Part 1 - Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Your Name
The World’s Greatest Prayer
Session #1: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Matthew 6:9
Imagine that you love golf (not hard for some of you!) and one day you get a message on your answering machine from Tiger Woods offering to fly you to Pebble Beach for some lessons and tips on how to improve your game. Would you take him up on it???
The opportunity to receive top flight instruction from the world’s greatest master in the area of your deepest passion is a can’t miss deal, a no brainer, right? If not golf, what and who would you love to spend time with?
Today we begin a study on the Lord’s Prayer. We have an opportunity to study prayer from the world’s greatest master of prayer, the Lord Himself. Why is the Lord’s Prayer called the Lord’s Prayer?
1. The disciples had been watching Jesus very carefully and they saw someone with connections to God like they’ve never seen before. Surely they knew that the secret that enabled Jesus to live such an extraordinary life was prayer. After all, no one had ever prayed like Jesus. It marked His life. We’re told in the New Testament that He prayed from the beginning to the end of His ministry. Check out the following verses and note the reasons and content of Jesus’ prayers:
Luke 3:21,22
Luke 5:15,16
Luke 6:12,13
Matthew 14:9-12, 22,23a
Luke 22:31,32
Luke 22:39-46
2. So for the 3 years of His public ministry Jesus’ disciples saw Him over and over again in prayer. And they saw Him filled with peace, wisdom and spiritual insight and power. They saw that when Jesus prayed, things happened. So what was their request in Luke 11:1? What was Jesus’ response in the verses following?
3. Jesus’ greatest desire for His disciples was to teach them to pray. It’s His desire for us as well. Our study will not just be about the words to say in prayer but will be about the Master of prayer teaching us how to open the door to life with God! Before we dig in, read the Lord’s Prayer together in Matthew 6:9-13.
Ever feel guilty about your prayer life? Ever wish you had better connections with God through prayer? Most people have problems with prayer. That’s because we have a “who” problem. We get confused about the nature of the person to whom we pray. People think about God being angry with them or disappointed in them and this “who” problem can keep people from prayer. There is also a “where” problem. People sometimes think of God as being very far away, or prayer is something we have to do to get God’s attention because He is distant. So the “where” can keep us from prayer. Then, there is the “what” problem. We’re not always sure about what we should pray about, not sure what God might be interested in or what good it does to ask. The the “what” can keep us from prayer.
The Lord’s Prayer Answers the “Who” Problem
4. Read Matthew 6:9 again. Who do we pray to?
Why do we say “our” Father?
5. Does your mind ever wander in prayer? Do you ever just say the words? This is called mindlessness, our bodies are engaged but the mind is somewhere else. (Example) Jesus said this is one of the biggest obstacles to prayer. “When you pray, don’t keep on babbling like the pagans who offer up mindless prayers.” Prayer is not mindless chatter, but it is speaking to someone, it’s a relationship.
Jesus said begin your prayers with “Our Father”. Names are so important. If it’s formal we say Mr. If it’s a friend we use their first name. If it’s a family member we might use a nickname like “Sweety”. If someone calls you Mother or Father, what context does that create?
What does Father say about who we pray to?
Now, there were records in the Old Testament of people using the image of a Father to describe God. That had happened before. But there is no record of anyone ever coming to God in prayer and addressing Him as Father until Jesus did. And not only does Jesus use this word, He invites us to do so as well! When we call God “our Father” what context is immediately established?
The Lord’s Prayer Answers the “Where” problem.
6. Read Matthew 6:9 again. Where does Jesus say our Father is?
7. How far away is heaven? On earth? Farther than the moon? The solar system? The universe? Some tend to think of heaven as “way out there” in outer space. The result of this kind of thinking is that God becomes remote, distant and hard to access, and therefore we feel as if we are alone.
How do people express this way of thinking in their prayers?
The Greek for heaven is oo-ra-nois which is actually plural. A literal translation would go like this, “Our Father, the One in the heavens.” This word is used in the New Testament for the atmosphere, the sky and the very air that we breathe. So, when Jesus says our Father is in heaven, where is that?
God is so close to us that everything we see and do can remind us to pray. Must our hands be folded and our eyes closed to pray?
The Lord’s Prayer Answers the “What” Problem
8. What should we pray for? Be assured that there is no concern of yours, no matter how small that God doesn’t want to hear. No care or request that is too silly or trivial. He wants you to pray about everything. But the first request in the Lord’s Prayer is “Hallowed be your name.”
A name in the Bible is never just a label for somebody. A name is always a reflection of the character and identity of the person.
To “hallow” something means to attach appropriate value to something, to give it the honor it is due, to recognize it’s worth.
So, how do we hallow God’s name?
How do you like this definition of making God’s name hallowed, “May the indescribable goodness of Your person become so clear that you are regarded with unstinting affection and boundless love.”
9. There’s a great mystery in that God has allowed the holiness of His name, on the earth, to be bound up with the character and conduct of His people, you and me. In other words, we are a reflection of the character of God to a watching world. To pray “hallowed be Your name” and really mean it is to say, “I’ll live every moment of every day in such a way that Your holiness, Your name, is reflected through me.”
The truth is that many other names dominate our lives. Name a few.
So we come to our Father, in Jesus’ name and ask forgiveness and strength. How does Jesus help us hallow God’s name?
10. The purpose of the church is to hallow God’s name. What would our church look like if this happened in everyone all the time?
11. So the Master prayer, in the first line of the greatest prayer ever given answers the who, where and what problems of prayer. (Can’t wait to see what’s next!) Will you pray any differently this week???
