This week, in our Luke series, we are reflecting on Jesus’ teaching on prayer from Luke 11:1-13. Today we consider the place of praise and worship in prayer.
‘One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.”’ (Luke 11:1-4)
Lesson: Jesus teaches us to begin prayer with praise, and God has revealed Himself in His Word so we can accurately know and worship Him.
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Jesus was devoted to prayer
Firstly, as we think about The Lord’s Prayer, let’s see that Jesus was devoted to prayer. In praying, Jesus is showing us how a perfect human is to live. He is fully God and fully man, and as a man he was prayerful. Prayer is the mark of true godliness and righteousness because prayer is about worshipping and depending on God. Jesus practiced what He preached and may we learn to do the same. If we trust in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, let’s ensure that we are following His example and that our dependence and love for God is, like Jesus, expressed through time spent in prayer.
Let’s begin with praise and worship
Jesus teaches us to begin our prayers and worship with praise. Recently my wife and I flew to Hungary for a short holiday. If you’ve ever flown, you will have experienced that moment of great acceleration in order to reach the right speed for take-off. Oftentimes our personal and corporate prayer times can feel ‘grounded’ and lack faith because we have not given sufficient time to have our faith lifted through worship and praise. Jesus’ model of prayer begins with praise and a prayer that His ‘name’ (who He is) be ‘hallowed’ - be honoured as holy.
The church needs to continually be brought back to worship and jealously for God to be worshipped. Someone once said that The Lord’s Prayer is like a tuning fork; its various aspects retune us. If you play any stringed instrument, you will know that if the room temperature changes, the strings will need retuning. Likewise, the ‘temperature’ of our nation and culture, if unchecked, will detune us and lead us away from worship and toward self-worship and self-idolatry. For many, their happiness, their respect, their values… are the highest good; however, for Jesus followers, this prayer teaches us that Worship is our highest calling.
Are we seeking to worship and are we praying that God be worshipped? When we pray personally or gather with the church is worship central? Terry Virgo wrote:
‘Believers gathering to pray need to begin by acknowledging the greatness of their God and their access to Him. It is not wise to begin a prayer meeting by completely focusing on the problem or challenges that we face. Like the early believers, we need a big view of God. Like Joshua before Jericho, we need to be more impressed and even overwhelmed by the majesty and omnipotence of the captain of the hosts of the Lord than by the height of Jericho’s walls (Joshua 5:14).’ (Terry Virgo. The Spirit-Filled Church)
Worship out of the Bible
The Lord’s prayer begins by telling us about who God is, that He is ‘Father’ and that His name is to be ‘hallowed’. These two ideas are revolutionary and are to be used in our worship. However, we can worship God out of any text of the Bible that we are reading. As we read the Bible, ask, ‘What does this reveal about God? How can I worship Him out of this text?’ Tim Keller wrote of J. I. Packer's approach to this:
‘Packer’s own practice [was] “reading Scripture, thinking through what my reading shows me of God, and turning that vision into praise before I go further [into prayer].” He adds that this is a vital means for “knowing God.”
Response
Jesus teaches us to begin prayer with praise, and God has revealed Himself in His Word so we can accurately know and worship Him. Are you and I devoted to worshipping God? Do we begin with worshipping the Father because we long for Him to be ‘hallowed’ in our own lives? Do you praise God by using His Word?
COMMUNITY GROUP NOTES AND STUDY
1. Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
This Sunday we have Dale Barlow from the New Ground leadership team coming to speak on The Holy Spirit so let's be praying in advance for our time together.
Please ensure that the members of your group are aware and familiar with using the daily devotionals, which are accessed in Church News, the Teaching button on the website and are now available on the major podcast platforms.
2. Icebreaker
How has God been speaking to you from His Word this week and how has this helped you?
3. Worship together
Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.
4. Study and pray together
Our message from our series in Luke on Sunday, based upon Jesus’ teaching on prayer from Luke 11:1-13. Having set them such an example of devotion to prayer His disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray. Jesus gives them a structure that contains the vital elements that need to be in our prayer-life personally and as churches.
Please read Luke 11:1-13, and discuss:
Did God speak to you about anything specifically from Sunday’s message?
Praise - Jesus teaches us to begin with praise: “Father, hallowed be your name.” How can we use the Bible in our worship?
Petitions - Secondly, Jesus teaches us to ask for things: “Your kingdom come [your will be done]. Give us each day our daily bread.” What has been your experience of God answering your petitions?
Peacemaking - Thirdly, we are to make peace by receiving and giving forgiveness: “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” Are we doing this and why is this important?
Protection - Finally, we are to ask for protection as a constant habit: “And lead us not into temptation.” Why do we need to do this every day without fail?
Perseverance - The final section (11:5-13) contains two parables that teach us to persevere in prayer. What promises does this section give to inspire faith for persevering?
SIV - Praying, “Your kingdom come” involves asking God to bring people into His Kingdom. How faithfully are you praying for individuals and for multitudes to enter the kingdom?
SIV - Do we have any stories of how we have ‘Served, Invested, and inVited’ recently?
Let’s pray together that, this week, we will have opportunities to SIV; and pray for anything else that's come out of our time in God’s Word.