The Church of Eleven22 - Stand Alone: The Model Prayer

Episode Date: January 16, 2022

Prayer is a natural response to the gospel.

Amen, that's so exciting, so exciting. I want to say, good morning, 1122. How are you guys feeling this morning? All right. Love it, love it. Hey, just want you guys to know, no matter where you are, different campuses, even here. If you push through the rain, there's special reward for you in heaven. Amen.

So I want to thank you guys for showing up. It also makes you all Baptist, by the way, because I see many of you are soaked because you got dunked. But I'm glad to be here. Thank you, Pastor Jobi, for the invitation and opportunity, and I'm very excited about this journey that 1122 is going to take for the year of 2022. To talk about worship is amazing because worship is what it's all about, right? Worship is what we do when we prepare our hearts to encounter a mighty God. Interestingly enough, even in the Old Testament, worship was rarely about consumerism or thoughts about what we would get. I mean, in the Old Testament, think about it this way.

They went and they would make sacrifices and render to God services. And nobody left the service saying, I really loved the way that priest slayed that lamb this morning. No, why? Because it was all about the glory of God. It was all about God and his glory and his character. But this morning, I want to talk about an aspect of worship where God does minister to you. An aspect of worship where God does condescend from his transcendence and ministers to us and one of the most tangible ways.

If you allow me this morning, I want to talk about prayer. And specifically, I want to talk about the model prayer from Matthew, Chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6 is the model prayer. Many scholars throughout church history have called it the Lord's prayer, but I think that's inappropriate. This is not something that the Lord himself would pray, specifically because in this prayer, Jesus tells us that we should ask God for the forgiveness of our sins. And that is a prayer that Jesus himself would never have to pray because he was perfect, God and the flesh.

But he gives this prayer as a blueprint for his disciples. Now here's an interesting thing. Out of all the things that Jesus would teach his disciples, he teaches them this. He doesn't teach them how to preach. He doesn't give them courses on systematic theology. He doesn't give them this textbook or tone on situational ethics and how we are to properly minister in specific context. If Jesus focused on teaching the disciples how to pray,

how much more pivotal is it for 1122, and churches all throughout our nation to get this particular aspect right. Because we understand that the advantage of the advantage of, of the kingdom hinges on this principle. In order for God to use us, we have to commune with God and be in his presence. Also be challenged by this, Jesus himself had a robust prayer life. Jesus, on frequent occasions, would break away and get this intimacy with his father. He had this rhythm of prayer and the ruts of ministry. In fact, even in the last moment of his life, Jesus is sweating, drops of blood, praying in the garth of God. Praying in the garth of God, and the

of Gessimity so that he would follow the will of the Father. Now, friends, listen to me, if Jesus needs prayer, how much more do you and I? The good news, Jesus tells us how to pray. Matthew chapter 6, starting with verse 1, he says this, be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your father in heaven.

So whenever you give to the poor, don't sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do on the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by the people. Truly, I tell you, they have their reward. But when you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. So that your giving may be in secret. And your father who sees in secret will reward you in secret. Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites because they love the pray standing in the synagogues. the street corners to be seen by people. Truly, I tell you, they have their reward. But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, pray to your father who is in secret. And your father

who sees in secret will reward you. When you pray, don't babble like the Gentiles. These would have been non-believing nations that were far away from Yahweh, since they imagined they'll be heard for their many words. Don't be like them. Because your father knows the things you need before you him. Therefore, you should pray like this, our Father in heaven. Your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts, our sins, as we also have forgiven our detours. Do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their offenses, your Heavenly Father will forgive you as well.

But if you don't forgive others, your father will not forgive your offenses. Have you ever heard of the name Ferdad Damara? Surprising that you probably haven't because he lived one of the most interesting lives in human history. He lived from December 12th to 1921 to June 7, 1972. And Ferdinidad Damara had a full life. Listen to his resume. He taught classes in psychology.

He worked as a zoologist. He served as a dean of the school of philosophy at Pennsylvania's Gaining College. He taught science at a Catholic boy school. He did research in Seattle. He worked as a civil engineer. He directed a student counseling center. He taught Latin, English, and French at a high school in Maine. He served as a deputy sheriff in Washington State.

He was a law student. He served as an assistant warden of a student. a Texas prison, and he counseled Terminian ill patients at Good Samaritan Hospital in Anaheim, California. And you thought you were busy this morning. The only catch about Fernad de Mara's life is he was an imposter. In fact, they would make a movie about Fernadneux tomorrow called the apostator imposter that starred Tony Curtis, because instead of actually having the proficiency and the study and the heart and ambition of pursuing these particular positions, he faked his way all throughout life. He was a master, imposter,

that sought positions instead of the true reward of the occupation. Friends, I believe that's the problem in our text as we read Matthew chapter 6. Jesus does not want us to be impostors in front of the presence of God. For honest, out of all of the spiritual disciplines, this one has the temptation for us to fake who we are on a frequent basis in front of a holy God. Have you ever been there called the pray on a stage or in a community group? Have you ever been there called to pray at a vigil or at a time of tragedy? Have you ever been there when you are praying within your confines of your quiet time and you feel like you have to perform in front of God in your prayer life?

and maybe sometimes you repeat frequent phrases that you heard as a youth. Maybe sometimes you just sit there and you have this Britney Spears lip-seek prayer life going on, where your lips are moving, but nothing really comes out of your heart or out of your mouth. This is what Jesus wants to warn us against. He's telling us this morning the good news is you don't have to be impostors in front of God. You don't have to fake your prayer life, but instead, go to God as one who is hungry for a relationship with him. This is why Jesus starts off this particular teaching lesson with how not to pray.

The first thing Jesus wants us to understand is that we are not self-righteous. See, we're imposterous many times because we're trying to justify ourselves, prove ourselves. Make us think to ourselves that God listens to us based on how good we all, or how great re-perform. Jesus says, that's not how you pray. Verse 5, he says, and when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. He goes on further and says,

and when you pray, do not be as the Gentiles do, who repeat themselves. He says that they are hypocrites and self-righteous because they're looking for righteousness or identity or approval from their actions instead of a relationship with God himself. Friends, if we're honest, we can all sniffle with the symptom of self-righteousness.

If we're honest, we can all try to perform in ways to get God to do the things that we want in order for God to change the circumstances or bless us with the things we want him to give us, but instead Jesus is challenging us for a deeper view of intimacy with him. First thing you want us to understand is that self-righteousness tempts us to use God. God. Self-righteousness tempts us to use God. Versus five through six, he says, whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by the people. Truly, I tell you, they have the reward. These hypocrites would have been the religious leaders of the time. It would have been the Pharisees, the scribes,

or the Sadducees that would stand up on street corners and platforms and pray these lofty prayers so that would be applauded and have these platforms with other people. It was all about persona. It was all about prestige. It was all about power. And Jesus says, instead of pursuing God, they have the false rewards of other people. See, the danger about praying like an imposter or a Pharisee or someone who is self-righteous is that you pray and seek God merely so he can make you God.

You want God to give you these. particular things so you can have comfort or identity or justification, maybe sometimes, even apart from God. If we're honest, many times, the practical way this shows up is when we go to God, he's more of Santa Claus than Yahweh. When we go to God sometimes, he is the Jeffrey of our first prince of Bel Air. We think that God is merely the butler in the sky, and he's supposed to, the answer to every command we have when the reality is that God is Uncle Phil and you are happy to live in his house

and he's the one that has all the power. See, this is the biggest thing we have to get to have this intimacy of God in prayer life because if you're self-righteous and your imposter with God, here's the issue. You find God useful but not beautiful. You feel God as useful as someone who can give you particular things, but you don't find him as a beautiful person that you want to spend time with. See, I want to ask you this morning, and even myself, do I pray or do you pray to manipulate God for a blessing or to know God as the blessing? Is your prayer life about merely a change of circumstances or about God drawing you to his will so that you see more of his character? How do I know that, Pastor Kaminson? Verse 6. Jesus says the way that you have to test this is how do you

pray in secret. Verse six, but when you pray, going to your private room, shut your door, pray to your father who is in secret. No one else sees. No one else knows. No one else applauds this. No one else mimics this. And your father who sees in secret will reward you.

Friends, this is a challenge to many of us in the American church. Because the truth is, it's easy to pray when we're cultivated by awesome worship or cultivated by the experience of worshiping corporately together. And Sunday morning is a time when we should be praying as we are gathered. But Jesus is saying, how are you praying when you are scattered? See, in order for you to actually achieve what God wants to do through this church in 2020, it's going to take more than weekend visitations. It's going to take a lifestyle of prayer that is actually in your home.

See, Jesus is asking us this morning, what is your secret prayer life like? Do you evaluate your relationship with God? Do you want to evaluate how you actually seek God as a blessing and not merely for blessings? Jesus says to us this morning, throw away I go to church, throw away I keep a quiet time, throw away I know a lot of verses, or I was a beast in Bible camp or a wanna? He says, throw away, I give a lot of money. He says, how much do you seek me in your spare time? That's how I know it's real.

See, that's why Jesus says these religious leaders are hypocrites. Now, I know many times when you hear the word hypocrite, you think of somebody who's living a double lifestyle one way on Sunday morning and then the rest of the week they are completely different. But this word hypocrite that Jesus is describing is even more stark in comparison. He's describing somebody who is doing everything right all the time from their outward appearance, but inwardly they have the wrong reward. Inwardly, they value the wrong reward. inwardly they don't seek God for God himself they serve consistently they memorize verses they do all the right things but it's for all the wrong reasons I just ask you some questions this morning would you serve God if no one ever acknowledged you when you praise God if no one else lifted their

voice this morning would you be considered a prayer warrior by the walls of your home and not the walls of your church. Jesus says, God is the reward, not the recognition. See, if you seek God because he will recognize you and reward you, you are merely seeking the reward and you're not seeking God himself. And this is the heart of the way Jesus wants us not to pray, but instead seek the greater reward of God and his character and his glory. I love the way Brian Chappell summarizes this.

He says, Jesus designed the Lord's Prayer to reveal his desire to give us more fully graciously and suitably the very things we most want but seek elsewhere he does not want to deny us our desires but helps remove the false objects of our affections so that we will have the greater blessings he longs to lavish on us see the other thing that self-righteousness does is self-righteousness attempts to impress God instead of pursuing intimacy with God and in attempts to impress in order for God to love us, in order for God to move, in order for God to do something, we feel like we have to manipulate this angry ogre in the sky. This is in verse 7 and 8. Jesus says, when you pray, don't babble like the Gentiles,

since they imagine they'll be heard for their many words. Don't be like them because your father knows the things you need before you ask him. See, these Gentiles were in a posture that they believed the divine was naturally hostile towards us. And in order for us to appease the angry divine wrath that is aimed at us, we have to perform religious rituals. And many of the Gentiles would babble. They would scream out many words. Some of them will even cut themselves or do offerings or sacrifices, hoping that God would move on their particular request. The idea here is, this is a child screaming, having a tantrum, so that they can solicit the attention of their own.

their father. Jesus is saying, is that what you think God is like? Do you think that God is impressed by your babbling, you're yelling, your temper tantrums, that God would do something merely because of you saying the right formula? That God would do something merely because you're saying the right words? God is saying to us this morning, it's not about the paragraph of your prayer, it's about the posture of your heart. It's about how you're pursuing in God impurity. It's about how you're entrusting in God as a father. It's about how you actually look to God and the relationship that he loves you, regardless of the way that you perform. And so you can't impress God, but you can pursue intimacy with God. I love the way that Martin Luther

puts this. Martin Luther says, the fewer the words, the better the prayer. To have prayed well is to have studied well. At the moment I said that some of you guys thought of some prayer meetings you've been in. But Martin Luther's point is well taken. He's saying that oftentimes the shortest prayers in the Bible are the most powerful. When Peter is seeking and he's walking on water, what's his prayer? Lord save me. And God doesn't say, is that all you have to give me? No, he saves him in that moment. I love this scripture in Daniel chapter 9. In Daniel, the prophet, is praying for revival and the revival of God's people. Here's a short prayer. He says this. Listen closely, my God.

And here, open your eyes and see our desolations and the city that bears your name, for we are not presenting our petitions before you based on our righteous acts. He's saying, we know we can't impress you. We know we're nothing but sinners in your sight, but he says, but based on your abundant compassion, based on your character and how you love us

and your mercy and your character of how you've always been faithful to us, that's why we know you'll answer this prayer. If you're a parent or guardian or caretaker, you've experienced this with children. As kids grow up, they begin to develop their speech. And eventually, they begin to ask for things. And even though their speech is impaired and they can't pronunciate the words correctly or even sometimes the vocabulary is too small to articulate what they want, what do you do?

You give it to them. Now, some of you, if you don't give it to them, we're going to be calling child services in just a few minutes. This is your moment to exit. But for the most part, we give our children those gifts. Why? Not because they impress us, not because they are saying the right words. Why?

Because they are in relationship with us. Matthew chapter 7 verse 11 says this, that God, he says, Jesus says, if you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give good things to those who ask them? Now this is startling here, that Jesus is saying, if we being evil parents that are sinners broken in the sight of God know how to give good gifts, then how much more does our good heavenly father know how to give us everything we need? Now, the beauty of this, Jesus doesn't merely just tell us how not to pray. Saying don't pray like the hypocrites. Don't pray like the Gentiles.

But here is how you pray. He gives us the model prayer. Let me just break it down for a few moments, the way that the gospel is all throughout this prayer. Saturated with the good news. Three ways that the gospel transforms our prayer life by looking at the model prayers. Number one, the gospel leads us to relationship over religion.

The gospel leads us to relationship over religion. See, religion in the worst sense of the word, this idea of that we have to build a bridge up to God, but instead in this particular text, it shows us that God has built a bridge down to us. Jesus, and the way that he is about to teach his disciples to pray is going to be one of the most startling teaching moments in the New Testament. I want you to understand, even though we have heard this so many times in our American culture, that in the ancient near east, this would have been a stark contrast to the way a typical Jewish person would have known how to pray.

simply because of verse 9 in its first few words. Jesus says, our father. Now, the Jews would have known that they would have called God, Yahweh, or El Shaddai, or the Lord of Armies, that he was a conqueror, the almighty one, an exalted king. But here in this text we get Father, Pater, and the Greek. It almost translates to the Arabic Abba of Daddy or Dad. This was virtually unparalleled in first century Judaism. Christians should consider God as accessible, listen to me, as the most loving human parents.

He says, God is our father. He's not an angry ogre in the sky. He's not one that has to be manipulated. He's not somebody that we have to manipulate with performance or good deeds so that he keeps our allowance coming. But he is a father that loves us because of what he has done through his son, Jesus Christ. He says the first way you have to look at God when you go to him in this prayer lifestyle is to say, our father. He's also hollowed. He's also heavenly.

He's also to be respected and revered. And here we have these two tensions where God is transcendent, but he's also eminent. God is high and lifted up, but he's also in our presence. And this is the way that we have this relationship. God wants to listen to you, even though he's the most. powerful being in the universe. See, religion says, pray to make God listen. The gospel tells us he listens, therefore pray.

That this God of the universe wants a relationship with you, that he wants to hear from you. He wants to convene and commune with you, not based on what you can do for him, but ultimately based on what he's already going to do for you. Not only this, the gospel also transforms our prayer life by giving us humility over hubris. hubris being another word for pride,

that there is this sincere humility that comes over us as we see God as a father who provides for us. It's in verse 9. He says, therefore you should pray like this. Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts.

So we have also forgiven our debtors. First thing that God wants us to seek in humility is to surrender our agendas over to him. Surrender our plans over to him. This is what it means to pray. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is the idea of us submitting to our father and trusting him more than we trust ourselves. It's this idea of us trading in our fragile sandcastles for his eternal kingdom. It's the idea of turning in our melting snowmen in the sun for God's eternal kingdom.

So God can see that we are surrendering every aspect of our lives and not being self-righteous or self-reliant in everything we do. Friends, don't you know that a prayerless life is practical atheism? A prayerless life is practical atheism. There's a way that we say, God, I'm good in this area. I don't need you for finances. I don't need you in my marriage. I don't need you in my parenting. I don't need you in my career.

God, I got it. It's a way of us saying I am Superman. Reminds me of this story of Muhammad Ali on the airplane. He was having this friendly banter with the stewardess. Finally, the stewardess, in order to get Muhammad Ali to move on from the conversation says, all right, champ, we're about to take off time to put on your seatbelt. To which Muhammad Ali says, Superman don't need no seatbelt. And the stewardess replies, Superman don't need no airplane either.

I pray this text is a reminder, we are not Superman. That regardless of how much money you make, God is still the provider. Regardless of how smart you think you are, God is still omnipresent and all-knowing. Regardless of where you think you are in life, you have to have this attitude of gratitude that God has given it to you. And if you had not been for the Lord on our side, where would we be? This also leads us to dependence over duty. This dependence over duty is this idea that we depend on God instead of performing for God to do what we need.

See this in verse 11, this sincere dependence for God to give us everything for every moment. It's in verse 11. He says this, give us today our daily bread. Give us today our daily bread. Now, I'm going to break down some Greek for you guys real quick. In the original text, most scholars believe that means chick-fil-A. Just bless you with that theological nugget. Give us today our daily bread, chick-fil-A.

But really here, Jesus is saying we're so dependent that we'll live a moderate lifestyle and trust God for everything we need. Now, we don't live in the ancient Near East, and if we're honest, many of us had not had to rely on God, maybe frequently or occasionally for daily bread. I mean at this point, we swipe our cards without even checking the balance, feed our kids without even thinking about where the product may have came from. Food is readily accessible. This text and the application of this idea of getting daily bread

is about us trusting God for everything that we need. Understand here, he's saying that believers must ask God for daily bread, not future luxuries. It's about daily bread, not future luxuries. He's saying about trusting God for every moment that God will give you everything you need for every second and every hour. Now, I know many of us have not trusted God for daily bread, but the truth is, what about when things do get tight the way that we are self-righteous and self-reliant and cut God out the preacher? Let me just ask you this. When money is tight, what is the truth? what takes a dip first

your generosity to the church or your spending habits when income is tight what takes what takes a hit first your gym membership or your covenant membership when you're short on time what takes a hit first

your overtime or your quiet time can't say amen say ouch see the truth is we all have ways that we kind of bring back power and reliance in our own hands we all have ways that we all have ways we say, God, I don't trust you for this daily bread. God, I don't trust you to work in the situation.

God, I don't trust you to circumnavigate these circumstances. And so what I'm going to do, I'm going to devise my own strategy, devise my own plan without ever praying to you about it, without ever pursuing Godly counsel, without ever studying the word of God and applying it to my heart and trying to follow the ways that you are guiding me. No, I will go shop for my daily bread. God says, no, I want you to slow down. I want you to trust me for everything you need.

And it's not just about physical realities. It's about spiritual realities. It's not just merely about money and food, but do you trust me to give you the wisdom to leave, the strength to live, the love to fight, the strength to thrive, or power to overcome? He says to us, listen, the heart of this is that you can't trust me means that you will live a life of stress

and anxiety. You'll continually ask yourself, will I have a job? Will I have a marriage? Will that guy ask me out again? Will I make a dumb decision and end up in a bad place of debt or dead-in job or a bad career move? And all those things you stress about,

you need to relinquish and give to God. So you have the courage to live today instead of sinking in the past and drowning in the future. Do you trust God in this moment? Do you depend on God in this moment? Here's what Jesus wants us ultimately get from this prayer. When you don't trust and depend on God,

you will always continue to you will always continue. over and over again fall into a lifestyle of sin. Jesus wants us to understand that actually the heart of us not depending on God will always lead us to a life that strays away from him. It turns into a life of us seeking pleasure on our own, seeking power on our own, seeking identity on our own. And it's in verse 13. Verse 13, Jesus says, he wants us to pray this,

because if we depend on God, we have to depend on God to also grow us and make us look like Jesus. and do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. See, Jesus wants us to understand the moment you stop relying on God in operating to be an apostor or operating to be self-righteous or self-reliant is also the times that you are strangle away from God's goodness, his commands, and his plan for your life. Makes me think of the words of the hymn that says, prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.

Here's my heart, Lord, and seal it. Seal it for the courts above. We need God as this good. shepherd that leads us away from temptation. Not only that, friends, the good news is in this prayer. God shows us temptation and sin is conquered as well. In verse 12, it's the heart of the gospel of this prayer. In verse 12, you see this good news that Jesus is going to tell us he's going to say, and forgive us our debts. Beautiful, as we also forgive our debtors. Jesus wants us to know that as we live this life of dependent straying away from temptation. We need to focus on the ways that God

has forgiven us and that forgiveness will overflow to the lives of others. Jesus is saying that as you realize how much God has forgiven you, you will forgive others. And if you don't forgive others, it's a litmus test that you don't really understand the scandalous grace God has given you in your life. Don't you know you're the worst sinner you know? Why? Some of you guys are saying, you don't know my in-laws, Pastor Cam. No one knows yourself the best. No one knows you more than you intimately. Friends, you know every sin you've committed in actions, but also in attitudes.

You know every sin you've been caught with and every sin you got away with. And you also know the sins you would commit if you knew you wouldn't get caught. If we're honest, you can't even count how many sins you have committed in your life. don't believe me, just try to count your lies. God says to you, if I could forgive that mess, why can't you forgive this mess? If I could forgive your lying, how can't you can't forgive somebody who has lied to you?

If I could forgive all of your jealousy and your greed and your envy, how can you not forgive those who have done that toward you? And even more so, I have absorbed the burden by giving my son to live the life you should have lived, and died the death you should have died on the cross. He absorbed your sin and gave you righteousness. And therefore, there is no more guilt. See, the interesting thing is, if you don't get verse 12, you won't pray.

Because you'll think that the moment you fail or the moment you fall into bitterness, you will think that God doesn't want relationship with you. So you stray away from church. You stop streaming online. You stop reading your Bible. Why? Because you think God loves you based on your performance. when the truth is he loves you based on the cross and grace.

Just imagine with me, you're invited to the White House for a prestigious dinner. I know some of you is hard to imagine. So 45 or 46, it doesn't matter. It's a beautiful dinner. World-renowned chef, priceless China, delicious indulgences, and prestigious company. You're rubbing shoulders with the chief of staff. and leaders in foreign countries.

This was an amazing time. At the end of the night, you approach the president, and as he extends his hand to shake yours, you press a dime into his hand. And you said, I know tonight must have been expensive. Allow me to contribute for all your trouble. And we laugh and chuckled because we know that is rude and incredulous,

because there's no way that 10 cents actually contributes to us sitting at the table. Come here, friends. That's what God is trying to say to us in the model prayer. That regardless of your religious acts and your good deeds, regardless of your church attendance and your quiet time, it's like putting a 10-cent dime in the palm of Almighty God. And as you do it, you realize there's already holes in his hands.

there's already holes in his feet there's already a crown of thorns that has left a scar on his forehead there's been a spear in his side and he says I have paid for you to be here there's no way you can pay me back there's no impression there's no way you can manipulate me I have paid

for you to be at the throne of grace and you're here because I love you until you get that you won't praying secret here's the reality of it friends we don't have access to the Father or His kingdom because of what we have done, but because what God has done for us. If you think you can pay God back and press God and manipulate him with magic words,

you have yet the grass, the severity of your sin, and the scandalous nature of his grace. And maybe, maybe that's why I don't pray as I should. See, my issue is not time. It's treasure. I make time for what I treasure. Until I get how beautiful a treasure the gospel is, how I will always make prayer a last priority on my list. Can we just bow our heads and close our eyes? Bow our heads to give a physical posture to a spiritual reality.

God is above us. He's in the heavens. He does as he pleases. There's also an end to ourself. Close our eyes so we're not an attraction to ourselves or anyone else. And I have two action items, just in a moment of silence and solitude, within your own seats in the chamber of your own heart. The first is this.

You're not a Christian. you've been invited you've been coming but you never made a decision to trust in Jesus Christ I want you to know the first prayer you can make is Lord save me God I want to believe in this good news I want to believe in a God that sent his son that lived in my place and died in my place

and will give me this everlasting life I want to commune with him and know him would you just pray that God would save you right now Would you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins? Would you believe that God raised him from the dead and he soon come again and confess your sins, your wrongdoings? And ask God to forgive you, and he'll do it right there in the spot. The second action item we can all commit to is for those of us that are Christians who have been like that child throwing tantrums, hope to solicit the attention of our father.

Maybe we're that child that's taking all of the issues and trials and tribulations into our own hands, instead of just getting up and calling Dad. Did you do that in this moment? Surrender to him, trust him for your daily bread, ask him to lead you away from those temptations or those addictions and struggles that nothing else has been able to help you with. Maybe there's an issue of unforgiveness and bitterness. did is sinking you. And you need to care for yourself by letting that burden or that grudge go.

And ultimately, you just need to remember God his father. And he's not an angry parent waiting to chastise you to the moment you pick up the phone. But instead, he's a loving God that wants to lavish, lavish you with all of his love and his grace and his mercy. The moment you come back home, just speak to him right now. Just talk to your father. Don't pretend. Don't be an imposter. Just get real with him.

Therefore, you should pray like this. Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts. So we also have forgiven our debt towards us.

Do not bring us into temptation. but deliver us from the evil one, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.