6 Steps to Growing More: Prayer | Pastor Ken Prabucki

Matthew 6:9-13

Matthew 6:9–13

Pray then, like this.

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 also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us

from evil.

Well, good morning, and welcome

to the weekly gathering of Christ Community Chapel, and welcome to the New Year.

Happy 2026.

Ugh, good,

good grief.

Okay,

we'll keep moving.

My name is Ken.

I'm one of the pastors here,

and it's my privilege to spend some time with you this morning.

If you're here and you're visiting,

I just want you to know we're really glad that you're here.

Thanks for taking the time with us this morning.

Today we're going to talk about prayer, and we're going to use the passage

that you just heard read commonly referred to as the Lord's Prayer, to do it.

And we'll get there in a moment.

But first, I just feel I need to be honest with you.

This was not an easy message for me to prepare,

because prayer is not always easy for me.

I can get stuck when it comes to prayer, and there are all sorts of reasons

for that.

Some of them might resonate with you.

I can struggle to even define prayer sometimes.

What is it?

What is prayer?

We're told to do it time and time again.

Pray without ceasing.

Be steadfast and constant in prayer.

Well, what is prayer?

How do we approach God in prayer?

What?

What should it look like and sound like?

How do we stay disciplined?

How do we keep praying?

There are other reasons this was hard for me

that are a little bit more personal.

Any prayer like this one that begins with

our father is hard for me because I didn't have a good dad.

So I got to work through that.

I also struggle with self-sufficiency.

I like doing things myself.

I don't love asking for help.

Do you know what I didn't do enough of?

When preparing to preach on prayer.

Pray. Yeah.

Come on. It can.

It can be hard. Maybe. Maybe it can be hard for you.

It can be hard. For me.

I just want you to know that if you're here this morning

and any of these reasons resonate with you, this message is for you.

And if you're here

and you don't know

what you think about prayer, you don't know what you think about God.

This message is for you too.

So with that, let's get started.

I'm going to use three points to guide our time this morning.

And here they are.

The conversation, the connection and the approach.

The conversation, the connection and the approach.

So let's start with the conversation.

What is prayer.

Let's just start there.

Let's get a working definition.

Well, if we look at how Jesus prayed here.

And by the way, if you're using a pew Bible, you can find this passage on page 761.

All right.

If we look at how Jesus prayed, we can see what prayer isn't.

Jesus didn't pray this prayer as a last ditch effort.

I've tried everything else.

I guess now I'll come to you.

God, he didn't do that.

He didn't approach prayer as a wish list of things that he would like to have.

Reminds me of when I was in second grade and I wanted a new pair of shoes.

We couldn't really afford a new pair of shoes, so

my mom told me to go talk to Jesus about it,

hoping that it would have me come back

more grateful for the things we did have that didn't happen.

I came back telling your I received a vision of black Nike's with blue accents.

But Jesus doesn't approach prayer as a wish list.

He doesn't approach it as a mindfulness exercise or as meditation,

and he certainly doesn't approach it as a religious performance.

In fact, he has something to say about that. In particular.

If you look with me,

verse seven, just a few verses up, he says this when you pray,

don't heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for

they think that they will be heard for their many words.

So don't don't pray like that.

So if prayer isn't any of those things, then what is it?

Well, I think the easiest, the simplest definition for us to work

with is this prayer is a conversation.

It's a conversation.

And we're going to unpack that more in a minute.

But let's just consider the implications if that is true,

if that's the

dynamic between us and God in prayer, then that means that we don't engage

God like an emergency button that we just slap when we need something.

We don't approach him as a cosmic Santa Claus

to give us the things we want.

Means that we don't approach prayer as a graded performance,

hoping if we get it just right, maybe then he'll

hear us.

No prayer is a conversation,

and if it is a conversation, then it makes sense

then how we're commanded to pray.

At least to me.

Pray without ceasing.

Be in conversation with God constantly, without ceasing.

That that makes more sense to me.

I know some of you are probably thinking right now, can prayer as a conversation?

Come on

more like a monologue?

Isn't it?

Let me push back on that a little bit.

You know, God has spoken right here in his Word, the Bible.

God speaks in, in, through the person of the Holy Spirit

to comfort, to convict, among other things.

And he often does it in and through prayer.

And then, of course, God answers prayers.

And what is an answered prayer, if not the other side

of a conversation?

All right.

So if prayer is a conversation, what kind of a conversation is it?

Well, that's my next point.

The connection.

See, conversation can come

in all shapes and sizes, right?

If you're gifted with the ability to small talk with total strangers,

you can have conversations with people you've never met before.

Like for instance, at the grocery store.

And then you might, hypothetically speaking, congratulate them

on being pregnant, only to find out they're not pregnant.

And that's why I don't small

talk at the grocery store anymore.

All sorts of conversations we can have.

But when you have a conversation driven by connection,

meaning there's relationship that's different, isn't it?

It's a different kind of conversation.

It runs deeper, it's fuller, it's richer.

There's there's vulnerability.

You can be raw. You don't have to be buttoned up

or dressed up to different kind of conversation.

A few years ago, I lost my oldest sister.

Suddenly and violently.

She was shot to death.

And in the weeks following her death,

I was a zombie

just trying to make it through the day

and every night for those first few weeks,

once the kids were in bed,

Jamie, my wife and I would just sit on the couch.

I'd collapse on the couch

and I would cry and I would question,

and I would remember her and I would repeat myself.

And there were times when I didn't even make sense.

And I don't actually remember what Jamie said in response.

I know she said things in response, but you know what?

I do remember?

I remember that I've never felt

as loved by her than I did then.

Just being in her presence.

Because when you're in the presence of someone

who you know loves you.

You don't worry about how you say things.

You don't worry about getting it right.

You just bring it all.

And that's the kind of conversation

God invites us to have to be connected with.

God means that the conversation that we have can be raw.

We don't be buttoned up or dressed up.

We don't have to say it just so God invites us to just bring all of it.

And if you don't believe me, look at the Psalms 150 songs

that run the spectrum of human emotion.

I mean, you could look at Jesus himself

as connected to God as anybody, always in conversation with God.

And some of those conversations got pretty raw.

Father, if possible, take this cup from me.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

If you struggle with prayer,

might it be.

That you struggle with the idea

that you can bring it all to God and He can take it?

You don't have to say it just so you don't have to be buttoned up or dressed up.

You can be raw.

You can be real. You can be vulnerable. He can handle it

because

prayer is a conversation with God that is driven

by it is arising from connection with God.

And if you're here

and you're saying to yourself, I don't have that kind of connection

with God, I don't know how to have that kind of connection with God.

First of all, I'm really glad that you're here,

and I want to talk to you in just a minute.

So hang in, please.

But just to hammer this home prayer,

it is a conversation, but it is driven by connection.

And if that's true, then.

Then how should we approach prayer?

Practically speaking, what does it look like to approach God in prayer?

That's my third point.

And again, just to emphasize this, there is no special source.

There's no equation.

But it is true that if

we understand who God is and we understand who we are,

then it should absolutely shape and form our approach to God in prayer,

just as it did for Jesus in his prayer here.

So here's my spoiler alert for this for this point.

One sentence that we'll unpack when we approach God.

We approach God in prayer as sinners saved by grace

turned sons and daughters

seeking God's kingdom, sinners saved by grace

turned sons and daughters seeking

God's kingdom.

Let's start with that first piece, Sinners Saved by Grace.

Look with me at verse nine. I think it'll be on the screen behind me.

This is how Jesus opens the prayer.

Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

That word hallowed, it means holy, consecrated, set apart,

other, distinct, unique.

Because that is who God is.

Simply put, there is no one like him.

And to say hallowed

be your name carries more significance than it does today.

When we use names as labels for people, when this was written,

somebody's name was indistinguishable from the very nature from their character.

So to pray, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Say God, you are holy, you are set apart.

You are Almighty, supreme, sovereign.

You are all of those things.

You are what my kids sometimes refer to because of a song that they like to sing.

You are the God of wow,

the God of wow.

The truth is, we have no business

approaching the God of war on our own terms.

Can't do it,

but we don't have to.

Because

Jesus in his life and his death and his resurrection,

he made it possible for us to be in relationship with God,

to enter into a conversation driven by connection with this God of wow,

Jesus did that for us so that when God looks at us, he doesn't see our sin.

He sees his sinless son, Jesus.

We are sinners.

Yes, we are sinners saved by grace.

And if you're stuck when it comes to prayer,

might it be that you've forgotten that God is the God of wow?

And to remember that means that our prayers

will be shaped by awe and wonder at who this God is.

Hallowed be your name. God.

Maybe you're stuck because you've forgotten

what it took for you to approach that God of wow,

nothing less

than the life of His Son Jesus?

And if that's true, then

then our prayer should be shaped and formed by gratitude, by humility,

knowing we could never have done this in our own strength, by confession,

knowing that the blood of Jesus is sufficient to cover our sins.

Maybe you're stuck because you think your sin is too big.

It's not.

There is no sin that the blood of Jesus cannot cover.

Full stop.

Or maybe you're here.

And this idea of being a sinner saved by grace, trusting in Jesus.

This is new to you,

or you've considered it 100 times, but you can't quite let it go.

Can I talk to you for a moment?

We're talking about prayer this morning.

There's a prayer that you're invited to pray.

Very simple, very straightforward.

It goes something like this. And you can use your own words.

But this is what God invites you to pray.

Jesus, I know I am a sinner.

I know I deserve judgment, and I can never be in relationship with God on my own.

But Jesus, you lived in my place.

You died in my place, and you rose from the dead to show me

that the price has been paid for my sin.

Jesus, I trust you.

You're the King and Lord of my life, and your way is best.

I want to follow you, Jesus.

You're invited to pray that prayer.

I hope you pray that.

I hope you pray right now.

You can tune me out for the rest of this message to pray that prayer.

I hope you do.

Because we are sinners.

Yes, we are sinners saved by grace, but because of Jesus,

our status before God, it changes to sons and daughters.

So we approach God as sons and daughters just like

Jesus did.

Verse nine again,

our Father in heaven, verses 11 through 13 give us this day our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

You know, in healthy

families, kids run to their fathers.

No fear, no hesitation.

I didn't have that growing up.

When my dad was around, I was absolutely terrified of him.

So if I wanted something,

go outside, play with the toy.

I waited till he was out of the room.

I'd go to my mom and I'd whisper in her ear,

can I play outside now?

Can I go play with that toy?

And I know that's messed up.

But that's not who God is.

He is a good father.

And he welcomes us as sons and daughters.

You know, we just had Christmas.

And so I have three little girls.

We got them gifts, of course,

which they played with for about seven minutes,

then thought over what someone else had and then discarded everything.

But it was fun.

It's a good time. Merry Christmas.

But I love giving gifts to my kids, right?

I love giving gifts to my kids.

You know, Jesus says something about who God is and how he loves giving good gifts.

Look with me at chapter seven.

This is verses nine through 11.

He says this

which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts

to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven,

give good things to those who ask him?

I actually got my middle daughter a fish

and then when it died overnight, I got her another one.

I hope this one takes. We'll see.

But like, imagine

if she asks for a fish and I said, or

how about a cobra like that, right?

That's weird. That doesn't even make sense.

And we're not God if we love giving good gifts,

if we love giving good gifts to our kids, how much more so does God, our Heavenly

Father, love when we come running to him and asking,

so ask, ask in prayer as a son or daughter running into the arms of your dad.

Ask for provision. Ask for forgiveness.

Ask for strength. Ask for endurance.

Ask because you are welcomed in the presence of God the Father.

Because of Jesus, we are sons and daughters and we can

and should approach God that way.

And if you're stuck in prayer, maybe that's why.

Maybe you've forgotten that he's a good father.

He's inviting you to run right into that throne room, jump right into his lap,

and ask.

So we pray as sinners saved by grace.

Yes, turn to sons and daughters.

But this is this last piece and this.

Honestly, for me,

this was what resonated the most where God is doing the most work.

As I was preparing this, we pray seeking God's kingdom.

Look with me at verse ten.

Jesus prays this your kingdom come, your will be done on earth

as it is in heaven.

You know, the Kingdom of God was absolutely central to Jesus's ministry.

The Kingdom of God is is really central in the narrative of the Bible.

Because when God created this, this world, he created everything.

It was good.

His kingdom was firmly established here.

And that lasted for all of a couple of chapters of Genesis

until Adam and Eve screwed it up.

Broke relationship with God, broke the world.

But Jesus,

Jesus, who was God's promised deliverer and rescuer, he came to restore.

He came to reconcile us to God.

He came to reestablish God's kingdom here on earth.

And at the end of this story, in the book of Revelation, we are given

a sneak peek of what that looks like when the kingdom is reestablished,

a new heaven and a new earth.

Which means then that God's kingdom is advancing.

His will is being done right here and right now.

Means that God's kingdom is advancing in your heart and in my heart,

in here and out there.

And it means then, that when we pray, we ought to pray.

Seeking God's kingdom,

knowing how the story ends.

And it might mean we pray for some of the same things,

but how we pray might change

so we can and should go to God asking for him to meet basic needs.

God, would you provide for me? I need you, God.

God, would you repair this relationship?

God, would you change this diagnosis?

Because I know who you are. I know what you've done.

I know what you're capable of. You are sovereign.

You are almighty.

There's nothing you can't do. God.

But if you choose not to.

You've already met my biggest need in Jesus Christ.

You have already repaired my relationship with you.

And I know because you've promised it

that there is a kingdom being reestablished right here.

I know the end of the story, and I know that I can look forward

to a time where there is no sickness, there is no death, there is no brokenness.

Every tear will be wiped away.

I believe that God, your kingdom come, your will be done.

We pray seeking God's kingdom, knowing it's advancing.

This notice also means in this.

I'd never considered this before.

Every single answered prayer, every time God says yes,

his kingdom moves forward.

This is when it really started to resonate for me.

I thought about in my own life when God has answered prayers.

When we didn't have food on the table after my dad left,

when we prayed that God would put food on the table and he did

the Kingdom of God move forward.

Means that when my wife and I

didn't get the answer we were hoping for in terms of getting pregnant, and prayed

that God would open our hearts and open her home to adoption, and he did.

The Kingdom of God moved forward.

That means that when I asked God to give me the supernatural strength

because it would have to be from him, I could never do it.

Give me the strength, God, to forgive my father

for walking out on our family Thanksgiving night 31 years ago,

and he answered that prayer and I forgave my dad.

The kingdom of God moved forward.

Don't tell me God doesn't answer prayer.

I know he does.

I've witnessed it.

We are to pray,

seeking God's kingdom, believing, knowing the end of the story,

asking but knowing, knowing his kingdom come,

his will be done.

Also, when we pray, seeking God's kingdom,

we better be ready to be part of the answer

to that prayer.

Because we are invited, commanded, really

to be part of his kingdom coming, part of his will being done.

Because it's happening in here and it's happening in here.

It's happening out there too. There are people.

There are people who don't know, who can't approach God like this in prayer.

They don't have the connection yet.

Your friends, my friends, neighbors, families,

coworkers to pray your kingdom come means God.

Would your kingdom advance in here and out there

and however you want to use me to do it, I'm in.

I'm in.

If you're stuck with prayer.

Maybe you've forgotten that God is reestablishing his kingdom.

It is advancing right here and right now.

Maybe you've forgotten that he is inviting you to be a part

of how he advances his kingdom, right here and right now.

You know, it being 2026,

in the new year, what do we do?

We make New Year's resolutions right?

Lose that 10 pounds you picked up over the holidays.

If you're in Ohio State, maybe you resolve to show up for next year's playoffs.

I don't know.

Oh, I'm an Irish fan, so sorry.

What would it look like for us as a church

to resolve to pray like this?

To pray

as sinners saved by grace turned sons and daughters, seeking God's kingdom

and asking God to show us how we can be a part of the answer to that prayer.

Well, that's a step that you want to take.

Have a great opportunity for you.

You know, month from now we're going to, as a church,

have 24 hours of continuous prayer right here in the building.

I think the slide will go up there.

It is 24 hours of prayer, divided into 30 minute segments,

guided prayer opportunities to pray for specific things.

I'd love it if you just put your phones up.

Captured the you're not going to distract me.

You'll get better slots now if you want to and wait a while.

That's fine.

It's up to you.

But what an opportunity for us as a church

to pray that God's kingdom would come, his will be done,

and to anticipate that he's going to answer that prayer in amazing ways.

And he's going to have us be a part of the answer.

Prayer is a conversation.

It's a conversation driven by connection with the God of the universe.

When we as sinners saved by grace,

turn to sons and daughters, seek God's kingdom.

Let's pray that way. This year,

and let's be ready to be part of the answer that he gives.

Amen.

All right.

As I close this part of the service in prayer,

I'm going to invite you all to pray with me

because we just unpacked the Lord's Prayer.

So I'd love it if we prayed it together.

All right, so it should.

There it is, up behind me.

Let's pray the Lord's Prayer together to close this section.

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 also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Amen.