We've all been hurt. We all carry scars. We can all overcome these things and be
healed through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Let's build that relationship
together right here. Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton. Hey everybody
and welcome back to the sanctuary. It is so good to have you back with us and for
those of you who are new, welcome! Now the past few weeks we've been looking at
prayer an awful lot as we explored the book of Habakkuk, specifically his way of
praying to speak to God, getting God's answers, and then his prayer of faith
after his faith was restored and he had mended that bridge with where he'd
already had doubts. Now today we're going to finish this series out with a bit of
a magnifying glass, if you will, on prayer and conversation. Now I cannot emphasize
enough that when it comes to relationships, communication is key.
It is absolutely pivotal. Without it, you're not going to have a relationship
and any relationship that you do have, it's going to be very weak and it's not
going to last. Alright, there isn't a person alive today that has had an
instant relationship without some form of communication. It just can't be done
and our relationship with the Father is no different. We have to talk to him and
we do that through prayer. We're going to break down what this is and dispel
myths and misconceptions right now. First and foremost, as we get started, I want to
remind you that prayer is communication with God. It is a conversation between
you and the Almighty and it should flow as such, a conversation. There are certain
things that we need to cover when we pray and even though there's a ton of
prayer documented throughout the Bible, Jesus recognized that people were still
following poor examples and so he gave us a guide to follow. We're going to work
our way to it. To start, we're going to look at some ground rules for prayer that
Jesus set forth himself. Now for those who follow in their Bible and for those
who are taking notes, we're going to listen to what Jesus has to say in the
book of Matthew, specifically in chapter 6 and we're going to be looking at verses
5 through 6. So Matthew 6 verses 5 and 6, Jesus says, and when you pray, do not be
like the hypocrites for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on
the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you they have received their
reward in full, but when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to
your Father who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret
will reward you. There are those people, especially quote-unquote religious
leaders, who go out of their way to draw attention to themselves. They stand
front and center with long wordy prayers that use religious jargon, repetition, and
overemphasis on certain words, occasionally yelling, and possibly
speaking some sort of gibberish in the attempt to sound like they're speaking in
tongues, and so on. The examples are absolutely endless and we've all heard
them at some point or other. So did Jesus and He saw through all these facades. He
saw through the showmanship and who these people truly were. In modern times,
these people identified as being holy just the same as today. It didn't make it
so. So while these self-righteous people were putting on a show and essentially
playing pretend, Jesus taught that prayer is something different here. Now yes, you
can pray in public and you should. That's part of what coming together as the
church is, and there is a time and a place for this. However, your personal
prayers should primarily be a private conversation between you and the Father.
Recognize the intimacy here. Jesus says to close the door and pray in private.
This is a sign of a very tight and personal relationship. It's very
intimate. In a world of safe places, this is the safe place. The
one safe place that should actually be used. Now going back to the very
beginning of this here, it says do not be like the hypocrites. That part
right there, I just want to on a side note here, that is a great little section to
highlight, underline, make some note of right there because that right there
there's so much that can be unfilled from that. For time's
sakes, we're gonna keep moving here, but wow, there is a lot here. Now it is worth
noting that because of this passage, there are those legalistic types who
have come to the conclusion that all prayers should be private. And that
simply just is not the case as Jesus himself has demonstrated through both
praying in public and privately. In the instance of both, they're both
recorded multiple times. However, we can find an example of both right here in
the book of Matthew, specifically in chapter 14. The main point that Jesus
was making with this passage is that it comes down to motive. Prayer comes down
to motive. Are you praying for attention or are you praying for yourself? Are you
praying for others to see putting yourself out there in that limelight
like, oh look at me, look at me, I'm over here, check it out, oh, oh, oh, pick me, pick me,
hand up in the air, you know. Or are you burying yourself to God? Are you being
heartfelt or a person or are you being a hypocrite? Your true motives are
seen here. Jesus always sees them. So you're not fooling him. You know, while you
might fool others around you, if you fall into this section of being a
hypocrite, you know, you're putting on this show, I'm telling you to stop because Jesus
sees it, God sees it, you're not fooling him. Not even slightly. And really,
you know, for those who are paying attention, you're not really fooling them
either. At some point, they're just like, okay, what's going on? Okay, now regardless
of how you do it, there are those watching and they can see when you're
faking it, you know, and this is not one of those situations where you can just
fake it until you make it. You just can't. You need to be sincere. So we're gonna
move along now back into Matthew chapter 6 and we're going to look at verses 7
and 8. Matthew 6 verses 7 and 8. Jesus says, and when you pray, do not keep on
babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many
words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you
ask him. So again, you know, the whole repetition, it doesn't do any good.
If anything, it makes you sound ignorant. This is something pagans did, thinking
that their gods, you know, I hate to say that, but you know, their idols, their
spiritual entities that they felt that they needed to pray to, they felt that,
you know, if they were wordy and they were allowed, that they would be more
likely to be heard. And by repetition, this includes using, you know, different
words to say the same thing. You know, those people who are like, you know, Oh
Lord, Father God, Jesus, Daddy God, you know, and they have seven different ways
of saying, you know, Lord, before they even move on. You know, we've
all heard that, Oh Heavenly Father, Father God, Oh Daddy God, and all that. You know,
if you're, I'm telling you, if you're talking like that, stop. You know, remember
that episode, a family guy, that there's that scene with Stewie and he's annoying,
the just absolute tar out of Lois, you know, Mom, Mommy, Ma, Mom, Mother, Mother,
Ma, Mommy. It's the same thing. If you're having trouble finding the words, just
take a moment, just pause. Think about what you need to say, and then move
forward with the prayer. You're not a scratched record. If you need to take a
second to think, Hey, that's fine. The Lord doesn't mind. He knows what you're
trying to say. You need to take the time to figure out what it is that you're
trying to say. If you have to kind of back up and, you know, adjust things a
little bit, you know, or whatever, hey, that's fine. Treat it like a conversation,
though. You know, this is, this is one of those important things here as well,
because I want you to pay attention to what I'm about to say here, because
especially when it comes to being wordy, there is a difference between being
wordy and being persistent. Now, you can pray, and you haven't quite gotten the
answer yet that you're looking for, right? So, you can actually go back and pray for
the same needs again. You can do this repeatedly if you need to, all right?
1st Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 17, the Bible says, pray continually. In Luke
chapter 18, Jesus, you know, he tells the parable of the persistent
widow who kept going back with the same plea for help. Don't be shallow in your
prayer, though. Don't be petty. Pray from the heart, and He will hear you. He will
listen to you, and He will provide an answer, as we just got done seeing here,
you know, with Habakkuk. You can't pray too much when you pray from the heart,
because when you're talking from the heart, you will start having a real
conversation. You're telling God the things a substance, and that, just like
any other parent out there, that is what He's interested in. That's where
relationships truly come together, all right? So, now we're going to get into the
blueprint of prayer here. What we're about to hear is often called the
Lord's Prayer, and this is because it is the example that Jesus gave the disciples
to model from and to teach others. Now, while we go through this, the parts are
going to be slightly rearranged, you know, and you'll find that there are four
parts here to a prayer which can be remembered by using the
acronym PRAY, P-R-A-Y, PRAY. P for praise, R for repay, A for ask, Y for yield.
PRAY. So, I'm going to repeat that for you. P, praise. R, repent. A, ask. Y, yield.
And like I said, this is a guide that was given, okay? So, let's go into the prayer.
We're going to break it down, and we're going to relate it to this acronym. So,
let's listen to Jesus as He lays down this blueprint in Matthew chapter 6,
verses 9 through 13. Jesus says, this then is how you should pray. Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth
as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as
we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from the evil one. Now, in verse 13 here, a couple things. And lead us not
into temptation is the Greek, you know, the Greek for temptation can also mean
testing. And the next part says, but deliver us from the evil one. Depending
on your text that you read and what you study from, it may also be read or from
evil. With some late translations, even adding in, for yours is the kingdom and
the power and the glory forever. Amen. The last part there, you know, yours is
the kingdom and power, the glory forever and all. That's omitted from a lot of
text. And the reason being is because it's not recorded in any of the old
scrolls. It was added in later. So that's why a lot of text actually cut that part
out. So for those, oh, well, why was this taken out and all that? You know, I've
talked about this in the past. As time has gone by and the languages have, you
know, been studied more and are understood better, better translations are
made, you know, things that are just redundant. Some of those things have
been taken out because there's no point in saying, well, I stopped because the
light turned red, the light turned red, so I stopped. You know, nobody talks like
that. So that's why things have been, you know, with the translations, they've been
adjusted for the way people actually talk, understand things and how we learn.
Okay. Like I said, various texts, various translations, they're gonna have this
same prayer, but in one form or another. So let's get into it here. Our Father, who
art in heaven, hallowed be your name. This is an indication of God not only
being majestic, but personal and loving. In the acronym, we're looking at the P
here because we're giving praise for who He is and what He's done. You know, Jesus
calls God Father 10 times in this teaching, 10. He's showing how important
relationships are to Him. Not only does the church form a community, but also a
family. You know, I'm sure a lot of us have all been to churches where they
refer, you know, to the congregation as your church family. That's not uncommon,
especially these days. And if you look back in Matthew chapter 4, you'll see
that Jesus started His ministry by having two brothers follow Him. Family. Our
Father, in heaven, hallowed be your name. We as Christians, we're part of God's
family. And when we pray, we are to open our hearts and honor the Father. We're to
keep His name holy. That's what hallowed means, is to keep it holy. And we do this
by respecting Him. You know, this goes back, you know, to the Ten
Commandments, you know, honor your mother and father. You know, same thing,
same principle. So next, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is
in heaven. This, as is for yours, is the kingdom and the power and the glory
forever. The why and pray. Why is to yield. See, we are yielding our will to
God's and giving His plan priority over ours. Our plans change. His don't. Your
kingdom come refers to the spiritual reign of God. It was announced in the
covenant with Abraham, shown by the reign of Christ in the hearts of all believers,
and will be finalized and established by God when Satan is defeated and sent to
hell for eternity. You know, it's that time when there's not going to be any
more pain, there's not going to be any more suffering, you know, no more hate,
but love and unity and fellowship for everyone and everything as we walk with
Jesus. It's going to be glorious. Now, when we say your will be done, this is
not just some passive submission, like we're just, we're tapping out and giving
in, you know, or like we've been defeated. So, you know, we're quitting.
We're, you know, we're not tapping out, we're not crying uncle or any of that
kind of stuff. What we're doing is asking for God to complete His perfect purpose
for us and for the world. We are recognizing that His leadership is
perfect and we're following Him and His will. He is the Lord of Lord and He is
the King of Kings and we're recognizing that. You know, people like to say that we
need to make Him the Lord of our lives. You know what? Hey, they're wrong. You know
why? He already is. You know, as Christians, we already recognize this. So,
we're already taking a knee and we're giving Him proper
witness. We recognize Him as King and that all glory is His. We're doing it now
while we're living on earth, you know, before it's too late. After all, the Bible
tells us eventually every knee is going to bend and every tongue is going to
confess. We're doing it as His people, not as those that He doesn't know. We're
doing it now before it comes to that time where He says, leave, I don't know you.
So next, the next piece here is, give us today our daily bread. This piece, as well
as the end piece of, and lead us not in temptation but deliver us from the evil
one. Both of these sections, these are both the A and pray. We're asking. We're
not only asking for our needs, because we do need to ask for our own needs.
However, we are also asking for the needs of others, because we're called to
serve, aren't we? So we're recognizing ours, but we're recognizing
others needs as well. And it's also a way of showing love. You see, in this piece,
we're recognizing the fact that we are totally dependent on God, and that we
need Him to provide for all of us, and to help us to keep going, physically,
mentally, and spiritually. We need God to take care of us, and to lead us every
single day. Plain and simple, we can't do it on our own. A lot of us have tried.
Matter of fact, every single one of us has tried, and we've all failed. God is
the Creator, so He knows what we need, better than we do, and we trust in Him to
take care of those needs. All right, so moving in, and forgive us our debts as
we have also, I'm sorry, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Some texts say
trespass and trespassers here. It's the same thing, though, and it's because it's
referring to the sins. This is the R in pray. We are repenting. We're repenting
of the sins we have committed. So, you know, we're repenting of the commands
that God has given us that we've just ignored, or just flat out we
recognized it, and we're just like, nope, that rule is not meant for me. Broken. So
like, we've actually gone against it. So saying ignored isn't even a strong
enough word here. I'm just not sure what it is at the moment, you know, and not
only that, but in this section we're also forgiving those who have wronged us as
well. It's another way of showing love. You know, we are all imperfect, and as such,
we need to address our own flaws. And really, this is the hardest part, isn't it?
We know we need to do this as Christians, and here God's holding us
accountable for it as well. That's really what this is. This is our
accountability. This is our reality check. It's like, hey, what are you leaving out
there, buddy? You know, we all like to puff out our chest and, you know, go in
there with that bravado, oh yeah, you know, God made me perfect, you know. No, he
isn't. There's only been one perfect man that's ever walked this earth, and that
was Jesus. So going into the final piece here now, and lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Again, this falls under
the A in pray. We're asking. We're all tempted throughout our lives. It's a
daily battle. Jesus dealt with temptation. See, this part here reminds us that we
need to ask for God's help during those times. That we need Him to protect us
from Satan when he's pressuring us to give in. You know, sometimes it's easy
to say no. Other times, and there's a lot of them, it's really not. It's really not
easy at all. Not even a little. However, you know, when we're looking here, you
know, God's promised that He won't allow us to be tempted beyond what we can
endure. Not that we won't get more than we can handle, but that we'll have a way
out. 1st Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13, the Bible says, No temptation has
overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful. He will not
let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempted, He will
also provide a way out so that you can endure it. And this is how God helps us.
Alright, we come to Him and we ask Him for help. To help us with recognizing the
temptations for what they are, and helping us to overcome them. You know,
people get really overwhelmed and just drown in temptation because
they don't look to God to help them. It's, you know, it's not that people
can't do something or deal with something. It's that they need God's help.
But, you know, as humans, we're all just, we're too stubborn and we're too ignorant
to ask for it. You know, or to even ask, you know, when we ask and He puts His
hand out, you know, we won't even take His hand. He puts it out there and this is
like anything else. We all know this person, that person who knows better
than anyone and ends up messing things up or making a bigger mess because they're
too self-important, they're too self-involved to ask, you know, for a
hand. You know, and when that hand is put out, you know, they slap it away like,
no, I don't need your help. I could do this. I got this. You know, we need
to lean on God. Not keep walking blindly into the storm. Now, before we move on to
the next part of our waiting for today, let me just pause for a second. What
Jesus laid out here is a guide. All right, and I said this before, but I can't
reiterate it enough. It's not meant to be a word-for-word. It's not a do this, this
is how it has to be done, this is what how you have to say it. That's how
legalists look at it. This is a guide. It's there to show what and how we should
be praying. Now, you could start off with it word-for-word. Absolutely, that is a
great thing, but what the key is here is to take the pieces of this and replace
them with our own words, with our own needs, you know, recognizing our own
failures and our own faults. When we talk to the Father, we need to make sure that
we're addressing these things, you know, and if the order needs to change a
little bit from one conversation to the next, that's fine, do it. Just make sure
it's an honest heartfelt conversation. You know, do all of us go through this
checklist like, okay, you have to do this in this order every time we talk to
somebody and lay things out. Now, maybe if you're giving instructions on how to do
something, but the rest of time, no, it's like, okay, you're gonna do this, you're
gonna do this, you know, and that's it. You know, think of it like you're giving
instructions to somebody on how to get from point A to point B. Some of us are
gonna be like, okay, you're gonna go down street A and then you're gonna turn
right on street B and others are gonna say, hey, you know what, you're gonna go
down the road here and you're gonna see a McDonald's, you're gonna want to turn
right after that McDonald's, right? Same thing, just deliver differently. There's
not a wrong way here. You just have to make sure the pieces are put in there.
That's it, but heartfelt, honest. So let's go into the final part of what Jesus
said in this passage here. Join me now in Matthew chapter 6 verses 14 and 15. So
Matthew 6 verses 14 and 15, Jesus says, for if you forgive other people when
they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you
do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
So even after the guide for prayer was laid out, Jesus goes on to tell us that
if we don't forgive others, then He won't forgive us. That's how important this is.
And this is how self-absorbed people get. Remember, we're called to love one
another and forgive as Jesus did. And when we refuse to forgive, we're denying
a part of ourselves, that part that recognizes that we've all fallen short
and we have all sinned. And in doing so, we break from our relationship with God.
Now remember, the only sin that God won't forgive is blasphemy of the Holy
Spirit. In other words, turning your back on Him. And that is exactly what we're
doing when we refuse to forgive others. It's easy to ask others to forgive us or
to expect others to forgive us. But then even after that, people still hold on
to grudges, don't they? It's like, yeah, I want this person, you know, this person
is just being petty. They need to get over it. They need to forgive me. But then
I'm gonna sit there and be like, you know what? This guy's a real jerk.
We need to stay away from him. You know, this is what he did and he never
apologized or he never made right or, you know, whatever. That's how people are.
They expect people to forgive them, but then they'll hold on to those grudges.
You know, and that's exactly what Jesus is telling us not to do. I'd encourage
you all, go back and listen to my message. I want to be tough guys. We can't expect
to be forgiven when we won't forgive others. You can't be forgiven for a sin
that you continue to commit. Holding that grudge, not letting go of that hatred,
that in itself is a form of hate. You can't love your neighbor and hate them
at the same time. You cannot. It's one or the other. Now, as you see a lot of things
going to prayer here. We don't need to use meter or rhyme or any of that kind
of stuff. We don't need to use these and vows like we're talking in a Shakespearean
play. Nobody talks like that. Maybe at one point, but not anymore. We don't need to
chant specific words either. You know, a lot of people have been taught specific
prayers for certain things. For examples, for meals. And they're great for starting
off in prayer. If you don't know how to pray, you know, and this is how you're
being taught, you know, hey, that's wonderful. That is wonderful. However,
eventually, every single one of us should reach a point where we no longer need to
rely on those little ditties and we can pray openly. Remember, it's a conversation.
We should be getting praise, showing respect, taking our needs before the
Father, unburdening our fears, our pains, our sins, and asking for guidance. That's
how you get the conversation going and that is how you develop a relationship
with the Father. He loves you. He loves you. He loves me. He loves all of us and he
wants to hear from every single one of us and it's not too late. If you're not
speaking to a Martin, you know, start today. Start right now. You'll find your life
will begin to change for the better. Now, as I said earlier, there is a time and a
place for public prayer as well. Public prayer, that's when we come together as
the church and we pray together for one another's needs and for the needs of
others. Some people like to say, let's pray in agreement or in accordance with
each other. You know, it's kind of, really kind of starts sliding into that little
jargon section, but really this right here, this is a great way to pray with
others. But again, it needs to be heartfelt. You know, somebody, I'm saying
that a lot today because it is really the most important part here. When
we come together as a church, this is the ideal time to actually listen to the
needs of others. I mean, you should always do that, but especially here, you
know, when you're with your church family, there's no better time.
Unfortunately though, you know, sometimes we have to be wary, we have to be
careful of those who ask how you're doing. And it seemed that kind of, well not
even kind of, they glaze over like a doughnut when you start telling
them about your needs or what's going on. And you know, they're like, oh, you
know, and they try to rush along to the next person or the next topic. This is
actually a really good place for us all to evaluate how we greet one another.
Because think about it, the vast majority of us when we greet each other, it's like,
hey, how are you doing? How are you? The reality of it though is that we don't
expect an answer. Just say, okay, good, fine, not so bad.
Yourself, oh, hey, how are you doing? You know, in return, you know, that's, you know,
that quick, good, thanks, and then drive on. That's what people come to expect.
This isn't the right way to use this though, especially when we come together
as the church. If you don't want the answer to that question or you are not
prepared for it at that time, don't ask people how they are. Just don't change
your greeting. Say, good morning, good afternoon, something along those lines.
You know, it's not that hard. You know, out in public, I'd encourage everybody to do
the same. Think about how you're greeting people versus how you should be doing it.
Especially when we come together as a church. When you hear that question,
you should be ready to actually answer that person and tell them about your
prayer needs so that you can pray together. So that you can pray together.
That's what it is to be the church, to be part of the church. Matter of fact, just
you know, the other day I did a little coffee break and I was talking about
this very thing myself. You know, that difference between being the church
and being in a building. They are two distinctly different things, aren't they?
So when you're in that situation and you're talking to someone and you see
them start to just glaze over, start wrapping up what you're telling them and
just make it a note to pray over that person later. Because their heart really
isn't where it needs to be, is it? And a lot of pastors for that matter don't
share their needs. But we all have needs. It comes down to a matter of pride. It
really does. It's a matter of pride. Another sin in itself, isn't it? However,
that's not the right mentality. Sharing your needs with the church is the best
place because if you won't share with them, who do you have that's going to
pray for you? If you can't trust your church family, why not? God's placed you
with this part of his family for a reason. Family is supposed to take care
of one another. It's supposed to help one another. It is supposed to support and
empower one another. So don't neglect or take for granted coming together with
the family to pray, with the church to pray. Don't be afraid of the intimacy
that comes from loving one another. That is strength in itself, my friends. Pray
and pray in love. We have hope and we have light in prayer because God loves
us so much. Jesus loves us so much. You know, we can take our joys and we can
take our sorrows to him. Our ups and our downs. When it comes to prayer, even with
one another, we should be mourning with one another in those hard times and
celebrating with one another in those great times. And we know that Jesus
is going to be encouraging us when we need it and he's going to be comforting
us when we need it. And when the family comes together with him, we all know he's
proud of us. That's happiness. That's love. That's how we need to live. If
you've started the conversation and you started building that relationship, keep
going. Keep building that relationship. If you haven't, start the conversation.
Start it right now. Don't wait any longer. There's no better time. We don't
know how much time we have. Could be a minute, could be an hour, could be a day,
could be a year, could be several years. Prayerfully it is, but we don't know. And
Jesus has already warned us. We need to come to him now because he is the way. If
you don't start that conversation with him now, you don't start getting to know
him now, you don't start that relationship with him now, eventually
that time is going to come when it's too late and he's going to say, depart. I
never knew you. And there's no reason for that because we had that hope, we had
that joy because he's told us this is how. I'm here, I want to talk to you. He's
knocking at the door.
Eagerly, happily, he's excited. He wants to hear from us all. And if you're
omitting any of these parts from your prayer, start adding them in there.
Maybe you don't have them every single time, but regularly, regularly enough
where you're addressing all these needs and they're all being put out there.
That's what a relationship is and that's what love is. Remember, you're loved, you
are a blessing. Now go be a blessing, go be the light, go be the church. Take care
everybody. I want to thank you for joining us today. If you have any
questions, prayer requests, or would like to know more about our ministry, you can
find us on our website at BeTheLightSanctuary.org or on Facebook at
Be The Light Sanctuary. We'll catch you next time. God bless.