As Chris already said, we are launching into three preacher's choice passages, if you like,
over the next couple of weeks.
And I decided today that we would have a look at prayer.
Prayer is something that I personally need to grow significantly in,
but it is something worth wrestling with for all of us, I thought.
So I'm not speaking today as somebody who is on top of it,
but someone who hopefully, like you, desires to get better at it
and to utilise the gift that God's given us.
So how about we pray and ask that God will help all of us as we work into it.
Father God, we thank and praise you for your incredible love for us.
We thank you for your grace that we were reminded of this morning by Josh,
that you use weak and unworthy vessels like us to achieve your purposes.
And Lord, I ask that you would use me in that way this morning.
I pray for all of us that we would have soft, teachable hearts to hear you speak.
Lord, and ultimately we ask that you would be glorified
as our lives are transformed.
Amen.
We have a unique ability to transform something that is given to us as a gift
into something that we think we are entitled to.
I've noticed this in a whole bunch of different spheres of life,
but in particular, in my previous ministry job,
I was working in a church in Castle Hill.
And we took all of our kids away for a camp in summer.
And it was quite a big camp.
We had over 400 people go away for the week.
And part of the week away was leadership training for our just graduated year 12s.
And we called them Servant Squad.
They referred to themselves as Slave Squad.
But we went for the more biblical word of servant.
And basically their job for the week was we wanted them to know that leadership is hard
and we wanted them to know that it involves doing the jobs that no one else wants to do.
So for them, camp started a day early when they had to drive down to the campsite
and turn an empty gymnasium into an auditorium to facilitate meetings for 400 people.
They had to, you know, abseil up onto the rafters to hang speakers
so that we could have a sound system.
They had to put all the chairs out.
But during the week, they did all of our mealtimes.
They would be the ones in the kitchen.
They would be the ones setting up.
They would be the ones cleaning up.
And whenever they had spare time, we would invent jobs for them to do.
One year, they spent seven days putting bark on the garden.
Even though it already had bark, it needed a bit of a freshen up.
So they were shoveling bark into bins,
walking it to the different parts of the gardens throughout the campsite,
and then spreading it out.
All along the way, opening the Bible to be reminded of what leadership looks like.
But one of the interesting side effects of this Servant Squad program that we had,
which was a really great thing,
was that after a couple of years,
we got to the point where kids on camp didn't want to do anything.
It used to be normal that as a kid, you went on camp,
and somewhere in the week, you would have to help clean up after a meal.
You would be on an orderly's roster.
And we thought, what a great way to bless them by taking that away
and having some people serve them.
And it was amazing how a few years down the track,
when we designed a special dinner for Servant Squad to say thank you,
the one night out of seven where they didn't have to do orderly's,
and the complaints we got from kids,
because one time out of 21 meals,
they had to go into the kitchen for 15 minutes
to just wash their plates off, put them into the dishwasher.
It is incredible how we can take something that is a gift
and suddenly think that it's something we deserve,
something we're entitled to.
I think that is the way that we have kind of taken the gift of prayer.
We have this thing that God has given to us,
this access to himself,
and somewhere in our minds, we have shifted from thinking,
what a privilege that I can speak to the creator of the universe.
And we have thought, why isn't he listening?
Why isn't he answering with what I want,
when I want at this particular time?
Why is he whinging about the way that I pray?
We have this sense that he should listen to me.
I've got important things to say.
There's major things happening in my life.
I mean, what, has he got better things to do?
And we take this gift,
and suddenly we pervert it,
and it becomes something that we think is a right.
But thankfully, God challenges us in his word,
and I want to have a look at the passage that Wendy read out for us,
and hopefully a passage that is fairly familiar for many of us,
because in it, Jesus teaches us how we should pray.
Say that again.
He teaches us how we should pray,
not necessarily what we should pray.
The Lord's Prayer is a good prayer to pray out loud,
but it begins in verse 9.
This is the prayer he used to teach his disciples how to pray,
not what to pray.
So, simple things.
We're going to go...
There's two points.
Because I'm time poor,
and I need to follow Josh's fantastic example of word efficiency,
I'm going to keep it very simple.
First thing we need to remember about prayer
is that, one, it is all about God.
Sounds simple, but have a look.
Verse 9.
This, then, is how you should pray.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
There's two incredible tensions wrapped up in that verse there,
which we need to carry together
when we come before God in prayer.
Firstly,
God is our Father.
We have a free access to Him,
an intimate access to Him,
but that doesn't change the fact
that He is hallowed,
that He is holy,
that He is mighty,
that He is majestic,
that He is creator,
that He is judge,
that He is completely other than us,
that His perfection is so complete
that for us in our sinful state to come near Him
would be for us to burn up and be consumed.
The whole Old Testament reminds us
that there is a necessary distance
between a holy God and sinful people.
All of Israel's worship,
all of their gatherings,
were mediated.
They had priests between them and God
because God was so holy
that He would destroy them.
They had sacrifices
to try and appease their mistakes
and His holiness.
Isaiah, in chapter 6 of Isaiah,
feels that he is ruined
when he lays eyes on God
because he can see that God is perfect
and He is not.
And he knows that it would be good and right
for God to destroy him
simply for having seen
the perfection of God.
We need to remember
and we need to be reminded
that when we come to pray,
when we open our mouth
to speak to God,
we are not just speaking
to our Heavenly Father.
We are,
but He is still
the Holy Creator God.
I remember,
it's quite a few years ago now,
but I remember when President Obama
had just become president.
Now, like him or hate him,
he had just become
one of the most powerful men
in the Western world.
He suddenly was the commander-in-chief
of one of the most significant
military forces in the world.
He had the power
to do a whole bunch of harm
and a whole bunch of good.
But I remember a picture,
it was a news story or something,
and it wasn't him speaking to camera,
it was just footage of him.
And he was chatting
to some other politicians,
but his daughters came up to him.
And at that point,
he stopped talking
to those politicians
and he played with his kids
for just a second.
And I remember looking at it thinking,
wow, those girls are so lucky.
They get free access
to the most powerful man
in the Western world.
They can call him dad,
and I'm pretty sure
no one else gets away with that.
They get to just run up to him
and hug him
when he's in the middle of stuff
because they have
a special relationship with him
and they are entitled
to his access
in a way that no one else is
because they are his children.
But that doesn't change
who he is.
It doesn't change
the power that he has.
It doesn't change
the significance
of him being president.
It's just that they
are in a special relationship
with him
that means they get
to interact with him
in a unique manner.
But he is still
the president
with his finger
on the trigger
of nuclear weapons.
And it is helpful
for us to realize
that when we come
to pray to our heavenly father,
which is a special,
privileged relationship
where we can run
and we can call him dad
and we can hug him
and we can know
that he is willing to listen
and eager to listen,
that doesn't change
who God is.
He is still
the God who made us.
He is still the God
who is perfect
in every way.
He is still the God
who will not let
the guilty go unpunished.
He is still the God
of absolute holiness
and inapproachable light.
He is still God.
Secondly,
in being all about God,
verse 10,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth
as it is in heaven.
Don't underestimate
what is said
in those two lines.
That is a scary
prayer to pray.
It's a great prayer
to pray,
but when you say
your kingdom come,
you are saying
Jesus come back
and everything
that goes with that.
You are inviting
Jesus to come back
and subdue his enemies
and inaugurate his kingdom
for those who belong to him.
That is an exciting day,
but that is a terrifying day
for those who do not
know the King of Kings.
That is a scary prayer
to pray,
but it is a great prayer
to pray
because Jesus encourages us to.
But understand
the weight of it.
So often we go
through the motion
of saying the Lord's Prayer
in church
without maybe realizing
the significance
of what we say.
When you pray
for God's will
to be done
on earth
as in heaven,
are you actually prepared
for what that will
might cost you?
When you pray
for God's will
to be done,
are you praying,
God,
do whatever you want
with me,
even if that means
taking everything
away from me
like you did Job
so that you can
be glorified?
Is that a prayer
you want answered?
Because that's what
you're saying
when you say
your will be done.
You're saying,
God,
whatever you want
for your purposes,
your way,
because you're God
and I'm not.
We need to be
very aware
of what we say
when we pray
because prayer
is all about
God's agenda.
It's all about
who He is.
It's all about
what He wants to do
and we're reminded
in those just two lines,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
that prayer
is powerful.
I mean,
it seems almost trivial
to pray for the little things.
We pray for a parking spot.
We pray for good weather
for our picnic.
We pray for all these things
and look,
they're not bad things.
They're good things
but do you ever think
maybe God is sitting up
on His throne
and thinking,
is that all?
That's easy.
Haven't you got something
significant
that you want me to do?
The world is mine.
I made it.
Everything is accountable to me
and I'm encouraging you
to pray for my kingdom.
I'm encouraging you
to pray for everything.
There is a challenge
in this prayer
to lift our eyes
beyond our immediate.
There's nothing wrong
with praying
for your sick auntie
or uncle
or husband
or wife
or grandson.
Those are good prayers
but God has a bigger vision
for the part
that prayer might play
in our life.
He wants us
to be desperate
for His desire.
He wants us
to see nations
that don't know Him yet
and come before Him
and beg Him
to do the miraculous.
He wants us
to look for the completely
unlovable,
unsavable,
for the Catherine Devonies
of the world
and He wants us
to see His desire
that she might come
to know forgiveness
and salvation
and He wants
that to fill
our prayers.
His kingdom,
His will,
prayer is always
about God.
We're encouraged
in Ephesians 3
that God can do
immeasurably more
than we ask
or imagine
and we have
the smallest requests.
We have a catchphrase
that we use
in our youth ministry team
which is
ask big
and expect bigger.
prayer.
Let's lift our eyes
to what God sees
when He looks
at the world
and what His desire is
and know that He can
do immeasurably more
than even that.
We firmly believe
in our youth ministry
that we have
the teenagers
that God can
and will use
to transform
the earth.
Not to transform
our church,
not to transform
our suburb,
to transform
the earth.
That's what we're
asking God to do
and we know
He can do more.
So we're asking
big and we're expecting
bigger because
prayer is about God
it's not about me.
Prayer is about
what He wants
it's not about
what I want.
Prayer is about
what He can do
not what I think
He can do.
God is unlimited
in His power
and we need to
lift our eyes
and remember
that this gift
of prayer
is a connection
to the supreme
being
and utilize
that incredible gift.
First one was
prayer is all
about God.
Second one,
this then
is how
you should pray.
The Lord's Prayer,
verse 9 again,
this then
is how
you should pray.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done
on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us today
our daily bread,
forgive us our debts
as we also have
forgiven our debtors
and lead us
not into temptation
but deliver us
from the evil one.
How should you pray?
Regularly.
Give us today
our daily bread.
Just catch that.
Today,
what I need for today.
It might include bread
but that phrase
is kind of
whatever you need
to be alive today
and to do what God
needs you today,
ask today
for what you need today
which means tomorrow
you're going to need
to ask tomorrow
for what you need tomorrow
and the next day
you're going to have
to ask again.
God is saying
prayer is not a one-off
God can you just
cover me from here on in
and I probably won't need
to sit down
and pray anymore.
Now that's a valid prayer
and God can quite
capably answer that
but that's not
how prayer works.
Prayer is an opportunity
for us to come before God
and admit that we need Him.
It's not even that
in praying
we begin to need Him.
We need Him.
He sustains all things.
Prayer is His gift
to remind us
that we need Him.
It's His gift
for us to be able
to talk to Him
and just sit down
and say
God I actually can't
do anything without you.
I need you for sunshine
for the picnic.
I need you for oxygen
so I can breathe
and be alive.
I need you for energy
to do my job.
I need you to sustain me
for anything
and everything
because all things
come from the hand
of our Creator.
So if you need anything
He is the place
that you can get it.
So you should go to Him
regularly
and ask Him.
This prayer
is so all encompassing.
It includes material things.
It includes spiritual things.
There in verse 11 to 13
you've got daily bread
but then you've also got
the forgiveness
of debts and debtors.
You've got
leading away from temptation.
What should you be praying for?
Everything.
Anything.
Pray for that parking spot.
Pray for Catherine Devaney.
Pray for those
struggling with hunger
and oppression
and suffering.
Pray for sickness.
Pray for money.
Pray for health.
Pray for the unsaved.
Pray for an end to poverty.
Confess your sin.
Pray for wisdom.
Pray for strength
when you're struggling.
Pray that you can
resist temptation.
Pray in thankfulness.
Pray to praise God.
Pray for everything
because when we ask
we exalt God.
We say God
you are the one
who gives me everything.
You are the one
that I need
for my life.
I remember when I was younger
as a teenager
being told
asking is great in prayer
but don't ask too much.
You need to make sure
you balance out
the asking with the thanks
as if God needs to be
kind of placated
if we're going to ask
for things.
There's lots of acronyms
for prayer.
Things like acts,
adoration,
confession,
thanksgiving
and supplication
which no one ever understood
so we called it shopping list.
And it had to come last.
You had to make sure
you'd done your adoration,
your confession,
your thanksgiving
before you gave God
your shopping list.
And look,
I understand the sentiment
and it is good for us
to praise God
and do all those sort of things
but asking
is what this prayer
that Jesus teaches
is full of.
Have a look at it.
Your kingdom come.
He's saying
God,
please bring your kingdom.
That's a request.
Your will be done.
Give us our bread.
Forgive us.
Lead us.
Deliver us.
It's asking.
It's requests.
You do praise God.
You do adore God
when you ask him for things
because what you're saying is
God,
you're the one who provides.
You're the good God
who gives.
You're the heavenly Father
who loves me enough
to want to give me good things.
Asking is good
and right
and appropriate
and it shows
that we are depending
on God.
We need Jesus
for everything.
For breath.
For life.
And of course
for doing God's will.
I firmly believe
after reflecting on this prayer
and reflecting on scripture
that
fundamentally
the beginning of sin
is not praying.
Say that again.
Fundamentally
I believe
that the beginning of sin
is not praying
because the second
you choose not to pray
you reject God
as the one
that you need.
You reject him
as the one
who sustains you.
You reject him
as the one
who holds
all of the earth
in his hands.
You reject him
as the one
to whom you are
accountable
for your whole life
and you become
self-dependent
which is sin.
Prayer could not
be more significant.
It is a gift
from God
to us
for our sake.
He is sovereign.
He knows
what we're going to ask.
This passage even says it.
Don't babble
like the pagans.
They think
they'll be heard
because of their many words.
Verse 8.
Do not be like them
for your father
knows what you need
before you ask.
He doesn't give us
prayer so that we can
remind him of things
that are going on.
He dwells in us
and he knows us
intimately
but he gives us
prayer
so that we might
be reminded
that we need him.
So that we might
verbalize
that we need him.
So that we might
express
that we
need
him.
How do you pray?
Pray regularly
because you need
Jesus
always.
Secondly
pray with
integrity.
It's really easy
to say things
without actually
having any meaning
or weight
behind those words.
I remember
as a teenager
occasionally
I would have
a romantic
relationship
that didn't work
out the way
that I anticipated
that it would
at the start.
As a teenager
for me
a long romantic
relationship
was about
three weeks.
That's not
what I set
out to do
but that's
just the way
it panned
out.
And I remember
the conversation
that you would
have as a
relationship
would break
down.
And it's
amazing
the words
that you
would say
in order
to try
and prevent
tears
on the other
side of
the conversation
when in
reality
it's not
exactly
what you
were thinking.
Phrases
like
I'm just
not ready
for a
relationship
right now.
It's not
you
it's me.
Now
when I say
I'm not
ready for
a relationship
what I mean
is
until I
find somebody
who I
actually
like
I'm not
ready for
a relationship
right now.
And when I
say it's
not you
it's me
I mean
it's you
who makes
me annoyed.
So you
can actually
say the
words
but there's
no integrity
behind them.
You don't
mean it.
It's like
the kid
who says
sorry
when they
get caught
waits for
you to
leave
and starts
doing
exactly
the same
thing.
It matters
that we
pray
with
integrity.
That what
we are
saying
with our
words
reflects
the
posture
of
our
heart.
In
verse 12
we are
encouraged
to pray
forgive us
our debts
as we
also have
forgiven
our debtors.
If we are
going to
approach
God
requesting
and embracing
and rejoicing
in his
grace and
forgiveness
to us
we are
challenged
here
that to
ask for
something
that we
are not
willing to
offer
is
inconsistent.
Prayer is
not a
vending
machine
for us
simply
to gain
things.
Prayer is
a means
of us
growing
closer
to
God
and
part
of
that
is
our
heart
being
shaped
to
reflect
him
as
well.
It's
not
that
us
forgiving
others
earns
our
forgiveness
from
God
in
prayer.
It's
not
like
if
you
have
failed
to
forgive
someone
and
you
come
and
pray
and
ask
God
for
forgiveness
he
will
say
no.
But
there
is
this
sense
that
as
we
are
forgiven
by
God
we
begin
to
lose
the
ability
to
not
show
forgiveness.
Suddenly
we realise
we are
completely
unworthy
selfish
sinful
despicable
human
beings
who
God
loves
anyway
and
it
gets
really
hard
to
look
down
on
other
people.
We
need
to
pray
with
integrity
as
we
come
to
God
and
request
his
goodness
we
need
to
reflect
on
our
own
lives
parts
of our
lives
that
may
not
line
up
with
what
it
means
to
follow
Jesus.
We
need
to
be
willing
to
confess
honestly
and
openly
where
we've
fallen
short
and
we
need
to
cry
out
for
God's
guidance
willing
to
pay
the
cost
when
he
guides
us
maybe
where
we
didn't
want
to
go.
When
you
ask
for
God's
will
to
be
done
do
you
say
those
words
with
integrity
ready
to
follow
wherever
he
might
when
you
ask
him
to
use
your
life
as
he
pleases
do
you
mean
it
and
if
not
confess
it
acknowledge
that
you
are
failing
in
that
and
ask
that
God
would
shape
your
heart
so
you
can
pray
those
words
confidently
lastly
on
integrity
we need
to pray
out of
our
hearts
let me
read
verse
5
to
8
again
when
you
pray
do
not
be
like
the
hypocrites
for
they
love
to
pray
standing
prayer
is not
an
exercise
in
showing
off
prayer
is not
an
exercise
in
practicing
your
communication
skills
prayer
is an
exercise
in
trust
in
Jesus
it
is
an
active
expression
of
faith
God
already
knows
your
words
before
you
open
your
mouth
so
don't
fluff
about
tell
him
what
you
want
I
was
challenged
recently
that
often
we
try
and
do
the
holy
version
of
prayer
dear
God
I
have
a
sick
grandmother
so
if
it's
your
will
make
it
better
if
not
help
me
to be
okay
with
that
now
that's
not
a
wrong
prayer
but
what
do
I
really
want
I
want
my
grandmother
to be
better
I
want
that
sickness
to be
fixed
God
knows
that's
what
I
want
it's
not
like
that
extra
half
sentence
has
tricked
God
into
thinking
I'm
holier
than
I
really
am
be
honest
day
ooh
be
honest
to
trust
him
anyway
to
trust
in
his
goodness
and
rejoice
in
the
fact
that
I
already
prayed
that
he
is
God
and
I
am
not
and
I
need
to
trust
that
his
will
is
been
done
and
not
mine
pray honestly from your heart let the way we pray in public whether it's leading at the front
whether it's in small groups whether it's in our bible studies be an overflow of the way we cry out
to god regularly and honestly in our own day-to-day devotions and finally how do you pray pray intimately
prayer is no longer our phone line to a distant god off in heaven somewhere
we're reminded in ephesians that those of us who were far have been brought near by the blood of
jesus because jesus has died and jesus has risen and he sits on the throne now we are told in the
new testament that we sit in the heavenlies that we are sitting in the throne room of god right now
and we have free access to our heavenly father so you can cry out daddy you can cry out father
you can pray direct jesus our brother
jesus god the son pleads on our behalf and so we pray confident that our loving heavenly father answers
we pray thankful even before he answers because we know from romans 8 that he's always working for our
good
so we can have an honest regular and intimate relationship with the god of heaven
we need jesus for everything especially for our prayer
prayer is a gift in which god gives us free access to our holy god
even with him it's not a right it's a gift
it's a gracious invitation from our heavenly father
prayer is an expression of faith prayer is praise prayer is dependence on god prayer is love for god and
it's love for one another prayer is a gift in which god gives us free access to himself and so we
must pray
we need to
let's do that now
father god we want to acknowledge that so often we misuse good things that you give us
so often we waste opportunities
but lord we ask that you would change us that you would shape our hearts to recognize that we need you
to make us people who rejoice in the fact that we need to fall on our knees and cry out to you for even the most
minuscule task in our lives
because everything that we have comes from you
we want to thank and praise you for jesus
who has died on the cross and risen so that we have clear and free access to you in heaven
god i pray that we would be people
who come before you regularly
and with integrity and desperately and intimately
and cry out to you to have your way in our lives
who plead with you that you would bring your kingdom on the earth
that your will would be done
lord give us eyes to see what it is that you are doing
that we might rejoice thankfully
give us confidence to bring our anxieties and our burdens to you
knowing that you're here
and you promise to answer
father when we open our mouths to speak to you
may we grasp the gravity
of what it is to speak
with the creator
may we grasp
the love that you have shown us
that we call you
father and friend
father thank you for this gift
thank you for all that you give us and all that you do
please glorify yourself in us
amen