OceanSide church of Christ

 Previous Return to Sermons Next  Click to download Audio

Lord, Teach Us to Pray
by: Dalton Gilreath

I.              Persistence

A.   The disciples wanted Jesus to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1-4)

                                          i.    Jesus starts with. “And when ye pray”

                                        ii.    He doesn’t tell them when to do so but lets them choose

B.   We can choose when to pray but we must pray persistently

                                          i.    Paul said to pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17)

                                        ii.    David prayed morning, noon, and evening (Psa 55:17)

C.   Prayer must be a daily habit and not a random occurrence a few times a month or even per week

                                          i.    Jesus did not need to tell them how often to pray because a disciple should desire to talk with God on a regular basis

                                        ii.    Starting off your day and ending your day with a prayer to God might just keep you closer to Him in between

II.            Posture

A.   Notice Jesus also did not mention what posture to have when praying

                                          i.    Some pray while standing (Mark 11:25)

                                        ii.    Some pray sitting (1 Kings 19:4)

                                       iii.    Some pray laying down (2 Kings 20:1-2)

                                       iv.    Some pray kneeling (Dan 6:10)

                                        v.    Jesus prayed with His fact to the ground (Matt 26:39)

                                       vi.    Solomon prayed with his hands in the air (1 Kings 8:54)

B.   Prayer posture is irrelevant

                                          i.    We can pray in any form we want and even with eyes open if we so choose (John 17:1)

                                        ii.    However, the contents of the prayer and the heart in the prayer are fully what matter

III.           Person

A.   Jesus starts by calling Him Father and referencing His holy name

                                          i.    When we pray we are praying to our Father

                                        ii.    We aren’t talking to a child or some random person we care little for

                                       iii.    We are talking to the one who gave His “biological” son to adopt us (Gal 4:5)

                                       iv.    He gave us a family and pulled us out of Satan’s family and we owe Him everything

B.   The name of God is holy (Psalm 111:9)

                                          i.    Prayer isn’t a game or something to just do without any thought

                                        ii.    Prayer is very serious and must be sincere as we address our Creator and Redeemer

IV.          Plan

A.   Jesus prayed according to God’s will firstly

                                          i.    He did the same in the Garden (Luke 22:41-42)

                                        ii.    Our prayers must always be with a true desire for God’s will to take precedence over our own

B.   To pray according to our own will is to negate any chance of God answering our prayers positively (1 John 5:14-15)

                                          i.    If we do pray according to His will He hears us and will answer as such

                                        ii.    The answer may still be no but there is a chance His will might just become our own

V.           Provisions

A.   Jesus prayed for daily needs

                                          i.    Notice He didn’t prayer for His wants

                                        ii.    God provides our needs not monthly, or even weekly, but daily (Psalm 34:8-10)

B.   Prayers can be very selfish in nature and we can cross our needs with our desires quickly

                                          i.    Let God bless you as He sees fit and request that which is necessary according to His riches (Phil 4:19)

VI.          Penitence

A.   Jesus prayed for forgiveness

                                          i.    Notice He mentioned the condition of forgiveness as well

                                        ii.    One must forgive others to be forgiven (Matt 18:35)

B.   Sometimes we might just flippantly mention forgiveness but forget that it is conditional upon repentance (Luke 17:3-4)

                                          i.    Praying for others forgiveness is fine but remember to mention that repentance is necessary in order to receive that forgiveness (Acts 8:22)

                                        ii.    While you may not say it every time it is important to remember and understand yourself as you pray

                                       iii.    Again, Jesus didn’t just ask for forgiveness without recognizing the role of man to play in receiving it as well

VII.         Power

A.   Jesus requested God’s guidance from evil

                                          i.    Interestingly, Jesus asks God not to lead Him into temptation

                                        ii.    However, doesn’t the Bible say God does not tempt man? (Jam 1:13)

1.    God does not tempt but He may lead us into a temptation

2.    Consider who led Jesus to be tempted and who did the tempting (Matt 4:1)

B.   Satan is the tempter but God might lead us to Him to be tested and to grow (1 Pet 5:8)

                                          i.    We need to pray for God’s strength to overcome and remain unspotted from the world

                                        ii.    The moment we think we can make it without praying for God’s help is the moment we fall (1 Cor 10:12)

VIII.       Conclusion

A.   Jesus taught us how to pray magnificently

                                          i.    We must pray persistently

                                        ii.    We can pray with any posture we desire

                                       iii.    We must remember who we are praying to

                                       iv.    We must pray according to God’s plan

                                        v.    We must pray for our provisions and not our wants

                                       vi.    We must pray with penitent hearts

                                      vii.    We must pray for power to overcome evil

B.   When we pray as our Lord did we can be confident our Father hears us and will take care of us always