Learning to Pray the Lord's Way

If you could ask the Lord to teach you one thing, what would that be? I thought about that this past week and thought, well, if I could ask the Lord to know how to raise the dead, if he could teach me how to raise the dead, boy, that'd be pretty cool, wouldn't it? Raise the dead, cast out demons, heal those who are sick. Could you imagine, Lord, teach me how to heal the sick, that I might be able to do that. Some of you might wish that I'd asked the Lord to teach me how to preach so I could be a better preacher.

I don't know, but the disciples had many opportunities to ask the Lord whatever they wanted to ask him, and they only asked him to teach him one thing, and that was how to pray. They never asked the Lord to teach them how to preach. You'd think that they would want to do that, but they heard him preach many sermons, and he commissioned them to go and preach the Lord, and that's what they did. They never asked him to teach them how to heal the sick or cast out demons or raise the dead. God gave them power to do that, and they did.

But one day, they had observed the Lord doing what he always did, and that was pray. And on this occasion, in Luke 11, verse number one, on this day, they would ask the Lord to teach them how to pray, as John taught his disciples how to pray.

In a certain place, a place we do not know where it was, someplace in Judea, the disciples had observed once again the Lord doing what he always did, and that was pray. So finally, one day, somebody got the nerve to ask the Lord, teach us how to pray.

John's disciples learned how to pray. They learned how to pray from John himself, and rightly so, because during the time of Christ's ministry and John the Baptist's ministry, excuse me, the Judaism of the day had become so ritualistic, so hypocritical. So when people prayed, they said a lot of prayers, but they never communed with God. So John's disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, and Jesus' disciples observed him always praying. I thought about that, and I wonder, how many times do those closest to us ask us about how to do spiritual things?

I mean, do your children ever ask you how to pray? Have they observed you praying long enough to ask, teach me how to pray? Do they ask you how to study the Bible, because they always see you studying the Bible? Do they ask you how to share your faith, because they always see you sharing your faith? These disciples saw Jesus praying all the time, and if deity needed to communicate with deity, how much more so do we? So they ask a question, Lord, teach us how to pray. Notice they don't say, Lord, teach us a prayer, because some people think it's a prayer.

It's really not a prayer. It's a pattern for how to pray, but people pray it as a prayer all the time. They recite it. If you go to a funeral, many times people recite this, the Lord's Prayer. They do it in unison. You can do that, but it's not designed to be a prayer that's recited. You can do it because it is Scripture, and it's good to memorize Scripture, and whenever you recite Scripture, that's a good thing, right? But it's not a prayer designed to be recited. It's not even a prayer designed to be sung, although we sing the Disciple's Prayer, the Lord's Prayer on many occasions.

It's a pattern. It's a skeleton on how to communicate with our Father above. Our God gives us a pattern, and it's not the first time He gave it either.

If you go all the way back to Matthew chapter 6 on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave the same prayer. Now, if you read Luke 11, you realize that there are a lot of petitions that are left out in Luke 11. In fact, the New American Standard is different than the King James Version because they come from different manuscripts. So we're going to give you the whole kitten caboodle. We'll take Matthew 6 as well as Luke 11 to give you the whole thing wrapped up in one because you need to know what Jesus said about how to pray the right way.

And in Matthew chapter 6, Christ gave a pattern. That pattern was in Galilee. Luke 11, we're in Judea, and so it's not the first time He gave it.

It's not the last time He gave it, and I'm sure on many occasions He would teach people what it means to commune with His Father in heaven. And so when it's all said and done over the next several weeks, as we go through the first four verses, we will help you understand what Jesus meant when He said, when you pray, pray this way because this is the pattern you are to follow.

Now, we did a series on the Sermon on the Mount 16 years ago. I'm sorry, 14 years ago. Most of you weren't with us 14 years ago, and if you were, you have probably forgotten everything we said in Matthew 6 verses 10 and following. But we will help you understand what the Bible says concerning prayer because it's so vital to your spiritual pilgrimage.

It's important that you understand it. Sometimes, excuse me, we can discuss prayer. We can talk about prayer, but people, that doesn't interest people too much because it's not one of those showy kind of ministries. We have a prayer ministry in our church. It runs during our first service, our second service, and our Wednesday evening service.

It's not attended by very many people. Always baffled me that that people who are always looking for a ministry don't want to be involved in a prayer ministry when nobody sees you. You can't show what you can do at a prayer ministry because it's behind closed doors, it's quiet, and it's communion between you and your God. But we have that ministry. It runs in conjunction with all of our services because it's imperative that we pray for each of us during the time we are gathering together to worship the Lord.

But what I want to do with you this morning is give you some preliminary comments about prayer and then give you the particular contents of the prayer we're going to study over the next several weeks together in Luke 11, verses 1 and following. In fact, it will cover all the way down to verse number 13 in Luke 11 because it incorporates a parable about prayer to help you understand the persistence we need when it comes to praying because you know as well as I do that for most part we don't persist in our prayer life.

But Jesus gives us all we need to know in these few short verses in Luke 11 to understand what it means to pray the way he himself prayed. We would love to preach the way Jesus preached. We would love to perform miracles the way Jesus performed miracles. We should love to pray as Jesus himself prayed. So let me give you just a few preliminary comments.

I got 10 of them in your notes. There's many more than that. I'm just going to give you 10 this morning because I do want to finish the service before we go to lunch together, okay? And that is this. Prayer always challenges your spirituality. That's point number one.

Prayer challenges your spirituality. If you make a commitment to pray, you will be challenged spiritually every moment of the day. The Bible says in Matthew chapter 6, right before Jesus would give the pattern for prayer, he said, and when you pray you are not to be as hypocrites for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners in order to be seen by men.

Truly I say to you they have their reward in full. Many people like to pray because they want to be heard or they want to be seen and that's the way it was in in Judaism during the time of Christ. They wanted people to see them. For if people saw them praying, they they must be spiritual, right? And Christ called them hypocrites that they have their reward. If if you want to be seen by men and men see you, that's that's your reward. That's all you get. You get nothing else. There's nothing else to give.

It says in verse 6, but you when you pray go into your inner room and when you have shut your door pray to your father who is in secret and your father who sees in secret will repay you. And when you are praying do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them for your father knows what you need before you ask him. So when you pray, pray this way. Our father who are in heaven and he gives us the pattern for prayer.

But prayer will challenge your spirituality every time. Remember there's the story of Christ and the apostles when it was the eve of the crucifixion, it was the night of the crucifixion and and Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray. And he told his men, he took three of them, Peter, James, and John further into the garden that evening and says you you guys stay right here and pray with me for for an hour and I'll be back. And Jesus came back and they were asleep. They weren't praying. And Jesus told them watch and pray lest you enter into what temptation.

On three occasions the Lord would leave them to pray and they fell asleep every single time. Their spirituality had been challenged when it came to prayer. So later that night they fell into temptation. Did they not? Because they did not pray. Jesus says you can pray with me for one hour.

Not just one hour. When you think about praying you know nobody wants to pray for an hour. I mean what are you gonna do for an hour? What are you gonna say for an hour? Oh who can be on their knees for an hour? Five minutes? Oh boy. Ten minutes? Now you're stretching. Fifteen? Oh that's way beyond anything I could ever imagine. Fifteen minutes in prayer? You gotta be kidding me. Jesus says you couldn't pray for me for one hour?

Not one hour? The answer was no. They failed spiritually. If you make a commitment to pray the way Jesus wants you to pray, pray, your prayer life will be challenged in ways you've never been challenged before. Because that's what prayer does. Number two, not only does prayer challenge my spirituality but prayer clarifies my loyalty.

It clarifies my loyalty. The Bible says in in Luke 18.1 men ought always to pray and not to faint. Wow you really mean always to pray? Yeah because if you don't pray you will faint. If you're fainting it's because you're not praying. You say well wait a minute I have been praying and I'm still fainting. Well that's because you're not praying the way the Lord wants you to pray. That's the answer to that. And so you need to know what Jesus said about prayer. The Bible says over in Ephesians 6.18 pray at all times.

First Thessalonians 5.16 pray without ceasing. First Timothy 2. Christ says first of all Paul says I tell you you need to offer up prayers and petitions for all men.

First because I want you to be loyal to me. You see your prayer life clarifies your loyalty to your master and to his mission right. I am loyal to my God. I'm committed to my God and so I will pray to him. It was Vance Havner who said these words that the devil will let a preacher prepare a sermon if it will keep him from preparing himself. Think about that. The devil will let the preacher prepare a sermon if, if it keeps him from preparing himself so that when he stands to preach he truly is a man of God and not a hypocrite.

How many men that have been in pulpits over the years because they did not prepare themselves, oh they preached a sermon. They spent their time preparing sermons but they never prepared themselves to preach those sermons. The same is true in in any occupation for any person. You need to prepare yourself first right.

Well prayer not only challenges my spirituality, it clarifies my my loyalty and number three it certifies my dependency.

It certifies my dependency. Jesus said in John 15 5 without me you can do what nothing. See but that's a problem because we do think we can do something. You know I come across people all the time who are who are bent on the fact that they can accomplish what they have decided to accomplish because of their education, because of their experience, because of their willpower they can do this. Just bend down, pull yourself up by your bootstraps and press on. But you cannot. You cannot because prayer is that which certifies your dependency.

Remember in Luke chapter 5 the story about Peter and and he had just come in from fishing all night and he was mending his nets and Jesus was preaching and there were so many people there that Jesus got into a boat and began to preach on the shore. Then and then Jesus says to Peter hey Peter let's launch out into the deep.

Let's go fishing. And Peter said you can't go fishing. There's no fish to be caught. We were up all night. We didn't catch a thing and you can't go out in the middle of the day to go fishing because all the fish have gone down into the lake. You can't fish during the day. Jesus I know you're God but you're not a fisherman. I'm a fisherman. And Jesus says launch out into the deep.

Cast your nets on the other side. And Peter says okay to humor you Lord I'll do that. And lo and behold there were so many fish that the boat began to sink. We studied that story months ago in Luke 5. And Peter fell down on his face and said depart from me. I am a sinful man. See just when you don't think you need Jesus because you're good enough because of your expertise Jesus proves to you yes you do need me. You need to depend upon me for all things. It certifies your dependency. So when you come to the book of Mark and the ninth chapter and and Peter, James, and John are are trotting on down the mountain of transfiguration.

They're coming down to the bottom and what do they see? They see a man who has a child that's demon possessed that comes to Jesus and says you know I brought this this my boy to your disciples who have already cast out demons because we all know that. But for some reason they were unable to cast out the demon in my boy. So Jesus I'm bringing them to you. What did Jesus say? Oh unbelieving and perverse generation how long will I be with you? And Jesus is looking at his disciples and saying that to them.

Then he says bring the boy to me cast out the demon. You know the story we studied that also in the gospel of Luke. And when they were all alone in the house not too long after that they they called Jesus over. Jesus come here. How come we were unable to cast the demon out? How come when we have already done it before you've given us the power to accomplish great things for you in your kingdom on this day we could not cast out the demon in this boy? And Jesus said oh quite simply these things only come out by prayer.

You have lost the one vital link and that's me. You can't function without me. But you know what we do we think we can make our marriages work without Jesus. We do. We can do enough to make the marriage. We think we can raise our families without Jesus. We think we can go to work tomorrow and you'll get up and you'll go to work tomorrow thinking that you can accomplish what you need to do at work without ever dependent upon the Lord because you're smart. You have an education. You're brilliant. You're a genius.

Well who do you think gave you all that stuff anyway? Jesus did. Gave you all your talents, all your gifts, all your abilities. But don't think for one moment you can march off without him, without dependent upon him for all things. And prayer is that one element that certifies my dependency that yes Lord I need you. I can't make it without you. I can't make it through the day without you. I can't. I can't make it through this job interview without you. I can't make it through this day as a mom without you.

I can't do it Lord. I need you to energize me. I need you to give me what I need for this day so I can glorify your name. Prayer is that which challenges my spirituality. Prayer is that which clarifies my loyalty. It certifies my dependency. Number three it catapults our productivity.

I like that. It catapults our productivity. Remember Jeremiah 33, call upon me and I will answer you and I will show you great and mighty things which you do not know. Or Ephesians chapter 3 verse number 20. Now unto him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ever ask or think. I love the story of of Acts chapter 1 when Jesus said okay I want you to tarry in Jerusalem until my spirit comes upon you. So in other so in Acts chapter 1 you have 120 non-descript disciples in an upper room praying okay and they're praying and they're praying and they're praying and they're praying for 10 days they're praying.

They're praying and all of a sudden one day the Spirit of God comes. The Spirit of God comes and Peter preaches a sermon and 3,000 souls are saved. Listen carefully. They prayed for 10 days. Peter preached for 10 minutes and 3,000 souls were saved. I thought it'd be good for us to pray for an hour and 25 minutes and we preach for five minutes. Maybe that would change the response in people's lives. See it catapults our productivity. This church began with 17 people in a house in prayer. 17 people on their knees in a house praying that God would raise up a church.

God did. Prayer is that which catapults our productivity because it certifies our dependency upon the one that can accomplish the greatest things in all the world. Number four, five, I'm sorry. Number five, prayer is that which commences our ministry. It commences our ministry. This is where the ministry begins because prayer is the ministry. Everything begins with prayer and so you begin everything with prayer. So in Colossians 4, Paul says, I'm in prison so I want you to pray that God will open a door for me to preach the gospel but pray first so the right door opens at the right time and I'm able to see it and walk through that door.

So important. In Matthew 9, Jesus as he saw the the nation of Israel as downcast, as distressed because they were like a sheep without a shepherd. He said what? Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he might send forth the laborers into the harvest. Before you go, what do you do? You pray because prayer is that which commences the ministry. Ian Bounds has written volumes on prayer, volumes on prayer. Such a convicting work in it, he says these words. Talking to men for God is a great thing but talking to God for men is greater still.

He will never talk well and with real success to men for God who has not learned well how to talk to God for men. That is so true. Prayer is that which commences the ministry. Prayer is that which cultivates our maturity. Read Ephesians chapter 1 verses 18 and following. Colossians chapter 1 verses 9 and following. Colossians 4 verse number 12 about a Paphras who would pray for the maturity of of his church. For Paul who would pray that that you would be steadfast in your work, that you be filled with the knowledge of God.

Why? Because prayer is that which cultivates maturity. That that's why prayer is called a spiritual discipline. It takes discipline to to be a prayer warrior. You just don't decide one day you're going to be a prayer warrior and stick with it. It takes discipline. It takes discipline to get up in the morning, to get on your knees and to pray. Why? Because we get up in the morning, what do we do? Make the coffee, get the paper, check the box stores, watch sports center, see what's on the news and then offer up five minutes to God and blurt off to work thinking that I've done my duty spiritually for the day.

Folks, it just don't work that way. I mean if you think it does, something's wrong. It doesn't work that way. It takes discipline. You got to get up and you got to get on your knees and then you got to stay on your knees for periods of time praying the way God wants you to pray. That's why it says that we have to discipline ourselves unto godliness and and prayer is one of those spiritual disciplines. That's why Jesus was always praying, always praying. He knew that communion with his father was vital to the ministry that was entrusted to him.

He knew that his disciples needed to learn that as well and they would learn it. All you gotta do is read a book of Acts, read the epistles written by Peter, John, James. It's all about prayer and the importance of it. Prayer is that which cultivates our maturity. It conquers our infirmity. Prayer conquers our infirmity. Folks, this is so important because there are many people with diseases and the only way to handle the disease is through prayer. Paul had a thorn in the flesh. We don't know what that was.

We have no idea. Bible doesn't tell us. That's a good thing but he prayed three times for it to be removed and God said no, no, and again no. But he also said that in your weakness you'll be strong Paul and through your infirmity you will be used by me in a great and mighty way. The only thing that conquers that infirmity is prayer. Paul knew that. Paul understood that and and so therefore we we come to God and we pray and we ask the Lord, Lord I had this infirmity whatever it might be. It might be sin.

It might be it might be suffering. It might be self-reliance. It might be some kind of sickness but I go to God in the midst of my infirmity and I give it to him. God if you choose to heal me, you heal me. If you choose to leave me like I am, you need to give me the grace and the strength that I need that I might glorify your name in the midst of this infirmity because the only way that happens is through prayer. Prayer is that which conquers our infirmity. Prayer is that which number eight combats our adversary.

Combats our adversary. Read uh Ephesians chapter six about spiritual armor and come to verse number 18. It's all about uh praying with all petitions and and and prayers and supplications with perseverance. Why? Because prayer why might not be a part of the armor. It's interwoven in between each and every piece of the armor. I don't think you can go to battle without being on your knees. You can't and the only way to combat the adversary is to be on your knees before the throne of grace asking God to use all that he's given you for his glory for his purposes.

Praying always. Number nine prayer is that which calms our anxiety. It calms our anxiety. Remember Philippians chapter four? What did Paul say? He says be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God and the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Are you anxious? Are you worried? The only thing that calms your anxiety is to pray and you pray with thanksgiving.

Lord thank you for my turmoil. Thank you for my joblessness. Thank you for my physical infirmity. Thank you for my marital problems. Thank you for all that you've given to me Lord because you won't give me anything I can't handle because you're in charge of everything and so therefore with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving Lord I commit it all to you and watch how the peace of God envelops you, encompasses you, and causes you to cause you to experience his precious peace. The psalmist said in Psalm 34 verse number four, I sought the Lord he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

You have fears today? Have you sought the Lord? The one and only one who can deliver you from all your fears? He goes on to say this poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and rescues them. The only one who can calm your anxiety is the Lord God himself. And number ten, prayer is that which celebrates our unity. Hebrews 10 verses 19 to 22 talks about how we can go boldly before the throne of grace. How we have access to the throne of God.

How we are to stimulate one another to love and good deeds as we see the day drawing near. It's not about we, it's not about the church. How we have access to the throne room of God and so we celebrate our unity by going to prayer, by going before that throne as a church. That's why the Bible says you can't, you can't neglect the gathering of yourselves together.

You can't forget to gather together as a church because that's where you are stimulated to love and good deeds. That's where you encourage one another. Why? Because all of you are going to the same place, the throne of God and communing with him. Prayer is that which celebrates our unity. Those are just some preliminary comments that will lead us into the particular contents of the prayer in Luke chapter 4 and Matthew chapter 6. Some preliminary comments that over the course of the next several weeks you'll begin to understand more and more about prayer.

But let me give you the particular contents of this prayer. We only have a few minutes left. That's okay because we're going to cover all of them in detail over the next several weeks beginning with our Father next week. But know this, prayer is about God and his glory, not man and his needs. Prayer is about God and his glory, not man and his needs. But God in his way has demonstrated to us how we are not to get the Lord to bow to our will, but how we are to submit to his plans. And that's what prayer is.

Prayer is not somehow getting God to come down and deal with my situation. That's not what prayer is about. Prayer is learning to submit to God in the situation you are in. That's what prayer is about. And that's what the prayer teaches us. Prayer begins with a recognition of God and his glory, then a realization of man and his needs. In fact, I don't know how to pray unless I understand who God is. I can't. In fact, so many times we pray and the very first words out of our mouth are, Lord, Lord, help me.

Lord, deal with this situation. Lord, I gotta have your help. And that's wrong. That's not how we're to pray. If the Lord would take time to teach his disciples how to pray, if the Lord would take time to teach the multitude on the side of the Sermon on the Mount how to pray, it's best we learn how to pray. That's why we spent so much time in Luke chapter 10, verse number 42. Mary had chosen the better part. Mary had chosen the one thing that was needful to listen to divine truth because it sets a tone for Luke 11.

Listen. If you're here, you need to hear, right? Hear what all God says about prayer so you know how to pray God's way.

And it all begins with a recognition of God and his glory. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That prayer encompasses three aspects. Let me give them to you.

Number one, when you pray God's way, you pray consumed with his preeminence and his purity. That's number one.

You pray consumed with his preeminence and his purity. Number two, you pray concerned, concerned with his program and its purposes.

And number three, you pray committed to his plan and its pleasure. All encompassed in thy name, thy kingdom, and thy will. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. A prayer that expresses the paternity of God as well as exalts the position of God. He is the preeminent one. He is the one who rules over all and therefore I want his name to be hallowed in my life. I want his name to be made holy in my life. His name deals with his nature, his character, and therefore I want the Lord God and all of his holiness to consume me.

Listen carefully. If when you go to pray, you are not consumed with him as the preeminent one and him in all of his purity, there's no need to even open your mouth and utter a word to God. You're wasting your breath. You got to be consumed with his preeminence and his purity. You have to want to live a holy life as he himself is holy. If you don't want to do that, you're muttering vain repetitions of Matthew chapter 6. They're meaningless repetitions saying the same thing over and over and over and over and over but getting nowhere because you're not consumed with his preeminence and his purity in your life.

Jesus said when you pray, you pray this way. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. You are concerned for his program and his purposes. You're concerned with his program, his kingdom. He is the ruler. The word kingdom is just a word for rulership. Your rule come to earth and what the Lord does is use a Hebrew parallelism which says, thy name be hallowed on earth as it is in heaven. Thy kingdom come to earth as it is in heaven. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In other words, I want heaven to come to earth. If you don't want things on earth done the way they are in heaven, there's no need to even pray because that's where it begins. It's about God and his glory and if you don't want God to be glorified, if you don't want God to be magnified, why do you pray? So you can get your needs met. So you can be happy. We have not because we do not ask and when we do ask, James says, you ask that you might consume it upon your own lust. You ask for your own selfish purposes.

You're not asking for God and his glory. You want you to be taken care of and that can't happen until God is set in his rightful place and all of his glory. You must be consumed with his preeminence and his purity. You must be concerned with his program and its purposes and you must be committed to his plan and its pleasure. Lord, I want your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Boy, that's a mouthful. How is God's will accomplished in heaven? Perfectly, fervently, obediently, willingly, right?

That's how it's accomplished in heaven. You think there's anybody in heaven who doesn't do the will of God? Don't think so. So I want God's will to be done in my life on this earth right now.

Do you? Are you concerned with God's plan and its pleasure? Because it's always pleasurable to do the will of the Father. That's why the Lord says, I delight to do thy will, oh Lord. Why? Because to follow the plan of God is the most pleasurable place to be. So there's a recognition of God and his glory. Then there's a realization of man and his need. Then you can pray, give us this day our daily bread. Then you can pray, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Then you can pray and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

In other words, when you pray, you then rejoice in God's provision each day. You rejoice in God's provision. You respond to God's pardon and you rest in God's protection. You can only rest in God's protection and respond to God's pardon and rejoice in God's provision if you are consumed with his preeminence in his purity, and you are concerned about his program and its purposes, and you are concerned committed to his plan and his pleasure. Because now you go and you say, give us this day our daily bread.

Don't give us this day our weekly bread, our monthly bread, our yearly bread, because God provides one day at a time. He is the bread of life, and sometimes the bread that he gives to satisfy you is the bread of adversity. Sometimes you don't like that bread. But, if you are committed to his plan and his pleasure, you will rejoice in God's provision for that day, whatever it may be, and you then respond to his pardon. The text says, forgive us our trespasses as we have already forgiven those who trespassed against us.

You know, that's the only part of the prayer that Jesus expounds on in Matthew 6 verses 14 to 15. He doesn't get into any lengthy exposition of any part of the prayer except that part, where he says, oh by the way, if you do not forgive your brother his trespasses, neither will your father forgive you your trespasses. So you say, well wait a minute, how can a believer have unforgiven sin? How can that happen? And if I have unforgiven sin, how will I ever get to heaven? That's a good question to ask, but you're going to have to wait till we get to that part for me to answer it for you.

Because you can have unforgiven sins, oh, unforgiven sins, not in a judicial sense, but in a relational sense you can. And all the joy in your life is gone, all the joy. Why? Because you harbor bitterness and resentment with an unforgiving spirit. And so, therefore, you can't say, Lord, forgive me my sins as I have already forgiven my brother his sins. You can't do that because you haven't forgiven your brother his sins. So it's about responding to God's pardon. Because I have been forgiven of all my sins, it's very simply, simply an easy process for me to forgive you of your sins against me.

Because what you have done to me is nothing compared to what I have done to my God. So I respond to his pardon and I rest in his protection. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Deliver me from the evil one. And God is the protector. I rest in the one and the only one who can protect me. And then I move to that great doxology. To him be the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Listen carefully. This is so good. When you say amen in this prayer, when you say amen, amen, amen, two things happen.

One, you live in agreement, in agreement to the purity of his name in your life. You live in agreement, in agreement to the purposes and the plan for your life. And you agree to the will and its pleasure for your life. And you accept his provision, you accept his pardon, and you accept his protection. That's what happens when you say amen. I agree, Lord, that your name is to be hallowed in my life. I agree, Lord, that your rulership should reign supreme in my life. And I agree, Lord, that your will is the perfect will.

And I want it all to come here exactly as it is there. I agree to all that. Do you agree to all that? If you don't, you mutter vain, meaningless repetition to God that means absolutely nothing to him. Nothing. And then I accept whatever provision he gives. I accept that because you are the bread of life and I accept your daily provision. And Lord, I accept your pardon of my life in order that I might be free to pardon someone else and to forgive them their sins. And Lord, I do accept your protection of me because only you can protect me from the evil one.

To him be the glory, to him be the power, to him be the kingdom forever and ever and ever. That are the particulars of this prayer that we will cover in great detail over the weeks to come. I hope you'll be with us. Let's pray. Father, thank you for today. Thank you for your word. Thank you for the truth. My prayer, Lord, is that all of us would come to a place where we would say, Lord, whatever you say, however you say it, that's how we want to live. Help us to pray your way. Help us, forgive us, Lord, for praying our way.

Help us, Lord, to learn how to pray the way you taught your disciples to pray. And Father, we would see the glory and power of God on display. Thank you for teaching us, Jesus. In your name we pray. Amen.