“The Lord's Prayer - Part 1”
Sermon Title: The Lord's Prayer - Part 1
Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV)
Introduction:
Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, which we know as The Lord’s Prayer, but a piece is missing from Matthew which is found in Luke Ch. 11 where it is more flushed out.
The Prayer – When Jesus says, “pray like this,” the instruction is two-fold:
- It may be a literal repetition of the prayer, but not an absent-minded verbatim. These words are to be internalized, memorized, and lifted to God from our deepest part of our being.
- This prayer is the framework for our entire spiritual life and walk with Jesus. Every verse is an opportunity for self-examination. Through this prayer, we access God and His power, and at the same time, allows God to have access into our lives. It is about how we connect with God and about what He reveals about us.
1. “OUR Father” – Jesus is intentional in saying “Our Father” not “My Father” because:
- You are a part of something greater than yourself; you don’t have exclusive access to God above others. It’s OUR Father.
- We may have a personal relationship with God, but we do not have a private relationship with God. Our relationship is both personal and communal – we belong to a larger family.
- “Our Father” signifies the radical nature of reconciliation through Jesus. All have been invited and we don’t decide who is let in or out.
- It is not about being united theologically, ethnically, culturally, politically, etc. We are united by OUR Father.
2. Our FATHER – Jesus’ next word is “FATHER.” Jesus is intentional when he says this. Most Jewish prayers began with "Blessed are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, Sovereign over all creation." This may give a sense that God is so holy and almighty (He is!) that He is a distant, unreachable, and unapproachable being who is far from us.
- Ex. In Psalms, the word “father” appears only 3 times; God is seen as a “saviour” more than a 100 times; as “deliverer” more than 50 times; as “king” more than 40 times.
- Ex. The Jews held such high reverence for God that they preferred to call God by alternative titles such as Adonai (The Lord) rather than risk mispronouncing God’s holy name or use any personal titles like “Father.”
- Negative/abusive relationships with our biological fathers impact how we view God. God is not seen in the image of a good father or He is seen as a distant father.
- Regardless of our relationships with our biological fathers, being in a relationship with God is to be in a relationship with the most loving, compassionate, and tender father.
- Many people see God as a father who is disappointed with us, criticizes us, always correcting us. But Jesus says no – Jesus uses the word “abba” for father. This is a word like “daddy” or “poppa” which shows great affection and intimacy. God is a holy and supreme being, but He is not distant and way out there. He is an intimate, loving, and forgiving father who longs to embrace us (cf. Exod. 34:6-7; Ps. 145:8-9)
How you see God and your vision of who God is, will determines the quality of your spiritual life.
- Jesus is letting us know, that our ABBA Father is a God who can’t wait to see you; who is so happy when you show up to pray; who longs to hear from you and desires to pour out his grace to you. He is a God who loves you unconditionally no matter what!
- We see this expressed powerfully in the parable of The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32); the father has been longing for his son to come back. Seeing his son in the distance, the father runs to his son, not to judge, shame, or scold him, but to embrace him, save him, and bless him. The son did not return because he is repentant nor because he feels bad about hurting his father. He returned to survive and because he was hungry. The heart of our Father God says, “Come anyway!” Whether you are the younger son who came back or the elder son who refused to come in, whether you are resentful, hard-hearted, rebellious, or simply wanting to be fed, we have an Abba God who waits and runs after you. This is the God to whom we pray!
3. Hallowed be Your Name – This is the first request in The Lord’s Prayer
- We probably would not craft our prayer with this request. We probably would have been fixated on our own needs and asked for “our daily bread” first. “Hey God, how are you? I need some stuff,” is this not the way we usually pray?
- Jesus was different. His first request was “Lord, may your name be hallowed (be seen as holy and be highly lifted in reverence, glory, and honour). Jesus is saying that our desire to see God’s name be hallowed must come first. In other words, “Lord, may your name and your glory be my heart’s first desire.”
- Jesus teaches us to pray this first request very intentionally to show us that our first request should flow from our desire for God’s name, not from our needs. The primary orientation of hearts must desire to see God’s name treasured and cherished and loved; to see His name and character honoured and glorified. Our prayer is about revealing God’s glory.
- Right before the Lord’s prayer, Jesus criticizes hypocrites who out loud in the streets so that they may be seen and heard by others. Jesus shows us how people are living for their own name and their own glory. Your prayer may become about your goals, your dreams, your security, your accomplishments, your possessions, you kids, your family, your business, your career, and everything about your prayer is about you. Jesus is telling us that our vision, values, priorities must be readjusted to be about God’s name and God’s glory.
- Studies show that the rise of selfies culture is a rise in narcissism. It comes from our desire to be seen, recognized, treasured, loved, and affirmed by others, and becomes the driver of our lives. Social media is used as a form of self-glorification. It is a subtle way of hallowing our own names. It comes from a place of disorder within us – deep down inside, beneath our narcissism, is a deep desire to be seen, loved, and affirmed by God. When you receive validation from the Father, you no longer need to live hallowing your own name because you’re living for HIS name!
To hallow God’s name means that the desire of our heart is for God’s glory and God’s name. This is a prayer that gets to the honest heart of our motives.
Reflection and Questions:
God has blessed many of us. You have been gifted with privileges like a great education, degrees, prominent jobs or careers, talents and skills in various fields, intelligence, charisma, wealth, health, and so forth. God has entrusted us with these gifts, so we are to steward these gifts to hallow God’s name.
- Have you faced disappointment when your prayers were not answered or you saw no results? Have you ever felt that God is not listening nor answering your prayers?
- Examine your prayers and your prayer life. Is the priority of your prayers on hallowing God’s name or hallowing your own name? Is your prayer centered on God’s name and glory, or is it about your own needs and desires?
- What kind of a father do you see God as? Is he your ABBA Father or a condemning Judge?
To be continued in Part 2