So let's begin with our text.
I'd like to bring two messages over the next two Fridays, Part
1 and Part 2. This evening we're going to look
at the Lord's instructions from Luke 11, verses 1 through 4,
where we read, And it came to pass, that as he was praying
in a certain place, When he ceased, one of his disciples said unto
him, Lord, teach us to pray. As John also taught his disciples,
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, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily
bread and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone
that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Now there's much, there's a lot. I began to do this research on
what I was gonna bring tonight and there's a lot of stuff from
a lot of people about prayer. A lot of different things in
Bible commentaries, messages, and so on. My prayer is that
God will teach us through His Word and keep our personal commentaries
where they belong. So what is prayer? How should
we pray? And what does prayer accomplish?
I hope to look into the Lord's Word tonight and see where these
three questions may be answered. Without question, every soul
prays. Prayer is the crying of our hearts. It is the voice of our souls.
The soul cries out in times of anguish. It also cries out in
times of great joy. I remember when my granddaughter
was born. I remember when my daughter was
born. And even though that was 40 something years ago, I remember
the joy. And though I didn't know the
Lord, I still cried out for my two children from my heart. I was praying from my heart,
even though I didn't know who I was praying to. And that's
the question. The only question is, who is
it you're crying to? Am I calling out to anything
that will hear me? I read somebody's statement here
just the other day. Pray for, let's see, what was
that? what it was, but it wasn't praying
to anyone specific. It was just praying for the need
of something they had. But are we calling out to anything
that we'll hear? It's like a guy in a foxhole. A guy in a foxhole's got a bunch
of bullets shining over his head. He's going to cry to something.
Am I calling upon the false gods of my imagination? The native
Indians called upon the gods of the wolves and the lions and
the different spirits, the spirits of different animals. Or am I
calling of the true and living sovereign God? In Romans chapter
10, we read these words in 13 and 14, for whosoever shall call
upon the name, that's what we're talking about here, call, praying.
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they
call? How are you going to pray to
one whom you've not believed? And how shall you believe in
him whom you have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? How can you call on or pray to
or cry to or petition from someone you've never even heard of? My
very soul's desire is that God in his loving grace will enlighten
your hearts this evening, maybe even give life to a soul that
has never heard, that you might speak from the depths of your
soul directly to him. And if he does do that, if he
does that work in a heart, he will hear your prayers. Page
two. As to what is prayer, along with
what has already been said, the word prayer in the Old Testament
Hebrew language means intercession or supplication. I have prayed
for you, in other words. I have made requests on your
behalf. Or as it is stated in John 17,
where the Lord is giving his priestly prayer, he says, I pray
for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me. The word supplication in
the Old Testament Hebrew language means graciousness, causatively,
entreated, favor, grace. When one cries out from their
most inner being, our deepest thoughts, our voice of the soul,
we are speaking from our heart. Now this can be expressed in
an audible voice or a thought of the mind. Our great God on
two occasions verbally taught us how to pray, here in Luke
11, which we just read a moment ago, and also in Matthew 6. Now
Matthew 6 will be another lesson, but I wish to point out something
before we go on. These two different instructions
are not the Lord's Prayer. Our Lord prayed much, but these
instructions are for us, his people. The Lord Jesus could
not have been praying this as a prayer to the Father, for he
had not had the sins of his people laid upon him yet. There was
nothing for him to ask forgiveness of. In fact, just the opposite. Everything the Lord Jesus did
pleased the Father, and we read that in Matthew 3.17, and lo,
a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased. So we know that these two instructions
in Matthew and Luke are instructions to you and I, we who do sin against
God, we who do need forgiveness, we who seek the forgiveness of
our Father. In John 17, our Lord prays to
the Father as our high priest, as the one who petitions intercessions
on behalf of his people. In the garden, he prays for himself.
Yet there is a statement that I believe is the key to all true
prayer. Matthew 26, 36 through 42, then
cometh Jesus with him unto a place called Gethsemane and said unto
his disciples, sit ye here while I go and pray yonder. And he
took with him Peter and two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful
and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, my soul
is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, tarry ye here and
watch with me. And he went a little further
and fell on his face and prayed, saying, O father, if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, and here's that
phrase, Here's the phrase that I think is the key to everything
right here. Not as I will, but as thou wilt. Our Lord says in Hebrews, he
says, I came to do thy will, O Father. He came to do thy will. Everything our Lord did was according
to the will of the Father. Everything he did was perfect.
In perfect righteousness, in perfect holiness, And everything
he did pleased the Father. He says, not as I will, but as
thou wilt. Now remember, Jesus was 100%
man and 100% God. He suffered in the flesh, folks.
We tend to stop and think of our Lord sometimes too much as
just being God alone, but he was both. He suffered man and
he had the pleasures of being God in the flesh. He cried out to his father, if
I could remove, let this cut pass from me, but then here's
that key. Nonetheless, not as I will, but
as thou wilt. And he cometh unto his disciples
and findeth them asleep and saith unto Peter, what could ye not
watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that ye enter
not in temptation. that the spirit indeed is willing,
but the flesh is weak. And he went away again a second
time and prayed, saying, O Father, if this cup may not pass away
from me, except I drink it, thy will be done." Thy will be done. This is the key to all true prayer. The world believes God is a changing
God. You notice I wrote in small letters
that changing God. They believe his grace can be
changed, his judgment can be changed just by their petitioning
prayer change. National prayer day. If everybody
gets together and prays, maybe God will change something. If all the nation will pray on
a particular day, maybe they can influence God to turn things
around. And he can, if so it was his
purpose and will to do so. In other words, it's not our
prayer that changes his will, it is his will that changes our
prayer. Thy will be done is our submission to his divine purpose
and his divine will. We read in that verse in our
text, thy kingdom come, thy will be done as in heaven, so in earth.
And the first part of our instruction is our recognition of his authority.
Our father, which art in heaven hallowed be thy name. We do not
pray to saints, we don't pray to angels, but to God our Father,
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of glory
who is in heaven. Our God and Father is the Father
of all men as our creator is, as we read in Acts 17, 28, for
in him we live and move and have our being as certain also as
your own poets have said, for we are also his offspring. And
because he is the God and Father of all men by creation, It is
proper for all men to praise Him and to praise Him, to pray
to Him. We must never forbid any to pray
or even discourage prayer by anyone. But God is the Father
of His elect, His chosen, in a very distinct way. in a
very special sense as we read in Colossians 1 verses 20 through
22. And having made peace through
the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto
himself, by him I say whether they are the things in the earth
or things in heaven, and you that were sometime alienated
and enemies in your mind by wicked works. Yet now hath he reconciled
in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and
unblameable, unreprovable in his sight." We're the children
of God by adoption, by election, by regeneration, and by faith. The question is, do you trust
the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, if you do, it is right
for you to call God Almighty your Father. It's right for you
to come to Him in such a way in prayer. Hebrews 4, 16, Paul
tells us plainly, let us therefore come boldly. How can you and
I come boldly before God? Through the blood of our Savior,
through the blood that washes us clean, through His righteousness,
He who is perfect in every way. We come boldly to the throne
of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace and help in the
time of need. We have the right, the privilege,
the bold freedom and confidence of faith to pray to God Almighty
in heaven as our father. That's what the Lord is telling
us there. Pray this way, our father, the Lord Jesus himself
telling us, when we pray privately in our closets or with our families
or when we pray collectively in the house of God, we pray
as the children of God, being taught and led of God. led of
God by the Holy Spirit to lift our hearts to heaven and to call
the God of glory, our Father. Nothing, writes Don Fortner,
unites hearts like mutual prayer, collective worshiping, and the
prayer of God our Father. The name of God represents all
of his attributes by which he reveals himself to us. His name
represents his being, all that he is. When we say, hallowed
by thy name, we're simply praying like the Lord Jesus did when
he prayed in John 12, 28. Father, glorify thy name. I ask you, did not God create
the universe for his glory? Listen to what he says in Revelations
4.11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and
power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure
they are and were created. Proverbs 16.4, we read these
words, the Lord hath made all things for himself, yea, even
the wicked for the day of evil. lifting up His name. That's what
that is, our Father who art in heaven, lifting up His name,
calling Him who He is, the creator of everything, King of kings,
Lord of lords, lifting up our Lord in this way declares all
providence works for His glory. Listen to Romans 11, 36, for
of Him and through Him and to Him are all things. to whom be glory forever. Amen. Our Lord's object in saving sinners
is also for His glory. Listen to Psalms 106a. Nevertheless,
He saved them for His namesake, that He might make His mighty
power to be known. The object of our Lord's death
was above all else for the glory of God. Listen to John 12, 27
through 28. Now is my soul troubled, and
what shall I say? Father saved me from this hour,
but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy
name. Then came there a voice from
heaven saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. Is not the heart's desire the
prayer of every believer above all else that God's name be honored
and magnified and glorified? In Psalms 35, 27, let them shout
for joy and be glad that favor my righteous cause. Yea, let
them say continually, let the Lord be magnified. And also in
Psalms 40, verse 16, let all those who seek thee rejoice and
be glad in thee. Let such as love thy salvation
say continually, the Lord be magnified. In 1 Corinthians 10,
31, whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do,
do all to the glory of God. In 1 Peter 4, 11, if any man
speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. If any man minister,
let him do it as the ability which God giveth. that God in
all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise
and dominion forever and ever. Amen. So we see where our heart's
greatest desire, when we pray, we approach the Lord as our Father,
we pray to him with reverence. Our Lord teaches us to pray,
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. The word
hallowed means holy. It means consecrated. This is
the heart of a born again believer approaching the majestic creator
with reverence, declaring him the holy one, the righteous one. This is lifting up God in our
hearts, in our prayers, as Moses lifted up the brazen serpent.
It's a heart matter. That old stony heart we all come
into this world with had to be removed. The stone cut away and
tossed out, a new heart had to be given. A living heart, a heart
that loves Him for He first loved us, and this new heart bends
the knee now. That's what we're doing, praying
to God Almighty. We're bending to His will right
now. Everyone, everyone will bend
the knee at the day of judgment, we bend it now gladly, willingly,
willing in the day of His love, in the day of His power. As we
read in Psalms 110.3, thy people shall be willing in the day of
thy power. We admit, we recognize, We declare, along
with God's word, that it is God who did the work in our hearts.
It is God who gave us a new heart and cut away the old stone. Next,
we read in our text where it says, thy kingdom come. Simply
put, may the Lord's church increase is what that's saying. Our first
concern is and must be the glory of God and himself, but our second
concern is for the kingdom of God. We seek in all of our prayers
that the Lord will be pleased to establish and to enlarge his
church, his kingdom in this world. Listen to Proverbs 122, six through
seven. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper. that love
thee." This is talking about spiritual Jerusalem, spiritual
Israel, God's church. Peace be within thy walls and
prosperity within thy palaces. To pray thy kingdom come is simply
to pray, Lord, save your people. Establish your kingdom in this
world, page six. We pray for the kingdom of grace
to be filled as we read in Romans 11 verse 26, and so all Israel
shall be saved as it is written. There shall come out of Sion
the deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. We pray for the kingdom of glory
to be established, 2 Peter 3.13. Nevertheless, we, according to
his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness. If our heart's concern is for
the kingdom of God, his sheep, his people, his elect, his church,
let us ever pray thy kingdom come. And lastly from our text,
we see the key to all true prayer, as I read a moment ago, thy will
be done as in heaven, so in earth. Brother Don Fortner wrote this,
he says, prayer is not us trying to get God to do our will, rather
it is a voluntary leaving our will to his will. Our truest happiness, wrote J.C. Ryle, is perfect submission to
God's will. We want to obey God's revealed
will. We want men and women everywhere
to surrender to and obey God's revealed will, but here our Lord
is teaching us to sincerely and heartily surrender everything
to and earnestly desire that God will be done, that God's
will will be done in this world exactly as it is in heaven, knowing
that it always is. Ephesians 111, we read this,
in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will. The simple fact is, we don't
know what to pray as we ought. Most of my prayers, I fear, are
accurately described by James in chapter four, verse three,
where we read, ye ask and receive not, because ye ask a myth, that
ye may consume it upon your lusts. Folks, let us give thanks to
our ever-gracious God that even in our prayers, he overrules
the evil that is in us, and done by us for our good and for his
glory. We read in 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. Aren't you thankful
that everything our Lord requires of us is provided for us by himself. I'm so thankful that the Lord
doesn't require me to pray perfectly, but yet my prayers are presented
perfectly to him by him, the Spirit of God. In all that we
have seen thus far, the concern of true prayer is altogether
spiritual, a matter of the heart. Our Lord Jesus teaches us to
pray for the glory of God, for the people of God, and for the
will of God. He teaches us to submit all other matters to those
greater, far more important matters that I just said. There are many
examples that we could look to throughout the word of God, but
one I found stood out, at least to me, that seemed to cover what
our Lord is instructing us in this word in what we read in
Luke 11. Look with me if you would at
1 Kings chapter 8. And while you're turning there
in your Bibles, if you haven't already, or if you want to, you
can read it in the handout. Let me just share with you. Chapter
7, the Lord tells us of the final finishing touches of the temple
that is built by King Solomon. And after setting the scene,
as it were, in verses 1 through 13 of chapter 8, Solomon, the
son of David, king of Israel, prayed a dedication to the Lord's
house, the temple. After he had set up that set
the scene of the elders surrounding him and all of the people of
Israel coming out. We read in verse 14, and the
king, Solomon, turned his face about and blessed all the congregation
of Israel, and all the congregation of Israel stood. And he said,
blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto
David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,
and before we go on to 16, I want to just point this out. Blessed
be the Lord God of Israel. Now who's the Lord God of Israel?
He's the God of all creation. He's our Father who art in heaven.
He's the majestic God who created everything, the only one worthy
of having prayer, the only one who will do anything about prayer,
the only one whose will shall be fulfilled. Going on in verse
16, he says, since the day that I brought forth my people Israel
out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel
to build in house that my name might be therein, but I chose
David to be over my people Israel. Verse 17, and it was in the heart
of David, my father, to build a house for the name of the Lord
God of Israel. And the Lord said unto David,
my father, and this is important. We've gone back here. I wanna
stop for just a moment. I want you to understand why
I'm reading all of this before we get to the main part in verses
28, 29, and 30. I want you to see the setup. We're looking at Solomon declaring
the promises of God and how they came about through his promises,
through him. As it was in the heart of David,
verse 17, to build a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel,
and the Lord said unto David, my father, where it was in thine
heart to build a house unto my name, thou didst well that it
was in thine heart. Page eight. Nevertheless, thou
shalt not build the house, but thy son shall come forth out
of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name. and the
Lord hath performed his word that he spake." Now he promised.
This is the standing that you and I have. Our Lord promised
that he shall save a people and we stand on those promises. We
Now let me just go on, in verse 20. And the Lord hath performed
his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David,
my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised,
and have built a house for the name of the Lord, God of Israel. And I have set there a place
for the ark, where is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with
our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. And
Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of
all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands, toward
where? Our Father, who art in heaven. 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 hearts, who has kept with thy servant David, my father,
that thou promised him, thou spakest also with thy mouth and
has fulfilled it with thine hand as it is this day." This is the
exact same thing that we're talking about when we cry out, our Father
who art in heaven, he who rules over all things, he who is sovereign,
sovereign God of everything. And now, verse 26, or verse 25,
therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David,
my father, that thou promised 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 the servant David my father. But will God indeed
dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heavens
of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house that
I have builted. Yet have thou respect unto the
prayer of thy servant. and do his supplication, O Lord
my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant
prayeth before thee today, that thine eyes may be opened towards
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 now to the supplication of thy servant. and of thy people
Israel, when they shall pray towards this place and hear thou
in heaven, thy dwelling place, and when thou hearest, forgive.
Page nine. The last part of our text that
we read says give us day by day our daily bread. Why does our
Lord hear our prayers? I can tell you right now, it
has nothing to do with what you have done. It has nothing to
do with you deciding to pray. Our Lord hears our prayers for
one reason, for one reason only, and that's because of his son,
our substitute. Because he who knew no sin was
made to be sin, our sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. That is the only reason God hears
our prayer. Give us day by day our daily
bread. The Lord says, I am the bread. He is the one that we come to
daily for our needs. When we pray our Father who art
in heaven, we're praying to our Savior, the very one that we
need day by day, our daily bread. Next we read, and forgive us
our sins. How are our sins forgiven? Through
our substitute, the Lord Jesus, the very one who took God's wrath
upon himself for our sakes. He who bore our sins in his own
body. This is the forgiveness of our
sins, for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us. Now,
I know we don't do that perfectly, but in my heart, in my heart,
the new heart that God has given me, it's the same as the love
that I have for God. It's not perfect, but it's a
love and a forgiveness that was never there before. And then
it says, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil. Deliver us from the evil of our
own hearts. Folks, he has. He has delivered us in his son,
the Lord Jesus. Tonight, my prayer is that the
Lord would gather us together tonight. Why? Because he's promised
to gather his people together. I have problems with people who
go off to be by themselves. I'm so thankful that God has
given us a technology where we can invite folks like Craig Roberts
and Cheryl Halfdell and Shirley Jukic who are alone in the world
when it comes to worshipping and having fellowship. What a
blessing God has given us in this technology. I have a problem
with folks who just go off to be by themselves declaring, I'll
worship God in my own little way out in the middle of the
wilderness. Lord, feed us thy word. Why? Why? Because he's
promised. to feed us. Lord bless us with
heavenly blessings. Why? Because he has promised
to bless us. Just as he promised David that
the temple would be built and it was done by God's hand, our
Lord will bless us with heavenly blessings as we read in Ephesians
chapter 1. Lord, forgive us our sins. Why?
Because he has promised to do so for a people, a people he's
loved from before the world was. Lord, keep us from temptation.
Why? Because he has promised to do
so. We are kept by the power of God unto salvation, 1 Peter
chapter 3. Lord, deliver us from evil. Why? Because he has promised to do
so. Folks, we'll be with the Lord in heaven for an eternity. forever and ever and ever, never
ceasing, because God has delivered us from the evil within us. The
Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, yea, I have loved
thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. What is true prayer? It's bowing
to his will. And only by His grace can we
bow to Him now. Submit to Him now. We sing this
song, Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch
like me. Today is the day of salvation.
I invite you to bow to Him today. Any comments or questions? You can go ahead and unmute yourself.
Man, we've got a full screen up there. Thank you, Lord. I
pray that was a blessing to you folks. I know it was a blessing
to me to put it together. Next week I'm going to look closer
at Matthew Chapter 6. Our Lord gives us some further
instructions along with calling upon God our Father in Heaven.
And I hope to bring out a little more depth about what prayer
is. I was sincere about my prayer from our hearts. And this is
the prayer that God's people have. from our hearts. Scott's right. Scott Rushhour
is correct. We want to pray for this country.
But I guarantee you this country is on the exact path that God
has purposed and determined for it to be on. We're not going
to change our Lord's purpose. But we do recognize our needs
by praying, by calling out to the Lord. We recognize that there's
no other place to go to. There's no one else who can answer,
truly answer the prayers of his people but the Lord Jesus Christ,
God Almighty, sitting on his throne. So my prayer is earnest
from my heart that our Lord's will shall be done no matter
what. And I know that his answer is, it will be done.