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Praying to the Father
Getting the Balance Right
Luke 11:1-4
Pie Chart Your day How /ang do you spend praying and hawng Ume with God?
Pie chart your prayer life-how much is about God and the worshhv of him, and
how much is about you and your needs?
Reflect on whether you have a bibkcal ba/ance to your prayer /ife which Jesus
instructs here?
A.
First things First.
Declaration 1 ‘Hallowed be your name.’
forget the
In the close relationship that we have with God if we are Christians, don’t
following characteristics of God as examples of ‘hallowed by your name.’
are
In Knowledge, God is nothing like them or us: Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts
not your thoughts; neither are your ways my ways " declares the LORD. 9 '94s the
ways and my
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways hkyher than your
thoughts than your thoughts.”
God is nothing like them or us: Isaiah 6:3-5 “and they were cal/ing
is ful/ of his
to one anothe/1' 'l-/om holy holy is the LORD Almighty' the whole ea/th
glory ” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the
I am a man
temple was filled with smoke. 5 ”Woe to me!" I cded 'T am ruined/ For
of unclean /ips and I /ive among a people of unclean ups and my eyes ha ve seen
In his
holiness,
the long the LORD Almighty"
own name, God is nothing like them or us: Ezekiel 36:23 “I
among the
will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned
nations the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that
Iam the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORQ when I show myself holy through you
before their eyes "
And in regards to his
be
Hebrews 12:28-29 ‘ Therefore, since we are receiwng a kingdom that cannot
and
awe,
shaken, /et us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence
29 for our 'God is a consuming fire."
2
Daniel 8:26-27; John in Revelation 1:17 or Ezekiel in 1:28.
When you pray who do you come before?
creation?
Is he the God ofthe Bib/ey or your own
How does your pray /ife demonstrate your response here?
Declaration 2: ‘Your Kingdom Come’ v2
Jesus was giving his disciples an ‘eschatological prayer focus/
When you pray do you pray
wou/d come again?
that Gods /Gngdom
wi// come? Do you pray that God
Why m/ght you not?
O
God’s kingdom has both come (inaugurated by Immanuel as Isaiah 61:4-7
predicted) and will come again in the 2"d Coming. We live in the age of the ‘Now
and Not Yet’
Are your prayers eternity focused? Do you pray in hne with Chdst that God wou/d
come again?
Do you pray in reahty knowing that there /s more to th/s //fe than what you have?
Does your and my prayer-/ife actua//y re yea/ what /Ls the foundation of my hfe?
3
B.
God's concerns for his people
Request 1: ‘Give us each day our daily bread.’
basic needs and he
The love that the father has to his children-he knows our
instructs us to ask that they be met.
than physical bread
Aftos the Greek word used here for bread, is more general
alone; Jesus said that they are to pray for food.
time-when there is no
Have you ever noticed how God provides for you at the right
money-or he provides the money.
Request 2 ‘Forgive us our sins’
What is our greatest earth/y need? Dai/y food
,
you been forgiven by
What is our greatest spintua/ need? Forgiveness of sins. Have
God for your sin?
How does real Prayer humble us?
him, or /s there a
Does your prayer /ife to God show your need for ai/ things before
sense of equahty between you and him?
Request 3 ‘And lead us not into temptation.'
tempted no-one shou/d san 'God is tempting me. " For God
each one is tempted
cannot be tempted by evii nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but
when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed ’
James 1:13-14
‘When
/
4
Help for your prayer life
substitute for reading God’s Word.
Having times of devotionals during the
No
day
Reading decent books
Know who God is
‘0urAwes0me G0d’John MacArthur
(looking at the character of God 167pp)
‘ Taste and See: Savounng the
Supremacy of God in Ai/ of Life. ’ John
Books to help you pray
Piper
‘Revivaif A Peop/e saturated by God '
Brian Edwards
‘Awesome on the Inside' Tim Hawkins
‘A Praying Life.' Connecting with Godin a
D/Stracling Wor/0' Paul E Miller
‘ The Va//ey of Wsion’ Puritan Prayers
‘At the 777r0ne of God’ John MacArthur
‘ Taste and See: Savouring the
Supremacy of God in A// of Life.’ John
Piper
Prayer requests at the front of the diary
and how they have been answered at
the back.
Things to pray for during each week, so
you remain focussed and concentrate.
Prayer by many gives a sense of
community prayer.
Set the atmosphere of godliness through
conversation, reading and prayer.
_
Prayer Diary
Asking for prayer from Home group
1-2-1 work with a close Christian Friend
“Howfs your soul?"
What will you pray for regarding the up and coming Mission? (the
exhaustivel)
»
Meetings
o
Logistics
»
Personal Evangelism
o
God’s glow
~
The Speakers
o
Long term fruit
o
Venues
o
Roger Carswell
list is not