Pray This Way: What Jesus Has to Say About How We Pray

You are listening to a new beginning with Greg Laurie, a podcast made possible by harvest partners, helping people everywhere know God. Visit our website and learn more about harvest partners@harvest.org will or more of just being this interested Jesus encourages Pastor Greg Laurie is when we pray, think of the closeness of our heavenly father and how he motions as we have a father who will always be there. We have a father who listens father who loves me of a father and read what you learn from those same thing before those who wrestled with all the decisions with the project today on a new beginning after Greg Laurie pointed out the Lord pattern to follow is what we commonly call the Lord's prayer cycle shows us how to bring God go I will grab your Bibles and turn to Matthew six this is a brand-new series on the Lord's prayer in the title of my message today is pray this way better qualified to tell us about talking to God then God talking to us. So look at Matthew six organ reverses 9 to 14 when we could just say it out loud together in this manner therefore pray our father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.

For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Now, this powerful prayer can be divided into two sections.

The first three petitions I would be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done deal with the glory of God reminding us what the real purpose of prayer is what is the purpose of prayer, the real focus of prayer should not be on us but on God, not on what we want, but on what God wants to let come to point number one about how to pray, the way Jesus wants us to pray. It is were taught by Jesus were to pray to our father in heaven.

I don't know about you but I didn't have a dad growing up my mom sort of hunted men for support and she was buried in the were seven times that before July the boyfriends in between my mom is like a guy magnet and she seemed to enjoy it. Moving from relationship to relationship. If you want to call it that she would tell me to call these men dad will after about three guys in. It was getting a little old, I meeting a complete stranger. My mom would think this is your new dad column – I didn't really want to call these guys that she did marry one guy name Oskar Lori who lived in New Jersey and and he was the only dad." They treated me like a father should treat a son, though it was not my biological father. He disciplined me. He taught me values.

He took time for me and I love to be also adopted me and that's why I have his name Oskar but if you don't know. That's why me notes Lori but you know so there was my dad and I felt he was my dad one day getting out of school in New Jersey.

My mom has the car loaded up with all of our suitcases and I said, were we going she said were going to Hawaii is Edward's dad. She says he's not, that was the last I saw of Oscar for many years so we finally landed in Honolulu. Now this was the mid 60s and it was a supercool place back in the mid 60s. I mean, I have to admit I really loved that though air of the water everything and she married this guy who owned a bar in Waikiki Beach and the other was a big window behind the bar that you look into the swimming pool.

So I spent a lot of time just hanging out on Waikiki Beach in the mid 60s. I made friends with these guys they call the Beach boys got the band. These are the guys that ran the outriggers and I would get free rides on the outriggers. They all knew me all the tourists were pathologically free right of the free ride pretty good life. But there was trouble in paradise because my mom was a raging alcoholic, as was the man she married this particular guy who I couldn't call dad so I can remember if you told me to call him this or my mom did.

I called them diddley is not pathetic diddley so anyway diddley was a mean drunk and when he came under the influence of alcohol. He would scream and yell and ship my mom is the same way you get in these giant fights and one night he hit her with a little statue and knocked her unconscious. She almost died so we left diddley and Doug came to California so you can understand when I say there's a lot of baggage with the word dad for me notes on the way for everyone.

Some of your awesome dads and unity that was loving and nurturing and affectionate and affirming and communicative. That's great. Thank God for that.

Some of you had weird dad or maybe abusive dads or maybe you never even knew your dedicate whatever the case is what I want to say your father in heaven is different than your father under okay. That's not to criticize your father. You know, because fathers and mothers let their kids down in children that their parents. I will let each other down at times. I me David knew what it was like to have a dad that didn't love them. David wrote to my father and mother forsake me. The Lord will take me up.

He said of God. He's a father to the fatherless, so God will be the father for you, but you understand when Jesus said to his disciples after this manner therefore pray our father who art in heaven, that was a revolutionary thought to a Jewish person shoes of the first century did not call God father the fact they regarded his name which such reverence and respect they would not even moderate in the entire Old Testament, God is referred to as father, fewer than seven times and when he is referred to in that way it's either indirectly or rather remotely when Jesus referred to God as his father, the accused him of blasphemy. One of the reasons they crucified him was because he said my father and I are one and they said you're making yourself equal with God, by the way they had the right and so they send them to the cross. So, okay, we can say, I accept the fact that Jesus was God's son. I understand that Jesus could call God the Almighty father but how can I do it because of what Jesus did. She when he went to the cross and died for our sin and rose again from the dead.

He opened up a new covenant. So when he rises and meets Mary Magdalene there in the garden area around the tomb and she grabs hold of him. She's cleaning him. He says Mary don't cling to me. In other words, Mary is something to be the way it was anymore unlucky to be here physically walking with you. It's a whole new ballgame. All new covenant because I'm going to my God and your God. I'm going to my father and your father yes Mary you can call him father.

So Jesus gives us permission even more. Jesus encourages us. He tells us to pray our father who art in heaven, now only thing father. Don't think of a distant supreme being who is disinterested, thinkable, warm, loving father, because the Bible says God is and given us a spirit of bondage again to fear one of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, father. The word Abba means daddy for the Hebrew equivalent of data. Your Papa my grandkids call me Papa the other day when my grandchildren said up the pop-up meaning pick her up. How can you say no to that right so it's a term of affection.

No other people think it call me pop of the cabinet.

I'll slap them know I will respond to your Papa, I'm not your daddy I'm there pop-up my son can call me dad.

Someone else can't. But the point is that it's relationship. You see, so Jesus is saying you should see my father, who art in heaven.

What is this father like well if you want to know what your father is like. Just look at Jesus because Jesus said in John 14 nine he that is seen me has seen the father. So what is our father, like good good Jesus welcoming the little children. That's at your father's like children are drawn to him, look at Jesus washing the disciples feet. That's what your father is like, look at Jesus weeping at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. That's what you're father is like touched by your sadness and your hurt. Maybe the most vivid illustration is a story Christ himself told about the father. What we call the story of the prodigal son. Now the emphasis of that story is usually on the boy but I think you could just as easily call it the parable of the loving father because it's a story of a father who had two sons. As you know, one son goes astray, Rex's life wastes his inheritance comes to his senses returns home while he still a great way's office. Father sees them runs again, throws his arms around him and kisses him and restores him the full son ship. So what is God the father, like what is our father in heaven like he's like a father who misses his son or daughter is like a father who longs for communication with us is like a father that will welcome you with open arms. If you will come to him. That's the picture Jesus gave we have a father who will always be there. We have a father who listens.

We have a father who loves we have a father in heaven. Mr. Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Sometimes, we can always make sure here's the good news church is coming to you is coming due on your TV screen or on your tablet or your computer or even your phone. We do it every weekend and it's called harvest home.

We worship we have a message of the word of God. If you want to find out more, just go to harvest.org enjoy this this weekend for harvestable will today. Pastor Greg is explaining how to pray as Jesus would have us pray part of a short series on the Lord's prayer must continue number two were taught by Jesus to pray with other believers or taught by Jesus to pray with other believers, circle, or underline the word are after this manner therefore pray our father who art in heaven. That's not to say you can pray to him personally or individually, but it is interesting to use the word are Jesus is teaching us. This is a family prayer that we offer, together with other believers.

When you become a Christian, you become part of God's family is called the church. We are brothers and sisters in Christ were all in this together and it's interesting other three moving prayers of confession in the Old Testament in Ezra 9 Nehemiah 9 and Daniel nine and in every one of those prayers. The pronoun we is used frequently, meaning Ezra Nehemiah Daniel were not guilty of the sins they were confessing, but they identify themselves with the people who are praying, they said, Lord, we sinned against you.

We've done this evil because were all in this together in one of the things that saddens me is when I see Christians fighting with each other. Even worse, how we divide over theological minutia or even style of ministry.

I'm reminded of the words of J. Vernon McGee ever listening on the radio get about the Bible bus, one of the things that McGee said I will do it in his voice, but here's a statement. He says the only exercise.

Some Christians get is running down others and jumping to conclusions.

That's true, polishes this warning to the Galatians and Galatians 5 for the whole laws and fill the one word you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

But if you bite and devour one another, watch out or you'll be consumed by one another.

We should not be by then devouring one another, we should be loving and forgiving one another: some people are lovable like me.

I'm very lovable know I'm really not.

But when people are lovable because, well, there attractive or their talented or their intelligent whether something we like about the person. So it's easy to love but other people are not lovable are they there cantankerous their offputting their irritating but if there part of the church. There are brother and sister.

Do I want to love them effective. We can love unlovable people. How much do we even know about the love of God, some will say well you know I love Jesus I just don't love Christians.

How can you love God who you can see when you don't love your brother, you can see, and actually, the Bible says that your mark of conversion is when you love your brothers. First John 314 we know we passed from death to life, because we love our brothers and anyone who does not love his brothers is passing to death, but this shows that prayer and worship go together. Our father who art in heaven how would be your name.

He's our father but notice how I know to give praise to you, you know, if you have the luxury of time in your prayer don't cut to the chase and go to your grocery list.

Sometimes we approach God in prayer and its by Lucy paraphrase, it would look like this. God has gone good to see you and here's what I need today. Amen we would pray along these lines are father who art in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread with the Lord's prayer, the template for all prayer the model prayer does not teach us to pray the way it teaches us to pray our father who art in heaven how would be your name.

How would being set apart a glorified is your name so just stop and contemplate the glory and the awesomeness of God, and I think if you do that will change the way that you pray it will give you perspective you'll see everything you're facing differently.

You pause the contemplate the greatness of God. The Perspective to because when you have a big God, you have relatively small problems but if you a good problems. Do you actually have a small God, or at least an improper view of him. The 12 spies were sent to the promised land.

10 came back with a negative report they said they felt like grasshoppers and the inhabitants were giants, and by the way they were exaggerating everything they were looking at their obstacles instead of their great God. Joshua and Caleb, two of the 12 spies saw the same things and came back with faith and they said let's go conquer the length it's all how you look at things and sometimes we can come to church were just overwhelmed by our problems and we worship the Lord and then we hear a message of God's word and we walked out and our problems are still there, but we see them differently because we've seen God in his power.

That's why church is so important that phi Fellowship is so important. That's why praying together is so important. Only safe our father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name really becomes again change or as you see things as you ought to see them from a proper perspective. I'm reminded of a story years ago my son Jonathan was going to learn how to scuba dive and got with the instructor. This is off of the coast of Maui and I'm a certified scuba diver have been for years. I don't die very often, but I am technically certified, which means I can go and get a tank filled with air. Go drown somewhere which is probably what would happen because I don't dive enough, but so he was taking this little course in the you know learn about their mask on and the fins and how to use the tanks and the regulators all that and so I can watch from a distance, writing both of the course because I'm certified right so when they had their dive. The next day I asked the instructor can I go along for the die because I'm certified, they said sure, and so I showed up the next day, but the problem was a storm King and the water was super choppy and the boat for pitching back and forth and I was hoping that cancel it. Not a check he gets everybody in the boat ever going out and were just kicking back and forth. You got your your vest on. You got your weight built on. You got your tanks on your regulator and in the way you get in the water was you falling backwards. That's the last thing you want to do. We have all that weight on your body but you know I was getting a little nervous. I'll be honest and we went in the water and I started to panic a little bit and I looked over at Jonathan in his eyes were as big as saucers. He was freaking out that I had no words of encouragement because I was scared to hell over the instructor did. He said Jonathan look at me. Jonathan looked at it and I looked into the instructor said remember your training.

Remember your training and then they started reading the 100 which are in the water was great.

So here's my point. The reason we start sinking in despair as we stop looking at our great God and instead we look at stormy seas.

We need to realize he's in control. Remember your training. Remember what the word of God said so, as I pray my father Ward in heaven, hallowed be your name.

I just taking my time to contemplate the awesomeness of God no look if you're in an emergency situation. It's okay to cut to the chase Gerard swimming in the great white is approaching and you know because you hear the theme music of jaws playing it on up the ramp up to the deck. God help that'll be fine but if you are the luxury of time contemplate the greatness and the glory of God. But listen, this prayer the Lord's prayer. This access to God is only possible through Jesus Christ and it's from relationship, how do I come into this relationship with God is will be born in a Christian home help will maybe if you believe the message you learned there, but you can't live on somebody else's faith. You see has to be a moment in your life or you say Lord I know I'm a sinner and I'm sorry for my sin that I turn from it and Jesus Christ to God in the cross for your sin will come and live inside of you, and you can have this new relationship with God when you know call him father and you can know that your prayers are heard in heaven. God is this plan for you. He wants to reveal it to you. God wants to speak to you.

God wants to hear from you, but this can only happen through Jesus. So we have become the father the son good works will get to their living a good life will get you there because you're just not good enough. No one is but God will forgive you if you will admit your sin and I wanted just close now with prayer and give an opportunity for anyone to this joint does anyone that is watching or listening does not know God in this Personal Way, God seems distant, God seems disinterested in you and nothing could be further from the truth.

God will come and take residence in your heart today if you will ask them to in turn from your sin if you've not done that in a close in prayer and I'll give you an opportunity to get right with the Lord to have your sins forgiven and go to heaven when you die it start this relationship with your father and have a little foreheads. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for what Jesus has done for us, and though I pray for any that don't have this relationship with you. Help them see Lord, they can have it today by coming to you and believing important invitation today and if you'd like to make a change in your relationship with the Lord. Pastor Greg will help you do that in just a moment and if you would be in prayer right now for those who are making this kind of decision will did you hear all of today study here on a new beginning. If not, you can catch up by going online to harvest.org look for the title pray this way yesterday were talking about Billy Graham. Yes course, many of our listeners are reading your new book, Billy Graham, the man I knew and you been revealing some surprises to us based on the content of the book yeah one of them is that he knew how to use media like few other people of his time he used it not only to help spread the gospel but to build a platform for his ministry yeah and that started early on in his ministry when he was having a short stint as a pastor he was on a radio program that was simply called songs in the night. That's where he met George Beverly Shea who went on to become his song leader at his crusades and in they were a team of Billy Bevis. They called him George Beverly Shea Bev and Cliff Barrows, but Billy understood the power of media you know Howard Stern likes to call himself the King of all media. The fact is Billy was the first King of all media as his ministry was taking off.

He went on radio now are used to hearing Christian radio.

There were no Christian radio station for the most part.

Back then, but he was going on in major radio stations with his a program called the hour of decision. Some of our listeners.

They even remember at this is what his show sounded like the hour of decision. Let's go back in time. Listen to this are all all the world is forget you for given you sure are you certain that God has forgiven you, but then he also was one of the pioneers of Christian television, but I don't even know if you would call it Christian television.

He was a Christian on television, but he would buy time in the major networks are locally, nationally and broadcast the gospel and so many of us remember watching Billy Graham on TV. I remember I was living with my grandparents and Southgate in California and we would watch Billy Graham and our black and white television set. If that wasn't enough. He also started a film studio in Hollywood called worldwide pictures and they made films that they released in theaters sin and they were beautiful films that always had an evangelistic message. In addition to that, he wrote a column called my answer that rent six days a week in newspapers across the United States and reached 20 million people. He founded two monthly magazines Christianity today and decision magazine, and he also was an early adopter of sunlight tech and the Internet. I remember I was with them in Puerto Rico for an event that they called mission the world and they took the satellite dishes and being done all around the planet so really utilize all forms of media to reach as many people as he possibly could so that just one of the many things I bring out in this book that I wrote about Billy called Billy Graham the man I knew. I also tell a lot of personal stories conversations we had things that he said to me impressions I got from watching him up close and personal, and I want to share that with you I feel after you read this book, you'll feel like you kind of knew Billy Graham as well. So if you want to order a copy were offering it right now for your gift of any size whatever you can send the support harvest ministries will then send you and return a copy of Billy Graham, the man I knew that some of you can send a lot and that's appreciated because wool invested in teaching the Bible in getting the gospel out here and in the beginning but some of you maybe can only send a little will send you a copy as well so order your copy of my brand-new book, Billy Graham, the man I knew. Yes, a landmark overview of Billy's life with exhaustive painstaking research that literally took years in spite of how well Pastor Greg knew Billy personally. He found out so much more. During that in-depth research and you'll benefit from these deep insights so we hope you get in touch for your own copy of Billy Graham, the man I knew as Pastor Greg said will send it to you to say thank you for your donation of any size.

Thanks for your investment right now and to thank you tangibly will send you a copy of the new book, Billy Graham, the man I knew just write a new beginning. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or call 1-800-821-3300 were here to take your call around the clock at 1-800-821-3300 or just go online to harvest.org Pastor Greg another seminar audience who felt God speaking to them today through your message and they want to make a change in the relationship with the Lord. Could you help them with that. Yeah, you know, Dave. The Bible says whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved so I will lead you in a prayer we you will be doing just that. Calling on the name of the Lord solicit if you want your sins forgiven.

If you want to know that when you die you will go to heaven if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life and take away your guilt and your shame. Then just stop what you're doing and pray this prayer with me right now pray this after me if you would, Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I have broken your commandments. I have fallen short of your standards but 2000 years ago you died on the cross for me, then you rose again from the dead.

So Jesus come in the my life and be my Savior and my Lord and my God, my friend.

I choose to follow you from this moment forward.

Thank you for calling me and accepting me and for giving me in Jesus name I pray, amen and amen. Listen if you have just prayed those words with Pastor Greg and meant them sincerely the Lord has heard you and forgiven you of your sin and we want to welcome you into the family of God and would like your sense of follow-up materials your way to help you begin to live this new life of faith letter sent you our new believers growth packet just ask for it when you write a new beginning. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or call us at 1-800-821-3300. We can talk to you anytime 24 hours a day.

Of that number 1-800-821-3300 or go to harvest.org click no, when next I Pastor Greg continues his practical study of the Lord's prayer. Consider those things we should avoid things that so many of us to put inside coming next time you beginning and everybody thinks or listening to an beginning this is a podcast made possible by harvest partners. So for more content can help you know God and equip you to make him known to others or to learn more about how you can become a harvest partner. Just go to harvest.org