Corona Chronicles - The Lord's Prayer

I don't know if you've ever asked that question. Where do you go wrong in your prayer life? Or how can Christians go wrong in their prayer life? And in our in our previous session, we were thinking out the difference between babbling like the pagans and praying on the street corners for others to see and true Christian prayer. And the thing that makes all the difference is knowing God as father.

That's what Jesus is saying in this sermon on the mount. And that's that's how the Lord's prayer or the disciples prayer perhaps is introduced to us. These these wonderful words in Matthew chapter 6, which we're gonna look at today. And we're just gonna read verse verse 9. Jesus has warned against not praying like other people.

And then he says, this then is how you should pray. Our father in heaven hallowed be your name. It's so simple, isn't it? Yeah. And it's a simple address, isn't it?

It's it's it's not This isn't, you know, philosophy or great, you know, theology. Well, it is it is terrific theology. Yeah. But, you know, you don't have to be a very clever person. To say, our father, do you?

You know? And and the word is abba, isn't it? And it's a sort of daddy. Yeah. So, I mean, it was probably 1 of the first words your son, little Caleb.

Caleb sick. Yeah. Dad dad, mama. Yeah. Yeah.

Mama, dad, dad, you know. Yeah. And and that's But I think what what is interesting is that you know, people are asking how can we pray? How can I pray? Actually, you can't pray until you're in the family room.

So so in 1 sense, it's it's only family members. Mhmm. And the way you become a family member is through the lord Jesus. Because he he he that's that's what he says. You know?

He is the way to the father. Yeah. I think so. And this this is this is a unique privilege of being a Christian, isn't it? That you can relate to God in this way.

And, you know, it's true that God is the creator of all people. And therefore, there's a sense in which he's he's the father of all that he's made. But this is a special blessing for for kingdom members, isn't it? Then you can relate to God in this intimate way, and call him by the name which Jesus calls him, which is just amazing, isn't it? That -- Yeah.

-- he calls him father and we can call him father And it's it's the it's the pinnacle of our salvation in some ways, isn't it? Being taken from ed god hating, god ignoring people, and being brought full circle into into his family, and into his into his house, to know him in in this way, and to just to know the security of this word that, you know, however much Caleb might annoy us sometimes and frustrated. And however much he may need discipline sometimes, like he's never gonna be ejected from the family home. There's a security in being adopted, isn't there? You you are 1 of the family now.

That's who you are and And that and that's what it is. And that is the beauty of this little I mean, just, you know, there's so much, you know, in this our father, isn't it? Because, you know, no 1 can come to the father except through May So this is a very opening, a gospel -- Mhmm. -- good news sentence because no 1 can come to the father except through Jesus, but Jesus has come for sinners like us, to bring us to the father. And then that whole, you know, you mentioned adoption, that whole thing, you know, it's We're adopted as sons of God.

In in the lord Jesus Christ. So, this is a wonderful truth, isn't it? The, this isn't a deserved thing. And and yet, this is open to those who are sinners to come through Jesus and and know him as father. And then when we know him as father, he really is father.

Yes. And this is got this is this is the extraordinary thing. He's he's he's our father in heaven. You know, and and and I mean, we've got to get that because some people have terrible fathers. Yes.

And they're not fathers. No. They they they've got the nag and they've abdicated there by being wicked and abuses and and so forth. Yeah. And we all fail as fathers to some degree, but there are wicked people that have that name.

Well, he's our father in heaven. He's he's the perfect father. He's the 1, and we all know what a good father should be even through a bad father. Well, that's what I was gonna say. That's kind of implicit what you're saying there, isn't there?

Even if we use the term wicked father -- Yeah. -- the reason we say that is because we've got an idea of what a perfect good kind father would be. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to talk in those categories. So Yeah. Yeah.

And that's such a blessing, isn't it? People who have grown up in homes and contexts where the father or the mother has not acted in the way in which God would have the Mac. To know that they can come and have this perfect heavenly father through Jesus. So we've got this God who's not a distant God -- No. -- even though he's in heaven, we we can't see him, but he's not a distant God because Jesus has connected us to him.

And he is our father. I mean, the hour bit is important because we are brought into a family. We're not just individuals, not just father. I mean, it is my father. He is my father, but the hour is quite interesting thing, isn't it?

Yeah. I think so. And I I think you could I mean, you know, just I'm just thinking about this now really, but I guess you could push it, you know, push that point even further in the sense that, you know, 1 of the things Jesus has just been warning about is kind of religious hypocritical prayer or prayer like the pagans. And I guess 1 of the ways that that could express itself is in thinking God in these individualistic ways. Mhmm.

You know, so although it might look very holy to withdraw from God's people to a spiritual place and just spend your life there in private prayer. Actually, I think Jesus would say that's more pagan than Christian. Because Christian prayer is corporate. You know, you do come to to a heavenly father together. And, you know, you can't really know God outside God's people, can you?

It's not it's not how we're taught in the bible. So this this kind of corporateness is so important to And and the prayer goes on, it will go on about how we relate to our brothers and sisters, isn't it? Yeah. Which which is an important part of prayer. But so I just our father in heaven.

It's got that whole sense that he's he's both aware of of his children. He's not a distant father. He's he's aware of his children, but he's also, you know, available. So, because Jesus is saying, because of me, you can call him. And so, he's not a distant dayist God.

And we don't have to go up on a special tower and sort of try and get his attention. Yeah. He's very very much aware of our situation -- Mhmm. -- because he's father and he loves his children. But he's also available.

He's available. Yeah. Yeah. He is. And, I mean, it's so it's so good as well, the our father in heaven because this this word father, you know, which teaches us about God's tender, affectionate heart towards us is also the sovereign power of the universe and has the ability to work all things for his glory and for the good of his children.

And as an earthly father, that that is 1 of the frustrations we feel like we we wanna do the best by our family, but sometimes we don't have the power to prevent things happening. No. We can't. We're limited by our sin, and we're limited by the fact that we're not God. But God is both the tender perfect father and the Almighty.

And so what a combination that is? Yes. You know? Yes. It's fantastic.

And and that helps us even in in suffering. So when things seem to be collapsing around us on this earth and difficulties are coming, We this is where faith comes in, isn't it? Mhmm. Because he's our father. He does have the availability and the awareness and the ability -- Yeah.

-- to change things. Yeah. So it's okay for me to ask for that. But he may not. And that doesn't give his father he doesn't give his fatherliness up.

So there's something even in suffering, even in the pains even in our confusion where father in heaven knows better. He knows the outcome. He knows what is good for us. He he understands his children. Mhmm.

I think that's really helpful. And it's what you see actually just a bit later on in the prayer because knowing God as father doesn't mean people won't sin against you. You know, there's gonna be hurt and disappointment in this life. And we're also gonna be facing temptation and threats and arrows from the evil 1. So just because we know this tender, almighty God, doesn't mean there isn't gonna be hurt and struggle pain.

But it's knowing him in that, isn't it? Yeah. And his commitment to us in that. And and just like your son Caleb, you know, when he falls over, he doesn't he might fallen over because he was naughty. He'd run away.

He might have just tripped up and he doesn't understand. He's cut his knee. He he he runs to, you know, his father and mother, doesn't he? He runs. He goes there.

He doesn't understand why why you know, why did I have to cut my knee? This is I I I was going into this day -- Yes. -- and I was going to go and play with my tractor. Yeah. And I I had I had a really good and now I've my knee is bleeding.

Mhmm. And he runs to the father. And that is what God is saying. Mhmm. You may not understand I am in control.

I will allow these situations to happen, but you can always come to me. You can always come with with your with your bleeding me. Yeah. Okay. We need to finish there.