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Outline:
“From Ulster Plantation to the Carolina’s with the Gospel!” *
Russell H. McCullough / Archdale church of Christ, 2525 Archdale Drive,
Charlotte, NC 28210
Text: Matthew 6.5 - 13
Thesis: Prayer is to the soul as breathing is to the
body. Breathing is not optional, and
neither is prayer!
Introduction
Sing:
“How Long Has It Been?”
Read
the Words to the Song
Luke
11 – “Teach us to pray”
Matthew
6 – In the middle of the Sermon on the Mount
* Prayer is to be
taught but more important, it is to be lived.
F. B. Meyer – “The greatest tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered
prayer.”
Please stand:
Our Most Kind and
Gracious Heavenly Father;
As we study the prayer
that Jesus taught us, may we with broken and contrite hearts seek Your Presence
in prayer with the breath of our lungs as we receive the Breath of Your Word
from the Scriptures. Forgive us not for
what we say in prayer but, for not saying it more often.
In the Name of Jesus
Christ;
And All the church
said; AMEN
Please be seated:
William Law – “Prayer is the nearest approach to God and the highest enjoyment of
Him that we are capable of in this life.”
Jesus
makes 3 points as He introduces the Disciples Prayer
1.
It’s WHEN not IF
2.
Don’t Pray like this
3.
Do Pray like this
I
It’s WHEN not IF We Pray!
A. That
Christians not pray is not in the equation of Christ at all.
B. The
question before us today is NOT “when should we pray?” but rather, “when should
we NOT be praying?!”
C. The
fact remains though, we are not typically praying people. Why not?
D. Why
do Christians fail to pray?
1. They
don’t really believe.
a. God
and / or prayer
b. We
really don’t believe “that God is and He is the rewarder of those that
diligently seek Him.”
2. They
neglect the assembly
a. I
Corinthians 11.30 – “That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have
died.”
1) Dead
people don’t breathe, dead Christians don’t pray.
3. They
feel guilty about something.
4. They
are afraid God is angry with them.
5. They
feel awkward.
6. They
feel embarrassed
7. They
don’t know what to say or how to say it.
8. They
are afraid God won’t answer their prayers.
9. They
are afraid God WILL answer their prayers!
E. George
Herbert: “Prayer is the key to
the day and the lock of the night.”
F. BREATHING
IS NOT OPTIONAL, AND NEITHER IS PRAYER
II
Pray Not Like This – READ Matthew 6.5 - 8
A. We
automatically discount this portion for no one in our society is admired for
public praying.
1. BUT,
should we ignore this?
B. When
praying publicly, we often word things in certain ways so we will meet 3rd
party expectations.
C. When
praying either publicly or privately, we often say things in such a way to make
sure we “say it the right way” so God won’t “hang up the phone on us.”
D. When
praying publicly, we often word things in such a way so as not to offend
someone in our hearing,
or to please someone in our hearing.
E. We
must pray always regardless of how we feel spiritually, physically, mentally,
psychologically or any other way and NOT give in to changes based upon any
other person’s expectations.
F. Albert
Mohler – “Authentic prayer is
never about impressing anyone (for any reason.)”
G. BREATHING
IS NOT OPTIONAL, AND NEITHER IS PRAYER
III
Pray Like This – READ Matthew 6.9
A. Charles
Sprugeon, the English Baptist preacher of the 19th century once
said; “I would just as soon pray with a machine as to sing with one.”
1. Rout
praying, like an instrument, is mechanical.
2. Mechanical
prayers are liturgical.
a. “The
Book of Common Prayer”
3. There
is no kind of liturgical worship patterned for us in the New Testament.
4. The
Disciples Prayer is not liturgical and was never meant to be by Jesus. It was instead, a guide for spontaneous,
heartfelt, and sincere prayers for the saints of all time.
5. How
do we know this?
6. We
know this because of Jesus’ very precise use of the compound Greek word, houto, rendered “like this,” “in this
manner,” or “after this manner.”
a. Per
Strong’s: “In this way, after this manner, like, on this fashion, in
like manner, thus.”
b. Christians
are not robots and Jesus did not teach us to pray like robots.
B. BREATHING
IS NOT OPTIONAL, AND NEITHER IS PRAYER
Let
us pray:
Our
Most Divine and Majestic Heavenly Father;
May
we this day and every day pray to You often as we should. May we never seek the favor or permission of
any human for what we say to You in private or in public. May we pray as Jesus taught us to. May our prayers never be mechanical or
artificial. May we approach You in
prayer always even if we are fearful.
Even if we are feeling awkward.
Even if we feel guilt and remorse.
Even when the words won’t come. Even
when we are embarrassed. Even when we
are weakened by fear and doubt. May we
hurry to prayer especially when we are tempted by our weaknesses. Forgive us Lord and draw us near to Your
heart.
In
the Name of Jesus, we pray;
And
all the church said; AMEN
CONCLUSION:
The
Word of God is our conclusion today: “The Lord is far from the wicked, but He
hears the prayer of the righteous.” – Proverbs 15.29
The
Challenge of the Text for Christians Today – TO PRAY LIKE JESUS TAUGHT US AS
BREATHING IS NOT OPTIONAL, and NEITHER IS PRAYING!
“The Gospel
Call” – If you are not a Christian, you cannot pray “Our Father.” Therefore: “Repent, everyone of you, and be
baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” – Acts 2.38
·
My fifth great uncle was Hugh Gaston who was
rector at the Ballywillan Presbyterian Church (pictured above left) in County
Antrim, Ulster Plantation (Northern Ireland) and wrote the most dangerous book
of his time;
Gaston’s Collections. It
allowed “the ploughman to know more Bible than his clergyman.”
Hugh fled to South Carolina where he died
prematurely of the measles.
He is buried
just one hour south of Charlotte in Chester County, S.C. in “Burnt Meeting
House Cemetery.”
Uncle Hugh continues
to inspire my ministry to this very day.
You can read more about Uncle Hugh here:
http://www.ballywillanpci.org/rev-hugh-gaston
Ruins photo courtesy of:
ballywillanpci.org.
