Prayer

Instructions on Prayer Matthew 6:9-13
This passage is mistakenly referred to as the Lord’s Prayer. This is actually not a prayer, but this is a model of prayer. This is Jesus instructing on the proper way to pray. Prayer had become vain repetitions among many people, and the effect of prayer was diminished. This instruction is to the believer as it was given by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. It is a piece of scripture called the beatitudes. Beatitudes has the meaning of happy and blessed. Happy or blessed is the person that follows the instruction of Jesus Christ. The Westminster Shorter Catechism says this about prayer, and it goes along with this passage, “Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to His will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgement of His mercies.
Westminster Shorter Catechism.

I. Acknowledge God
A. Father. Recognizing God as the giver of life.
B. The one that answers your prayers.
C. Which art in Heaven.
D. God on His throne. The mighty and powerful God.
E. Hallowed be thy name.
F. Holy is our God. His name is holy.
G. Have we made God’s name too common today?
H. Do we use it in other ways than intended?
I. Does the name God still mean something to us today?
J. Holy- Exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.
K. When we address God properly, it shows that we are humbling ourselves before him and placing ourselves in the correct place.
II. Pray for God’s Will
A. His kingdom come.
B. This is in reference to “repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
C. Our prayer should be that we are able to spread the Gospel message to the lost.
D. We should long to bring the Kingdom of heaven to the lost soul.
E. We are instructed to also pray for God’s will to be done.
F. We are to pray that God’s desires are accomplished though us on earth.
G. Refer back to the illustration I told last week about Ivan in the soviet prison camp. That he was not praying for release prison, but to do God’s will.
III. Daily Bread
A. Plead for the sustenance of the Lord.
B. Pray that He will provide for you.
C. 19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Phi 4:19 KJV)
D. God supplied the Bread of Life to us through his son Jesus Christ.
E. This is the bread that once tasted of, we will never hunger again. This is eternal sustenance.
F. 22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. (Psa 55:22 KJV)
G. He will provide your measure.
H. 24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. (Lam 3:24 KJV)
I. He is our portion. Who else can we depend on?
IV. Forgive
A. The word that Jesus uses here is to send away.
B. We need forgiveness from God for what we owe.
C. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Eph 1:7 KJV)
D. Our forgiveness our price our ransom has been paid by the blood of Christ.
E. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. (Luk 17:4 KJV)
F. We are to forgive those that forgive those that trespass against us because we have been forgiven ourselves.
G. Are we able to “send away” the things that have been done to us in the past?
H. Does it do any good for us to hang on to past trespasses and become bitter?
V. Lead Us Not Into Temptation
A. Is God Going to lead you into temptation?
B. Jesus is saying here that we need to plead for God to strengthen us to not heed to temptation when we face it.
C. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. (Mat 4:3 KJV)
D. This is a passage of scripture from the temptation of Christ.
E. Satan is called the tempter.
F. Jesus mentions this to us, because he knows what the temptation of the Devil feels like. When we are at our weakest, Satan is at his strongest.
G. We find our strength in God.
VI. We Need Delivery From Evil
A. Pray deliver us from evil.
B. Why do we need to be delivered from evil?
C. We need delivered form the bad or bad of nature.
D. 14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. (Psa 34:14 KJV)
E. The Psalmist says to depart from evil. To turn aside from it. To flee from it.
F. 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. (1Th 5:22 KJV)
G. Paul, in this letter to the church at Thessalonica, says that we must abstain from even the appearance of evil.
H. Abstain means to hold ones self off, or to refrain form. To restrain self.
I. Appearance here means the external or outward appearance.
J. If it perceived to be bad or of bad nature, we need to pray to God for the strength to flee from it.
K. Not fleeing from it will hinder God’s work through us.
VII. His Kingdom and Glory
A. It is God’s kingdom that we are trying to advance here on this earth.
B. It is his kingdom that we look forward to when death comes.
C. It is his power that has gotten us to where we are today.
D. It is God that we should exalt on a daily basis.
E. We should do these things because He is God, and he has provided us with eternity in heaven.
F. The official close of any prayer, Amen.
G. Firm, so be it, there it is.


This pattern of prayer given to us by our Lord will enhance our prayer lives. I urge you not to repeat this prayer, but add your personality to it. This is a fail proof design of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.