WEBVTT 00:00:00.330 --> 00:00:03.930 Good morning. It's great to be with you again. 00:00:04.809 --> 00:00:16.809 Let me just get myself set up. Let's pray and 00:00:16.809 --> 00:00:20.050 let's ask God for help as we dig into his word 00:00:20.050 --> 00:00:24.690 now. Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you that 00:00:24.690 --> 00:00:28.050 you are a good God, that you are a loving God, 00:00:28.190 --> 00:00:33.009 a caring God. But Father, it's hard coming up 00:00:33.009 --> 00:00:36.649 here not to feel like a hypocrite. Father, I 00:00:36.649 --> 00:00:40.549 pray that you would help us to repent of our 00:00:40.549 --> 00:00:45.109 hypocrisy, help us to change, and we pray that 00:00:45.109 --> 00:00:48.130 Jesus' words would grip our hearts. And we ask 00:00:48.130 --> 00:00:54.960 this in his name. Amen. We're in our new home. 00:00:55.140 --> 00:00:57.079 We've been there for a few months now, which 00:00:57.079 --> 00:01:00.219 used to be Trevor and Sue's home. We kicked them 00:01:00.219 --> 00:01:04.500 out. And Trevor and Sue generously left us a 00:01:04.500 --> 00:01:06.540 bunch of things, but one thing they left us with 00:01:06.540 --> 00:01:10.319 was their old security system. And it's very 00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:14.060 cool. The cameras connect to your smartphone. 00:01:14.909 --> 00:01:18.689 And so you can record what you see on the cameras. 00:01:18.810 --> 00:01:21.450 You can see it in real time. So when I'm out 00:01:21.450 --> 00:01:23.590 at the shops, I can go, oh, there's the burglar 00:01:23.590 --> 00:01:27.250 breaking into our house. Good. You can hear things. 00:01:27.430 --> 00:01:30.230 So it's got a microphone. It's even got an alarm 00:01:30.230 --> 00:01:32.530 you can set off when the burglar does break in. 00:01:32.629 --> 00:01:35.849 And you can even talk through the camera when 00:01:35.849 --> 00:01:37.790 the mailman's dropping off the package, you know, 00:01:37.810 --> 00:01:40.030 oh, no, a little more to the right, thanks. And 00:01:40.030 --> 00:01:42.859 you can tell them where to put it. It was so 00:01:42.859 --> 00:01:46.700 good, I decided that I would buy an extra camera 00:01:46.700 --> 00:01:50.420 and put it in our house. But part of the fun 00:01:50.420 --> 00:01:52.599 I had with that was I didn't tell our kids that 00:01:52.599 --> 00:01:56.000 I was doing it. And so I put the camera in the 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:59.200 house and put it up somewhere and then all of 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:01.560 a sudden I started catching them doing things. 00:02:02.040 --> 00:02:04.120 Hey, you know, what are you doing on your screen? 00:02:04.180 --> 00:02:05.939 You weren't meant to, you know, why did you take 00:02:05.939 --> 00:02:10.270 that cookie? How do you know, Dad? Oh, I have 00:02:10.270 --> 00:02:13.750 my ways, you know. So it was quite good, you 00:02:13.750 --> 00:02:15.569 know. Now they know. Sadly, I don't have that 00:02:15.569 --> 00:02:19.689 power anymore. But I want you to imagine that 00:02:19.689 --> 00:02:23.430 you installed cameras at your place just like 00:02:23.430 --> 00:02:26.770 that. And not just at your place. Imagine you 00:02:26.770 --> 00:02:29.250 installed cameras like that in your workplace, 00:02:29.370 --> 00:02:33.849 in your car, maybe even in your mind. That's 00:02:33.849 --> 00:02:37.110 real high -tech AI, isn't it? But they're not 00:02:37.110 --> 00:02:41.110 there to catch criminals or naughty kids, but 00:02:41.110 --> 00:02:46.889 to record and observe your prayer life. What 00:02:46.889 --> 00:02:50.949 do you think we'd see behind closed doors about 00:02:50.949 --> 00:02:54.569 your prayer life? How healthy would your prayer 00:02:54.569 --> 00:02:59.509 life really be? Now, it's so important we examine 00:02:59.509 --> 00:03:03.659 the health of our prayer lives. Prayer is the 00:03:03.659 --> 00:03:07.340 engine room of the Christian life. It strengthens 00:03:07.340 --> 00:03:12.120 our joy, our faith, our peace. It helps us become 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:15.159 more other person centred. We become more loving 00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:18.400 as we pray for other people. And it's a window 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:21.060 into where our hearts are really at with God. 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:23.860 Are we aligned with his will? Are our hearts 00:03:23.860 --> 00:03:28.360 desiring what he desires? I love it the way the 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:31.219 Scottish pastor Robert Machain puts it. He says, 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:35.259 What a man is on his knees before God, that he 00:03:35.259 --> 00:03:39.900 is and nothing more. Or as we said last week, 00:03:39.919 --> 00:03:41.960 as we'll say this week and we'll say next week, 00:03:42.060 --> 00:03:44.419 the big thing Jesus is teaching in these passages 00:03:44.419 --> 00:03:49.120 is who you are in secret is who you really are. 00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:53.000 Who you are in secret is who you really are. 00:03:54.439 --> 00:03:58.199 So what does a rich, healthy, authentic prayer 00:03:58.199 --> 00:04:02.699 life look like behind closed doors? Well, if 00:04:02.699 --> 00:04:05.180 you're a Christian, Jesus wants you to know from 00:04:05.180 --> 00:04:07.719 these verses. And if you're here today and you're 00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:10.259 not yet a Christian, I hope you're going to see 00:04:10.259 --> 00:04:14.500 today how wonderful it is to have a deep, rich 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:17.819 and authentic prayer life with God as your father. 00:04:18.500 --> 00:04:21.199 So what's it look like? Three things we're going 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:25.180 to see today. Number one, don't pray to the crowd. 00:04:25.879 --> 00:04:29.379 Don't pray to the crowd. Don't pray to be seen 00:04:29.379 --> 00:04:33.000 by other people. Number two, don't pray to coerce 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:37.139 God. Don't pray to force God's hand. That's not 00:04:37.139 --> 00:04:41.759 why we pray. And number three, pray alone to 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:44.779 your father. Pray alone to your father. Commune 00:04:44.779 --> 00:04:48.720 with God. Enjoy him in prayer. So let's start 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:51.500 with the first one. Don't pray to the crowd. 00:04:52.170 --> 00:04:54.750 if you've got a bible there have it open and 00:04:54.750 --> 00:04:59.470 come with me to chapter 6 verses 5 and 6. jesus 00:04:59.470 --> 00:05:04.569 says and when you pray do not be like the hypocrites 00:05:04.569 --> 00:05:09.470 for they love to pray standing in the synagogues 00:05:09.470 --> 00:05:13.050 and on the street corners to be seen by others 00:05:13.050 --> 00:05:16.550 truly i tell you they've received their reward 00:05:16.550 --> 00:05:22.399 in full but when you pray Go into your room, 00:05:22.500 --> 00:05:26.379 close the door and pray to your father who is 00:05:26.379 --> 00:05:29.800 unseen. Then your father who sees what is done 00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:34.040 in secret will reward you. Now, you might remember 00:05:34.040 --> 00:05:37.500 that hypocrites in this culture are people who 00:05:37.500 --> 00:05:40.839 are mask wearers. They're those who put on a 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:45.160 show just to look good. They're not seeking the 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:48.089 reward of faith. They're not seeking that deeper 00:05:48.089 --> 00:05:51.050 intimacy and joy with their Heavenly Father. 00:05:52.069 --> 00:05:55.649 The reward they seek is the admiration of others. 00:05:55.730 --> 00:05:58.930 They want that spotlight to be shone down on 00:05:58.930 --> 00:06:02.209 them, don't they? And so for them, that's what 00:06:02.209 --> 00:06:05.750 prayer is about. They want others to say, oh, 00:06:06.089 --> 00:06:10.449 they're so mature, aren't they? Look at how deep 00:06:10.449 --> 00:06:14.750 they pray. Wow, they must be really strong Christians. 00:06:17.129 --> 00:06:21.930 Now, such charades, such acting is fake, isn't 00:06:21.930 --> 00:06:27.230 it? And it leaves people spiritually hollow when 00:06:27.230 --> 00:06:31.949 they act like that. And so Jesus warns us not 00:06:31.949 --> 00:06:36.790 to put on a mask when it comes to praying. But 00:06:36.790 --> 00:06:39.170 it's an easy trap for any of us to fall into, 00:06:39.290 --> 00:06:43.110 isn't it? There's been times where I've been 00:06:43.110 --> 00:06:45.829 sitting in prayer time in a Bible study or a 00:06:45.829 --> 00:06:50.250 prayer meeting or praying in church even. And 00:06:50.250 --> 00:06:56.810 I find myself counting the mmms and amens. I 00:06:56.810 --> 00:07:00.110 think that was a good one. That line you just 00:07:00.110 --> 00:07:04.629 dropped. A lot of people went mmm. Amen, brother. 00:07:05.189 --> 00:07:08.589 And then I drop a line and there's no reaction. 00:07:09.610 --> 00:07:13.470 oh that must have been a bad one you know and 00:07:13.470 --> 00:07:15.769 and it's so easy to get caught up in thinking 00:07:15.769 --> 00:07:20.170 what is everyone thinking of me trying to impress 00:07:20.170 --> 00:07:23.209 him i mean let alone if the bishop's there crumbs 00:07:23.209 --> 00:07:24.990 we had him in the prayer group the other day 00:07:24.990 --> 00:07:27.490 when i was down in the conf you know and i had 00:07:27.490 --> 00:07:30.050 to catch brendan stop caring about what glenn 00:07:30.050 --> 00:07:33.670 thinks you should be focused on who you're really 00:07:33.670 --> 00:07:39.300 talking to your father in heaven See, prayer 00:07:39.300 --> 00:07:45.040 is too precious. It's too important to be prostituted 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:51.819 by masking. D .A. Carson, in his commentary on 00:07:51.819 --> 00:07:53.879 the Sermon on the Mount, gives some great questions 00:07:53.879 --> 00:07:57.199 to test and expose where our heart's at when 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:01.579 we're praying. He says, do I pray more frequently 00:08:01.579 --> 00:08:06.620 and more fervently when alone with God than I 00:08:06.620 --> 00:08:12.199 do in public? Do I love the secret place of prayer? 00:08:13.620 --> 00:08:18.899 Is my public praying simply the overflow of my 00:08:18.899 --> 00:08:25.939 private praying? And I want to add my own. Does 00:08:25.939 --> 00:08:28.660 your language change when you pray in public 00:08:28.660 --> 00:08:32.000 versus when you're in private? It's funny, I've 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:35.179 seen a few times. Even in myself, where suddenly 00:08:35.179 --> 00:08:37.980 it's easy to drop Christianese and big theological 00:08:37.980 --> 00:08:41.620 jargon. Oh, sovereign Lord, mighty creator of 00:08:41.620 --> 00:08:43.340 the, you know, and it's like getting big and 00:08:43.340 --> 00:08:47.240 potentate of time. And, you know, because it's 00:08:47.240 --> 00:08:49.179 trying to look as impressive as possible, isn't 00:08:49.179 --> 00:08:56.299 it? How would you answer those questions? Is 00:08:56.299 --> 00:09:01.080 your prayer life real and rich? Or is it a show? 00:09:04.809 --> 00:09:07.049 Well, that's not the only wrong way to pray. 00:09:07.750 --> 00:09:10.950 We don't pray to the crowd. But secondly, we 00:09:10.950 --> 00:09:15.289 don't pray to coerce God. We don't pray to coerce 00:09:15.289 --> 00:09:18.309 God, to force his hand. Look with me at verses 00:09:18.309 --> 00:09:23.210 seven and eight. And when you pray, do not keep 00:09:23.210 --> 00:09:26.649 on babbling like pagans, for they think they'll 00:09:26.649 --> 00:09:30.070 be heard because of their many words. Do not 00:09:30.070 --> 00:09:32.610 be like them, for your father knows what you 00:09:32.610 --> 00:09:37.480 need. before you ask him now the way the folk 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:40.100 that folk outside god's kingdom in jesus day 00:09:40.100 --> 00:09:44.379 would pray was to try and twist god's arm if 00:09:44.379 --> 00:09:48.179 i babble enough times heap up lots of empty phrases 00:09:48.179 --> 00:09:50.340 you know and they didn't think it was empty they're 00:09:50.340 --> 00:09:53.159 going i'm going to say god's name enough times 00:09:53.159 --> 00:09:56.539 or say the right incantations and that will get 00:09:56.539 --> 00:10:00.139 my god to Give me what I want. You know, they're 00:10:00.139 --> 00:10:02.340 not praying to get God. They're not praying to 00:10:02.340 --> 00:10:04.360 enjoy intimacy with him. They're praying to get 00:10:04.360 --> 00:10:08.019 something out of God. And so they think God's 00:10:08.019 --> 00:10:10.539 like a genie. If I just say the right things, 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:12.980 the right, you know, I wish, then I'll get what 00:10:12.980 --> 00:10:17.299 I want. They think I'll get God's attention that 00:10:17.299 --> 00:10:19.840 way if I have the right formula. I've just got 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:21.580 to stroke his ego. I've just got to say the magic 00:10:21.580 --> 00:10:23.980 words. But there's some way I can get it out 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:28.889 of him. And we see it today, don't we? That kind 00:10:28.889 --> 00:10:33.370 of name it and claim it movement. Or maybe when 00:10:33.370 --> 00:10:36.590 people do bartering prayer. You know, God, if 00:10:36.590 --> 00:10:39.529 I do this for you, then I need you to do this 00:10:39.529 --> 00:10:44.309 for me. Now, what happens when we think of God 00:10:44.309 --> 00:10:48.850 in all these sorts of ways? We're viewing God 00:10:48.850 --> 00:10:56.820 as stingy. As Scrooge -like. We're relating to 00:10:56.820 --> 00:10:59.259 him as if he was heartless and merely mechanical. 00:11:01.259 --> 00:11:04.740 We're relating to him like a time zone claw machine. 00:11:06.039 --> 00:11:10.500 My kids love going to time zone. I don't. It's 00:11:10.500 --> 00:11:14.759 very oversensory. But they love it. And they 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:17.720 love going to those claw machines. And, you know, 00:11:17.740 --> 00:11:20.279 they scan the card. And what happens with the 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:24.090 claw machine? Goes down and you grab the thing 00:11:24.090 --> 00:11:26.590 and you think, I've won! And then it drops and 00:11:26.590 --> 00:11:29.590 you're like, oh. And you have to try it again 00:11:29.590 --> 00:11:32.929 and again and again. And you have to just get 00:11:32.929 --> 00:11:36.490 it just right. And then you actually get the 00:11:36.490 --> 00:11:40.309 prize, don't you? It's very disheartening watching 00:11:40.309 --> 00:11:43.649 all my money disappear as the prizes don't come. 00:11:44.809 --> 00:11:46.970 And the machine's heartless. It doesn't care. 00:11:47.009 --> 00:11:50.580 It doesn't care about my bank account. It feels 00:11:50.580 --> 00:11:52.679 like the machine's actually working against me 00:11:52.679 --> 00:11:55.799 at times. And so you just try again and try again 00:11:55.799 --> 00:11:57.740 and try again. But if you can get that secret 00:11:57.740 --> 00:12:00.960 sauce of getting it the right way, you're a winner. 00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:05.659 Now, it's so easy to think of God like that and 00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:10.620 to pray to God like that, isn't it? What about 00:12:10.620 --> 00:12:15.620 you when you're alone praying? Maybe you barter 00:12:15.620 --> 00:12:19.169 with God. God, you know. If I get less angry 00:12:19.169 --> 00:12:22.190 this week and give a bit of money to the church, 00:12:22.470 --> 00:12:28.230 well, I need you to come through for me. Amen. 00:12:30.330 --> 00:12:32.730 Or maybe the tone and flavour of your prayer 00:12:32.730 --> 00:12:36.730 might be, Lord, my will be done. Hey, maybe you 00:12:36.730 --> 00:12:39.669 don't ever explicitly say it, but you say, in 00:12:39.669 --> 00:12:41.590 essence, my will be done in the way that you 00:12:41.590 --> 00:12:44.289 pray. Those sort of prayers, they're pagan, aren't 00:12:44.289 --> 00:12:50.139 they? You can only pray your will be done, or 00:12:50.139 --> 00:12:51.860 as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:55.600 not my will, but yours be done, when you trust 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:59.440 that God is a generous father who knows what 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:04.840 you need better than you do. Who, if we were 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:07.039 omniscient, if we knew everything, we'd do exactly 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:12.700 what he was doing. Do you believe God is like 00:13:12.700 --> 00:13:17.289 that? A great way to test is to pull out the 00:13:17.289 --> 00:13:20.429 camera footage. Audit your prayers. How am I 00:13:20.429 --> 00:13:23.269 going with my prayers? Am I approaching God, 00:13:23.330 --> 00:13:25.549 trying to twist his arm, getting him to do my 00:13:25.549 --> 00:13:28.990 will? Is that my flavour of prayer? Do I think 00:13:28.990 --> 00:13:31.190 prayer is about me getting stuff out of God? 00:13:32.649 --> 00:13:37.549 Or am I rejoicing in knowing him and asking him 00:13:37.549 --> 00:13:42.570 for what I need? Are you praying like Jesus or 00:13:42.570 --> 00:13:48.659 like a pagan? So they're the two things that 00:13:48.659 --> 00:13:51.740 we shouldn't do. We don't pray to the crowd. 00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:55.539 We don't pray to coerce God. So how then should 00:13:55.539 --> 00:13:58.220 we pray? You might have picked it up already. 00:13:59.559 --> 00:14:05.039 Pray alone to your Father. Pray alone to your 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:09.259 Father. That's the key to rich and effective 00:14:09.259 --> 00:14:13.789 prayer. Pray to God as Father. Have a look in 00:14:13.789 --> 00:14:16.730 verse six with me. But when you pray, go into 00:14:16.730 --> 00:14:19.529 your room, close the door and pray to your father 00:14:19.529 --> 00:14:21.789 who is unseen. Then your father who sees what 00:14:21.789 --> 00:14:24.190 is done in secret will reward you. Or there in 00:14:24.190 --> 00:14:27.230 verse eight, do not be like them for your father 00:14:27.230 --> 00:14:31.190 knows what you need before you ask him. So pray 00:14:31.190 --> 00:14:34.210 in secret, just you and God, no show, real intimacy. 00:14:35.330 --> 00:14:38.149 Pray to your father who knows your needs before 00:14:38.149 --> 00:14:42.399 you do. He's wise, he's caring. It's seeing God 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:46.320 in that way. And then in verse 9 to 13, we have 00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:51.120 the Lord's Prayer, which is a template. It's 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:54.480 a template that's trying to give us a structure, 00:14:54.539 --> 00:14:57.860 a skeleton to how we pray. It's not just meant 00:14:57.860 --> 00:15:00.820 to be sort of like an incantation. That would 00:15:00.820 --> 00:15:02.519 be to pray like the pagans, wouldn't it? It's 00:15:02.519 --> 00:15:05.740 there to give us a skeleton that we can put meat 00:15:05.740 --> 00:15:10.120 on the bones of. And we address God as our Father 00:15:10.120 --> 00:15:15.159 in heaven. He's our because we come to him in 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:18.740 the same way Jesus does. Why? Because Jesus died 00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:21.840 on the cross and gave us access to God. And we 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:24.360 pray our because we're part of a new family now. 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:29.100 Christians are our family. So we're not just 00:15:29.100 --> 00:15:31.620 praying for ourself. We're not praying because 00:15:31.620 --> 00:15:33.259 our performance is good. We're praying because 00:15:33.259 --> 00:15:35.840 we come to God. There's a lot in that one little 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:38.759 word our, isn't there? We haven't even got to 00:15:38.759 --> 00:15:42.309 the rest of the prayer. Father, he's loving. 00:15:42.409 --> 00:15:45.970 He cares for us. He gives good gifts to his children. 00:15:46.970 --> 00:15:50.710 And he's in heaven. He's holy. He's awesome. 00:15:50.850 --> 00:15:56.129 He's all powerful. That's just the address. And 00:15:56.129 --> 00:16:00.009 then we pray for our father's agenda. We go, 00:16:00.049 --> 00:16:02.470 that's the first thing we pray for. We're aligning 00:16:02.470 --> 00:16:04.809 our hearts with God's heart. We want to make 00:16:04.809 --> 00:16:07.990 sure that we're praying about what matters to 00:16:07.990 --> 00:16:11.539 him. Hallowed be your name. God, glorify your 00:16:11.539 --> 00:16:13.860 name. Help people see how great you are. Your 00:16:13.860 --> 00:16:16.960 kingdom come. Please, Father, rescue many people. 00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:19.519 May your kingdom expand and help us to be ready 00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:21.299 for when your kingdom comes in its fullness. 00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:24.340 And your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:27.399 Heaven is living in a world where people do what 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:32.460 God says. Please help me to reflect that. And 00:16:32.460 --> 00:16:34.840 then we pray for our needs. Because he's a caring 00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:39.379 father. He cares about what we need. We depend 00:16:39.379 --> 00:16:44.279 on him. And so we pray for our daily bread, for 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:48.759 provision, with an eye to the fact that we have 00:16:48.759 --> 00:16:51.480 a heavenly Sabbath and heavenly rest that we 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:54.500 look forward to. We pray for forgiveness because 00:16:54.500 --> 00:16:58.279 we're sinners who need grace. And we also are 00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:01.919 sinners who need to show grace to others. And 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:04.660 we pray that God would spiritually protect us. 00:17:05.369 --> 00:17:08.349 That he would deliver us from Satan's lies and 00:17:08.349 --> 00:17:14.769 from temptation. It's all about real relationship, 00:17:15.009 --> 00:17:21.130 isn't it? Authenticity. Confidence in what Jesus 00:17:21.130 --> 00:17:24.650 has done for us. Humility, not overestimating 00:17:24.650 --> 00:17:28.910 how good I am or overestimating what I think 00:17:28.910 --> 00:17:36.609 is best. It's praying to God as Father. My daughter, 00:17:36.690 --> 00:17:40.109 Grace, does this thing sometimes. It's nice when 00:17:40.109 --> 00:17:43.990 she does it. She comes and asks me for something. 00:17:44.130 --> 00:17:47.089 Dad, can I have a banana? Can I have a pancake? 00:17:47.230 --> 00:17:50.730 Whatever it might be. And when I say yes, lately 00:17:50.730 --> 00:17:53.289 she's been doing this thing where she goes, thank 00:17:53.289 --> 00:17:57.809 you, Daddy, I really appreciate you. And I'm 00:17:57.809 --> 00:18:01.680 like, heart melt, you know? And then if I say 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:05.259 no, she's been going, OK, Daddy, it's not a problem. 00:18:05.480 --> 00:18:09.420 You know, it's nice. Now, if I could just work 00:18:09.420 --> 00:18:11.559 out how to get the other kids to do that and 00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:13.660 how I could get her to do that all the time. 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:23.599 But it's... No. Not yet. But it's so cute. And 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:26.400 I love it because she's approaching me as a caring 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:29.829 father. Because he's showing thankfulness, confidence 00:18:29.829 --> 00:18:34.710 and trust. Now, when we pray to our heavenly 00:18:34.710 --> 00:18:37.329 father, and he's infinitely better than I am 00:18:37.329 --> 00:18:40.730 as a father, do we take that approach with him? 00:18:42.309 --> 00:18:44.109 Now, here's a great test for where your heart's 00:18:44.109 --> 00:18:48.230 at. Do you see God as a good, loving and caring 00:18:48.230 --> 00:18:52.009 father who can do far more than you can ask or 00:18:52.009 --> 00:18:56.079 imagine? Well, you might be sitting here going, 00:18:56.220 --> 00:18:57.779 well, Brendan, that's fair. That's cool. But 00:18:57.779 --> 00:19:02.819 how do I even know God is like that? You can. 00:19:04.779 --> 00:19:09.960 Look at the cross. The cross shows me that there 00:19:09.960 --> 00:19:12.799 are better riches in knowing my father than in 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:16.599 having human recognition or approval. Because 00:19:16.599 --> 00:19:18.380 what do I get at the cross? I get God's approval. 00:19:19.319 --> 00:19:23.980 I get access to God. Jesus died for those things. 00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:26.559 He didn't die so that other people think more 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:30.660 highly of me. So clearly that's more worthwhile. 00:19:30.900 --> 00:19:34.660 It's to die for. That's what Jesus thinks. But 00:19:34.660 --> 00:19:38.200 secondly, the cross shows that my father knows 00:19:38.200 --> 00:19:41.720 what I need before I do. He dealt with my sin 00:19:41.720 --> 00:19:46.019 before I even thought it was a big problem. And 00:19:46.019 --> 00:19:48.720 he gave his own son so that my sins would be 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:52.430 forgiven. He is far more caring and gracious 00:19:52.430 --> 00:19:57.069 than I could ever imagine. And the cross and 00:19:57.069 --> 00:20:00.390 the resurrection of Jesus are the amen to the 00:20:00.390 --> 00:20:04.170 Lord's prayer. How do I know God will answer 00:20:04.170 --> 00:20:08.529 the Lord's prayer when I pray it? Because the 00:20:08.529 --> 00:20:14.630 cross shows me he will. At the cross, Jesus glorifies 00:20:14.630 --> 00:20:18.450 God's name. At the cross, God's kingdom is coming. 00:20:19.660 --> 00:20:24.359 At the cross, God's will is done and he's changing 00:20:24.359 --> 00:20:26.660 people so that they want to do his will. At the 00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:28.559 cross, he provides. I mean, you could just go 00:20:28.559 --> 00:20:30.079 through the whole lot, couldn't you? And you 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:36.960 can link it each to the cross. So let me ask, 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:39.940 what might it look like to pray this? I mean, 00:20:39.940 --> 00:20:42.299 that's the template. What might it look like 00:20:42.299 --> 00:20:46.240 to pray this in action, to put some flesh on 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:52.509 those bones? Well, maybe you've been praying 00:20:52.509 --> 00:20:57.529 for years about an issue in your life. You know, 00:20:57.549 --> 00:21:01.230 you're praying in that needs bit about some health 00:21:01.230 --> 00:21:05.529 issue, financial issue, work issue, marriage 00:21:05.529 --> 00:21:09.009 issue, maybe fertility. I don't know what it 00:21:09.009 --> 00:21:11.089 might be for you. Everyone's got different issues, 00:21:11.230 --> 00:21:20.039 don't we? And you pray lots. And nothing changes. 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:30.680 And you're tempted to not pray anymore. What's 00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:33.119 the point? Am I just talking to the ceiling? 00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:38.960 Nothing ever seems to change. And then you remember 00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:42.819 what Jesus has done for you. And you remember 00:21:42.819 --> 00:21:48.380 what sort of father you have in heaven. And you 00:21:48.380 --> 00:21:52.519 believe that God will answer your prayer in one 00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:55.359 of two ways. Do you know that God only answers 00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:59.400 prayer in one of two ways? It's not yes, no or 00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:01.240 wait. That's what I was taught in Sunday school. 00:22:02.700 --> 00:22:08.220 He answers it in either yes or better. Because 00:22:08.220 --> 00:22:10.819 he's a good father. He'll either answer your 00:22:10.819 --> 00:22:14.259 prayer with yes or he'll do something better 00:22:14.259 --> 00:22:16.079 than you can imagine. We might not see what that 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:20.200 is, this side of heaven. But if we were omniscient, 00:22:20.220 --> 00:22:25.859 we would see that it is better. It changes how 00:22:25.859 --> 00:22:27.839 you pray about those things that just never seem 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:33.000 to change. Or when you're praying, your prayer 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:37.099 life might feel dry and tired and haggard. What 00:22:37.099 --> 00:22:39.299 do you do? You start your prayers by remembering 00:22:39.299 --> 00:22:45.579 that God is a good father. Spend some time reflecting 00:22:45.579 --> 00:22:49.309 on the good father you have. and that will drive 00:22:49.309 --> 00:22:56.589 you move you to pray or maybe you don't want 00:22:56.589 --> 00:22:59.589 to pray because oh you should have seen the week 00:22:59.589 --> 00:23:01.769 i've had you know i've done all these things 00:23:01.769 --> 00:23:04.769 and i just feel like the worst possible christian 00:23:04.769 --> 00:23:08.269 why would i talk to god i kind of want to run 00:23:08.269 --> 00:23:14.029 away from him right now well if you're coming 00:23:14.029 --> 00:23:17.619 to god as father You remember that you're praying 00:23:17.619 --> 00:23:21.940 not on the basis of your performance, but on 00:23:21.940 --> 00:23:26.259 the basis of Jesus' death for you. And he's a 00:23:26.259 --> 00:23:29.900 good father. He forgives. He loves you. He's 00:23:29.900 --> 00:23:33.099 not going to cast you off. God's anger was poured 00:23:33.099 --> 00:23:35.759 out onto Jesus so that it would never be poured 00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:39.200 out to you. He drank the cup of God's wrath down 00:23:39.200 --> 00:23:41.279 to the very dregs. There is nothing left for 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:47.559 you to drink. Do you know what? If you believe 00:23:47.559 --> 00:23:51.799 God is a good father, you'll pray even though 00:23:51.799 --> 00:23:55.119 no one else will see it. Because you believe 00:23:55.119 --> 00:24:02.559 it's worth it. So is your prayer life shaped 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:07.359 around knowing God as father? That's the key. 00:24:09.500 --> 00:24:16.430 Do you pray alone to your father? All right, 00:24:16.430 --> 00:24:20.069 well, let's wrap up. We started by asking, how 00:24:20.069 --> 00:24:23.269 is your prayer life? How is your prayer life 00:24:23.269 --> 00:24:26.990 behind closed doors? It's very easy to do it 00:24:26.990 --> 00:24:28.849 in Bible study and look like it's all gravy. 00:24:29.529 --> 00:24:33.230 But how is it behind closed doors? And we saw 00:24:33.230 --> 00:24:35.369 that this is important because as we've seen 00:24:35.369 --> 00:24:37.390 in this section of Matthew, there's one key thing. 00:24:37.730 --> 00:24:41.289 Who you are in secret is who you really are. 00:24:43.559 --> 00:24:46.559 So what does your prayer life look in secret? 00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:48.720 This is a very confronting passage. I was challenged 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:51.980 by it this week. I hope you are too. Who are 00:24:51.980 --> 00:24:54.619 you in secret? Because I reckon there's three 00:24:54.619 --> 00:24:57.599 types of prayers that will be sitting here today 00:24:57.599 --> 00:25:01.240 where you're at at the moment. There's the prayerless, 00:25:01.380 --> 00:25:04.440 there's the pagan, and there's the paternal. 00:25:06.819 --> 00:25:10.180 And, oh, it's not even lined up with the X's 00:25:10.180 --> 00:25:12.480 and the tick, but there you go. That makes me 00:25:12.480 --> 00:25:18.380 sad. I like good aesthetics. Anyway. Yeah, oh, 00:25:18.440 --> 00:25:22.839 good. So prayerless. Are you prayerless in secret? 00:25:25.079 --> 00:25:27.720 What do you do if that's you? Maybe you're prayerless 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:29.720 in secret because you're not a Christian. Please 00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:32.660 come and chat to us. We'd love to talk to you 00:25:32.660 --> 00:25:35.799 about Jesus and how good it is to know God as 00:25:35.799 --> 00:25:39.480 Father. But maybe you're here and you're a Christian 00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:43.460 and... You just, prayer is a struggle for you 00:25:43.460 --> 00:25:46.460 right now. How do you get back to that place 00:25:46.460 --> 00:25:52.000 where prayer is sweet, where you savour it? Well, 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:56.660 go back to the gospel. Go back to who Jesus is, 00:25:56.720 --> 00:25:59.299 what he's done for you. Go back to how you have 00:25:59.299 --> 00:26:01.619 a relationship with your father because of Jesus. 00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:08.299 That will enrich your praying. And try and make 00:26:08.299 --> 00:26:13.440 it routine. One of the ways to get more into 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:19.839 prayer is to pray. Pray. And look, I get it. 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:23.000 Routines, it's hard. You know, things go up and 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:25.720 down. You have good days and bad days. On the 00:26:25.720 --> 00:26:28.140 bad days, remember that you come because of Jesus' 00:26:28.259 --> 00:26:30.339 blood. And on the good days, remember you come 00:26:30.339 --> 00:26:32.200 because of Jesus' blood and that will enrich 00:26:32.200 --> 00:26:39.259 your praying. Get praying again. If you're those 00:26:39.259 --> 00:26:41.680 who are struggling with pagan prayer, if you're 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:46.160 coming to God trying to make him do your will, 00:26:46.339 --> 00:26:50.240 I'd encourage you to start thinking higher thoughts 00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:55.000 of God. I'd recommend go read Mark's gospel. 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:59.140 Just go back to Mark's gospel and see again, 00:26:59.299 --> 00:27:03.220 what is God like? Or any of the gospel. I just 00:27:03.220 --> 00:27:04.900 like Mark because it's short and I have a short 00:27:04.900 --> 00:27:09.019 attention span. But read Mark's gospel. Or, you 00:27:09.019 --> 00:27:11.440 know what, read this. This is J .I. Packer's 00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:14.640 book, Knowing God. It's an absolute classic. 00:27:15.339 --> 00:27:19.339 He's got a whole section about God as Father, 00:27:19.539 --> 00:27:24.700 which is just incredible. Can I recommend, grab 00:27:24.700 --> 00:27:27.160 a copy, download a copy, whatever you do with 00:27:27.160 --> 00:27:32.640 copies, and read this book. But if you're the 00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:36.200 person who is praying to God paternally, You 00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:40.420 savour the times you have with your father. Keep 00:27:40.420 --> 00:27:44.900 doing that. Keep going. And when you fail, remember 00:27:44.900 --> 00:27:52.400 his immense grace. Just keep enjoying it. So 00:27:52.400 --> 00:27:56.460 which of these three is it for you? What would 00:27:56.460 --> 00:28:02.920 the cameras pick up in your life? Yeah, let me 00:28:02.920 --> 00:28:06.359 ask a different question. Can you imagine if 00:28:06.359 --> 00:28:09.779 we were all that third one? What do you think 00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:13.500 would happen to our church if we all prayed to 00:28:13.500 --> 00:28:17.380 God as Father and enjoyed it and loved it and 00:28:17.380 --> 00:28:23.480 craved it? What do you think would happen? I 00:28:23.480 --> 00:28:27.319 reckon God would honour those prayers. I reckon 00:28:27.319 --> 00:28:30.599 we'd see our hearts transformed in an even more 00:28:30.599 --> 00:28:39.250 radical way. I reckon we'd see people having 00:28:39.250 --> 00:28:42.009 a deeper joy and assurance of their salvation. 00:28:42.769 --> 00:28:46.130 A greater unity and love that we'd forgive and 00:28:46.130 --> 00:28:49.210 be gracious and generous to one another. I think 00:28:49.210 --> 00:28:52.109 we'd hate our sin more and worship would become 00:28:52.109 --> 00:28:57.130 a richer delight for us, wouldn't it? See, revivals 00:28:57.130 --> 00:29:03.279 are built on praying like that. So let's love 00:29:03.279 --> 00:29:08.740 the secret place of prayer with our Father. What 00:29:08.740 --> 00:29:11.720 could be more appropriate than, let's pray now. 00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:17.660 Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are a 00:29:17.660 --> 00:29:21.660 wonderful Father who gives us far more than we 00:29:21.660 --> 00:29:25.700 can ask or imagine. And we pray, Father, help 00:29:25.700 --> 00:29:29.460 us to see the riches and the blessings and the 00:29:29.460 --> 00:29:34.130 absolute delight it is to come to you as our 00:29:34.130 --> 00:29:39.130 Father in heaven. Please align our hearts with 00:29:39.130 --> 00:29:43.210 your heart. Help us to see our dependence upon 00:29:43.210 --> 00:29:49.190 you and make us a people who absolutely love 00:29:49.190 --> 00:29:52.910 being with you in that secret place of prayer. 00:29:54.349 --> 00:29:57.589 And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.