So he said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, may your name be revered as holy.
    May your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
        for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
    And lead us not into temptation.” (Luke 11:1-4)

As you read these words of Jesus, is there a rekindling of how you once learned to pray? Are these new ideas for you and your prayers? Perhaps these words continuously give structure to your own prayers, guiding your heart when you sit to talk with God. Jesus, as a dear Rabbi to his followers, answers their question with a model of prayer that guides his disciples to name and revere the one true God, to ask for God’s glorious redemptive work here and now, while teaching how to depend on Jesus in the day-to-day tasks he gives each one of us. He is not only the Good Father and Creator of All, he is our LORD who provides and is trustworthy. Turning to him in prayer is our blessed gift.

Drew’s Main Points

Drawing on “The Lord’s Prayer,” Drew offered 5 “requests” we can make of God:

• We can receive God as a Good Father and the King–Lord of All.

• We can lament that his Kingdom is not yet fully here on earth. We can name brokenness and hurt, and, out of this recognition, we can name the hope we have in Jesus that all of creation will one day be fully reconciled to him.

• We have access to God (this is an amazing thing!) and we can ask for his provision every day. He provides for us in our physical and spiritual need.

• We love out of the love he has shown us. How then do we forgive if not out of his forgiveness? Jesus teaches us to ask for forgiveness and calls us to forgive those who have sinned against us.

• We name that there is an enemy and we call on God to help us in the spiritual warfare of this present day.

Key Takeaways

• “Bye-bye balloon.” We do live in a world of loss, injustice, hatred, violence, and pain. We can name these pains, lament with our sisters and brothers, and also remember our hope: that God will fully dwell with his people. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the old order of things will pass away. We can rejoice with one another that he is making all things new! We remind each other that this hope is trustworthy and true even as we grieve and ask big questions of God’s work in the world. (Rev 21:3-5)

• Prayer deepens and sweetens our fellowship with God.

• Prayer grows our dependence on the LORD.

• Crying out to God reframes the question, “How will I get through this?” to “What will God reveal about himself through this?”

• Jesus uses the term “Father” in his teaching on prayer. Throughout Scripture, God is using familial language to emphasize that he is relational.

Questions for Personal Application:

• Drew emphasized his personal relationship with God throughout his teaching. In what ways has God revealed himself to you as a personal and caring God?

• Have you felt permission to grieve the things of this life that are not the way they are supposed to be? Take time to cry out to God, journal, or weep over what is broken and in need of God’s reconciliation in this world or in your life.

• Meditate in your own time on Matthew 6:9-13:
  “Pray, then, in this way:
  Our Father in heaven,
      may your name be revered as holy.
  May your kingdom come.
      May 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 do not bring us to the time of trial,
          but rescue us from the evil one.

Discussion Questions for Community Groups:

• Drew listed a few reasons we might not pray including: it feels strange, we don’t know if we’re doing it “right,” or we feel awkward simply sitting with our own thoughts. Discuss with your group the ways that you are or have been distracted or kept from praying.

• Discuss together what prayer has looked like in your life and what it has meant to you.

• Take time together to pray for one another and to name Jesus’ work in the world around you.

Passages Referenced

Luke 11:1-5; Matthew 6:9-13; James 1:13; 1st John 3:1

Worship Set List

Psalm 150 (Praise the Lord), The Lord’s Prayer (It’s Yours), Such An Awesome God, How Great Thou Art