now can we turn together in our bibles to the book of matthew matthew chapter 6
and we'll read from verse 5 to verse 13 and hear what jesus says about prayer here
and when you pray do not be like the hypocrites for they love to pray standing in the synagogues
and on the street corners to be seen by others truly i tell you they have received their reward
in full but when you pray go into your room close the door and pray to your father who is unseen
then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you now when you pray do not keep on
babbling like pagans for they think they will be heard because of their many words do not be like
them for your father knows what you need before you ask him 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 and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors
and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one amen
it is fair to say that most people at some point in their lives will pray even if that is
somewhat vague and it's kind of a new age spirituality kind of thing most people will still at certain
points in life praying um and what jesus does for us is he reveals to us the difference between sort of a
vague spirituality that's sort of not sure what a person is connecting with and jesus shows how different
that is from the christian way of prayer because the new reality that jesus brings is that when he came
he always prayed to his father and he invites his followers after him to pray calling god our father so he's
inviting us into a relationship through prayer which is personal which is living which is direct this is a whole
other level of connection than anything sort of vague and impersonal
to read the gospels we discovered that the way jesus prayed often shocked the people around him it shocked
the pharisees who thought he was so presumptuous to dare to call god father
this kind of praying christian praying often shocks people of other faiths as well
and not used to this familiar kind of language it makes me think of one biography of a muslim convert
with the title i dared to call him father so the radical change of coming to be a follower of jesus
j.i packer a significant theologian from the last century says what we think about the fatherhood of god
it reveals much about our grasp of christianity how we understand god as father it will shape
our worship and our prayer and our way of life so our focus today and there's so much that we could say
about prayer so much we could say about how to pray our focus today is just to to bed ourselves into
this privilege and that we are invited by faith in jesus to pray to our father
that that our goal today would be to remind those of us who are christians simply of the joy and the
privilege that we have in being known by god as father in being able to call him father so that we
would enjoy our prayer life because we're enjoying our life with god and so the flip side of that if if
you're here today and you're not a christian um that you would see the beauty of the invitation of
christianity not to to know some impersonal a disconnected deity but to know god in a living
personal way as father how to pray but we're going to begin actually part part one today we're going to
think about how not to pray because that's how jesus begins in verses five to eight if you have your
bibles perhaps you can look at that section there when you pray jesus says do not be like the
hypocrites when you pray do not keep on babbling like pagans notice that jesus assumes that people
pray and we see this in our culture we see it when when a crisis comes or a tragedy comes
even if people are not of faith we will see a praying emojis and people talking about prayer
but jesus assumes yes people will pray but also that people may often go wrong in prayer
because we either miss or forget the character of god if we forget god is father if we don't know god
as father then then there'll be something lacking in our prayers and jesus points out two different ways
there's the way of the the hypocrite or the pharisee and jesus makes the point
to those who are listening don't try to use god so the pharisees did so so the example that that jesus
gives here is of a person who is doing their private prayer in public now let me find the busiest place
of the city the synagogue or or the meeting point of two streets and let me pray privately but publicly
why jesus says because what they're looking for is not to connect with god but to gain reputation and
standing in other words their religion is a means to an end their audience is people and not the living
god so jesus identifies this problem that we can easily use prayer as a means to an end jesus says
there's no reward in that well some people in this case might give them a well done for being very
religious but they wouldn't know god any better they wouldn't have enjoyed time with him what does
jesus say when you pray pray in secret then your father who sees what's done in secret will reward you
why does he talk about praying in secret praying before the audience of one when we pray in secret when we
want to spend time alone with god we have this wonderful promise that jesus meets his children there
the reward of making time alone with god the reward is that we get more of god it doesn't enhance our
reputation or standing we're not doing it simply to get stuff we want to know god better there's reward
in that and so there's a reminder for us at the beginning that we must meet god in secret we must meet god
personally perhaps if we've been brought up in a christian family or we're used to going to church we can
we can almost sort of gain our our prayer by by extension but god wants it to be personal and living for each one of us
in a sense there is a such a difference in jesus and the bible will say there's a difference between
knowing about god and pharisees and the hypocrites knew plenty about god and knowing god in a living way in a
direct way perhaps it reminds us to to be careful about the way that we pray the balance of our prayers you know it could be easy i
suspect for us to think about god as the sort of cosmic vending machine you know i i bring my prayer i put it in the
slot and i expect god to deliver
god is personal god is living and we pray to enjoy him
as father
so we don't pray like the hypocrites we also don't pray like the pagans what did the pagans do they kept on babbling and why did they do that
they're trying to force god
to conform to their plans and purposes so so the pagan thinking about god was
the gods there many got the gods must be persuaded
so so there needed to be cared about the volume of prayer the length of prayer the type of words that we use the location that a person pray the sacrifices that were brought
and perhaps the best place in the bible to see this is in the old testament story of elijah and the prophets of baal
elijah sets up the test for the sake of israel
let's let's build two altars two sacrifices and the god who answers by fire is the one true god and what do we see from the prophets of baal we see them
shouting and screaming and dancing and cutting themselves with knives all trying to get the attention of their god
and then elijah comes and prays personally
directly and god answers because god alone
is living
but the pagan way of thinking and perhaps
in our own hearts we recognize this some of us maybe because of our background or our circumstances
our natural thought
about god is that his instinct is to be in the first place
against us
and what i need to do is
earn god's attention
earn god's favor
and sometimes that means prayer can be used in a way to try and twist god's arm because we presume he is naturally not
for us
what does jesus say
he says don't be like them
just stop
stop and remember
we pray to a father
verse 8
do not be like them for your father knows what you need
before you ask him
he is father he loves us
he is father he welcomes us
he's the perfect father
he already knows what we need
and if you've got your bible
and you turn over to chapter 7
he gives that wonderful picture
which of you if your son asks for bread will give him a stone
hopefully nobody
or if he asks for a fish will give him a snake
again no one would do that
and then jesus says
if you then though you are evil
know how to give good gifts to your children
how much more
will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him
we come to a god who is generous
who is gracious
who is for his children
so we don't need to be like the pagans
we don't need fancy language
we don't need repeating phrases
and we don't need a mindset that says
i need to prove myself
to earn god's attention
our father in heaven is not like
a busy politician
or a busy work manager
where we need to
harass him with constant calls
and emails
to persuade him
that we could get
a minute of his time
actually our father is much more like
those zoom calls
that you've maybe been on
i was on one this week
and it made me think of this
maybe a work call
lots of responsible
responsible people in the room
and especially this happened a lot
during lockdown i think
you'd be in the middle of a meeting
important things being discussed
and maybe there's a dad on the call
and all of a sudden
the screen goes blank
and the next second
he's back
and he's got a kid on his knee
and there's another kid in the background
and coming in
and getting attention
and that's what our father is like
he's not too busy for us
where we do not distract him
he wants to know us
he wants us to spend time with him
and to trust his character
to know that we're free
to burst into the room
to approach with confidence
so we don't pray to force god
and also we don't pray
to try and impress god
when we know the gospel
we know that
jesus in his perfect obedience
in his sacrificing himself
for the sins of his people
has impressed god
and has earned favor for us
earned the grace of god
for us
so we pray trusting the gospel
and we pray trusting our good father
so just before we move to the lord's prayer
how do you today
view your life with god
perhaps you have read
some of those heartbreaking stories
that gets reported in the news
or perhaps in biographies
of children who are adopted
by a loving stable family
but they never managed to adapt
to that new surrounding
perhaps they never had a mum and dad
and so they continue to act like orphans
the lying continues
manipulating continues
perhaps hoarding food continues
love is there
in the house
but
but some
for a whole number of sad reasons
just can't receive it
perhaps thinking
I'm not worthy of this love
perhaps instinctively distrustful
of
another
would that describe our life with god
remember that trusting in jesus
trusting his death on the cross
to pay the price for our sin
changes our relationship
god is no longer our judge
he becomes our father
and the way is open through jesus
to know and enjoy
life with our father in heaven
to pray to him
to walk with him
that love is ours
and fellowship is ours
and security is ours
and peace is found
in our father
so it's an invitation for us to hear
jesus words
not to live as spiritual orphans
not to live at a distance from god
but to enjoy the privilege of being adopted
by our father in heaven
and pray to him as father
so if the first part of jesus teaching
is about how not to pray
he turns in verse 9 to 13
to teach us
how to pray
so from verse 9
to verse 13
whenever we're
learning anything
a new skill
it will typically be the case
that we are taught
certain key concepts
foundations are laid
upon which we then build
you need to learn the piano
well you probably get scales
coming fairly early
you need to learn a new language
you will get taught
the rules of grammar
and so on
and what jesus is doing
in the lord's prayer
is he's giving us a model
here is a pattern
here is a set of concepts
that we can pray
and use
and build on
to give shape
to our prayer lives
so yes we can use them
as they are
but also we can take the ideas
and we can expand them
and we can begin
to pray them
personally
and that's actually
what we're going to do
in our community groups
on Wednesday
to think about
how we can take
the lord's prayer
as a pattern
and to allow personal prayer
to flow from that
but just before we get
into the details
a few things to say
first of all
that the lord's prayer
gives the priority
of jesus
for us
for prayer
in the sense
that what comes first
is the glory of god
and the kingdom of god
probably runs counter
to the natural instincts
of our hearts
especially if we're
our tendency is to pray
when we need something
we want to rush straight
to you know
give us today
our bonhoeffer said
if we were left to ourselves
we'd always pray
give us today
our daily bread
probably not much else
now jesus reminds us
to begin focusing
on the glory of god
and pursuing the kingdom of god
and this prayer also
is really helpful
for setting balance for us
it's a really short
model prayer
but what it takes in
is wonderful
it takes in praise
and worship
it takes in kingdom
and mission
it takes in the needs
of ourselves
and the needs
of others
it brings us
to forgiveness
and our need
of god's grace
it reminds us
of the reality
of spiritual warfare
and the need
to resist temptation
and find help
in temptation
and notice too
and just to remind ourselves
the our and the us
language
that when jesus
wants us to pray
he wants us to pray
not just for ourselves
and when we're praying
for ourselves
to also be praying
for others
when something
in god's word
hits our hearts
that's food for our souls
but we can also pray
that that same truth
would be reality
for others as well
so prayer sets priority
and it sets balance
but again
just to remind ourselves
that when jesus
teaches us to pray
he reminds us
prayer is personal
because we pray
to our father
just to keep us
on this key truth
that who we pray to
makes all the difference
while having
sort of
set some introductions
let's look at this
prayer
it breaks down
into two sections
verses 9 and 10
we can think about
jesus teaching us
to worship
our father
in heaven
hallowed
be your name
so the first concept
is worship
but remember
those first words
are about intimacy
and about access
and access
and intimacy
that we share
if we are children
of god
then we pray
to god
who is our shared
father
creates a sense
of unity
and fellowship
within a church
he sets the tone
we pray to our father
and that reality
we're praying to our father
should follow through
the whole
of the prayer
and we pray to our father
who is
in heaven
our father
is on the throne
of the universe
he is great
he is above us
and he is our father
and he is for us
and he is
personal
and we have access
so there is cause
to praise god
from the very beginning
and there is also cause
for confidence
as we pray
because he is for us
and not against us
the word hallowed
is not a word
that we hear
apart from in the lord's prayer
most likely
we can think of the idea
of jesus teaching us
to pray
that we would see god
as greater than
anyone
and anything else
see god
as more worthy
of praise
and honor
and obedience
and sacrifice
than anyone
or anything else
and that we would glorify god
as holy
and unique
and so far
above us
perfect
in all his
ways
it's really significant
isn't it
that
where does jesus begin
he begins with a focus
on the glory
of god
that the father
is on the throne
and not us
and it's a wonderful truth
for being able
to settle our hearts
for allowing us
to be able
to rest
and trust
if we know our god
and our god's in heaven
and god's on the throne
and this pattern
for prayer
just to remind ourselves
that it's not just
for prayer
it's also the ideal
pattern for life
jesus is
teaching us
that at the beginning
there's nothing greater
than knowing god
as father
than glorifying god
in our lives
enjoying him
as father
do we have that
is that our reality
that we can worship god
as father
well moving from there
verse 10
the second concept
the second building block
for prayer
is about kingdom
jesus teaches
your kingdom come
your will be done
on earth
as it is
in heaven
i think important
for us to recognize
that to pray
this prayer
is to
submit
to god's kingship
and to god's rule
rather than
insisting on
ours
this isn't
asking god
to build
my little empire
this is asking
our hearts
to be turned
that we would seek
the father's kingdom
and that naturally
flows
doesn't it
from loving god
as father
if we love him
as father
then we're going
to seek his honor
we're going to want
to obey him
we're going to be glad
to live under his rule
because we understand
that he is good
and his ways are good
and jesus is teaching us
don't pray my will
be done
but pray
your will
be done
maybe that sounds
familiar to us
we hear jesus
pray that
in the garden
of gethsemane
as he agonizes
facing the prospect
of becoming
the sin bearer
of the world
going under
the curse
going under
the wrath
of god
taking the sins
of his people
and the punishment
that we deserve
and jesus prays
if there's any other way
but not my will
but yours
be done
and so jesus teaches
his followers
to understand
that the plans
of heaven
are better
than our plans
the will
of heaven
is better
than our will
again it struck me
this week
thinking about this prayer
you know sometimes
if we're familiar
with it
we just kind of
breeze on through it
but when he prays
your will be done
he could have said
your will be done
on earth
that's a valid prayer
but your will be done
on earth
as it is in heaven
think about heaven
for a moment
what's life like
in heaven
well from the little
glimpses we get
into the bible
we can at least say
heaven is a place
of perfect joyful worship
it's a place
of absolute obedience
it's a place
of perfect love
and so as we pray this
we're praying
that the pattern
of jesus
and the pattern
of heaven
would be ours
on earth
in my life
in my family
in my church
putting the worship
of god
the obedience
to god
letting the love
of god
shape our
day to day
and maybe some
ideas for praying
this way
that we would pray
that we would submit
humbly
to the father's
purposes and plans
sometimes his plans
feel good to us
other times
they're really hard
that we'd be ready
to submit
and trust in his father
that we'd pray
and seek more
loyalty
and obedience
to our father
not just in the parts
that are convenient
for us
but the parts
where it hurts
and it's going to
cost us
to pray this prayer
also
is to commit
ourselves to
seeking the spread
of the gospel
your kingdom come
is why we've got
mission sunday
next week
to remind ourselves
and to commit
ourselves to
work for global
and local
mission
to pray for
our mission
that more people
men women
boys and girls
would know
god as father
through trusting
jesus his son
to pray your will
be done
is also going to
mean work for us
committing ourselves
to search god's
words
to know our
father's will
we need to know
our bibles
because here is
where the revealed
will of god
is found
last week we
thought about the
priority of the
bible in the
christian life
ties up with our
our prayer lives
we we read our
bibles and
perhaps some things
we're comforted
sometimes we're
challenged we we
talk to god about
that and then we
seek to obey
the first half of
the prayer
and jesus reminds us
we pray to worship
our father
and that's good for
us it's good to
remember i'm not
king
and it's good to
have confidence i
pray to this father
this father
and so that's the
first part of the
prayer worship your
father then he moves
in verse 11 to 13
to ask your father
so there's three
things that we are
invited to to
consider here first
provision verse 11
give us today our
daily bread and
remember we pray to
our father a father
who knows and a
father who is
generous
perhaps for the
the jewish people
listening as jesus
first taught this
they'd be thinking
back to the old
testament thinking
back to the
exodus thinking
back to them being
in the wilderness
and god providing
manna from heaven
every day daily the
people of god had to
trust god to provide
for us to pray this
prayer
because of the times
that we live in i
think in part is is
asking god to to
teach us and to
show us that we are
needy we have real
deep needs
because i think one
of the challenges of
this for for us
like for lots of
people in the world
they have to pray for
their daily bread
because because
there's there's
starvation and
there's drought and
there's there's
famine but for us
with supermarkets
and full fridges and
cupboards it's it's
harder we can feel
comfortable we've got
many resources and
so we need to think
deeply when it says
give us today our
daily bread what
are we asking and
we're asking for
those things that
we need in order
to do the will of
god and that's
going to involve
more than just
food it includes
food but it
involves more
but it's good for
us to stop and
remind ourselves
that my physical
life my health
my being alive
is a gift of god
he needs to
sustain me second
by second
we're that dependent
on our god
for our moral
choices
for living to the
glory of god
we need god to
help us moment
by moment
otherwise we will
not do the
father's will
it is good for us
to pray this and
and to remind
ourselves
do you know
if i'm going to
please god
then i need god's
help in my
family in those
relationships to
have patience and
wisdom
in my workplace
i need god to
know how to
work hard and
work well and
to please him
because sometimes
there's complexities
jesus reminds us
to pray to god
for the things we
need
perhaps to help
us pray this
one thing that
certainly i find
helpful you might
find helpful is
is at the beginning
of each day
just think about
what's going on
in that day
any meetings
you have
any conversations
you expect
any activities
commit them to
god
before you're
about to go
to your
classroom
pray for
that time
to live
understanding that
god is present
with us and
that he asks us
to ask him
for help
because this is
much more than
food
our needs are
so many we
need the wisdom
of god
to navigate
life well
and we need
patience
we need
compassion
we need
energy
in january
especially we
need energy
and motivation
to to live
to please god
to serve
others well
so we pray
for provision
give us today
our daily bread
and then in
verse 12
jesus reminds us
how important
forgiveness is
to the christian
life and to
our prayer
life
forgive us
our debts
as we also
have forgiven
our debtors
remember when we
pray this prayer
we are praying
to a father
who has poured
out his wrath
on his son
jesus
that jesus
was condemned
so that we
might never
know
condemnation
and so as
we we
pray we
remember that
by grace
we are
welcomed
by our
father
but this
prayer so
helpfully
keeps in
view for
us the
grace
of
forgiveness
that our
sins
they are
many
but his
mercy is
more
we see
that the
cross
is good
for us
to reflect
for day
to day
life
my
massive
debt
to god
has been
cancelled
by god's
grace
didn't
deserve
that
forgiveness
received
it by
grace
so that
our hearts
would be
soft
that we
would pay
that forgiveness
forward to
others
compared to
the offenses
we commit
against the
holy god
the offenses
of others
are small
if we find
ourselves
struggling to
forgive and
sometimes in
relationships
there's
breakdown
and there's
a real
struggle and
we can find
ourselves
fighting and
battling or
perhaps giving
someone the
cold shoulder
that's the
time when we
need to
preach the
gospel to
ourselves
father you
have forgiven
me
an unworthy
sinner
father you
move towards
me in love
in the
sending of
jesus
help me move
towards the
other person
help me to
show grace
and forgiveness
to that other
person
jesus in this
prayer also is
reminding the
church of
the reality of
ongoing sin
this is
something to
pray regularly
daily forgive
us our
debts
people used to
speak about
keeping short
accounts with
god when we
are conscious
aware of
sinning against
god what
should we do
not not run
away from
god not try
and minimize
it or justify
it or try and
blame someone
else but
rather knowing
in the gospel
we've been freely
forgiven we
confess it we
bring our
sins into
the light so
we are forgiven
so those
barriers that
can stop us
knowing god's
smile and
experiencing god's
presence will be
removed
and then the
last concept
is in verse
13 rather
lead us not into
temptation but
deliver us from
the evil one
here's another
building block for
our prayer lives
to pray for
god's protection
and again who
are we praying
to we're praying
to our father
so we're asking
our father to
help us and to
give us strength
just as children
in weakness or
struggling doing
something that's
hard if their
parents are around
will ask for
help
what's the reality
that this prayer
this part of the
prayer is pointing
to is pointing
to the fact that
that christians are
weak that we
give in to sin
there is still
that battle of
sin that rages
in our hearts
and all too
often we give
in to those
sinful desires
it's also
reminding us of
the reality that
that christians are
vulnerable to
the attacks of
our enemy the
devil he's
described as our
adversary and
the father of
lies who wants
to persuade us
that life apart
from god is
better that not
listening to god's
word is better
wants to steal
our joy we'd
love to to rip
us out of god's
hand but praise
god by god's
grace he cannot
but to pray this
prayer is to
remind ourselves
about how serious
sin is so that
we wouldn't get
complacent
especially when it
comes to
temptation that we
wouldn't think
well i dealt
with this temptation
really well the
last time so i've
got this sorted
so i don't need to
lean on god's
word i don't need
to trust in him
to help me i don't
need to pray about
this
jesus wants us
to distrust
ourselves but to
trust our father in
heaven to never
move away from that
posture of being
dependent
of finding refuge and
shelter in and
under god
and this is
something that really
matters because
perhaps you have
seen what happens
when people have
that sort of
attitude of pride
towards sin and
temptation and
think you know it
will never happen
to me we we have
seen ministries and
churches and families
and lives be wrecked
by sin by the
devastation of sin
and so in the
heat of the
battle against
sinful desires
when the devil would
come and tempt us to
unbelief or to
disobedience we need
to remember that we
are children we need
to cry out to our
father and recognize
he's a powerful
father he's a
gracious father
he's the king
he is strong to
save
he will not allow
us to be tempted
beyond our ability
to resist in his
mercy he will
always provide a
way of escape
for us so we
pray to him and
we trust him
so jesus says to
his followers to
the church pray to
your father
returning to where
we started there
is no greater
privilege on this
earth than knowing
god as father
in heaven
and this reminds
us that we need
to know god
personally
not just to know
about him but to
know him
to have this
direct
living
personal relationship
with our creator
our king
our savior
now what jesus
doesn't teach here
is this
he doesn't teach
us
how do we
get to enjoy
this relationship
he doesn't
teach us here
how can people
like us be
children of god
and perhaps
that's our
question it's
amazing to
think how can
people like us
sinful people
be children
of god
and well again
the answer
lies in the
work of
jesus
jesus the
eternal son
the father
loves
who came
into this
world to
live
praying your
kingdom come
your will be
done
who came
to die
giving his
life to
atone for
sin
jesus the
son who
is cut
off so
that we
could come
home
jesus who
in love
shares with
his people
the joy
of knowing
god
as father
if we
trust him
put our
faith in
him
so as we
close do
we have
that joy
today
if that's
not our
joy then
pray to
god for
it
and if we
do have
that joy
pray to
god from
that joy
so that we
would enjoy
relationship
with our
great father
in heaven
let's
turn
again to
pray
and after
i've
prayed we
can pray
together
the lord's
prayer
lord god
we thank
you for
the teaching
of jesus
thank you
for these
words that
remind us
of the
great privilege
that we
have by
your grace
of calling
you our
father
lord may
we know
more and
more of
your love
and your
power of
your wisdom
of your
goodness
of your
truth
and your
compassion
in our
lives
may it
shape how
we think
about
ourselves
may it
shape our
priorities
may it
lead us
to a
concern
for mission
may it
help us
to seek
to be
reconciled
to people
may it
make us
dependent
on you
for life
and breath
and everything
else
lord
that we
would seek
to praise
and glorify
you
that as we
read your
words
it would
lead us
to praise
or to
confess sin
or to seek
your help
and to pray
for others
lord we
ask
that you
would make
us as
individuals
make us
as a
church
a people
of prayer
lord as we
pray for
ourselves
we also
want to
pray for
the city
we find
ourselves in
we thank
you for
it
lord as we
think about
this wonderful
invitation to
living relationship
we pray for
those who are
lonely
for those who
are hurting
for those who
feel forgotten
we also pray
for those who
are desperately
seeking you
but seeking
you in the
wrong places
lord may
you in
your mercy
reveal yourself
in truth
and power
and love
revealing
Jesus as
the only
way of
salvation
lord we
pray that
many people
in this
city
would seek
you and
find you
and have
that joy
of knowing
you as
father
lord we
pray for
our students
today as
many of
them will
begin
again
college and
university
lord we
pray that
as there is
more in
person
times
that that
would really
help with
learning
we pray that
you would
give them
that desire
to know
you in your
word and in
prayer so
that they might
be able to
live for you
in their
classes among
their friends
lord that you
would guard
their hearts
that you
would protect
them help
us as a
church as
we seek to
disciple lord we
pray for the
work of the
christian union
and we ask
that you would
continue to
to build
faith and
as the good
news of
jesus reaches
out into the
different campuses
that that many
would turn and
put their trust
in the lord
jesus lord we
also pray for
nations that
have been in
the news this
week we we
think of the
continued unrest
in kazakhstan
and the
tensions in
ukraine and
russia and
lord we pray
that you would
have mercy and
we pray for the
light of the
gospel to
dawn and to
spread and
we pray for
churches and
for ministers and
for christians in
those countries
and lord we
pray for the
islands of
australia and
tonga and
surrounding
and lord very
different places
with very
different cultures
but ultimately
biblically we
understand that
the need of
each person is
the same
people need to
know the
living god
through jesus
for themselves
and so we
pray for
churches and
ministries and
mission in
australia and
tonga and
other parts of
the world around
there lord that
it would be your
pleasure to take
glory for
yourself by
causing men
and women and
boys and girls
to turn and
trust in jesus
and now we can
use the words of
the lord's prayer
together
our father who
is in heaven
hallowed be your
name your
kingdom come
your will be
done on 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
yours is the
kingdom the
power and the
glory forever
amen
and now as we
close and we'll
sing together the
hymn how deep
the father's love
for us
how deep the
enthusiasm and
ound
advantages