PRAY THE RIGHT WAY (2 OF 8)
Scripture: Matthew 6:6-15
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Pray the Right Way (2 of 8)
Series: Talking to God
Jonathan McLeod
Matthew 6:6-15
''Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven...''' (Matt. 6:9a).
WHERE'S THE MANUAL?
Instruction manuals are becoming obsolete.
When the disciples of Jesus asked him how to pray (''Lord, teach us to pray,'' Luke 11:1), he didn't give them a prayer manual; he gave them a prayer model. This model prayer is known as ''The Lord's Prayer'' (Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4).
[Read Matthew 6:6-15.]
DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION?
Before Jesus tells his followers how they should pray (vv. 9-13), he tells them how they should not pray (vv. 5-8). They should not pray ''as the Gentiles [i.e., the pagans] do'' (v. 7). ''They think that they will be heard for their many words'' (v. 7). In other words, they think they won't get their god's attention unless they keep pestering him.
The pagan's god is like a landlord. To get a landlord's attention, you often need to keep pestering until he finally gets your leaky faucet fixed. Our God is not like a landlord; he's our Father. He won't ignore us. We are his children, and he loves us. To pray the right way, we must pray believing that we are talking to a Father who loves us.
FATHER?
What right do we have to call God our Father? We can call God our Father because he has adopted us into his family. To all who have put their faith in Jesus, ''[God] gave the right to become children of God'' (John 1:12).
God didn't simply snap his fingers and say, ''You're in my family.'' He brought us into his family through the death of Jesus on the cross. The cross is the proof of God's love for us. We know that God loves us because he ''did not spare his own Son but gave him us for us all'' (Rom. 8:32). ''God so loved t ...
Series: Talking to God
Jonathan McLeod
Matthew 6:6-15
''Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven...''' (Matt. 6:9a).
WHERE'S THE MANUAL?
Instruction manuals are becoming obsolete.
When the disciples of Jesus asked him how to pray (''Lord, teach us to pray,'' Luke 11:1), he didn't give them a prayer manual; he gave them a prayer model. This model prayer is known as ''The Lord's Prayer'' (Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4).
[Read Matthew 6:6-15.]
DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION?
Before Jesus tells his followers how they should pray (vv. 9-13), he tells them how they should not pray (vv. 5-8). They should not pray ''as the Gentiles [i.e., the pagans] do'' (v. 7). ''They think that they will be heard for their many words'' (v. 7). In other words, they think they won't get their god's attention unless they keep pestering him.
The pagan's god is like a landlord. To get a landlord's attention, you often need to keep pestering until he finally gets your leaky faucet fixed. Our God is not like a landlord; he's our Father. He won't ignore us. We are his children, and he loves us. To pray the right way, we must pray believing that we are talking to a Father who loves us.
FATHER?
What right do we have to call God our Father? We can call God our Father because he has adopted us into his family. To all who have put their faith in Jesus, ''[God] gave the right to become children of God'' (John 1:12).
God didn't simply snap his fingers and say, ''You're in my family.'' He brought us into his family through the death of Jesus on the cross. The cross is the proof of God's love for us. We know that God loves us because he ''did not spare his own Son but gave him us for us all'' (Rom. 8:32). ''God so loved t ...
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