TEXT: Luke 11:1-4
1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
We are in a series of messages titled “Praying Through the Bible: A Series on Every Passage and Verse Regarding Prayer in the Bible.” The purpose of this series is to encourage and motivate you to pray to the God of the Bible. We highlighted each of these over 500 verses and passages in the Prayer Motivator Devotional Bible. So far, we have completed 166 messages in this series.
This is message #167 titled, Have You Been Taught to Pray? (Part 3)
Frederick Denison Maurice said, “The Lord’s Prayer may be committed to memory quickly, but it is slowly learnt by heart.”
In this series of messages, we have been asking the Lord to teach us to pray. This is not something that we usually think of doing when we consider how we can pray more effectively. However, this is what the disciples did. They saw how Jesus prayed and they asked Him to teach them how to pray.
In response, Jesus gave them what is generally known as the Lord’s Prayer. This prayer is an outline, a guideline, for how we should pray in our daily life. We have seen how it is a simple, short, and intimate prayer. We address God as “Father,” we glorify Him, and we speak briefly about the matters at hand. Unlike the religious professionals of His day, Jesus did not teach us to pray long, extensive prayers that put more value in how many words were said rather than what was actually being said.
Picking up where we left off last week, we are told to ask for our physical needs. “Give us day by day our daily bread.” Every day, we ought to ask God to supply what we need to live and do His will. Many of us would love to have these needs supplied weeks or months in advance, but God wants us to be dependent on Him. The quicker we realize and submit to this, the more fulfilling our prayer life will become.
The next injunction is one that looks back to past sin. “Forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.” The Bible speaks of our sins as a debt that we owe to God. When we do not confess and ask for forgiveness of our sins, this debt remains. But when we ask for forgiveness of our sins, God promises to forgive us, thus erasing our debt. In turn, we ought to have a spirit of forgiveness toward others. We cannot expect God’s forgiveness without passing it on to others.
Just as this injuction looks back to past sin, the final injunction looks forward to future temptation. We ought to pray, “Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” This is something we ought to request every day of our lives. The devil is always prowling about, setting traps for us and plotting our downfall. We must constantly be on guard. And what better way to do that than to have special protection given to us in answer to the prayer, “Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”
Jesus Christ gave us a concise, simple, and beautiful example of prayer — an example that is suitable for any person at any time. We ought to make it a habit to pray in this manner every day. Andrew Murray wrote an entire book on this prayer. He called it, “With Christ in the School of Prayer.” Today, and every day, may we be students in that school — ever praying, ever learning how to pray.
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Now, if you are with us today, and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, your first prayer needs to be what we call the Sinner’s Prayer. First, please understand that you are a sinner, just as I am, and that you have broken God’s laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now this is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.
Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you are now saved from Hell and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! Congratulations on trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. You have done the most important thing in life. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.
Gospel Light House of Prayer International 