Pray This Way

The following video transcript has been lightly edited

   📍 I wanna talk to you about prayer today. You know, as human beings, we pray for all kinds of things. Silly things like the ball, the golf ball to go left when you see it going right, maybe for a parking spot to open up on a Sunday afternoon when it's jammed at Wegmans, and you just want to get in and get your shopping and get outta there.

Maybe you've prayed for a test or two in your time when you haven't fully studied. We also pray for important things like a sense of love and connection. We pray for our families and our spouse and our community in the midst of world events, we pray for mercy and grace, and yet what I think is interesting in the midst of all of it is there's always a bit of mystery with prayer, like, why do we pray and what should we pray about?

Well, in Matthew six, Jesus offers a teaching and he says, Hey, don't pray like this and that when you do pray, pray this way. And so what I want to do today is I wanna offer you three ways to pray and what happens in the midst of those prayers. And we're gonna do it by focusing on the Lord's Prayer. Which is taken from Matthew 6.

So when Jesus says, don't pray this way, he talks about how you should not be the kind of person who prays in order to make yourself feel more important. He's engaging the religious leaders of the day who would often stand up and pray and have a lot going on. And it was all just so that people would look at them and say, oh, wow, aren't they super spiritual? Aren't they important?

And Jesus was like, that's not the point. The point of prayer is not for you to feel like you are somehow more important than others. And another time he talks about how people just go on and on with all kinds of words.

And he says, dont do that either, because the reality is God already knows what you're even asking for. He knows what you need, what you want. And so pray differently. Pray this way. And then he goes into what we call the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father, our Who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. And this is the first point. So you and I as human beings are going to send our worship somewhere. We just have a tendency to worship things. We worship cars and sports and money and power. We worship in the midst of basketball. We worship people. We worship experiences, we worship all kinds of things. It seems as though as human beings, we were designed to worship, and when we don't have something to worship, we find something to worship.

And so one of the ways that we pray actually helps us align our worship to the proper end. So one of the main stories in the Old Testament is about how Israel is worshiping other gods, is worshiping other ends. And that's a problem. And the reason it's a problem is that when we worship things other than the one true God who has no beginning and no end.

Who is loving, who is going to rescue and restore this world, who's the one who donates life and being and existence. When we aren't worshiping that God, then everything else gets outta sort. So basketball and money and people, all those are great things, but if we try to put them at the ultimate spot, then it'll lead to brokenness and hurt and all kinds of missteps.

And so one of the reasons we pray is to help align our worship 'cause we're gonna worship something. So who we wanna worship is really important. We wanna worship Christ. We wanna worship the Lord, we wanna worship God the Father who exists in three persons, father, son, and Holy Spirit. And so when we say our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, we're saying, Hey, we want God's name to be known, to be sacred, to be holy.

And the kingdom that has no end as it ends forever and ever. That is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever is the way the Lord's prayer ends. It's attaching our worship to the right end. So let me ask you, what are you worshiping right now? Are you worshiping God or are you worshiping these other things?

Because if you're worshiping these other things, then it's gonna trip you up. So the second thing, Jesus says that then pray this way says, for us to say for thine is the kingdom. That we're praying that God's kingdom would be here on earth, as it is in heaven. And so here we're aligning ourselves.

Thy will be done. We're aligning ourselves with God's will and God's kingdom. We're trying to fuse our being to God's being and fuse our will to God's will and fuse our desires to God's kingdom. That's one of the important parts of prayer, so that you and I are in alignment with that vision and that reality in our life.

Think about it, like grilled cheese. Let's say you want a fancy grilled cheese, you're gonna roll three cheeses, maybe some American, maybe some cheddar, maybe some Monterey Jack, maybe some Munster, maybe some Swiss. However it is you like to go. And ideally, if you've cooked that grilled cheese, right? Not only do the cheeses meld together, but the cheeses meld to the bread and everything becomes bonded.

Well, part of the goal in prayer is that you and I would bond or fuse with God's being and God's kingdom. And so when we pray. And we're praying for things like love to reign in the world. When we pray and we're praying that we would see God's kingdom come about, then it's helping us get a vision and set some action.

And so that's why I think in the midst of prayer, one of the things is we want to just catch a vision. We wanna pray and say, God, help me have your will be the desire. Help me be a person of love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control. God, help me act and live in the world in such a way where your kingdom is manifest and God help me see where your kingdom, your kingdom of heaven, and the kingdom of Earth are joining together already. Help me see that so I can have a sense of vision and hope.

Now lastly, one of the things that happens, I think when we pray as it teaches us in the Lord's Prayer, is that it helps us focus on grace.

Forgive us Father, we ask for forgiveness for ourselves. We say, Hey, offer us forgiveness. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. In that little section there, it's about grace. It's about receiving grace. It's about offering grace. And it's about gaining wisdom and guidance.

So it's grace received and it's grace offered and it's grace needed. And as we pray on these things, whether it's for forgiveness or to offer forgiveness, whether it's acknowledging need, all of these things help us focus on grace, and that's what we know to be the way that God's kingdom operates. It operates on grace, offering grace, receiving grace, acknowledging that grace is needed. And so when we allow our prayers to be prayers of gratitude, prayers of discernment, prayers of forgiveness, prayers of need, all of those things are helping us focus on grace. 'cause that's where all of that comes from.

As we rejoice and celebrate the good gifts we have in our life and acknowledge that that's grace. When we acknowledge our failures and our need for love and forgiveness, that's grace. When we choose to offer grace, it's because we know that in the forgiveness we have received, we are to be people who offer forgiveness to others.

As we pray for leadership and discernment and wisdom, that's grace again. And so my hope for you this week is that you would find some rhythms in your life to add in some more prayer. Maybe it's getting up early. Maybe it's taking a walk. Maybe it's staying up late, whatever it might be. Find a rhythm that's helpful for you and enter in.

Allow yourself to worship the one true God, the one who has created and sustained and rescued this world. Allow your being to be fused with God's will and God's kingdom and help yourself focus on grace. As a person who needs grace as a person who's receiving grace and a person who's offering grace. And in the midst of that you'll see the purpose of prayer.

You'll understand it 'cause it'll connect you to God and yourself and others. I hope you have a great week. Take care. See you soon.