Pattern of Prayer (part 2)

 

The Lord’s Prayer

Matthew 6:9-13	Luke 11:2-4
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.	And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.	Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Give us this day our daily bread.	Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.	And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.	And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

Declarations

1.      Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be your name.

a.     “Our Father”

                                                              i.      Covenant Relationship

1.      Galatians 4:4-6 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

a.      We are now able to become children of God Almighty by adoption. We are adopted through the blood of Jesus.

b.     “Hallowed be your name”

                                                              i.      Hallowed

1.      Holy

2.      Sanctified

3.      Set apart

                                                            ii.      Psalms 30:4 Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

                                                          iii.      Psalms 103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

                                                          iv.      His Name – “Eight Compound Names of God”

1.      Your kingdom come, and Your will be done.

a.      This establishes God’s Priority and will in your life.

b.     The laying down of your desires, will, and selfishness.

c.      Establishing God’s Kingdom and will in:

                                                              i.      My Life

                                                            ii.      My family

                                                          iii.      My church

                                                          iv.      My Nation (Nation, state, city)

2.      Give us this day our daily bread.

a.      Daily Provision

b.     Walking in God’s Covenant promise

                                                              i.      Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

                                                            ii.      John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

3.      Forgive us of our debts, as we forgive our debtors

a.      Receiving the Father’s forgiveness

                                                              i.      1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

                                                            ii.      Psalm 32:5 I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

b.     Walking in forgiveness towards one another

                                                              i.      Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

                                                            ii.      Colossians 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

                                                          iii.      Matthew 5:23-24 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

4.      Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

a.      James 1:14-15 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

                                                              i.      In what areas are we tempted or drawn away?

1.      1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

a.      The lust of the Flesh

b.     The lust of the eyes

c.      The pride of life

b.     Deliver us from evil

                                                              i.      Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

1.      God has delivered us from evil and put us in the kingdom of Jesus

5.      For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.

a.      Revelation 7:11-12 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

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A Pattern of Prayer (part 1)

 

A Pattern of Prayer 

Jesus is our example

Matthew 6:5-8: And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Not like the Hypocrite

• And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
• Hypocrite (meaning)
•  An Actor
• As assumed character (stage player)
• Fake, putting on false appearance
• To pretend
• The Hypocrite prays to be seen by others and to appear spiritual or religious.

 Find a private place

• But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
• Jesus is not against corporate and public prayer, but is speaking of the importance of finding a quiet and private place to focus on Him.

Shut the doors

• Door
• A portal or entrance
• An opening
• Door or gate 
• We have 3 gates- ways that things enter
• The eye gates
• The Ear gates
• The mind gates
• Avoiding distractions
• Luke 10:38-42 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.  And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
•  cumbered about much serving = distracted with much serving.

The secret place

•  God is not playing hide and seek, but desires for us to come into the secret place of His presence.
• Psalms 31:20 Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
•  Psalms 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

 Vain Repetitions

• But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
•  Prayer is not about a pattern or recital of words but is to be from a genuine and sincere heart.

Asking the Father

• Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
• Why ask if He already knows?
• Asking deals with:
•  Confessing and speaking
• The power of agreement
• Alignment with the authority of the Word
• Aligning our will with the will of the Father
• Matthew 7:7-12 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
• James 4:2-3 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

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Men and Asking Directions

It's a common saying that men don't ask for directions. Recently, I pondered this as December began, a time when thoughts naturally drift to the birth of Jesus and the visit of the Wise Men. The Bible recounts that the Wise Men followed a star from the East to Israel. Their precise origin and the exact number of these Wise Men remain uncertain.

Matthew 2:1-9

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.  And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,  And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

We see that they stopped at the palace to ask directions. Then they were sent to Bethlehem by Herod. Herod said that he wanted to come and worship him also. 

Matthew 2:11-18

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

Numerous male children were slain. Had the wise men not halted to seek directions and simply continued to follow the star, Herod would have remained unaware of Jesus's birth.

The stereotype that males typically do not ask for directions makes one ponder if this notion could have originated from the wise men's actions.

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Righteousness and Prayer

 

What Does Righteousness Have to Do with Prayer?

 

 Proverbs 15:29

 The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

James 5:16 

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

•  Righteousness is the key to effective prayer.
• Psalm 66:18-20: If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.
• Iniquity (meaning)
• gross injustice : wickedness
• a wicked act or thing : sin
• The Great Transfer
• Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
• No one is righteous.
• 2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
• Righteousness:
• Equity of character
• Justification
• “Right standing with God”
• God made Jesus to know sin so that we could be reconciled to Him. He will hear us only if we come to him and repent of all our sins.
• Clean Heart and Confession
• Psalm 51:5-17 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.  Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
• 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
• Humble yourself
• Turn from sin
• James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
• 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
• Confess your sins. Then come to him with your cares, wants, needs, desires, heartaches, etc.

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Examples of Prayer

 

Examples of Prayer

1.      Hannah

a.      1 Samuel 1:15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.

b.     Sometimes when you pray so intently, no sound comes from your mouth

2.      Solomon

a.      1 Kings 8:22-54 And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart: Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day: That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive. If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house: Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers. When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name. If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name: Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them: For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron: That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee. For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God. And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.

3.      Jesus

a.      Luke 5:15-16 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.  And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

                                                              i.      He went to a place of solitary.

1.      Many times you need to be alone with God without some many distractions.

b.     Luke 6:12-13  And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

                                                              i.      Jesus prayed before selecting the disciples.

c.      Luke 22:39-46  And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.

                                                              i.      Jesus prayed in the garden before being arrested and lead to the cross.

4.      Elijah

a.      James 5:16-18  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

                                                              i.      Effectual:

1.      Active

2.      Efficient

                                                            ii.      Effective:

1.      Producing a decided, decisive, or desired effect.

                                                          iii.      Fervent

1.      Very hot, glowing, marked by great warmth of feeling, exhibiting deep sincere emotion.

b.     1 Kings 18:41-46  And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

                                                              i.      The birthing of rain through prayer

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Types of Prayer

Prayers: General communication between God and man

• To pray to God
• Worship
•  Includes waiting before God in silence, seeking His face, calling upon His Name

1 Timothy 2:1-4

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;  For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

3 Reasons to Pray

1. For a peaceful life
2.  It is good and acceptable to God
3. It helps to bring others to salvation

4 Types of Prayers

•  Supplications
• Supplication:
• to beseech
• to beg
• to plead
• to make a petition or request
• to appeal to God
• Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
• Intercession
• Intercession:
• To speak or argue in favor of a person or cause before God
• To stand in the gap
• Exodus 32:10-12 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?  Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath and repent of this evil against thy people.
• Moses stood between God and the Israelites. He could have allowed them to perish in their sins, but he chose to intervene. Moses, driven by compassion, chose to intercede.
• Psalms 106:23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
• Ezekiel 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
• Thanksgiving
• Thanksgiving:
• An attitude of gratitude
• Grateful language to God as an act of worship
• Psalms 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
• Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
• In the Spirit
• Praying in the Holy Spirit
• Corinthians 14:14-15 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
• Jude 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
• Ephesians 6:18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
• Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

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