Luke 11:1-4 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when
he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray,
as John also taught his disciples.
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father
which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will
be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one
that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us
from evil.
It's all right to call this the Lord's Prayer–he taught it. Think what your life would be like without prayer. We need to be careful how we approach God and be taught how. Jesus went by himself to pray. Jesus, the one we pray to, prayed himself. He felt the need in his daily life to pray. Never lose your desire to pray.
We need to get better at talking to God. We all know how to talk. From sun up to sun down we talk and some talk in their sleep. Use the ability to talk and talk to God. The devil wants to confuse us and get us to where we don't pray. He does not want us to pray. Go to church–all right, but not pray.
The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Prayer is not a chant or pattern. It's a heart-to-heart talk. The heart of God communicates with us and our heart communicates to him. Since God knows all things why are we to pray? It scares the devil when we vocalize and are actually involved with God in prayer. Miracles happen when we pray. It gives us the ability to stay in close fellowship with God–we communicate with him. It's possible we could have fallen by the wayside in 2007 without prayer. But by that we made it. What we need in 2008 is to know and remember how to pray, how to keep an exchange with God.
which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. We cannot approach God in any fashion.
- We must believe there is a heaven, something better than this life. It's not to come; it is. Acknowledge the reality of heaven and the God that is there, not a part of heaven–HE IS HEAVEN.
- God is our Father. We have great admiration for many people, but most of us have such for our parents. It was dad who gave and took care of me by the sweat of his hands. Don't forget there is a God in heaven and HE IS OUR FATHER. As you do so, you can see he has you in his hands, under his care.
- God is the GREAT ALMIGHTY and he's our Father.
- We don't have to go into detail with him but we must acknowledge him. We read ourselves and get straight to the point. He hears us the first time. Ask correctly in faith.
be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
- The Lord's kingdom comes before anything else.
- The Lord's will comes before anything else.
- Remember your place in the kingdom; it's not coming for our way but God's way.
- Our daily need is provided.
- He knows the circumstances and will take care of me.
- Teach me to pray. Teach me to need God. We all need each other BUT WE NEED GOD.
- God never drops us.
that is indebted to us.
- Ask for forgiveness every time–we must ask that.
- See God as he is, but see ourselves as we are.
- We forgive those who have sinned against us; we take them to God in prayer but not through revenge or to avenge. We all need forgiveness. Be person enough to let go of aughts.
- Let God forgive us as we do the same.
from evil.
- The devil has much there to tempt us with. Everyday he wants us to lie or be mean.
- We ask the Lord to lead us around temptation.
- Recognize evil and the power of sin. The devil exists and there is evil. That strong power would overtake us.
- It's a fearful world. We never know what a day will hold. "It" can happen to us. Think about all that goes on right here in Smyth and Washington counties.
- We can't control others; we have to trust God to deliver.
- We have to trust God to protect.
- We have to trust God to get us through.
- We don't need to explain evil to him–just depend on him to deliver.
- In the original it says "the evil;" it has a face. The only one that can watch over us is God.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 