teach us to pray

Teach Us How To Pray — Review of Lesson #2 of the 1st Quarter of 2024 -

The Sabbath School Lesson study guide can be found here:
https://ssnet.org/lessons/24a/less02.html

The title of this quarter's theme is: The Psalms: Where God and People Meet Heart to Heart

For the next 13 weeks (January to March 2024), we will take a look at how the Psalms were used historically in worship, and what they can mean for us today.

If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: BibleQuestions@ASBzone.com

Related Podcasts:

• Persistent and Consistent -- Prayer Life
• All About Jabez and his Prayer
• Bring Me Up Samuel
• Glory and Character (at TrueWisdom
• The Day the Sun Stood Still (at TrueWisdom)

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During many of our podcasts, you will hear us make reference to “The Key Principles of Effective Bible Study,” a document which outlines core concepts shown in the scriptures that will help you better understand many Biblical themes and doctrines. We have done a whole podcast series on these principles which can be found here (https://BibleStudy.ASBzone.com/357512/8572886).

Lastly, we recommend that you check out https://TrueWisdom.buzzsprout.com for additional Bible Study podcasts, covering many different Bible topics, and done in a slightly different format from the podcasts on this channel.

We pray that all of these resources will be very helpful to you in your Bible Studies.

Jesus gives us another parable and the disciples are sitting at His feet. What would it be like for you to sit at His feet as he speaks this parable? What is going through your head? Join me in the prayer as we relate those things to the Lord.

Resources I use:

Word on Fire Bible: https://www.wordonfire.org/bible/
Roman Missal: https://www.catholiccompany.com/daily...
Meditation and Contemplation by Fr. Timothy Gallagher: https://www.frtimothygallagher.org/pr...

Join me again next week as we engage our imagination to explore the Sunday readings.

What is God's kingdom and how do we access it? In this message, Pastor Jamie Nunnally continues our series on the Lord's Prayer. He shares biblical insights that help us access the kingdom of God now. 

Matthew 6:9-13 “Pray along these lines: ‘Our Father in heaven, we honor your holy name. We ask that your kingdom will come now. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. Give us our food again today, as usual, and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. Don’t bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One. Amen.’”

What is the Kingdom of God?

God’s rule and God’s reign displaying God’s will and way.

The kingdom of God is God’s government currently active in heaven, demonstrated on earth by Jesus, offered to humanity, and accessed through obedience to God’s instructions.

Government: rule, reign, method, system, directions, his preferences.

Isaiah 9:6 

Active in heaven: Heaven is already under God’s rule. That’s why we pray for heaven to come to earth. Heaven is the ultimate expression of God’s perfect will. 

Demonstrated by Jesus: The Kingdom of God was on full display in the life of Jesus.

Teaching: Matthew 13 – parables on the kingdom

Healing: Luke 10:9 “Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’

Deliverance: Matthew 12:28 “But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.”

Offered to humanity:

Matthew 4:17 “The kingdom of God is at hand.” Near, within reach: to have come close with the intention of joining two things together. 

Accessed by obeying God’s instructions:

Matthew 7:21 

Prov. 14:12 

If you do things God’s way, you get God’s results in your life.

3 Characteristics of the Kingdom of God:

1. The kingdom of God is upside-down.

John 18:36

In your weakness He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:10)

The first will be last and the last will be first (Matt. 20:16)

Love your enemies (Matthew 5:43-44)

Lend without expecting anything back (Luke 6:34-35)

Whoever wants to be important will have to become a servant (Matt. 20:26).

Give and it will be given (Luke 6:38).

God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise (1 Cor. 1:27).

2. The kingdom of God is inside - out.

Luke 17:21 

Phil. 2:12-13 

Your goal as a kingdom citizen is to get the good stuff God put inside you on the outside.

3. The kingdom of God is all or nothing. 

Matthew 6:24 

Phil 3:20 “For our citizenship is in heaven.”

Home is where the heart is. For the Christian, your heart has changed, so your home as changed, too.

James 4:4 

When we say “Your kingdom come,” we are also declaring “all other kingdoms, go.”

When you pray, are you inviting God’s Kingdom to rule in your life?

We did into The Lord's Prayer this week and dive deep into the Our Father section.

As we continue through the Lord's Prayer, we find ourselves joining Jesus to pray to OUR Father. Not "my" Father or "your" Father but "Our" Father. We collectively pray to one Father, in Heaven, who loves to hear his people pray.

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Summary Notes: Teach Us to Pray - Episode 14 (Part 4A)

No one is happy about the world the way it is. But turning back the clock is not the answer. The answer lies in looking ahead. And this is the focus of this part of the Lord’s Prayer: “May your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This part of the prayer expresses our longing for a better world.

Is this one petition or two? The two parts of this petition are saying essentially the same thing. Support for this conclusion can be found from the Gospel of Luke. His version of this prayer found in chapter 11 just has “Your kingdom come.” It does not have “your will be done.” This second phrase is not essential to the meaning of the petition. This part of the prayer is one cry expressed in two ways. Two ways to state one prayer.

It is difficult to over-state the importance of this “kingdom of God” theme in the Bible. If there is one phrase that could be used to summarize the plot line of the Bible it would be this one. It defines the very heart of Jesus message and mission. From Genesis 1 where “rule” over the world was given to Adam and Eve and then tragically lost to the last chapter of Revelation where that “rule” is restored, the Bible brings us full-circle. This part of the Prayer places us right in the center of this developing drama.

God’s kingdom is both here and still to come. It’s already present, but not yet here in its fullness. So as we pray this we have to consider these two time frames. Today and the more distant horizon. The present work and the future win. This episode is about praying for the future win. (Praying for the present work will be covered in the next episode.)

Can we, by our prayers for Jesus’ coming, make it happen any sooner? If God has already “fixed” a time for the kingdom to be consummated then what’s the point of praying for this to happen? This prayer probably doesn’t do anything to recalibrate God’s time-table, but it does recalibrate our hearts. It probably does’t cause God to reprogram His prophetic calendar, but it does reprogram our own world-view. The prayer is not so much for Him as it is for us. When we pray this, we are aligning our hearts with God’s heart and His declared destiny for the world. We’re lifting our eyes from our problems to His promises. Keeping this hope before our eyes gives us joy and keeps us planning and preparing for our ultimate future.

This hope gives us a baseline of joy and confidence. This baseline serves as an emotional buffer against the inevitable disappointments we all experience. So, the New Testament teaching about our hope, far from being irrelevant, is one of the most practical teachings. Hope like this gave the early church courage (2Cor. 3:12). It gave them the perseverance needed to get through hardships (Heb. 12:2). It inspired obedience and motivation to serve God (1Cor. 15:58). And it gave them comfort and encouragement (1Thess. 4:13-18). It’s one of the most life-changing teachings of the New Testament! No wonder one of the earliest cries of the first church was, “Maranatha!” Or “Come, Lord Jesus!”

In this episode, we looked at the future horizon, but in the next episode we will shift our gaze to the present. The invasion of our world which began with Jesus continues today through his “expeditionary force” - which is the church. “Thy kingdom come…” applies not just to the future win, but to the present work of the church. 

Episode 13 Notes - Teach Us to Pray (Part 3)

Top 5 prayers: family, guidance, health, forgiveness and thanksgiving

The trellis of the Lord’s Prayer helps our prayer life to grow up and in the right direction…it trains our hearts to pray differently…it breaks us free from the “treadmill list” of our top five concerns…it helps us to develop new spiritual muscle memory…it trains us to feel what is most important in the heart of Jesus…what should be our very first prayer.

What does “holy” mean? To treat with the highest respect. The Common English Version translates it well: “Help us to honor your name.”

What’s the fuss about a name? Names represent the whole person. So we are called to give supreme honor not just to God’s name but to him and to all he represents.

We find self-centered, ego-centric behavior intolerable. We have lots of labels for this: egotistic, vain, self-centered, conceited, narcissistic…and none of them are flattering! How do we escape our negative gut-reaction that God is doing exactly what we despise when we observe other people doing the same? How do we escape the distasteful notion that God himself is a narcissist?

Help from C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms - “A Word about Praising”

Summary:  Admiration and awe are the normal and correct responses of healthy people for things that are admirable and awesome….Worship is not for God but for us. In fact, we absorb something of the beauty and awesomeness of whatever we admire….We are constantly praising so many aspects of life in our world and urging others to do so. By what logic, then, do we deny validity to the writers of Scripture who urge us to worship that which is supremely valuable?…. Our delight is incomplete until it is expressed. To delight and express that joy in what is absolute beauty and goodness is to be supremely happy.

So…in the end, all the commands to put God first, to give him supreme honor are not symptoms of a narcissist - a vain, self-serving God. Far from it! God is eternally self-giving. And he knows that our highest good, our most sublime joy our supreme happiness will only be found in His presence. When we give supreme honor to him, there is reciprocity, he gives himself back to us - it’s a sublime and eternal feed-back loop - elevating us to a quality of life unimaginable to us now.

Two implications:

First, this prayer summons us to worship God. Find time in your own life to worship - both privately and with others.

Second, this prayer summons us to be an authentic representative of the goodness of God. Do something beautiful, be someone beautiful for God.

Paraphrase: “Our Father in heaven, may you be supremely honored. I now join with the angels in heaven and worship you…I also commit to live this day in a way that will be a beautiful advertisement for you and your kingdom.”

The brilliance of this first petition, however, is that it contains the seed of the answers to all our other prayers. In seeking his glory and honor…we find our own. Our God is no narcissist… far from it. But once he has his proper place in our lives, everything else, for us, will begin to fall into place - family, health, finances, decisions and so much more. 

Episode 12 - The Lord’s Prayer - We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

If God is in heaven and God is everywhere then heaven must be everywhere. In other words, heaven has no zip code.

Heaven is the world we don’t see. This invisible world is what the Bible means here by “heaven.” To paraphrase: “Our Father, in the unseen but ever present reality that surrounds me.”

Three implications:

First, “In heaven” invites us to exercise faith. Faith is our way of “getting a handle on what we can’t see.” To say the opening words of this prayer and mean them is a declaration of faith.

The veil that that keeps the realm of heaven invisible to us is thin, like gossamer fabric and very permeable. This allows for many comings and goings between our visible world and the invisible world of heaven.

Heaven invades our zip code - reaches into our world with regularity. In this prayer we are reaching back.

When these words are sincerely prayed we instantly transition from our zip code to the supra-dimensional reality that is all around us…from our room to God’s room…from our limitations to God’s unlimited potentiality. These two words can be a portal to another world and as Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, “We’re not in Kansas anymore.”

Second, “In heaven” invites us to humble ourselves. In the presence of God…there can be ONLY one initial reaction - to fall to our knees in humility. It’s not the posture of our body. It’s the posture of our heart. This is a time to bow low… very low..

Our happiness before God as our Father and our sense of humility in his presence are not at odds. The opening “Our Father” invites us to be happy and comfortable in his presence and the next modifying phrase “in heaven” invites us to humble ourselves.

Third, “In heaven” invites us to worship him. J.I. Packer wrote, “The real test of being in the presence of God is that you either see yourself as nothing or you lose all thought of yourself in worship and praise.”

Our adoration does not add anything to the Grand Canyon. It does not add anything to the beauty of a Bird of Paradise or to a coral reef. And it certainly does not add anything to the goodness and glory of God. He does not need our praise so that he can feel better about himself. Our worship is not for him but for us. If we fail to admire the God of all creation, it’s not him who is diminished…It’s us! Every time we fail to acknowledge something of worth, we lose the opportunity to grow into something better - and we are incrementally diminished. But every time we admire something of worth, a little bit of that virtue becomes ours - and we become incrementally better.

 An extended version of this part of the prayer could go something like this:

• Hello, Dad…I have faith that even though I can’t see you, I know you are very close to me. I now reach through the thinnest of veils and enter your unseen presence - the invisible dimension of Heaven.
• Hello, Dad…I am humbled. I acknowledge that in every way you exceed the limits of my own understanding. Your ways are as high above mine as the heavens are above the earth. I bow low before you.
• Hello, Dad…I worship you. You are the fountain-head of all life and all that is good - the source of all that is praiseworthy - perfect love, perfect joy, perfect peace, perfect wisdom. You don’t have to travel to outer space to find God. You don’t have to move an inch from where you are right now. Heaven is as close to you now as the air you are breathing. 

Episode 11 Notes - Teach Us to Pray (Part 1)

God values our prayers, more than we may think! Jesus’ disciples never asked him to teach them how to preach. But they did ask him, “Lord, teach us how to pray.”

The Lord’s Prayer or The Disciples’ prayer is, in a sense, everybody’s chance to walk where Jesus walked - to put the feet of our souls where Jesus put the feet of his soul when he prayed. Each phrase of the prayer is intended as a focal point…or…a seed thought which can be expanded to a longer meditation/prayer around that point.

Jesus is instructing us to address God as “Our Father.” This is profoundly important. These two words confer upon us a new identity… a new destiny and a new confidence. They tell us who we are and what we can expect from God.

The Lord’s Prayer has been so familiar for so long that these words don’t startle us. But they would have in the time of Jesus! No individual and I mean nobody then, addressed God directly as their personal Father. To my knowledge, this invitation to address God as our Father in such an endearing way is utterly unique to the Christian faith.

Author, Wesley Hill put it this way, “Any picture of God as “Father” that leads us to think in terms of domination and cruelty rather than of humble service and unending love is not a true understanding of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ‘Who loved us and gave himself for us.’ ”

So when Jesus invites us to pray, “Our Father…Our Daddy” he invites us into a similar loving relationship that he himself has had with the Father from all eternity past. We are invited to stand in a place beside Jesus before his Father…younger brothers and sisters before a common Father. We are being offered a stunning privilege.

So, as you meditate and expand on this part of the prayer it could go something like this:
• Hello, Dad. Thank you for making me a part of your forever family - I’m humbled and profoundly grateful.
• Hello, Dad. Thanks that you are never too busy to give your full attention to me. That no need is too small, no circumstance too trivial that you do not care.
• Hello, Dad. I want to be a good son and make you proud of me. My deep desire is to bring a smile to your face and joy to your heart.
• Hello, Dad. I want to grow up to be like you…to reflect your goodness and your wisdom to all those who know me.
• Hello, Dad. I surrender to your loving and wise leadership over my life.
• Hello, Dad. I am confident that nothing, absolutely nothing can separate me from your love. • Hello, Dad. Thank you for the future you have in store for me. I know your dreams for my life . will one day become a reality.

One big misconception about prayer: so often people think prayer is talking. For me the most important part of prayer is just being still and listening.

I/you have a Father
He calls me/you His own
He'll never leave me/you
No matter where I/you go
He knows my/your name
He knows my/your every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me/you when I/you call
(He Knows My Name) 

In Luke 11:1 Jesus is praying. Watching from a distance are his disciples. With the prayer done one of them asks him "Lord, teach us to pray." I am trying to imagine what kind of prayer he said. Each word seemed to open the heavens. The prayer moved them into the very presence of the unseen God. The desire to learn to give such a prayer prompted the request. Teach us to pray! 
Feedback Blog: https://healside.prettyplaces.co.ke/2020/07/28/lord-teach-us-to-pray/

The Spirit says come....

Join us for a special message on the power of prayer from guest speaker Jack Skinner as we learn all about how this discipline can both enhance and empower your personal faith walk.