Pray as you live, pray so you live!

Rev Enoch Thompson | FEBRUARY 10, 2023 | MATTHEW 6:9; 8:1-8

KEY VERSE:

⁹"This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

¹⁰your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven."

Matt 6:9-10 (NIV)

MESSAGE:

Matthew 6:9-13 gives us what is generally known as the Lord’s Prayer, which some others prefer to call the Disciples’ Prayer (because they hold that the prayer offered by the Lord is captured in John 17). That does not make any difference of the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ taught that prayer is an essential part of Kingdom living, and He took time to teach them “This, then, is how you should pray:” (verse 9). We want to reflect on the need to pray.

The Lord Jesus Himself prayed, and He presumed and expected that His disciples will pray. Prayer, a lot of it is happening around us, in churches, on football fields, in forests and on mountain tops. Prayer is an essential part of the Kingdom of God because prayer is communication with God. Take note that prayer is not only talking to God but communicating with God. God by the Holy Spirit inspires the desire to pray, guides the content of our prayer and helps us exercise faith for receiving and conforming to the answers of God to our prayer (Rom. 8:22-27; Jude 17-20).

Prayer is necessary because we believe in and love God and want to be in communication with Him. Prayer is necessary because we need guidance, direction, and reinforcement from God our Father till we arrive before Him either by the Rapture or by death. Prayer is a necessity in an evil fallen world where the forces of darkness, and often working through their human agents are opposed to the Kingdom citizen, who is thereby engaged in spiritual warfare. We should pray.

FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE:

What is your prayer life like? Do you have a consciousness which makes you see the relevance of prayer, being in communication with God at all times, and in specified times of prayer? Do you pray as a family and participate in group and congregational prayer? We should pray and pray we should.

PRAYER:

Lord, thank you for the gift of prayer, that I, a human being can converse with my God. Please forgive me for the times when I have ignored prayer and lived as if everything depended on my power and the human connections I have. Please inspire my desire to pray and lead me by your Spirit to be a Kingdom citizen who prays.

May the Church be roused again to pray. As we live, may we pray. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING.

SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!