Equip: "Pray Then Like This"

Amen. Please, if you would, take your Bibles and open them up to the Gospel of Matthew.

We're walking through our mission and vision as a church family this month with an eye towards the theme of prayer.

Our mission, as we've said, is to magnify the glory of God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

And the three ways that we've identified that we do that is by enjoying the Lord, by equipping the saints, and by evangelizing the lost.

So last week we saw that we enjoy God in prayer.

And this week, our aim, as we look to the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6, verses 5-13, is that we might equip the saints to pray.

Matthew 6:5–13

So if you would, follow along with me as I read our passage, Matthew 6, verses 5-13.

Matthew 6:5–13

Pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

Pray then like this.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for the gift of prayer.

Father, we praise you for the wonderful privilege that it is that we can speak to you, the God of gods.

And that you hear us.

That you answer our prayers according to your infinite wisdom.

And so we pray now, we ask, Father, as your disciples asked, would you teach us to pray?

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Amen.

In 1535, a simple question from a German barber inspired what I have found to be one of the most helpful and insightful works on prayer that I've ever read.

Peter the barber.

He probably saw plenty of customers come in and out of his shop, but he had the privilege of serving as barber to at least one name that most of you would probably recognize.

He was barber to the great reformer Martin Luther.

At this time, Martin Luther was not popular.

In fact, many wanted him dead for his teachings against the false doctrines of the Catholic Church.

In fact, I would not be surprised if many would have loved for Barber Pete to make a strategic slip of the razor and put an end to Luther's teachings once and for all.

But instead, as Luther sat himself down in the chair and placed himself at Pete the barber's mercy, Peter the barber made a confession.

He said, I am struggling to pray.

I don't know where to start.

I don't know how to begin.

I am worried about the coldness of my heart towards God.

I am worried about the distance, the weakness of my prayers.

And knowing that Luther was a man of prayer, he asked him for some help.

And as a result, Luther wrote the simple short treatise.

It is called A Simple Way to Pray, subtitled for Master Peter the barber.

In this little work, what Luther does is he recommends taking several key texts and Christian documents.

The Apostles' Creed is one.

The Lord's Prayer, our passage this morning, is another.

The Ten Commandments is another.

And he recommends that you take one line at a time, one phrase at a time, and use each line as a launching pad, as a starting point for prayer.

It is very helpful.

In fact, I would recommend that each one of you, if you go home and look it up, it'll be easy to find.

It's called A Simple Way to Pray.

I would recommend each of you find it and put it into practice.

Very helpful.

Because Master Peter's problem, I believe, is not uncommon.

I think that if you and I were honest, we would say that prayer does not always come naturally to us.

We often struggle, as Pete the barber did, with prayer.

And we wonder why.

Well, prayer is a little bit, our discipline of prayer is a little bit like a muscle.

Where if we train it, if we use it, if we strengthen that muscle, then we get used to it, we become stronger in it.

But if we don't use that muscle, if we don't use that discipline, what happens?

It begins to weaken.

It begins to atrophy.

If we use this muscle of prayer, one hour in prayer with the Lord can feel like just a moment.

And when we don't, one moment of prayer can seem to feel like a lifetime.

On top of this, as we know, of course, our enemy does not want us to pray.

He loves our self-sufficiency.

He loves our independence.

He loves for us to go throughout our day with little to no thought of God.

He loves our plans, our decisions, our autonomy, our self-sufficiency.

And on top of this, the age that we live in does not make it easy to be a man or a woman committed to prayer.

Our digital addictions make moments of quiet and solitude almost impossible to get.

And when we do get them, it makes them almost unbearable because we're so dependent on distraction.

We live in an age where we're accustomed to fast results.

Everything is microwaved.

And the pace of information that we receive day in and day out harms the patience that's required for prayer.

And if we're honest, I think we would say that many of us, when we go to pray, have a hard time shaking the nagging feeling that we really ought to be doing something a little more productive.

What we need, like Master Peter, like the Lord's disciples in our passage this morning, is once again to be taught, to be equipped, how to pray.

And so following Luther's wisdom this morning, I want us to consider what Jesus teaches us and what he says about how we ought to pray by looking to the Lord's prayer.

So let's ask the question along with Pete, how do we pray?

How do we pray?

Well, first, very briefly here, Jesus tells us first how not to pray.

He gives us two ways not to pray here in verses 5 through 8.

He says, when you pray, don't pray hypocritically and don't pray ritualistically.

He says, don't pray hypocritically.

Look there to verse 5.

He says, when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites.

For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners that they may be seen by others.

Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

We saw last week, didn't we, that the aim of prayer is delight in the Lord himself.

The aim of prayer is the enjoyment of God.

It's not a tool to be used to draw attention to yourself.

In fact, this whole chapter, Matthew chapter 6, with all of its instructions for giving to the poor,

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

for praying, for fasting, these practices of Christianity,

he starts it off with this preface here in verse 1.

He says, beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them.

For then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

In other words, if all you want is man's approval and man's attention,

then you can have it.

And that's all that you will have.

But he says, if your aim in prayer is to seek God's approval,

if your aim in prayer is to seek God's wisdom, God's will,

he says, when you pray, go into your room and shut the door.

And pray to your Father who is in secret.

And your Father who is in secret will reward you.

Now, of course, I think I need to say this.

This means, of course, that you shouldn't ever,

it does not mean that you shouldn't ever pray in public.

It does not mean that you shouldn't ever read your Bible in public,

that you shouldn't practice Christianity out in public.

I think it's a word of caution,

especially for people like myself who have a very public ministry of the word and prayer.

It's a word of caution that we have to constantly make sure

that the aim of our hearts in doing these things is not the approval of man,

but the approval of God.

Don't pray hypocritically.

But he also says, don't pray ritualistically.

What do I mean?

Look there to verse 7.

He says,

If praying hypocritically is using prayer to get other people to like you,

then praying ritualistically is using prayer to get God to like you.

If I just use the right words,

if I just have the right turn of phrase,

if I say the right words in the right combination,

then maybe, just maybe, God will listen to my prayers,

pay attention to my request,

and I will get what I want.

But he says, he makes it clear,

God isn't moved by the length of our prayers.

God isn't moved by the sum total of our words.

What's he moved by?

He's moved by the genuineness of our heart.

And he gives an excellent reason here

to pray simply and directly to the Lord, doesn't he?

He says,

Do not pray like them,

for your Father knows what you need

before you ask Him.

Your Father knows what you need

before you ask Him.

I've heard people ask before

in objecting to God's sovereignty,

meaning His complete knowledge of all things

and His complete control of all things,

that He is totally sovereign.

They say, well, if that's true,

if God is totally sovereign,

why pray?

If God is in total control,

why would I offer up any request to Him at all?

Well, Jesus says,

well, you've got that all backwards.

He says, because God already knows what you need,

pray.

And pray then like this,

not ritualistically,

but confidently and simply and clearly

with the confidence that our prayers

are not breaking news for God.

We aren't telling Him anything

that He doesn't already know.

We aren't tasked with coming up

with the right words

and the right order

and the right combination

to make Him pay attention

to our problems.

That's not the aim of our prayer.

It's not a ritual.

Don't pray hypocritically.

Don't pray ritualistically.

So then how are we to pray?

He tells us,

starting in verse 9.

Here's where we'll spend

the majority of our time together

this morning.

Second, He says,

pray then like this.

Verses 5 through 8

were how not to pray.

Now in verses 9 through 13,

Jesus instructs us how to pray.

The theologians have traditionally

divided these requests up

into six petitions.

This morning, what I want us to do

is I want us to think in terms

of two categories here.

The posture of our prayers

and the provision of our prayers.

These two categories here,

how to pray,

the posture,

how we are to go about prayer,

and the provision,

what we are to pray for.

First, let's think about

the posture of our prayers

because how we posture ourselves

in prayer matters, doesn't it?

The posture of our heart

matters just as much,

if not more,

than the words that come out

of our mouth

when we come to pray.

Jesus, of course,

He knows this

and so He tells us here

in verse 9

that we ought to pray

first in the posture

of a relationship.

The posture of a relationship

of a child

to a father.

Look there with me.

He says,

Pray then like this.

Our Father in heaven.

Our Father in heaven.

You know, we should marvel

at this.

The grace,

the gift that we

can call God

our own Father.

You know,

that's exactly the privilege

that we've been given

through the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

This is right at the core,

at the essence

of what it means

to be a Christian.

Now, whether or not

you've been coming to church

all your life

or maybe this is

new information to you,

I want you to know

this is at the very center

of what we believe

means to be a Christian.

To be a Christian

is to be an adopted

son or daughter

of God Himself

through faith

in the person

and work

of Jesus Christ.

Galatians chapter 4,

Galatians 4 · chapter mention

it tells us,

when the fullness

of time had come,

God sent forth

His Son,

born of a woman,

born under the law

to redeem those

who were under the law

so that we might receive

the adoption

as sons.

And because you are sons,

God has sent

the Spirit

of His Son

into our hearts,

crying,

Abba,

Father.

So you are no longer

a slave,

but a son.

And if a son,

then an heir

through God.

Do you pray

with the posture

of a child?

With the freedom

and the privilege

and the joy

of a child

coming to speak

with His Father?

J.I. Packer

in his wonderful book,

it's called

Knowing God,

he says this,

he says,

You hear that?

He goes on,

he says,

if this is not

the thought

that prompts

and controls

his worship

and prayers

and his whole

outlook on life,

it means that

he does not

understand Christianity

very well at all.

The simple posture

of a child

speaking with his

Father in Heaven,

that ought to be

our posture

in prayer.

And yet,

even so,

I want to

caution you

for a moment

that even though

we pray as

children of God,

we should not

ever mistake

the familiarity

of prayer

with flippancy,

with irreverence

to the Lord

in prayer.

This is our second

posture

in prayer.

We must pray

with a posture

of reverence,

the reverence

of a sinner,

in the presence

of a holy God.

And that's why

he tells us here

to pray

to our Father

in Heaven,

high and exalted,

far above

our greatest

imaginations,

far above

any earthly father

that we may have

had here in this life.

He says,

pray our Father

in Heaven,

hallowed be

your name.

Now your Bible

might have a note

there that explains

the meaning

of that phrase,

hallowed be your name.

That's not a word

or a term

that we tend to use

in our everyday life.

And my Bible

has a note there

that defines it.

It says,

let your name

be kept holy

or let your name

be treated

with reverence.

So we ought to pray

with the relationship

of a child

to a father

and we pray

with the reverence

of a sinner

to a holy God.

There has to be

a balance here

of both.

See,

God is not so far

from us

that sinners

can't speak

with him.

Christ solved

that problem

for us

and yet

he is not

so like us

that we ought

to speak

with him

carelessly

or irreverently.

He's still God.

That's what makes

the access

that we have

to him

in the name

of Christ

so incredible.

We have free access

to speak

with God himself

in Christ

but we shouldn't

speak with him

and treat him

so casually

that we forget

the reverence

and awe

that he's owed.

I had a seminary

professor

who was speaking

on prayer

and he said

one thing

that helped him

as a busy man

with a family,

a busy man

with a wife,

with children,

a busy man

with responsibilities

at the seminary

as a professor,

a busy man

as a pastor

of a church,

he made appointments

and he kept them.

He had to be very strategic

with his time

and when he had

an appointment

on his calendar

he made sure

that in that hour

in that 30 minutes

whatever it may be

whoever he was

sitting across the table

with had his full attention

for that moment.

He said

it's helpful for me

even in planning out

my prayers

with the Lord

to imagine

and to pretend

as if this is

a holy appointment

with God himself

and the respect

that I would give you

if you were in my office

sitting across from me

speaking with me

listening to me

interacting with me

I wouldn't be

checking my phone

I wouldn't be

aimlessly wondering

in my mind

you would have

my full attention

for the hour

of that appointment

he said

it's helpful for me

to schedule

appointed times

with the Lord

in prayer

and to know

that this holy appointment

is to be treated

with reverence

pray with a posture

of respect

and reverence

to the Lord

not only this

one more posture

here

he says

pray with the posture

of release

pray with the posture

of release

look there at verse 10

this is what he tells us

he says

we are to pray

your kingdom come

your will be done

not my kingdom come

not my will be done

your kingdom come

your will be done

on earth

as it is

in heaven

that's a prayer

of release

isn't it

release from our desires

our wants

our world

our kingdom

our plans

our hopes

in our way

and in our time

and instead

submitting it

into the hands

of a good

and holy God

we are called

to pray

submitting all

of our requests

whatever they may be

all of the requests

for provision

that we will see here

in just a moment

whatever they may be

with open hands

and not

controlling them

tightly

like we tend

to want to do

and not

gripping them

controlling them

not demanding

that they be answered

the way we want

in our way

but submitting them

to a good

and sovereign God

handing them back over

to your father

in heaven

who loves you

and cares for you

who always knows

best

your kingdom come

your will be done

on earth

as it is

in heaven

here in all and all

as it is

in heaven

here at Seaweed Bay

as our church family

here in this place

among us

as it is

in heaven

in my life

in my family

in the lives

of my children

in the plans

that I have

as it is

in heaven

do you pray

with an open

grip

on all of your plans

easier said

than done

isn't it

I don't think

we have a better

example

anywhere

than

the prayer

of our Lord

himself

in the garden

of Gethsemane

at the moment

of his death

was drawing near

Jesus

being fully God

and fully man

he prayed

Lord

if it is possible

take this cup

from me

yet nevertheless

not my will

but yours

be done

in his divinity

as God

Jesus

of course

he knew full well

what he signed up for

he knew full well

the plan of redemption

that had been

conceived before

the foundations

of the earth

he was in on the plan

as God

yet as man

he's prayed

and taught us

how to pray

with a posture

of release

to the sovereign

good will of God

yet not my will

he said

but yours

be done

that's release

do you pray like this

that ought to be

the posture

of our prayers

in blessed relationship

in holy reverence

and in submissive

release

to the will of God

and now

with that posture

now

we can begin to pray

for God's provision

let's look to the rest

of our passage here

in verses 11

through 13

and here

I want us to see

he models

for us

three prayers

of provision

three prayers

of provision

here

Jesus tells us

that we ought to

first pray

for the physical

provision

of God

now this one

comes naturally

to us

doesn't it

this one

if I had to guess

I would say

this one

probably dominates

most of our

prayer lives

most of our

prayer life

is spent

requesting

physical provision

from the Lord

look there

with me

to verse 11

he says

you ought to pray

give us this day

our daily bread

give us this day

our daily bread

we're used to praying

this sort of prayer

Lord meet our needs

meet our physical needs

but if we're honest

I would say

most of us

don't really know

what it's like

to pray

actually needing

daily bread

the Israelites

in the wilderness did

now this is a

a pointer

it's a reference

it's a call back

to the experience

of Israel

wandering through

the wilderness

for 40 years

and do you know

what they ate

for 40 years

every single day

do you remember

what it was

daily bread

truly

daily bread

that came from them

out of heaven

from the hand of God

dropped down

onto the ground

they ate it

every day

for 40 years

they were satisfied

not one of them

went hungry

they were provided

for with daily bread

40 years

in the wilderness

this miraculous

provision of God

but what we fail

to understand

is that

God has not

stopped miraculously

providing for

any of us

and each of us

are just as

dependent on the

Lord's daily

provision

as the Israelites

were in the wilderness

that wilderness

wandering

is meant to be

a lesson for us

as God's people

wandering

through the wilderness

wandering

on the way

to the promised land

that we are

dependent on the

hand of God

to provide

for our every need

church

we don't

feel

dependent

do we

we feel

so self-sufficient

we're lured

into this deception

that we

we don't

really need

God's hand

to provide for us

as much as

he actually

does

this is a reminder

for us

that we need

God to provide

for our every need

your home

is a gift

from God

your food

is a gift

from God

if God does not

provide you lunch

this afternoon

you don't eat

your clothing

is a gift

from God

I don't care

how rich

and successful

you are

how big of a

business

you've built

for yourself

all of it

from beginning

to end

is a gift

of God's

provision

we're dependent

on him

so he says

pray

give us this day

our daily bread

not only this

he says

second

we are to pray

for the forgiveness

of God

this is a transition

from the physical

to the spiritual

isn't it

pray for

the forgiveness

of God

he says

forgive us

our debts

as we have

also forgiven

our debtors

now if I had to guess

I would probably guess

that most of us

have an easier time

praying the first half

of that phrase

than the second half

don't we

we're much more

inclined to say

God forgive us

our debts

than we are to say

forgive us

as we have

forgiven others

aren't we

but there's a

correlation

here

these things

are connected

do you see

he says

forgive us

our sins

as we forgive

those who sin

against us

forgive us

our debts

as we forgive

our debtors

this is a prayer

for forgiveness

that would come

to us

yes

but that would also

come through us

to others

Matthew

tells a parable

just a few chapters

later

in Matthew chapter 18

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

you can turn there

if you'd like

it's called

the parable

of the unforgiving

servant

and in it

Peter

he asks the Lord

Lord how many times

am I to forgive

my brother

seven

that sounds like

a lot for us

right

if somebody wrongs

you seven times

and you forgive

them seven times

I feel like

we're doing

pretty good

seven

Lord

what does Jesus

say

he says

not seven

how about

77

Peter

and then he tells

them this parable

of a servant

who owed his

master

10,000

talents

now we don't

deal in

talents

so I'll just

tell you

10,000

talents

just so you

know

one talent

is equal to

about 20

years

labor

just one

so if you

work your

whole life

from cradle

to the grave

you might

maybe if you're

doing pretty

good

you might

can earn

yourself

five talents

this man

was indebted

10,000

talents

his more

than 2,000

lifetimes

could ever pay

back to his

master

and his

master

was fed

up

he was

ready to

sell him

off

with his

wife

and his

children

but the

servant

came

and he

begged

and he

pleaded

with his

master

please

master

have mercy

on me

please

master

have mercy

on me

I'll pay

back

every

cent

that I

owe

and so

Jesus

says his

master

shockingly

he did

two things

first he

released

him

no punishment

but second

even more

shocking

he forgave

him his

debt

he wiped

it

away

he forgave

it

totally

10,000

talents

wiped away

like that

in an instant

and if the story

were to stop

there it would be

a beautiful picture

of the heart

of God

towards sinners

like us

sinners like us

who have earned

ourselves an

infinite debt

before a holy

God

a debt that

none of us

could ever

begin to climb

out of

in our own

strength

a debt that

a thousand

lifetimes

could never

repay

yet by the

mercy

of a good

and gracious

God

he has

wiped

away

our debt

by the

blood

of Christ

and yet

the story

continues

the story

continues

look

what happens

next

as the

servant

goes

and finds

one of his

fellow servants

who owes him

a hundred

denarii

it's not a

small amount

a hundred

denarii is

about a hundred

days worth

of work

less than a

year

a much

smaller

debt

that was

owed to

him

than what

he was

just

forgiven

by his

master

and he

grabbed the

man that

owed him

the money

and he

grabbed him

by the

throat

and began

to choke

him

and he

threw him

into prison

until he

could pay

the money

back

and Jesus

says the

master heard

of this

and said

you wicked

servant

I forgave

you

all of your

debt

because you

pleaded with

me

I was

merciful to

you

I forgave

you

should you

not have

had mercy

on your

fellow servant

as I

had mercy

on you

and he

took the

servant

and threw

him to

the jailer

until he

paid off

everything

he owed

here's the

point

when Jesus

says

so also

my heavenly

father will

do to

every one

of you

if you

do not

forgive your

brother from

your heart

to this

parable

it's a

lesson of

forgiveness

again that

comes to

us

but does

not stop

there

it goes

through us

to others

see the

sure sign

of someone

who has

grasped

and understood

the forgiveness

that we've

been given

in Christ

is that we

are quick

to extend

forgiveness

to others

you know

that's

in fact the

commitment

that we've

made to

one another

here as a

church

as brothers

and sisters

that are

committed

and covenant

to one

another

in this

church

family

as members

of Seaweed Bay

Baptist Church

every one

of us

agrees to

what's

called a

church

covenant

that lists

out our

commitments

to one

another

and here's

what one

of the

articles

says

it says

we will

walk

together

in Christian

love

as we

care for

and watch

over one

another

seeking one

another's

spiritual

good at

all times

we will

pray for

encourage

warn

rebuke

and admonish

one another

as occasion

may require

we will be

slow to

take offense

and will

eagerly

seek

reconciliation

without

delay

forgiving

one another

as God

in Christ

has forgiven

us

church

do you

have any

debtors

do you

have anyone

who has

wronged

you

do you

have anyone

from whom

you are

withholding

forgiveness

holding a

grudge

withholding

mercy

because

they have

wronged

you

seven

times

even

77

times

this

prayer

is an

encouragement

for you

to remember

the debt

that you

have been

forgiven

of

by Christ

and then

to extend

that forgiveness

to others

1 John 1

9 tells us

that if we

confess our

sins

he is

faithful

and just

to forgive

us our

sins

and to

cleanse

us

from all

unrighteousness

so pray

for the

forgiveness

of God

to come

to you

and through

you

and then

finally

last one

here

he says

pray

for the

spiritual

protection

of God

pray for

the

spiritual

protection

of God

he says

in verse

13

and lead

us not

into

temptation

but deliver

us

from evil

I wonder

how often

do you pray

for your

spiritual

protection

not physical

protection

I know we

pray for that

I know we

pray for our

physical health

I know we

pray for

traveling

mercies

I know we

pray for

safety

and all those

things are

well and

good

that's valuable

to pray

and to ask

the Lord

but I

wonder

how often

we pray

for our

spiritual

protection

because the

truth is

the spiritual

dangers that

we face

are 1000

times worse

than any

physical threat

against us

and Jesus

wants us to

pray with this

perspective in

mind

if you think

it's dangerous

for you to

get in your

car and

drive down

the road

drive down

highway 17

and I

realize it

is

how much

more

dangerous

is it

for you to

be a

child of

God

living in

enemy

territory

how much

more dangerous

is it for

you to be

in exile

here in a

fallen world

to be facing

the powers

at work

against us

of spiritual

darkness

powers that

we can't

see

to be in

the crosshairs

of a spiritual

enemy that

prowls around

like a roaring

lion just

seeking somebody

to devour

are we aware

of the spiritual

dangers

that face us

every single

day

he says

pray

Lord lead

us not

into temptation

but deliver

us from

evil

church

temptation

is

common

to us

all

every one

of us

is tempted

to sin

every single

day

the question

is

is your

armor

up

are you

prayed up

and ready

before you

walk out the

door to head

to work

in the

morning

are you

aware

of the

inclinations

of your

own heart

are you

aware

of the

ways

the

enemy

has

succeeded

in tempting

you in the

past

are you

aware

of the

ways

that you

have

fallen

into

temptation

even

this

week

are you

crying

out

to

Christ

daily

for

help

in the

face

of

temptation

the

good

news

of the

gospel

the book

of Hebrews

tells us

that if

you are

tempted

take

heart

that we

do not

have a

high priest

who is

unable

to sympathize

with our

weakness

but one

who in

every

respect

has been

tempted

as we

are

he

understands

the

struggles

that we

face

with one

key

exception

yet

without

sin

he won

the battle

and Christ

took the

enemy's

best shot

and so he

says in

verse 16

let us

then with

confidence

draw near

to the

throne

of grace

that we

may receive

mercy

and find

grace

to help

in time

of need

church

are we

praying

for spiritual

protection

for protection

from the

temptations

of the

enemy

and for

the

deliverance

of the

Lord

from this

domain

of darkness

we ought

to pray

these things

with confidence

knowing

with full

confidence

that the

day of

the Lord

will soon

come

when the

Lord

will

return

he will

finally

and totally

deliver us

from all

evil

church

is that

your hope

is that

your prayer

see all

of our

prayers

all of

these prayers

that the

Lord

teaches us

and equips

us to

pray

all of

our prayers

for

protection

all of

our prayers

for

deliverance

for the

kingdom of

God

to come

all of

these

will

ultimately

and finally

be answered

at the

return

of

King

Jesus

when he

comes to

put an

end finally

to our

enemy

and to

finally put

an end

to sin

and temptation

once and

for all

to finally

deliver all

of his

people

from this

domain of

darkness

to finally

bring his

kingdom

to earth

is that

your hope

is that

your prayer

as we

aim to

grow in

prayer

this month

church

my

encouragement

for you

this morning

is to

listen to

Martin Luther's

advice to

Peter the

barber

take the

Lord's

prayer

as we've

just done

and as

we'll do

in just

a moment

and take

it even

this afternoon

take it

daily

this week

would be

my encouragement

for you

take it

into your

place of

prayer

and walk

slowly

through each

line

calling out

to the

Lord

using this

as a

springboard

for your

prayers

and let

the Lord

teach you

how to

pray

we're going

to go to

a time of

prayer now

as we

close

I'll pray

and then

we'll have

an opportunity

for us

to pray

silently

right where

we are

and then

I will lead

us in a

prayer

through this

text

through the

Lord's

prayer

as we

respond to

God's

word

together

let's

bow

and pray

Father

thank you

for listening

to our

prayers

we thank

you

Jesus

for teaching

us to

pray

we thank

you

Jesus

for modeling

prayer

for us

we thank

you

Jesus

for interceding

for us

as our

great high

priest

we thank

you for

the spirit

who intercedes

for the

will

for the

saints

according to

the will

of God

and we

pray

Lord

that you

would

continue

to teach

us

to pray

that you

might be

honored

that you

might move

in powerful

ways among

us

we pray

in Christ's

name

amen

let's pray

silently

where we

are

you

want to

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