Sermon Cloud

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to follow Jesus back in the day? Not me – what I’ve often wondered is what it would be like if Jesus asked me to apprentice with him today: to be with Him, observe what really matters to him and put it into practice. I want to know what it looks like to walk with Jesus in the complexity and business of our 21st century culture. How do I pursue an intimate relationship with God in our go-go world?

The Bible describes a relationship with God as a walk. Enoch walked with God. Noah walked in close fellowship with God and Jesus enjoyed a special communion with His Father. And as I have tried to walk with God over the years there’s been times when I’ve experienced something of this closeness – there’s been times when God seemed so real, so big, so amazing that my heart could not contain the joy of knowing Him. There’s been times when I not only sensed His presence but have felt the wonderful weight of His Spirit in my heart. And yet, as I have encountered other Christ followers over the years this hasn’t always been the case for them. There are many who have never really sensed the smile of God on their lives. Many who feel that God seems distant and many who wished they could experience something of what I’ve just mentioned. But most of who I’ve talked with just say things like: “I know He’s there, I know He loves me – but I’ve never really experienced this relationship everyone talks about. I wish I could say I’ve had your experience with God, but I haven’t.”

Well if that’s you, if you wish your relationship with God could be more than just knowing facts about God, more than just going to church or going through the motions, then hopefully, what we’re going to dig into over the next few weeks will change how you walk with God – perhaps even change your life. Our God is a relational God and He wants to have a real relationship with you. That’s why we are beginning a new series called Spiritual Pathways. Over the next four weeks we’re going to look at four pathways of an intimate walk with God. Four practices that are meant to fuel your relationship with God, to cultivate His presence in your life. And the good news is that these pathways were practiced by Jesus and can be put into practice by us.

And the first pathway we are going to look at today is the practice of Prayer. In Jesus day, prayer had become a ritualistic and formula laden practice that was done mostly for show by the religious elite. But when Jesus prayed, his apprentices saw something different. They saw that Jesus didn’t pray like the guys on the street corners, they saw that when Jesus prayed, when Jesus spent time alone with God that he came away with passion and energy and joy for the journey. His approach seemed so natural and life giving, that they wanted to know how they could pray like Him… So they asked him to teach them how to pray His way. And that’s what we’re going to do. The first pathway of a living walk with God is the pathway of prayer, and we’re going down that path by Learning to Pray the Jesus Way.

So if you have a Bible with you today, if you can find Matthew 6:9-13, we’re going to look at the way Jesus prayed. And here is what he taught: "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

The first thing we see about praying the Jesus way is that His way is The Way of Intimacy “Our Father” As elementary as this may seem, Jesus teaches us to pray to God the Father in His name and through the Spirit

Jesus addresses God as our Father and teaches his followers to pray like him. Later, he encourages them to be name droppers – he tells us to pray in His name on at least four different occasions. Here’s one of them, John 14:13-14 where he says, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

Jesus wants us to address the Father in His name, but it’s his Spirit in us that moves us to pray. Listen how Paul puts it: And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. Romans 8:26-27

It’s the Spirit of Christ in us that creates the desire to draw near the Father. The Jesus way is about drawing near our “abba” That’s the word Jesus uses when He addresses God. “Abba” was an intimate term that small children used to address their fathers. In our culture, the word would be “da-da.” But Jesus’ emphasis is not to use a term like “daddy” when addressing God – no, what He’s teaching is that we are to come to God with the same childlike affection and trust of an infant. When we pray, we are to come to God like an infant crawling into his lap and letting him cuddle us as we open our heart to Him.

Perhaps you didn’t grow up with a father like that- but God the Father is like that. He is our “abba.” That’s what Jesus says. He wants us to come to Him and rest in His lap and let Him hold us. The Jesus way of praying begins by approaching the God of open arms and tender heart.

As the Bible says, And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Galatians 4:6 The first step of praying the Jesus is coming to Him to rest in His love. His way is the way of intimacy. But it’s also…

The Way of Expectancy “in heaven”
The Jesus way calls on a God who acts beyond the limitations of our world Jesus prays to the God of the heavens. Our Father is not limited by anything. He can be found anywhere, anytime, anyplace. Dallas Willard suggests that the opening line of the Lord’s prayer might best be read: “Our Father always near us.”

But God is not just near us, He’s also separate from us. So that means when we pray to the God of the heavens, we are invoking a God who comes to us from outside this world: the God who is all-powerful, all-knowing and ever present. A God who knows you, who knows what you are facing and is completely able and eager to deliver you or help you in ways you never thought possible. Jesus wants us to let this reality grab a hold of us so that when we pray we will pray with expectation to a God who acts.

How often do you face difficulties but forget that you have a God who wants to act on your behalf? How often do you approach Him with the thought that nothing is impossible for Him? Do you need a miracle? Do you need God to remove a burden, heal a hurt, restore a relationship? He has the power to work, but do we expect Him to work? Jesus reminds us that when we pray to our Father of the heavens we have a God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us. Ephesians 3:20

Jesus constantly called on the God of the heavens to act on His behalf. God wants us to tap into His potential to act on our behalf. But do we pray that way?


Thirdly, it’s The Way of Reverence “hallowed be Your name” The Jesus way of praying gives God the respect due His name. God’s name is holy. God’s name is a reflection of who He is. The Jesus way of praying keeps us from trivializing God and turning God into a cosmic vending machine.

The Third Commandment reminds us of the importance of honoring of God’s name: “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.” Exodus 20:7

There was a college student who became the first person in his family to go to college. One day a guy approached the student and offered him some meth, saying, “Go ahead, try it. It’ll make you feel good.” “No,” the student replied.
“Don’t be so uptight,” said the dealer. “Nobody is going to know that you tried a little dope, got a little high.”
“That’s not the point,” said the student. “The point is that my mother cleaned houses and washed floors to send me here. I am here because of her. I am here for her. I wouldn’t do anything that might demean her sacrifice for me.” That’s honoring a name. Jesus life was about honoring His name, about making a name for the Father. He came to show the world what the Father is like. When we pray the Jesus way we will want to do the same. God’s reputation becomes our business. We will want to represent our father and honor Him. When you have a close relationship with someone that’s what you do. You honor their name and don’t allow others to trash His name.

So far we’ve seen that the Jesus way of praying is the way of intimacy, the way of expectancy and the way of reverence. There’s one final aspect of praying the Jesus way I want to unpack with us this morning and that is this:

The Way of Submission: “Your will be done” The Jesus way is about seeking what God desires above all else. When you’re embraced by a Father who thoroughly loves you and is willing to move mountains to act on your behalf; when you want to honor him with your life, you will want to discover what He wants for your life. You will seek His will. You will want to please Him.

Only those who’ve been transformed by the love of God will surrender and seek His will. Only truly want what God wants will put their wants aside and listen to God. That was Jesus.

Someone once said that the safest place on earth is to be in the center of God’s will. But nowhere in God’s Word are we promised that. Jesus stayed in the center of God’s will because He prayed. But the center of God’s will was anything but safe for Him. Staying in the center of God’s will meant that He had to trust God through the worst circumstances that life had to throw at him. How do we know this? Well, the Bible tells us that on the night He was be betrayed and handed over to be crucified, this is what He prayed: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." Luke 22:42

Jesus submitted to God’s will knowing what it would cost him. But He did it for more than just trusting that God knew what was best for Him. He also did it because He wanted what God wanted – and God wanted His kingdom to be established on earth. Jesus went to the cross so that you and I could know the king and enter the kingdom of light. Jesus submitted to God’s will so that you and I could have life. The Jesus way of prayer puts our desires on hold for the sake of others. The Jesus way of prayer seeks God’s kingdom – seeks God’s blessing for others.

When we learn to pray this way our needs and wants begin to lose their hold on us, and we learn to pray for what everyone needs: their daily bread, their right relationships, their moral purity – and God’s desire for His creation finds its way into our hearts. This is what praying the Jesus way will do.

I’m going to assume something this morning – that you want to pray the Jesus way: That you want to draw close to God, to see Him work on your behalf, to honor His name…. and you’re even willing to risk putting yourself in the center of His will – but you still struggle with finding time to just be with God. If that’s you, let me remind you of what Jesus faced. Let me share with you how Jesus found time to be with God in his complex and hurry up world:

Praying the Jesus Way in today’s complex and hurry up world:
• Following a long night of work, Jesus got up early and went off to a solitary place to pray (Mark 1:35)

• After feeding the 5000 Jesus dismissed the crowds and “went up into the hills by himself” (Matthew 14:13)

• Before making a strategic ministry decision to choose his apostles, Jesus spent the night alone in prayer (Luke 6:12)

• The night before He laid down His life for us, Jesus sought the solitude of the garden of Gethsemane and prayed (Matthew 26:36-46)

All I can say is this: Jesus was always busy – but He was never to busy to carve out time for His Father! Spending time with God was the most important priority of His life. He sought solitude – not to be alone – but to be with the one He loved the most. What if the same could be said of us? This morning I want to invite you to quiet our hearts and take a few minutes to just crawl up in the lap of our Father and pray the Jesus way.