Scripture Text: Matthew 6:9-15
Memory Verse: “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.” Matthew 6:9
Lesson Aim: To provide the first part of a set of guidelines to help the believer develop a consistent and effective prayer life.
Key Points - A consistent daily prayer life is essential if we are to be victorious in our Christian walk. - God’s character, His glory and relationship with us are revealed in His Name. - By taking the time to bring our tongues into agreement with the Word of God, we can set the course of our lives in accordance with the Word.
In the previous lesson, we emphasized the importance and power of prayer. We cannot overemphasize how important it is for all believers to develop a consistent and effective prayer life. A consistent daily prayer life is essential if we are to be victorious in our Christian walk, for it is through prayer that we develop intimacy with our Father. God is truly calling His Church to pray. The late Edwin Louis Cole said that we become intimate with the one to whom we pray, those whom we pray with and those that we pray for.
Even though we may have an idea of the need for prayer, how do we translate that into action? First of all, we need to have a desire to pray and move from desire to discipline and then to delight. Jesus was disciplined and delighted in prayer. No doubt, the disciples noticed this because in Luke 11:1, one of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, as John the Baptist had taught his disciples. Jesus responded with the prayer that He gave His disciples in Matthew 6:9-15 and Luke 11:2-4. In this prayer pattern, Jesus lays out the vital topics that we should regularly bathe in prayer.
“Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name” is the starting point. It is here that we approach the Father in the Name of His dear Son, Jesus, and proceed to enter into His presence with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. To hallow something is to consecrate it, consider it sacred, to reverence, appreciate and adore it. God’s character, His glory and relationship with us are revealed in His Name for God will be to us whatever and everything we need Him to be. We can accept and apply the blessings found in His Name as joint-heirs with Christ. This segment would be typed as prayers of praise, thanksgiving and worship. We, therefore, approach God to seek His face (worshipping Him for who He is) rather than seeking His hands (always asking something from Him).
The next topic is covered in “kingdom come. Your will be done …” (Mathew 6:9). At this point, we deliberately declare and submit our will to God’s will. We want God to reign in our lives, our families, our church, our community, our county, city, nation and the world. Since our tongue is the rudder of our lives, here we set the rudder in accordance with God’s will (His Word) and His priorities. By taking the time to bring our tongue into agreement with the Word of God, we can set the course of our lives in accordance with the Word. Therefore, we declare it to be so and set the course for obedience. We could label this segment as a prayer of dedication, consecration or declaration.
These are elements of prayer that work. God is looking for true worshipers. He wants to hear it from our mouths, know it from our hearts and see it in our lives. So let’s get ready to pray!
Questions and Discussion
- What is involved in developing a desire to pray and moving to discipline and then delight? Psalm 27:4-8
- What is involved in hallowing God’s name?
- What do the following compound Hebrew names of God mean?
YHWH-M’kaddesh – Ezekiel 20:12; Exodus 31:13 (#6942)
YHWH-Jireh – Genesis 22:14 (#3070)
YHWH-Nissi – Exodus 17:15 (#3071)
YHWH-Rohi – Psalm 23:1 (#7473)
YHWH-Rophe – Exodus 15:26 (#7495)
YHWH-Shalom – Judges 6:24 (#3073)
YHWH-Shammah – Ezekiel 48:35 (#3074)
YHWH-Tsidkenu – Jeremiah 23:6; 33:16 (#3072) - An important factor in establishing our priorities is knowing God’s will. What do these Scriptures tell us about God’s will? Luke 4:18; Luke 10:19; John 14:15; John 17:17, 20-23; 2 Peter 3:9, 14
- How do we come into agreement with God’s will and declare it in our lives? John 15:7; Matthew 18:18-19
- What are some of the issues that we should pray about? 1 Chronicles 4:10; Job 1:5; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; Colossians 4:12