The Prayer of Jesus: A Prayer for Everyday

Pastor Phillips' Sermon

Sunday, June 12, 2005

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Please pray with me. Heavenly Father, we thank you again for this day, coming together in your name, coming to our house of worship that you have provided. Bless us now as we draw near to you. Come into our hearts with your Holy Spirit. Let your word bear fruit in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Today we continue our series on prayer. In fact, this is the third and final installment in this series. You'll remember the first sermon talked about that Old Testament encounter on Mount Carmel between Elijah and the prophets of Baal and Asherah, that wonderful, dramatic event where God revealed Himself as the only true God to His people.

Then last week we talked about, in the book of Acts, how Peter and John had healed a man in Jesus' name on the way to the temple. There was a great reaction to that. They shared their faith. The temple police arrested them and had them on trial. Peter stood up, filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke boldly the word of God. But when they were released, they were afraid and they went back to their brothers and sisters in Christ and they all gathered in prayer and they lifted up this awesome prayer to God, calling upon the creator of the universe, their God, their Savior, to go forth on their behalf and open the doors before them and to do wonderful, miraculous things. And it said this place where they were meeting was shaken. What an exciting time in the history of the Christian church.

Today we continue on that theme of prayer, but today we're talking about daily prayer. And it comes to us in the context of Jesus' disciples desiring to know more about prayer. Maybe you're right with them. Maybe you want to know more about prayer, how to go about it, what it's all about, the benefit of it, things like that.

I have to start with a story about a little boy. He was about 10 years old, and he wanted a new bike. And he said to his dad, “Dad, I need a new bike.” And his dad said, “Well, I hate to tell you this son, but there's just no money in our budget for you to have a new bike so about the only thing you could do is pray.” So the kid didn't really know too much about God, didn't really have a strong Christian background but he prayed and he prayed. And he asked God for a bike. He didn't get one. No bike. All of a sudden, he gets an idea. He runs out of the house, runs down the street, goes into the Catholic Church, and steals a small statue of Mary and runs back home. He gets out a piece of paper and wrote, “Dear Jesus, if you ever want to see your mother again. . .” That's not the idea behind prayer.

Jesus teaches his disciples. They're hungry to learn. They want to know about prayer. They want to know how to talk to God. Sometimes it's intimidating to think a person like myself or a person like you can talk to God Almighty one on one, that you have His full attention and that He eagerly desires to hear from you. But that's exactly what Jesus identifies in the model He gives us.

You think of Jesus' life and His ministry and the way He walked around and how He conducted Himself and how He would often try to get off by Himself for that one on one time with His heavenly Father. That's a great model for us to follow. But in our text, He gives us more detail, more of a focus on what we can do in prayer. He gives us this model that we call the Lord's Prayer and so we always say it every Sunday. Sometimes we say it with deep thought and meditation and other times we just say the words. I've noticed on occasions like weddings and funerals and occasions that aren't the normal flow of our worship, when you start with the Lord's Prayer, it's a unifying force. It's a unifying item that everybody can say it, at least the vast majority. And then when there are a few people silent, I often wonder maybe they didn't have the benefit I did of growing up knowing Jesus and being taught the faith.

Listen to how Jesus teaches His disciples to pray. It begins with worship. He says, “When you pray, say Father.” It's not too detailed. Just Father. What that does is it tells you the context of your prayer happens in a relationship with God. He is your loving Father. He eagerly desires to hear from you. He's attentive to the details of your life. He's just like every dad who would do anything for their child. Your heavenly Father is that kind of person. And when we say that word in prayer, Father, we are identifying the position we are in with Him, a relationship. He is our Father. We are His child. We are calling out to Him. He is listening carefully to us. He is our Father. It is a relationship of comfort, love, trust, and confidence.

The next thing Jesus says in His model of prayer is “Hallowed be thy name.” Now your name tells us who you are. To have a good name is wonderful. To have your name tarnished or scandalized is devastating. When we think of God and His name, it reminds us of all He is, that He is absolutely perfect in all His ways, that He always works things out for the best for us. And although sometimes we don't understand His will, we know He has our best interest in mind. So when we think of God in His name, that holy name, that in the Old Testament time people were afraid to say they were so reverent to God, that brings us into a context of worship. Father, hallowed by thy name.

The Second Commandment says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vein.” Isn't it interesting that in the model for prayer Jesus gives, God's name is treated wonderful and holy? And in the Second Commandment God revealed to Moses, God's name is treated wonderful and holy.

In the New Testament, we read there is only one name under heaven by which we must be saved. That is the name of Jesus. The names that refer to God are special and precious and should not be thrown around especially in cursing or any other way. They are precious and holy. And when we mention them, we should immediately be aware of who we're talking about and all that He's done and all that He is.

The third thing Jesus mentioned in this opening aspect of His model of prayer is “Your kingdom come.” What does that mean? Many of you have read the catechism, studied it as children, even as adults have studied it. I know one of our adult bible study classes studied it in depth. What does it mean to say “Your kingdom come?” Well, one of the most clear ways of explaining that is the kingdom of God is all those who believe and for His kingdom to come, it means more people are coming to believe. More people are coming to know Christ. Remember the mission of Gloria Dei is to bring people to Christ for the first time and a lifetime. So when we're talking about God's kingdom coming, we're talking about the mission of our church, an outward focus on bringing people into the kingdom of God, the kingdom where they receive forgiveness for their sins and eternal life, the kingdom where they have a heavenly Father, the kingdom where they have a loving Savior, the kingdom where the Holy Spirit works and uses us. Everyday, we pray for more people to come into this kingdom. And I always describe it this way. My goal is to build a bigger heaven, a bigger place for all the people of God. And you and I all contribute to that in our daily prayers as we pray for those we know who need Him, those we know who are suffering, those we know who aren't members of any church, those we know who are going through a hardship. We lift them up in prayer that God's kingdom may be extended to them, that they will trust in Him with all their heart.

To worship God, the Father, the holy name, His kingdom coming, to worship God is a daily need. I don't mean some sort of a ritual or a routine but simply coming near to God in prayer through your daily devotions, like Portals of Prayer or whatever form you use, reading your bible. Not as an obligation but as a joyous meeting, a time when you can get together with God. When Jesus went off to be by Himself with God, it wasn't drudgery. It was this essential communion with His Father in heaven. It gave Him strength and peace and guidance as He walked those steps on the road to Calvary . Everyday we need that quiet time with God.

Jesus continues in His model with more daily needs, and I like to summarize it this way. Give and forgive. That's what we talk about in the Lord's Prayer. Give and forgive. The first one seems kind of strange. In the Greek, the word when Jesus says, “Give us this day our daily bread,” that word give is a command. And that seems inappropriate, doesn't it? We calling out to God our Father with a command Give, like we're in charge. But I think that's a misunderstanding of that whole expression. Instead I think it's an expression of a strong faith firmly clinging to the promises of God in His Word. He promises to help us in our time of trouble. He promises to answer our prayer. He promises to forgive us. He promises to love us. And when we call out to God and when we say, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we aren't commanding God what to do. We're simply saying the convictions that are in our heart. God has promised this and I'm asking Him to honor that promise and fulfill that promise to show me how He's fulfilled that promise. So we speak these wonderful, strong words to our heavenly Father knowing He hears them and responds to them.

The next phrase is “our daily bread.” Every day our bread, the things we need daily to survive. Luther gives us much detail in this portion. He says, “What is meant by daily bread?” Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like. Anything not on that list? That's a pretty exhaustive list. What that points out is everything we have, everything we need comes from our heavenly Father and when we say those simple words, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we're asking for Him to continue to provide everything we need. When I read through that list, I think, and maybe it's because I was single until I was 37, I think about that phrase “a devout husband or wife.” That's what God provided me almost 9 years ago, a devout wife. What a beautiful thing to pray about on a daily basis. And it also talks about praying for your rulers, government, weather, peace, good health, all those wonderful things that make up who we are and supply our every need.

The prayer that Jesus teaches is a daily prayer. First we talked about worship and then we talked about the things He gives us. Now we're going to talk about forgiveness. We have a daily need for forgiveness. We need God's forgiveness just like we need daily food. We need to be spiritually cleansed on a regular basis because every time we sin, our sin separates us from God. It's a wedge between us and God. It's an obstacle between us and God. So that's why every time we worship God in this place, we have the confession of sins. We all do it together. That's a wonderful, great opportunity. But I want to encourage you don't wait all week until Sunday. Do it daily. Be cleansed spiritually by the blood of Jesus daily in your morning prayers, in your evening prayers. Ask God to forgive you for the things that have happened this day, for the sins you've committed, the words you said inappropriately and the thoughts you had. Ask God daily and then you can walk in peace in the knowledge of your forgiveness, the joy of your forgiveness and salvation.

And this is how you confess your sins. First, you identify it. Then you express your sorrow to God. Then you ask for forgiveness in Jesus' name and then you know you are forgiven because God promises that.

It's interesting, though, to note in this phrase it says, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us or who trespass against us.” Literally, in the Greek, it's “as we forgive those who are indebted to us.” Help us to forgive them just as we forgive those who are indebted to us. When we think about debt, we always think about money. But it's very clear in scripture that our sins are described as a debt we owe to God and when Jesus hung, bled, and died on the cross, He paid that debt. And He wants us to act the same toward others. When people sin against us and they say they're sorry, we must forgive them in Jesus' name. Also, if we don't forgive them, God's Word gives us a stern warning. It says, “If you do not forgive your brother who sins against you, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you.” That's an interesting thing to say, isn't it? We're happy to have God's forgiveness. Sometimes we're a little reluctant to share it with the people around us and this is a good way of testing that. We ask a question. In terms of feelings and forgiveness and being in a good relationship with everyone, who is in our prison? You might think, “What's that?” Who are we holding a grudge against because, if we're holding a grudge against somebody, we're keeping them in a place where we can be mean to them in our thoughts and maybe even in our actions. Who are we keeping in our prison? The reality is it's not just the people we refuse to forgive, it's also ourselves. When we hold a grudge, when we say, “I'll never talk to him again,” or “I'll never forgive that person,” or “I'll forgive but I won't forget,” how can you actually forgive if you're not forgetting it, if you're holding on to it. God wants us to forgive just the way He forgives and, when we do, not only do we release that person, but we ourselves experience freedom. We step out of the prison of our own bitterness, of our own grudge.

Finally, in Jesus' model of prayer, He talks about protection. He says, “Lead us not into temptation.” Now that's another puzzling phrase. Would God lead people into temptation? That doesn't seem compatible with who we know God to be, holy and just and righteous and fair and perfectly loving, all those wonderful attributes that we know about God. Would God lead someone into temptation?

The great scholar, William Arndt, translated that passage this way. Instead of saying, “Lead us not into temptation,” he said, “Do not permit the foes of our soul to catch us in their net.” Now that makes sense. As you begin the day, to pray beforehand, before you're tempted, before anything leads you into the ways of the devil, before the occasion even happens, pray for God to protect you spiritually. “God, guard my lips today. Help me not to say things that are inappropriate. Lord, help me not to be tempted by these things you know I'm weak in. Do not permit the foes of my soul to catch me in their net.” What a great prayer to begin the day with.

What a great prayer to offer up to God. We offer worship. We ask Him to give according to His promises. We ask for His forgiveness and remember on our part to forgive, and we ask for His protection. Four parts: Worship, Give, Forgive, Protect. A daily prayer.

When I think of how we approach God, it reminds me of my wonderful mother-in-law. I wish she were here, because I'd like to embarrass her. But she's just a wonderful, loving person who wants to give to all people. When we lived in New Jersey , she would come and visit and it was always like a seven-day party whenever she arrived. It was just fantastic. She knew how to have fun. She took our girls out and spoiled them, and it was really special. We lived 1,000 miles away so having her come was a real treat. One of the things she always did, though, she'd take the girls to some place like Toys R Us or something like that and she'd say, “Okay, you can pick one thing in the store, anything in the store, one thing.” And the girls got so excited about that because we didn't do that very often. We didn't do anything like that. We just kind of tried to pay our bills. But when she came, she would treat them in such a wonderful and beautiful way and they would always describe the experience with such wonderful memories and bring home their treasures and show us what they got with their one choice. And it was just a beautiful, beautiful memory. I was always hoping she'd take me to Cabela's and do the same thing. But it didn't work. But I think that's a beautiful way to think of our heavenly Father, as someone we look forward to seeing, someone we have great confidence and loves us and hears our prayers and answers our requests in a wonderful and beautiful way. Amen?

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you for all you've given us. We pray that you continue to supply all our needs according to your riches and glory. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2005 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church