be aligned
to magnify
God himself.
That we will adore him.
And so,
in our prayer life,
that needs to be the case.
You see it in Psalm 32
where we've read
that the center of the Psalm,
in verse 7,
there's these wonderful words
that David uses.
He says,
you are my hiding place.
The place of ultimate safety
and security.
Last Sunday evening,
in fact,
if you want a great sermon
on this,
go and find it on YouTube,
Kenny I preaching
last Sunday night.
It's kind of
a great example of this.
Of the security
that David found
in the Lord
in times of distress.
Psalm 32,
it's in that same vein.
of that great security
that is to be found.
David then,
he goes on
and he says,
you are the one
who preserves me
in time of trouble.
You know,
the great troubles
that afflict the child
of God in the world,
there are many.
The New Testament
kind of itemizes them
almost quite helpfully
in this way.
It says,
we face enemies
in the world
and the flesh
and the devil.
So the world around us
that are going to be
people who despise
the Christian faith,
who despise
us for following Jesus,
they despise us
for Jesus' own sake.
And it wears us down.
And it's distressing
and it's troubling
to experience that
and the hatred
that comes our way.
And David says,
you are my preserver
in times of trouble.
when the world
despises me,
you're the one
who preserves me.
And the way he
adores the Lord
for this,
he says it's the same
internally.
Psalm 32,
it's really interesting.
The enemies,
the greatest enemies
that David actually faces,
he feels,
are not actually
outside and external,
but that his own heart
and the sinful desires
that rise up there
and that want to
overtake our lives
and want to blot out
and push out
our fellowship with God.
And these things
God preserves us from.
How many of us
can say that,
in fact,
as we think about our lives,
that God has preserved us
not from external threats,
maybe he has,
but more so,
in fact,
from the reckless
things that we would
do ourselves.
And from the ways
in which he has brought us
through troubled waters
and preserved us
from that chaos.
And also,
he says,
you have taken me,
and there's this wonderful
expression that he uses,
you surround me
with shouts of deliverance.
When I read that phrase
in Psalm 32,
actually,
I always think about
old kind of cowboy
and Indian westerns
or old war movies.
You know,
when the good guys,
you know,
defeat the enemy,
whether it's the Germans
coming and they're
beaten back in the fight
in a World War II movie,
or whether it's the Indians
that have come
and the cowboys
have beaten them back
and the sheriff
and all the rest
and they're beaten back.
And as they're running away,
you know,
the good guys are there
shouting for joy
because of the deliverance
that they've experienced.
There's a real cry
of happiness
that comes from
being victorious
and sharing in victory.
And David says,
you surround me
with these kind of shouts.
What David's actually doing there
is he's talking about
the character,
I think,
of a triune God.
Because when we think about it,
we can see the Father
operating in his love
towards us
as the ultimate safety
and shelter
and hiding place
for his people.
God the Father
is our solace.
He is the one
that we run to.
It's his love
that we shelter in.
That's where we find
our comfort
and our joy.
We're talking about
God the Son
and the grace
by which he delivers us
through his victory
at the cross,
offering himself
as one who will take away
our sin.
He is the one
who preserves us
in times of trouble,
the one who delivers us
from the evil one
who would attack us.
Or we think about
the Holy Spirit
who unites us to God
and to one another
and who literally
today
in this church
has surrounded you
with shouts of deliverance.
And that's one of the
most important things
really about corporate praise.
That's why we sing together.
We don't just participate
in watching someone
sing in worship.
We participate.
And often it's because
the people around us,
there's probably people
there sitting
who need to hear
the praise
of God's people.
And the Holy Spirit
has brought us here today
to participate in that.
And so when we pray,
let us pray
as people who know
God is jealous
for his own glory.
And let's remember
that our greatest happiness
lies
in being close
in agreement with that.
In aligning
our prayers
prayers
with God's
desire
for his own glory.
Now what does that
practically look like?
Just very briefly.
I think simply
it is that
this.
I would urge you
to spend time
sitting alone
reflecting
in adoration
on God's character
and expressing
that in his presence.
It's a challenging
discipline.
It's something
that I find
in fact
when it comes
we'll think about this
next week
God willing
but when it comes
to corporate prayer
this is something
that I find often
is lacking
because we don't
maybe do enough
of it in our
private prayer life.
It's just taking
the time
to express
adoration
for God
in his presence.
The second thing
I'm seeing the time
so we'll rattle
through the other points.
The second thing
is confession.
God
Jesus
teaching us
to pray
teaches us
to pray
forgive us
our debts
as we have
forgiven our debtors.
And
there's an awful lot
that we could say here
but it comes back
to
the primary
relationship
that we have
with God
just now
in this world.
We relate
to God
just now
in this world
as men
and women
who have
offended
a holy God
who have
affronted him
with our sin.
We haven't
lived as we should
we haven't
done what we should
we haven't
said the things
we should
we haven't
gone to the places
we should
we haven't
devoted ourselves
as we ought to
to a holy God
perhaps because
we don't adore him
enough.
We miss him.
we fall short
of the standard
that he has set
and
the great
challenge
for us
is to
recognize that
and to come
to God
to deal with it.
To come to God
and to acknowledge
our sin
so that we will be
continually fit
for his
presence.
I was trying
to think of a way
of illustrating
this and
what actually
you know my love
of movies
particularly science
fiction
I was thinking
about Star Trek
and sometimes
you see the
Enterprise
it's caught in the
grip of an
enormous force
maybe it's a
black hole
or something
but the ship
just can't
escape
and Kirk's
there on the
bridge
and he's
saying Scotty
you've got to
get us out of
here
you've got to
give us
everything we've
got
and Scotty
will come up
with some
completely
harebrained
ingenious plan
and he'll
say something
like I'll
eject the
warp core
and it'll
blow up
and so Scotty
ejects the
warp core
and it blows
up behind
the ship
and the
ship's set
free in an
instant
it just
like it
it hurtles
away from
the danger
and that's
what confession
is like in
the life of
the Christian
it's that we
have to
eject that
that sin
we have to
acknowledge that
sin
instead of
clinging on to
it
instead of
clinging on to
the crazy
idea that
our sin
isn't a
big deal
it needs to
get jettisoned
out the
back
and in
the great
grace of
God and
in the
love that
he shows
us and
in the
wonder of
the cross
and the
magnificence of
what Jesus
has done
that guilt
is taken
by Christ
and it's
replaced with
his righteousness
and we
are set
free
and we
can blast
off into
God's
service
and that
today is
why
confession
remains
so
important
in the
life of
the
Christian
we need
to keep
continually
divesting
ourselves
of all of
the stuff
that clings
to us
and slows
us down
we need
to lay
it all
before the
cross
of
Christ
and discover
that we
can be
set free
and
liberated
and
allowed
to go
on
so
there's
adoration
there's
confession
there's
also
thanksgiving
and
thanksgiving
in this
way of
thinking
about
our
life
and
prayer
you
almost
think
it's
strange
because
it's
not
explicitly
there
in the
Lord's
prayer
you
work
through
the
Lord's
prayer
you
can
read
through
it
you
don't
really
find
many
expressions
of
thankfulness
and
that's
a
good
and
important
question
for us
to maybe
ask
why
isn't
it
explicit
I
think
one of
the
reasons
is
because
Jesus
is
teaching
throughout
the
New
Testament
throughout
the
Gospels
there's
a
theme
emerges
and
the
theme
is
there
at
the
beginning
of
the
Lord's
prayer
our
Father
in
heaven
the
relationship
of
God's
people
of
Christians
to
God
the
Father
is
that
of
children
coming
to
a
Father
I
think
it's
really
important
to
understand
how
thankfulness
works
in that
context
and to
see that
in the
context
of a
relationship
with
God
as
Father
how
does
thankfulness
work
in your
family
does it
work
on the
basis
that
as
children
you
would
be
very
diligent
always
to
say
thanks
is
that
how
thankfulness
really
works
I
think
about
my
family
there's
times
where
the
kids
do
there's
times
where
they
don't
we
really
wish
when
they're
out
we
really
wish
that
they
would
always
say
thanks
to
people
who
give
them
something
so
there's
a
place
for
saying
thank
you
it's
really
important
but
actually
the
real
thankfulness
that
children
have
I
think
for
their
parents
for
their
for
the
provision
that's
made
for
them
in
their
homes
it
really
gets
expressed
in the
boldness
in which
they
come
they
appreciate
the
provision
that's
been
made
for
them
they
rely
willingly
joyfully
on
their
parents
breakfast
is going
to be
there
for
them
dinner
is going
to be
there
for
them
lifts
are going
to be
there
for
them
when
they
want
to
see
their
pals
and
it's
not
that
they
come
with
it's
not
that
they
come
with
a
greediness
about
that
but
it's
rather
that
they
don't
come
to
parents
who
are
going
to
be
begrudging
in
what
they
do
they
joyfully
ask
and
I think
that's
why
when
Paul
talks
about
prayer
with
thanksgiving
it's
that
sense
of
asking
boldly
for
things
and
asking
for
big
things
of
God
because
we
have
that
boldness
to
come
to
him
because
we
are
so
thankful
for how
he has
always
answered
us
that we
learn
that God
is a
worthy
loving
parent
the perfect
example of
what a
parent would
be
and so
therefore we
can come to
him with that
sense of
boldness
and you see it
in Psalm 32
where David
talks there about
the blessing of the
one whose
transgression is
forgiven
the great
happiness
that that
person
has
because
his
life
is so
closely
aligned
to
God's
priorities
sin
is dealt
with
the glory
of God
is advanced
and David
what he's
really saying
that is
he's
discovered
that God
in his
great provision
is someone
that he can
rest on
and joyfully
trust
in
and therefore
thankfulness
becomes
just an
automatic
overflow
in the
continual
expression
of his
life
and so
when we
want to
think about
our
prayer
life
that's
where
thankfulness
has to
come into
it
isn't it
that we're
continually
expressing
our thanks
to God
directly
yes
but that
actually
more so
our prayer
life
and our
dependence
on God
is informed
by that
experience
of his
faithfulness
that God
has always
been there
for us
that God
has always
secured us
that God
has always
made it
safe for us
has always
made it
possible for
us to go
forward
even when we
are surrounded
by distress
where grief
comes in
like a flood
he's still
there
and he
still gives
himself
as our
highest
reward
until we
come to
him
continually
with
thankfulness
which
ultimately
feeds into
all of
our
requests
the S
in this
word
is
supplication
so we
have
adoration
confession
thanksgiving
supplication
I hinted
at it at the
beginning
it's a very
familiar
structure
those of
you who
have been
Christians
a long
time
have heard
and used
the
acts
way of
thinking
about
prayer
but we
come to
God
with all
of our
requests
whether
they are
big
things
or small
things
it's
illustrated
in the
Lord's
prayer
with the
expressions
give us
this day
our daily
bread
on the
face of
it
that's
such a
simple
prayer
isn't
it
give us
bread
for today
but you
know when
you
burrow
into it
and you
start to
see
what
does
daily
bread
actually
involve
it's
not just
that there's
an entire
food chain
behind that
that has
to deliver
for you
it's
that there's
an entire
emotional
chain
behind that
that has
to be
there
and supportive
of you
as well
it's not
enough
simply to
have
bread
you need
to have
love
and affection
and family
and care
around you
so Lord
give us
this day
that
give us
this day
the means
to have
the bread
so it's
a prayer
for employment
and the
structures
for employment
to be in
place
they're
vast
it needs
society
to be
at peace
for society
to function
for trade
to operate
all of these
things have
to be in
place
for us
to have
jobs
there has
to be
someone
levying
taxes
to pay
for you
as a
teacher
or as
a fireman
or whatever
else it
might be
I mean the
prayer
give us
this day
our daily
bread
is not
a small
thing
at all
it's an
enormous
vast
prayer
for daily
provision
to be
made
in our
lives
and for
God
to bless
us
and to
keep
us
and then
on the
other end
of the
scale
you almost
think
well
they
deliver us
from evil
and you're
thinking
well
evil
that's such
a little
thing
but it's
not
the words
in the
prayer
are actually
used
to speak
of delivering
us
from
the evil
one
from Satan
himself
the great
enemy
of the
church
who is
going about
like a
roaring
lion
seeking
whom he
may
devour
that's
the
battlefield
that we
are in
the conflict
that we
are involved
in as
Christians
it is a
conflict
against
cosmic
powers
far
beyond
the
things
that we
see
in this
world
and be
no doubt
Satan
that great
evil
one
is out
to get
you
that's
why the
Christian
armor
in
Ephesians
6
ends
with a
point
of
prayer
that having
done all
we will
stand
and pray
and so
today
as we
think about
this
and as
we
wonder
how
is it
that we
can
experience
the
greatest
happiness
let us
remember
it is to
be found
in close
agreement
with God
in praying
according to
God's will
and the
things that
God has
willed for
us to
pray
the things
that God
has shown
us
the things
that he
teaches
us to
pray
for
they are
these
four
things
adoration
of him
of his
character
they are
confession
of our
sins
there is
a spirit
of
thanksgiving
that has
to
underline
all of
this
and then
a coming
with an
expectation
for the
greatest
and most
profound
of help
in our
lives
and that
is not
I want to
finish by
saying this
that is not
merely
a formula
for how
you pray
that's not
merely a
formula for
the sort
of things
that you
would go
through as
a checklist
and say
well my
prayer tonight
when I go
to bed
I want to
pray in
adoration
of God
I want
to confess
my sins
I want
to give
thanks for
all of his
goodness to
me today
and I want
to ask
him for
his help
and everything
that lies
ahead of me
tomorrow
I mean
that's fine
but actually
that same
template
in a way
is a
pattern
for Christian
living
it's a
pattern
for what
characterizes
the whole
of your
Christian
life
day by
day
and that
if you
seek to
walk
in close
harmony
with God
and to
know his
friendship
and his
fellowship
then these
are the
things
that you
would
prioritize
and make
much of
let's pray
to him
just now
heavenly
father you
are good
and we
rejoice in
that love
that you
have towards
your people
we rejoice
today that
you are a
god who
wants to
save
sinners
you are a
god today
who wants
to bring
us
as the
finished
article
of that
salvation
to be a
worthy
bride of
christ
in the
new heavens
and the
new earth
and so
all that
you are
doing
is designed
towards
growing our
character
and shaping
us
and so
we pray
today that
we would
learn to
adore you
for who
you are
that we
would come
speedily to
confess our
sin
that we
wouldn't hide
these things
from you
that we
would discover
the liberty
that belongs
to people
who walk
closely with
their god
and may we
know therefore
the greatest
happiness
the greatest
blessing
in our
lives
in knowing
you
and following
after you
help us in
this we pray
and we ask
it all in
jesus name
amen
we are going
to sing in
conclusion in
the scottish
psalter the
second half
of the blue
book
psalm 116
singing at the
beginning
this is page
395
and we're going
to sing
four stanzas
verses one
to six
in conclusion
today
i love the
lord because
my voice
and prayers
heeded here
while i live
will call on
him
who bowed
to me
his ear
the great
truth of the
bible that
god who
sits in
heaven
has bowed
down his
ear to hear
what his
people are
saying on
earth
and he
hears us
and he
answers us
and he is
full of
grace in
what he
does
so let's
stand and
sing to
his praise
these verses
from one to
five
one to six
or to god's
praise
i love
the lord
because my
voice and
prayers
heeded
here
i love
the lord
because my
voice and
prayers
heeded
here
i
!
i
will fall
on
him
who
will
to
me
!
is
near
!
of death
the
hearts
and
sorrows
did
about
me
come
thus
right
the
things
of
heaven
to
ward
on
me
cry
my soul, O Lord, I do thee hungry pray.
O merciful and righteous is, yea, gracious is our Lord.
O sister me, I was brought to, he did me help her for.
Now the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit be with each one of you now and always. Amen.
Amen.