What Do I Say To God When I Pray?

Matthew 6:9-13  In this manner, therefore, pray:  Our Father in heaven,  hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come. Your will be done  on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Tomorrow the women’s Bible study starts up again.  I can’t wait.  I have so much on my heart to share about praying for His kingdom and His will.   As we continue to study this prayer, we are going to discover the components that our prayers should have – they should have a time of worship and a time of thanksgiving.  We will look at the differences between the two.  We will discover that there is a time of confession, and we will discover that our prayers are to contain a time of petitions.  There are seven petitions in this prayer – 3 petitions concerning God and 4 petitions concerning ourselves.  But, before we make petitions for ourselves, notice the focus we are to have first – Hallowed be Your name; Your kingdom come, Your will be done.  When we do that, when we put God’s glory first, our petitions will be greatly affected. They will reflect our first prayers – wanting His will in our lives. The object of true praying is not to bend the will of God to ours, but to get our will in line with His.  True praying is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness. 

God wants us to ask Him.  In this prayer we see Jesus validating that.  Yes, God loves to be worshipped, and He loves to be thanked  But He also loves it when His children come to Him and ask Him to provide for them, to protect them, to deliver them, to take care of them – because that’s what a Father does. 

I was thinking about love languages yesterday.  Different actions speak love to us.  We each like to be loved in a particular way.  In the same way, we favor ways of being approached.  So does God.  God calls us to come to Him; to approach Him.  Hebrews 4:16 reminds us we can approach Him boldly.  In this prayer recorded in Matthew 6, Jesus reveals to us how God loves to be approached and teaches us some of the things God loves us to talk about.

May our application of this prayer bless Him and may it embolden us to approach Him more often.

This blog is the last posting – at least until the end of Women’s Bible study.  It’s been a joy sharing the Sermon on the Mount with you.  Thanks so much to all of you who posted comments.  You touched the hearts of many.

   

God Rewards What He Sees

Jesus made a statement about our charitable deeds in Matthew 6:4.  He said something similar about prayer in Matthew 6:6. He said it again about fasting in Matthew 6:18.  That your charitable deed may be in secret and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. Two things we can know about God here.  1.  He sees.  He sees what man does not.  He notices.  One of His names is El Roi – the God who sees. And our God who sees does something about what He sees.

#2 He rewards.

Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

Now, what are His rewards?  He frequently mentions rewards in His word. Yet He tells us very little about them.  I’m pretty sure they will be exceedingly abundantly above what we could ever ask or think.  We probably shoot way too low when we consider God’s rewards.  We think we want some sort of material blessings – and He does that.  Yet, when He blesses us spiritually, we discover it to be much better.  I mean, how do you describe Disneyland to a child that has never been there?  How could God describe a reward that He has designed to us who are limited by what we know in this corrupt world?

Last week, on Sunday morning, Pastor Dale taught from Genesis 14 & 15.  Abraham had been offered a great deal of material rewards.  Genesis 14:23 records his response.  Abraham refused them because he wanted no one but God to get the glory for blessing Him.  Two verses later, God appeared to Abraham and said Do not be afraid Abraham.  I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.  Ponder that one.  Exceedingly Great. God didn’t say to Abraham that He would give him exceedingly great rewards.  He did give Abraham rewards.  But, here, God told Abraham that He, God Himself,  was Abraham’s exceedingly great reward.  If God Himself were the only reward you received for giving and praying and fasting for His glory, would that be enough for you?

This is our God.  He says He’s got rewards for us when we  do not seek to be known by man, but, rather,  that our God be known by man. 

And all too often, you and I trade that, for the self-feeding attention of another person.  Jesus says Take heed or you will miss out.

This Morning's Message from Pastor Dale

Let's take today and reflect on this morning's message.  I encourage you to post a comment.  I love the way the Lord is using the comments.  Please keep posting - and thank you to those of you who are obeying God's "nudging".  Your comments have been a blessing. 


And he believed the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.  Genesis 15:6