The Prayer That Turned The World Upside Down - Session 2 - Introducing The Lord's Prayer

The Church of Divine Guidance Sunday Morning Adult Bible Study Group studying the book Prayer That Turned The World Upside Down: The Lord's Prayer as a Manifesto for Revolution by R. Albert Mohler, The President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The Lord’s Prayer is the most powerful prayer in the Bible, taught by Jesus to those closest to him. We desperately need to relearn its power and practice.

The opening words of the Lord’s Prayer have become so familiar that we often speak them without a thought, sometimes without any awareness that we are speaking at all. But to the disciples who first heard these words from Jesus, the prayer was a thunderbolt, a radical new way to pray that changed them and the course of history.

Far from a safe series of comforting words, the Lord’s Prayer makes extraordinary claims, topples every earthly power, and announces God’s reign over all things in heaven and on earth. Study along with us by getting a copy of the book by clicking this LINK or the image of the book at the end of the study notes. 

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “This, then, is how you should 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 today 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 the evil one. ’
Matthew 6:5‭-‬13 NIV

INTRODUCING THE LORD’S PRAYER

The Lord's prayer is in both Matthew and Luke.

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”  He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.   And lead us not into temptation. ’ ”
Luke 11:1‭-‬4 NIV

Luke emphasizes God’s response to prayer:

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Luke 11:9‭-‬10‭, ‬13 NIV

In Matthew it is included in the Sermon on the Mount section.  The Sermon on the Mount presents a picture of life in the kingdom of heaven. something like this: How to live a life that is dedicated to and pleasing to God, free from hypocrisy, full of love and grace, full of wisdom and discernment.   The arrival of God’s kingdom leads to a complete transformation of values that in turn leads to a transformation in the practice of religion—particularly in giving, fasting, and prayer.

There are many examples of Jesus spending time in prayer. There's quite a list of Scriptures of Jesus praying. ((Matt. 6:5–9; 14:23; 19:13; 26:36–44; Mark 1:35; 6:46; 14:37–39; Luke 3:21; 5:16; 6:12, 28; 9:18, 28–29; 11:1; 22:32, 41, 44; John 17).  But He gave His disciples a specific model to follow when we pray.

But before he gives his model for prayer in Matthew 6, Jesus provides important context:
        
And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and 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. (Matt. 6:5–8)
        
Matthew 6:1 is the key to understanding this passage.

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Matthew 6:1 NIV

Here Jesus 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.” The first and most urgent warning Jesus gives is a warning against a quality of religion or reverence that is public and ostentatious that offers nothing that is stimulating or challenging and is false. This type of reverence  draws attention to the one praying, because it's designed to reveal them super religious.

The way we pray will reveal either the superficial, insincere nature of our faith or the glory of God.  Jesus is clear that those who wish to be seen as super spiritual have already received their reward.

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
Matthew 6:5 NIV

Hypocrisy vs Intimacy

On the other hand Jesus commends another type of reverence one that is secret and not public evidenced by humility.  That kind of reverence will be rewarded by the Father. The difference can't be more extreme. One comes from pride the other from humility And we know which God prefers.

For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Matthew 23:12 NIV

For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Matthew 23:12 NIV

 We can pursue the glory of the Father by humbling ourselves in secret, or we can pursue our own glory by exalting ourselves before others. We can’t do both.

We want to make sure that we don't fall into the trap of thinking we have to impress others when we pray.

As David what the Lord really wants is a broken and contrite heart.

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.  My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
Psalm 51:16‭-‬17 NIV

In other words a prayer that is offered in humility.

WHY JESUS DOESN’T THINK MUCH OF ROUTINE CHRISTIAN PRAYER MATTHEW 6:5–8

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Matthew 6:5‭-‬8 NIV

The first thing we need to know and remember is that as member of God’s family we are commanded to pray and if we really love Jesus as we say we do we show that love by being obedient.

“If you love me, keep my commands.
John 14:15 NIV

In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,
1 John 5:3 NIV

A failure to pray is therefore not only a sign of anemic spiritual life, it is disobedience to Christ.  Prayer is central to the Christian life and to the Scriptures.

It is interwoven throughout the biblical text, telling us to pray and instructing us how to by showing us the prayers of the Old and New Testament saints and providing us with the Psalter as our guidebook to God-pleasing prayer.  The question is how we will pray.

BEFORE YOU PRAY: A FEW THINGS JESUS WANTS YOU TO REMEMBER

The first thing is to not pray as the hypocrites. We’ve talked about the characteristics of how they pray. Especially the desire to be seen as super religious and superior to others exhibited in how they pray.  

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you”
(v. 6).

Mohler says that while you may get a tangible, material reward, the real reward is communion with God himself.

Do Not Pray to Impress

Not only does Jesus warn us not to try to impress other people He also warns not to try to impress God.

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Matthew 6:7‭-‬8 NIV

God is not looking for long words, long prayers, and mindless repetition. And he is not impressed by the length or complexity of our prayers.

All of us can probably relate to Moler’s example of copying the prayers of we’ve heard others pray. I’m not talking about reading a prayer and making it our prayer because when we read a prayer we most often understand what we are praying. If you are going to read a prayer and you don't understand the words the don't pray it until you find out what you are saying. It’s like the author said; What kind of prayer is it that uses words you do not even understand?”

In his battle of prayer with the prophets of Baal Elijah prayed simple prayer;
        
At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “ Lord , the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord , answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord , are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”  Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord —he is God! The Lord —he is God!”
1 Kings 18:36‭-‬39 NIV

The Lord isn’t looking for impressive words; he is looking for humble hearts—hearts that trust him enough to work, even when our words are few.

Matthew says He already knows what we need so we don't need to feel compelled to try to impress God with a lot of words trying to appear reverent.    Instead, by faith we will see a sovereign God who is ready and able to answer our prayers, and who directs all things for our good and his glory.

APPROACHING THE LORD’S PRAYER

The Lord’s Prayer does not teach us the clever or artful skill or the mechanics of prayer. Instead,  the Lord Jesus rearranges our theology and breaks open our faulty misconceptions about the character of God and our deepest needs in this world. He teaches us that prayer is not about impressing God; rather, it is about praising him by humbly coming before him to offer the kind of prayer that pleases him.
        
As Jesus’ disciples, we need to pray. We are created to be a praying people. But we desperately need instruction. . We need the Lord Jesus Christ himself to teach us to pray because, left to our own devices, we will pray wrongly. We need to approach the Lord’s Prayer with the same request and attitude as Christ’s disciples.  We need to ask the Lord to teach us to pray. Of course, Jesus was ready to teach his disciples before they were ready to learn. He is ready to teach us too.

We will start looking at the prayer itself next week.

Bible Study Audio