This is Why Prayer is Possible!
After teaching His disciples how to pray, Jesus demonstrates the effectiveness of prayer with two parables designed to help us learn more about the heart and desires of God. We not only need to learn what to say when we pray, and what attitude to pray with, but also when and why to pray. These two stories illustrate the readiness of God to hear our prayers, and the reliance we can have on His goodness.
Long Live the King!
Your Bible translation may end The Lord's Prayer where Stephen Davey left off in the last study in this series, but older translations include a doxology to this prayer in the Gospel of Matthew. These closing thoughts present several crucial elements of God that put our prayers and requests to Him in their proper perspective.
Living on the Edge of Disaster
Do you have enough willpower to not be tempted? Of course not. How about resisting temptation, do you have enough strength to resist all the temptations to sin that come your way? Every believer knows that they do not. That's why, as Jesus continues giving us an example of how to pray, He reminds us that temptation is inevitable--it will come--and He reminds us that only through God's strength can we overcome.
When Prayer is Proven in the Public Square
It is not difficult for someone to fake sincerity in a prayer to God. We can pray for God's will to be done while privately hoping our will prevails. We can pray that God's kingdom comes soon, while secretly reveling in the cares of this world. But there's one prayer that requires a public attitude; one prayer that demands public accountability. As Jesus teaches His disciples, and us, to forgive as we have been forgiven, He challenges us that words are not enough. God requires a lifestyle of forgiveness from His chosen people.
Four Words and His Signature
There is an innate feeling of wrongdoing and guilt in all human beings. We all intrinsically know when we have fallen short, and we look to be freed from the guilt and shame we feel inside us. Many people will go to extreme lengths to confess their sins and make themselves feel right again. But Jesus gave His disciples a very simple task to do when they have sinned; in fact, it is only four words long.
The Prayer Request that Goes to War
We ask God about the big things in life and the small things. We pray about big topics--like the eternal nature of God's coming kingdom--but also about the matters of life we often take for granted: where we live, what we drink, and what we eat. By modeling this attitude for us, Jesus teaches us that God is so intimately involved in our daily life that even something as seemingly insignificant as a loaf of bread is divinely provided for us by our loving God.
No Longer King of Your Own Castle
When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He made sure to stress just how significant a commitment it is to say, "Your kingdom come." As always, Jesus wasn't just concerned with the words coming out of His follower's mouths, He got right to the heart of the matter. Praying The Lord's Prayer requires a type of surrender that acknowledges God's divine supremacy and our total dependency. When we pray this prayer, we hand over the key to the castle of our life.
When the Reputation of God is at Stake
The most important question the disciples ever asked Jesus was the question, Lord, will you teach us to pray? As Jesus set out to teach them how, He demonstrated that praying well starts with properly understanding God and our relationship to Him. The very first phrase of The Lord's Prayer is the key to unlocking a successful prayer life in ourselves as well.
Reaching Heaven in Two Minutes or Less
Many Christians are asked the question, What makes Christianity unique? What makes it different from any other religion? The answer can be found in the first two words of the prayer Jesus teaches His disciples to pray in Luke 11: Our Father. No other religion can claim such an intimate, personal communion between God and the worshiper. No other religion calls God their father. As Jesus teaches them--and us--to pray, there are some perspective-changing, life-orienting truths to learn from these two words: Our Father.
The Greatest Show on Earth
The religions of the world are preoccupied with performance. Prayer, rituals, works, and traditions give people a false sense of righteousness. And this is not a new phenomenon; in fact, Jesus confronted the same themes 2,000 years ago. The Pharisees were the masters of seeming righteous, they performed in all the right ways, but their hearts were far from God. As Jesus calls them out for their hypocrisy, we can glean a valuable reminder about what true worship--and what truly living for Christ--is all about.