July 18, 2024 • 14 mins
Welcome to another engaging episode of The Heartbeat of Faith Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Andrew Farley, and today, we're concluding our exploration of powerful prayers with a profound dive into the Lord's Prayer, a gift bestowed upon us by Jesus himself. This isn't a mechanical, robotic prayer to recite; it's an invitation into the very heart of God. In this episode, we will unpack the Lord's Prayer verse by verse, connecting it to the inspiring stories we've uncovered throughout the week. Before we delve into the prayer's essence, it's crucial to remember Jesus's warning against turning prayer into a lifeless, repetitive ritual.
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Jesus instructed us to pray for God's Kingdom to come and His will to be done. This act of submission entails surrendering our desires for the sake of God's plan. Our prayers shouldn't solely revolve around our desires but should also include laying them down in alignment with God's purposes. The story of Jesus in Gethsemane illustrates this principle vividly. When we approach God, we can request provision, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil, recognizing both our physical and spiritual needs. In His presence, there's forgiveness and provision. Lastly, Jesus reminds us of God's sovereignty, holding all glory and power. Prayer serves as a reminder that God is in control, relieving our anxieties and allowing us to rest in His sovereignty.
Download the Pray.com app today to experience the vivid revelation of God's divine presence through cinematic storytelling, guided by the influence of the Holy Spirit.
For more encouragement in God's grace visit AndrewFarley.org.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Let us pray our Father, which art in heaven. Hallowed
be thy name, Thy Kingdom. Come. Thy will be done
in earth as it is in heaven. Matthew Chapter six,
verse nine. Dear Lord, you are mighty and holy. What
a privilege it is to have access to you through prayer.
(00:24):
Even when I don't know how to pray, your spirit
prays for me. You are never distant. You are near
and willing to listen. Thank you for the gift of prayer,
and thank you for the intimate connection I have with
your spirit. I am so grateful that you have changed
my life forever through the Gospel. I am forgiven, righteous
(00:47):
and one with you forever. I asked that you would
give me a deeper, richer understanding of all you've done
for me. Keep showing me your glory in Jesus name. Amen.
Thank you for praying with me today. Now discover the
profound intricacies of scripture through pray dot COM's podcast The
(01:10):
Heartbeat of Faith with doctor Andrew Farley.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
What you just heard is not a rigid and mechanical
prayer to recite. It's just one way among many to
set your mind on all you possess in Christ, and
thank your God. Now, speaking of prayer, maybe you recall
what is commonly referred to as the Lord's Prayer, as
(01:42):
recorded in the Book of Matthew.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Our Father who art in Heaven. Hallowed be thy name,
Thy Kingdom. Come, Thy will be done in earth as
it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
(02:06):
For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the
Glory forever, Amen. Matthew six nine through thirteen.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
This prayer was a demonstration of respect and submission to God,
but it was also a way for Jesus to help
his audience realize their sinfulness, their hypocrisy, and their need
for deliverance in order to be true sons of our
heavenly Father. Welcome to another episode of the Heartbeat of
(02:41):
Faith podcast. I'm doctor Andrew Farley and it's my joy
to join you today as we conclude our deep dive
into powerful prayers. Today, we finish off with the Lord's
Prayer for generations. We've recited this prayer in churches around
the world, but ironically, just two verses prior. In Matthew six,
(03:07):
Jesus taught and when you're praying, do not use thoughtless
repetition as the gentiles do, for they think that they'll
be heard because of their many words. So if the
Lord's Prayer is not meant to be memorized and repeated often,
then what is it really all about? Today? Will unpack
(03:30):
the true intention behind this prayer and revisit a few
of the stories we've already seen along the way. But remember,
Jesus never intended any prayer, not even the one we've
called the Lord's Prayer, to be for meaningless repetition or
religious grandstandings.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
When you pray, do not add spectacle or poetry to
come off a righteous to others. Some love to stand
on the street corners and proclaim their devotion to God.
When you pray, do so just between you and the Lord.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
The Lord's Prayer is not a prayer to memorize for
the purpose of thoughtless recitation in church. Instead, it was
a demonstration of respect and submission to God the Father.
But it was also a way for Jesus to help
his audience realize their sinfulness, their hypocrisy, and their need
(04:34):
for deliverance. In order to be true sons of our
heavenly Father. The first thing we notice in the prayer
is how Jesus addressed God. He approaches God with both
reverence and intimacy. For Jesus to call God father was
novel back then. God is the all powerful judge and
(04:57):
the Holy One who brought order to the Union and
set forth the path of the stars. Yet he isn't
distant or impersonal. Moses captured this combination of reverence and
intimacy in his interaction with God.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
God did not answer with rage or match Moses's intensity. Rather,
he answered gently and said, my presence will go with you,
and I will give you all rest. I will do
this for you, for you have found favor in my sight.
I know you by name Moses. Moses crumbled before God,
(05:39):
his heart melted at hearing God's words. He looked up
to God with his eyes foggy from tears. Show me
your glory, Moses whispered.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Jesus also taught that when they approached God, they should
ask for his kingdom to come and his will to
be done. This was an act of recognition and submission.
They were recognizing the beauty and immense value of God's
kingdom coming into being, and they were to submit to
(06:12):
the truth that God's plan is better than any plan
someone else might have in mind. Remember, in the garden
of Gessemine, Jesus expressed in prayer that his priority was
seeing the Father's plan come to fruition.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Jesus led them to a garden called Gethsemone. There Jesus
would anguish over what was about to happen. He told
his disciples to wait for him while he prayed. Then
he took Peter, James and John to go further with him.
My soul is filled with sorrow even to death. Remain
here with me and keep watch. Jesus walked ahead a
(06:57):
little further and fell to his knees before God. No
one could truly know the depth of Jesus's dialogue with God.
That night, the Father and the Son spoke to each
other with a bond that had preceded time itself. Jesus
knew that he was going to be taken and he
would be offered up as a sacrifice for the redemption
of mankind. Gazing into heaven, Jesus knelt before his God
(07:22):
and asked, Father, if you are willing take this cup
from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Next is the request for provision, forgiveness and deliverance from evil.
Not only was there an acknowledgment of their physical needs
like food, but Jesus also recognized their spiritual needs. Now,
notice that Jesus doesn't just instruct them to say, God
forgive us, but instead he told them to ask God
(07:56):
to forgive them in the same way or to the
same degree, that they had been forgiving others around them. Ouch.
Now that was calling them to the carpet. Imagine them
being told to ask for the same quality of forgiveness
they'd been doling out to their enemies. But that's exactly
(08:19):
the hypocrisy Jesus wanted them to confront when he concluded
the prayer with for if you forgive others their sins,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you
do not forgive others their sins, neither will your Father
forgive your sins. Wow, that sounds conditional and it is.
(08:43):
It literally says they'll be forgiven by God if they
forgive others first. So does God only forgive nice people?
What's going on here? Remember that the Lord's prayer, as
we've called it, is part of the Sermon on the Mount,
a sermon preached before the Cross, before the New Covenant
(09:06):
goes into effect, and in this sermon Jesus is telling
the Jews of his day to let others beat them up,
love their enemies, and give money to whoever asks for it.
They're also being told that anger equals murder, and punishment
in hell is threatened at least three times in the
(09:29):
Sermon on the Mount. Furthermore, they're told to hide their fasting,
and hide their giving of money, and hide their praying,
otherwise they're being hypocrites, Jesus says. Lastly, they're told to
cut off their hands and pluck out their eyes in
their fight against sin, and to be perfect, just like
(09:53):
God is perfect. Clearly, Jesus is setting up an impossible
standard that they can never meet, and that's the whole point.
So in that context, does it come as any surprise
that they're also told that they'll only be forgiven if
they forgive others first. No, that's no surprise, But it's
(10:17):
also not the gospel that we experience today. Remember that
we have already been forgiven of our sins, all of them, past, present,
and future. So we don't need to be asking God
as believers to forgive us the same way we've forgiven
other people. No, He did better than that. He took
(10:41):
all our sins away once and for all. Notice Ephesians
four thirty two and Colassians three thirteen. They both say
the opposite of what we read in the Lord's Prayer.
They say we can forgive others today because God already
forgave us, which came first, God's forgiveness of us through
(11:04):
the cross, which comes second. Now we can pass that
same forgiveness on to other people, reflecting the grace God's
already given us once for all. So remember, God isn't
asking you to memorize and thoughtlessly repeat the Lord's Prayer. Instead,
(11:25):
he wants you to know you're a totally forgiven person forever,
and that may just lead you to say wow and
thank you.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
In his presence, Jesus was walking among one of the cities,
observing the needs of the people around him. As he
was pacing the city, Jesus stumbled upon a man stricken
with leprosy. The entire left side of his face was
mangled and he could barely lift his arms from the
pain of rotting flesh. The man approached Jesus gently. The
(11:57):
men who were following Jesus stepped back, but Jesus stepped forward.
The leper fell at Jesus's feet. Please, Lord, have mercy
on me, the man began to weep. If you are willing,
I know you can make me clean.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Finally, as Jesus concluded his prayer in Matthew six, he
reminded them of who is really in charge. God alone
holds the glory and power, and we can rest in
his sovereignty.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Jacob, who had spent his entire life making his own luck,
was face to face with the end of himself. He
had deceived his brother into selling his birthright, he had
tricked his father into blessing him, and he had swindled
Laban into making him richer. Yet now Jacob was faced
with God himself and had no means to trick his
(12:52):
way into victory. Jacob's eyes closed tightly, and he flexed
his arms firmly to the legs of this man and said,
I will not let you go unless you bless me.
A slight smile came across the man's face. What is
your name? He asked, Jacob, he shouted in pain. You
(13:14):
shall no longer be called Jacob, he said, but Israel,
for you have wrestled with God and with men and prevailed.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
May a prayer of thanksgiving to God be the meditation
of your heart today as you enjoy connection with Him.
My encouragement to you is not to thoughtlessly recite the
Lord's Prayer as some sort of religious practice, but instead
locate yourself on this side of the cross, looking back
(13:48):
at the shed blood of Christ, which gave you total
forgiveness of all your sins forever, a forgiveness that's not
based on your forgiving of others first. No, it's simply
based on the finished work of Jesus Christ. As a result,
you get to wake up every day and enjoy perfect
(14:10):
closeness to the God of all creation. Thank you for
listening to today's episode of the Heartbeat of Faith podcast.
Follow the podcast so you can learn the Bible in
this entertaining and inspiring way. Download thepray dot Com app,
and for more encouragement in God's grace, visit Andrewfarley dot org.
(14:35):
That's Andrewfarley dot org.
Let us pray our Father, which art in heaven. Hallowed
be thy name, Thy Kingdom. Come. Thy will be done
in earth as it is in heaven. Matthew Chapter six,
verse nine. Dear Lord, you are mighty and holy. What
a privilege it is to have access to you through prayer.
(00:24):
Even when I don't know how to pray, your spirit
prays for me. You are never distant. You are near
and willing to listen. Thank you for the gift of prayer,
and thank you for the intimate connection I have with
your spirit. I am so grateful that you have changed
my life forever through the Gospel. I am forgiven, righteous
(00:47):
and one with you forever. I asked that you would
give me a deeper, richer understanding of all you've done
for me. Keep showing me your glory in Jesus name. Amen.
Thank you for praying with me today. Now discover the
profound intricacies of scripture through pray dot COM's podcast The
(01:10):
Heartbeat of Faith with doctor Andrew Farley.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
What you just heard is not a rigid and mechanical
prayer to recite. It's just one way among many to
set your mind on all you possess in Christ, and
thank your God. Now, speaking of prayer, maybe you recall
what is commonly referred to as the Lord's Prayer, as
(01:42):
recorded in the Book of Matthew.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Our Father who art in Heaven. Hallowed be thy name,
Thy Kingdom. Come, Thy will be done in earth as
it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
(02:06):
For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the
Glory forever, Amen. Matthew six nine through thirteen.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
This prayer was a demonstration of respect and submission to God,
but it was also a way for Jesus to help
his audience realize their sinfulness, their hypocrisy, and their need
for deliverance in order to be true sons of our
heavenly Father. Welcome to another episode of the Heartbeat of
(02:41):
Faith podcast. I'm doctor Andrew Farley and it's my joy
to join you today as we conclude our deep dive
into powerful prayers. Today, we finish off with the Lord's
Prayer for generations. We've recited this prayer in churches around
the world, but ironically, just two verses prior. In Matthew six,
(03:07):
Jesus taught and when you're praying, do not use thoughtless
repetition as the gentiles do, for they think that they'll
be heard because of their many words. So if the
Lord's Prayer is not meant to be memorized and repeated often,
then what is it really all about? Today? Will unpack
(03:30):
the true intention behind this prayer and revisit a few
of the stories we've already seen along the way. But remember,
Jesus never intended any prayer, not even the one we've
called the Lord's Prayer, to be for meaningless repetition or
religious grandstandings.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
When you pray, do not add spectacle or poetry to
come off a righteous to others. Some love to stand
on the street corners and proclaim their devotion to God.
When you pray, do so just between you and the Lord.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
The Lord's Prayer is not a prayer to memorize for
the purpose of thoughtless recitation in church. Instead, it was
a demonstration of respect and submission to God the Father.
But it was also a way for Jesus to help
his audience realize their sinfulness, their hypocrisy, and their need
(04:34):
for deliverance. In order to be true sons of our
heavenly Father. The first thing we notice in the prayer
is how Jesus addressed God. He approaches God with both
reverence and intimacy. For Jesus to call God father was
novel back then. God is the all powerful judge and
(04:57):
the Holy One who brought order to the Union and
set forth the path of the stars. Yet he isn't
distant or impersonal. Moses captured this combination of reverence and
intimacy in his interaction with God.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
God did not answer with rage or match Moses's intensity. Rather,
he answered gently and said, my presence will go with you,
and I will give you all rest. I will do
this for you, for you have found favor in my sight.
I know you by name Moses. Moses crumbled before God,
(05:39):
his heart melted at hearing God's words. He looked up
to God with his eyes foggy from tears. Show me
your glory, Moses whispered.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Jesus also taught that when they approached God, they should
ask for his kingdom to come and his will to
be done. This was an act of recognition and submission.
They were recognizing the beauty and immense value of God's
kingdom coming into being, and they were to submit to
(06:12):
the truth that God's plan is better than any plan
someone else might have in mind. Remember, in the garden
of Gessemine, Jesus expressed in prayer that his priority was
seeing the Father's plan come to fruition.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Jesus led them to a garden called Gethsemone. There Jesus
would anguish over what was about to happen. He told
his disciples to wait for him while he prayed. Then
he took Peter, James and John to go further with him.
My soul is filled with sorrow even to death. Remain
here with me and keep watch. Jesus walked ahead a
(06:57):
little further and fell to his knees before God. No
one could truly know the depth of Jesus's dialogue with God.
That night, the Father and the Son spoke to each
other with a bond that had preceded time itself. Jesus
knew that he was going to be taken and he
would be offered up as a sacrifice for the redemption
of mankind. Gazing into heaven, Jesus knelt before his God
(07:22):
and asked, Father, if you are willing take this cup
from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Next is the request for provision, forgiveness and deliverance from evil.
Not only was there an acknowledgment of their physical needs
like food, but Jesus also recognized their spiritual needs. Now,
notice that Jesus doesn't just instruct them to say, God
forgive us, but instead he told them to ask God
(07:56):
to forgive them in the same way or to the
same degree, that they had been forgiving others around them. Ouch.
Now that was calling them to the carpet. Imagine them
being told to ask for the same quality of forgiveness
they'd been doling out to their enemies. But that's exactly
(08:19):
the hypocrisy Jesus wanted them to confront when he concluded
the prayer with for if you forgive others their sins,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you
do not forgive others their sins, neither will your Father
forgive your sins. Wow, that sounds conditional and it is.
(08:43):
It literally says they'll be forgiven by God if they
forgive others first. So does God only forgive nice people?
What's going on here? Remember that the Lord's prayer, as
we've called it, is part of the Sermon on the Mount,
a sermon preached before the Cross, before the New Covenant
(09:06):
goes into effect, and in this sermon Jesus is telling
the Jews of his day to let others beat them up,
love their enemies, and give money to whoever asks for it.
They're also being told that anger equals murder, and punishment
in hell is threatened at least three times in the
(09:29):
Sermon on the Mount. Furthermore, they're told to hide their fasting,
and hide their giving of money, and hide their praying,
otherwise they're being hypocrites, Jesus says. Lastly, they're told to
cut off their hands and pluck out their eyes in
their fight against sin, and to be perfect, just like
(09:53):
God is perfect. Clearly, Jesus is setting up an impossible
standard that they can never meet, and that's the whole point.
So in that context, does it come as any surprise
that they're also told that they'll only be forgiven if
they forgive others first. No, that's no surprise, But it's
(10:17):
also not the gospel that we experience today. Remember that
we have already been forgiven of our sins, all of them, past, present,
and future. So we don't need to be asking God
as believers to forgive us the same way we've forgiven
other people. No, He did better than that. He took
(10:41):
all our sins away once and for all. Notice Ephesians
four thirty two and Colassians three thirteen. They both say
the opposite of what we read in the Lord's Prayer.
They say we can forgive others today because God already
forgave us, which came first, God's forgiveness of us through
(11:04):
the cross, which comes second. Now we can pass that
same forgiveness on to other people, reflecting the grace God's
already given us once for all. So remember, God isn't
asking you to memorize and thoughtlessly repeat the Lord's Prayer. Instead,
(11:25):
he wants you to know you're a totally forgiven person forever,
and that may just lead you to say wow and
thank you.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
In his presence, Jesus was walking among one of the cities,
observing the needs of the people around him. As he
was pacing the city, Jesus stumbled upon a man stricken
with leprosy. The entire left side of his face was
mangled and he could barely lift his arms from the
pain of rotting flesh. The man approached Jesus gently. The
(11:57):
men who were following Jesus stepped back, but Jesus stepped forward.
The leper fell at Jesus's feet. Please, Lord, have mercy
on me, the man began to weep. If you are willing,
I know you can make me clean.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Finally, as Jesus concluded his prayer in Matthew six, he
reminded them of who is really in charge. God alone
holds the glory and power, and we can rest in
his sovereignty.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Jacob, who had spent his entire life making his own luck,
was face to face with the end of himself. He
had deceived his brother into selling his birthright, he had
tricked his father into blessing him, and he had swindled
Laban into making him richer. Yet now Jacob was faced
with God himself and had no means to trick his
(12:52):
way into victory. Jacob's eyes closed tightly, and he flexed
his arms firmly to the legs of this man and said,
I will not let you go unless you bless me.
A slight smile came across the man's face. What is
your name? He asked, Jacob, he shouted in pain. You
(13:14):
shall no longer be called Jacob, he said, but Israel,
for you have wrestled with God and with men and prevailed.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
May a prayer of thanksgiving to God be the meditation
of your heart today as you enjoy connection with Him.
My encouragement to you is not to thoughtlessly recite the
Lord's Prayer as some sort of religious practice, but instead
locate yourself on this side of the cross, looking back
(13:48):
at the shed blood of Christ, which gave you total
forgiveness of all your sins forever, a forgiveness that's not
based on your forgiving of others first. No, it's simply
based on the finished work of Jesus Christ. As a result,
you get to wake up every day and enjoy perfect
(14:10):
closeness to the God of all creation. Thank you for
listening to today's episode of the Heartbeat of Faith podcast.
Follow the podcast so you can learn the Bible in
this entertaining and inspiring way. Download thepray dot Com app,
and for more encouragement in God's grace, visit Andrewfarley dot org.
(14:35):
That's Andrewfarley dot org.
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