团契与门徒训练

Learning to Pray the Lord's Prayer (Mat. 6:5~13)

2015.06.14Stephen Cha

Jesus teaches his disciples to pray not with empty words or public display but as children who come honestly to a loving Father, shaped by God's glory, kingdom, provision, forgiveness, and protection. Prayer is a family practice, and we grow in it by making time, speaking aloud, and praying until we can pray.

Do not pray to be seen but in the secret place (5-8)

Jesus first tells us how not to pray. The hypocrites stand in the synagogues and at street corners to be seen, and they have already received their reward. Public prayer is not wrong in itself, but without private prayer, a heart reaching out to God, we must examine our public prayer. Jesus also warns against empty repetition, as the Gentiles did in the days of Elijah's contest with the prophets of Baal. God does not hear length or repetition; he looks for a heart turned toward him, because your Father already knows what you need before you ask.

Come to God as an honest child of the Father (9)

Jesus invites us to approach God as children approach their father, with honesty and without polished words. Throughout this chapter the word Father is repeated, and God sees, hears, and knows what we do in secret. In the Old Testament God called Israel his son, but Jesus consistently called God Abba, Father, in an intimate way. Through Jesus Christ we are adopted as God's children, so we do not come to a judge who checks our good works but to a Father who has already received us.

Hallowed be your name: knowing God's character brings him glory

The first petition calls us to honor God's name, which reveals his character. God revealed himself by name as I AM, Yahweh, Jehovah Jireh, and the God who protects and walks with his people. His name is holy in itself, but we hallow it in our lives as we come to know him through Scripture, praise him for his faithfulness, and display his grace in our weakness. Prayer that begins here makes God's glory our first priority, so that our lives are no longer about our own little name.

Our Father: we pray together as one family (9-13)

The Lord's Prayer is written in the plural, with words like us, our, and we, and not only in the singular. When we ask for daily bread, we also pray for brothers and sisters who are hungry and suffering. When we ask for forgiveness, we remember that we are forgiven and called to forgive others. Missionaries and believers facing hardship have experienced that they are not alone when others pray with them. The example of German Christians who prayed for decades for North Korea shows us that God enlarges our hearts through shared prayer.

Learn to pray by planning, speaking, and persisting

Prayer grows when we make time for it, because much prayer is never done simply because we do not plan to pray. Speaking our prayers aloud helps us stay focused when our minds wander, and we can pray the Lord's Prayer or Scripture over others. Prayer cards that list family, people in need, friends, church leaders, missionaries, world issues, work, and repentance help us remember to pray for them. Finally, we should keep praying even when it is hard, and ask others to pray with us, until we truly learn to pray.

Apply to Life

  • Let us set aside a specific time each day to pray honestly to our Father in secret.
  • Let us begin our prayers by praising God and seeking to honor his name in our lives.
  • Let us pray for our brothers and sisters and for those who are suffering, as well as for ourselves.
  • Let us organize our prayer life with a prayer list or prayer card and pray for those names regularly.
  • Let us find a prayer partner or mentor and keep praying together until we grow as prayer warriors.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

← 返回영어 예배(English Service)