Church Requel
Is there a “right way” to pray? Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. He responded with The Lord’s Prayer. Was Jesus telling them and us that we should pray with these specific words? Or was he giving them a model of prayer to follow? Today we consider 6 parts to Jesus’ model prayer.
Luke 11:1-4 NIV
Today we consider Jesus’ model prayer. What we know as “The Lord’s Prayer.” Rather than just praying words by rote, use as a guide for 6 “P’s” of powerful prayers!
#1 P______________ - I begin by expressing my love to God.
“Father, hallowed be you name.”v. 2a
We begin powerful prayers by saying, “Lord I want to focus on You!” We tend to start by focusing on our needs and problems, but that frustrates us. We need to remember Who it is we are praying to. Gives us right perspective.
2 kinds of praise. (1) Adoration - praising God for Who He is, His character. (2) Thanksgiving - praising God for what He’s done.
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!”Psalm 100:4 ESV
2 Ideas to praise God. (1) When you read Bible and come across a quality of God, write it down. Keep a list of His qualities. Acknowledge Who He is. (2) As God answers your prayers, keep a list or journal. Don’t forget. Remember. You’ll be surprised at all the Lord has done for you.
#2 P________ - I commit myself to God’s will and purpose for my life.
“Your kingdom come.”v. 2b / “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”Matt. 6:10b
This acknowledges that God is God and I am not. I want to pray for God’s will to be done in my family, and in my church, and with my friend, and in my city. This is where I tell the Lord, “Just do whatever You have to do in my life.”
“Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer.”Romans 12:1 GNT
“A living sacrifice” is the best sacrifice. You kill off anything displeasing to God and make yourself pleasing to Him. Usable! “dedicated to his service”
#3 P_____________ - I ask God to provide for my needs.
“Give us each day our daily bread.”v. 3
What needs do I pray about? Absolutely every one of them. There is nothing too great for God's power to take care of and there's nothing too insignificant for His concern.
“My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”Philippians 4:19 NIV
“Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all,
won’t he also give us everything else?”Romans 8:32 NLT
Saving you and me was the hardest thing that God ever did. There was nothing harder that He could do than to save our souls so when we come and ask a request of Him for our personal daily lives it's a piece of cake in comparison.
“Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks.”Philippians 4:6 NCV
Why? Doesn't God know what I need? Why do I have to go and talk to Him about it? Of course He knows what I need. He knows everything about me before I come to Him. But prayer is my personal declaration of dependence on God. When I come to Him I'm saying, "I'm totally dependent upon You, God. Not because of what I can work for or what I can earn by my smarts or by my industry, but I am totally dependent on You for my needs." This part of the prayer isn’t for God to know of my dependence. It’s for me to know. I live differently when this is my prayer.
#4 P______________ - I ask God to forgive my sins.
“Forgive us our sins.”v. 4a
How? 4 steps…
Forgiveness Step 1 - Ask the Holy Spirit ______________ every sin.
When I come to Him with an honest heart, He will reveal places that there is sin in my life.
"Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me, and discover my thoughts. Find out if there is any evil in me." Psalm 139:23 GNT
This means that this part of the prayer is going to take some time. Reflection. Waiting upon the Lord. Listening to His quiet voice whispering to us. Puts us in the proper frame of mind as the imperfect creature to THE Creator.
Forgiveness Step 2 - Confess each sin __________________.
Sometimes we like to get away with confession of sin by just saying, "Forgive me all my sins." You committed those sins individually, you better ask for forgiveness individually. None of this blanket coverage stuff.
"You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. Confess them and give them up. Then God will show mercy to you." Proverbs 28:13 GNT
Ultimately confession means agreeing with God. Yes God, that was wrong. I am sorry, Lord. Help me to do better next time.
Forgiveness Step 3 - Make _______________ when necessary.
"When you remember your brother has something against you, … go at once to make peace with him, then come back and offer your gift to God."Matt 5:23a, 24b GNT
When God reveals something that you've done to someone else make restitution and get it off your conscious. Prayer like this is not just something between you and God. There is a response from you. More than words - action! Confession also more than between you and God. Involves people you have hurt. God wants to do more than forgive. He also wants to heal. If you haven’t felt forgiven, this could be why!
Forgiveness Step 4 - By faith ______________ God’s forgiveness.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins, and purify us from all unrighteousness."1 John 1:9 NIV
You need to know that God can forgive you - that the guilt you feel can be wiped out. When we talk about forgiveness you need to accept the fact that you don't have to live with guilt. It can be forgiven and wiped clean. God does not want you to live with guilt. He wants you to experience freedom in His love / forgiveness.
#5 P____________ - I pray for other people.
“For we also forgive everyone who sins against us.”v. 4b
You know how you can tell if you have forgiven someone else? By honestly & fervently praying for their well being. To do that requires you to think about their circumstances in love.
“The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.”1 Timothy 2:1 MSG
You know what “pray every way you know” means? You can’t do this one wrong. Think of someone else and pray for them and their needs any way you can. Remember that God is working in the lives of the people you pray for even when you can't see it. Don’t give up. If you’ve been praying for someone for a long time and you don't see answers yet, you may want to give up. ‘Prayer doesn't really work. I don't know why I'm wasting my breath.’ Scripture says pray much and plead for God's mercy. Give thanks for all he is going to do for them. Be assured that whoever it is you're praying for, God is working, even though you can't see the evidence of it. I am never given permission to stop praying for someone. I am to pray until God has either changed me, changed the situation, or changed the person. Keep praying. MAKE A LIST! Write it out.
#6 P______________ - I ask God for spiritual protection.
“And lead us not into temptation.”v. 4c / “… but deliver us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:13b NIV
We, as believers, face a spiritual battle every day and satan wants to defeat us through temptation and fear. If I start every day without praying for God's protection I'm walking into battle unprotected. I'm walking into battle without the spiritual armor we're supposed to put on. Ask God to make you aware of evil in this world. If you're unaware of it, you can get caught by it, you can get involved in it before you even know what's going on. But if you ask the Lord to make you aware of evil and tempting situations, you can fight it.
“He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”1 John 4:4b ESV
The Holy Spirit Who lives inside of us is more powerful than the spirit who lives in this world. Ask for His help. Every day!
Conclusion. Prayer is the only way you can talk to God. God has ways of communicating to us through His word, through creation, through other people, through thoughts that come into our mind. There's numbers of ways that God can communicate with us but the only way that you and I have to communicate to God is through prayer.