Kingdom Principle: God is a good and glorious God who delights in answering his children’s prayers. He does so in accordance with his holiness and the display of his glory.
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God is __________________ for His _________________
Luke 11:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say…
Jesus is teaching us about the spirit of prayer. In this model prayer is giving us the essence of prayer.
“Say …” Did Jesus just intend that they should repeat the words, parrot fashion? No; but that they should enter into the sense. “Say,” we might say, means “mean!” This prayer is a pattern for all Christian praying. Jesus is teaching that prayer will be acceptable when, and only when, the attitudes, thoughts, and desires expressed fit the pattern. That is to say: every prayer of ours should be a praying of the Lord’s Prayer in some shape or form.
Matthew 6:7 (ESV) — 7 “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.
Jesus teaching us to pray does not rob us of our personal concerns, but rather instructs us that we should bring those concerns to the Father, because he cares for us, with a concern, first and foremost to his holiness.
1 Peter 5:7 (ESV) — 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Is all of humanity God’s children?
John 1:9–13 (ESV) — 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
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God is __________________ for His ___________________
Luke 11:2 (ESV) — 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.
Before Jesus gets to our specific supplications or requests, he makes us mindful that in our requests, God’s name will be glorified in the fulfilling of those requests.
Westminster Larger Catechism: Q. 7. What is God?
A. God is a Spirit, in and of himself infinite in being, glory, blessedness, and perfection; all-sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, incomprehensible, every where present, almighty, knowing all things, most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, the best, and fountain of all being, most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek him; and withal most just and terrible in his judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.
Isaiah 48:9–11 (ESV) — 9 “For my name’s sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. 10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. 11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
Questions to Consider
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As you pray, what two things should you be mindful of?
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Are there ways you have seen God answer prayer that has made him more precious to you then if you did not ask and he did not answer?
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What are some things you are asking God for now?
