Prayer

Mat 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 

Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 

Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 

Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread. 

Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 

Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 

Jesus said The Father knows our needs and provides them and told us to pray only to The Father!

Now to deal with each verse.

V 11 is not necessary as Jesus promised to meet all our needs if we did His work (Mat 6:33)

V 12 We are forgiven at Calvary so do not need to ask for this.  However, we must still forgive others or The Father cannot forgive us and we go to hell like many Christians have.

V 13 God does not tempt us we are told in the book of James.

 So, all that is left is the following:

Mat 6:9 Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 

Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 

Mat 5:13 … For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 

So, the prayer now comes a request for The Kingdom of God to come to earth declaring His Power and Glory is eternal.

We have two guidelines from this:

We do not need to ask for our needs as God promises to meet them if we do His Will!

We are to pray only for The Kingdom of God to come to earth.

People confuse sharing their heart with God with the need to pray.  God loves you to talk to Him and tell Him your hurts and problems.  Remember that salvation is a relationship and we relate to God as our personal Father to share our heart and problems with.

What child needs to asks their father for their needs?

Prayer implies God is not meeting your needs as He has promised too!

So how does it work:

The Father provides our needs so we can do the work of The Kingdom

The Holy Spirit guides us to do the work of The Kingdom

The Lord Jesus rules The Kingdom on behalf of The Father and protect s its citizens.

It is all directed at The Kingdom, its preservation and expansion and the development of its citizens.

So, all prayer is to The Father for the purposes of The Kingdom knowing He will meet our needs to do His work.

What about Matt 7:1-2

Mat 7:7  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 

Mat 7:8  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 

Does not this say to pray for your needs?

Jesus has just said that all your needs will be met if you do the work of The Kingdom.  So, it cannot be for your personal needs to be met.

This sermon talks about the attitudes of a citizen of The Kingdom of God so this statement is asking for needs you believe to be used for the purposes of The Kingdom.

Prayer has one important aspect.  Even though we do not need to pray for things, the fact  we pray for them shows to God we agree with His actions in the area we are praying about so that He does not go against our free will areas we knowingly have a choice.