transformed in my prayer

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GET INTO THE STUDY 10 minutes GUIDE: Direct the group to look at the picture (PSG,

SESSION 2

TRANSFORMED IN MY PRAYER

p. 22). DISCUSS: Question #1 (PSG, p. 22): What were the first prayers you were

The Point

taught?

Prayer is grounded in a desire to

GUIDE: Review The Bible

honor God.

Meets Life (PSG, p. 23). Note the author’s comment

The Bible Meets Life

that many things in life do not

Perhaps the most well-known

come to us naturally. We must

prayer is the one commonly called

learn them.

The Lord’s Prayer. Even people with nominal faith will recite this prayer

SAY: “Jesus wants us to learn

in times of distress or as an act of

to pray well.”

piety. As “common” as this prayer is, it may also be the most misunderstood

GUIDE: Introduce The Point

prayer. People typically go to God simply because they need something, but

(PSG, p. 23): Prayer is

the model prayer Jesus gave us does not begin with us and our needs; it begins

grounded in a desire to

with a focus on God and His glory.

honor God.

The Passage

Emphasize that our prayer lives

Matthew 6:9-15

can be truly transformed when

The Setting

we follow the model Jesus gave to us.

With a countless multitude of people gathered on a mountainside to listen, Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. He called His disciples together so He could teach them how to live as citizens of the kingdom of God. In His instruction, He directed their attention to the discipline of prayer. He intended for them to engage in this spiritual discipline in a way that would enable them to honor Him.

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S e ss i o n 2

© 2015 LifeWay

Matthew 6:9-10

STUDY THE BIBLE Matthew 6:9-10

9 “Therefore, you should pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,

10 minutes

Your name be honored as holy. GUIDE: IN ADVANCE,

10 Your kingdom come.

procure a magnifying glass

Your will be done

or some binoculars. Display

on earth as it is in heaven.

the item and talk about how it enlarges or brings objects

KEY WORD: Kingdom (v. 10)—A dominion ruled by a king. The kingdom of

into focus. Comment that Jesus

God is a spiritual dominion over which He reigns with sovereignty and majesty.

taught that we should begin

Prayer begins with a focus on God and His kingdom.

prayer with a focus on God, which magnifies God in our

Verse 9. Jesus had been teaching His disciples about the discipline of prayer. He had instructed them regarding the proper motivation for practicing this vital spiritual discipline. In His instruction, He warned believers about the wrong way to pray. Growing Christians wouldn’t pray out loud for the purpose of impressing people (6:5). Neither would they keep on uttering meaningless words in their prayers in order to get God’s attention (v. 7). Jesus went on to teach about the right way to pray (vv. 6,8). We pray so we can be with our heavenly Father, talk with Him, listen to Him, and surrender to Him. When we follow His instruction about praying the right way, our relationship with Him will grow stronger and deeper, and we will be able to serve Him more consistently. As Jesus taught about praying properly, He gave us a model. People often recite it and call it the Lord’s Prayer. But Jesus didn’t intend for this prayer to be recited. Simply reciting the words misses the point of the prayer and the reason Jesus gave it. He provides it as a guide to follow when praying. For that reason, we call it the Model Prayer. At the very beginning of His Model Prayer, Jesus taught us to use our instead of my. When we use our, us, and we in prayer, we keep others in mind. By using such pronouns, Jesus affirmed the value of public prayer in worship. Also, these pronouns enable us to remember the second great commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves (22:39). Our walk with the Lord cannot be separated from our relationships with others. Jesus taught to give attention first to Our Father in heaven when we pray. In doing so, He underscored a © 2015 LifeWay

hearts as we honor Him.

READ: Ask a volunteer to read Matthew 6:9-10.

DISCUSS: Question #2 (PSG, p. 24): What do you find most difficult about praying?

GUIDE: Call attention to verse 9. Emphasize that focusing on the character of God keeps our view of God in the right perspective. Comment that what we believe about the nature of God will determine what we experience from prayer.

S U G G E S T E D U S E | W E E K O F J U N E 12

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THE POINT

Prayer is grounded in a desire to honor God.

Focus on verse 10. Explain the kingdom of God is God ruling and reigning in the hearts and lives of His people. It is a reality in heaven now and will be for all eternity. More than praying for personal comfort and peace, when we pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we pray for His kingdom to advance in our own lives and in the lives of others.

Christian’s unique intimacy with God. When we come into the presence of God, Jesus encouraged us to approach Him like a child in the company of a loving Father who cares for us. If we ever have doubts about our Father’s love for us, we only have to reflect on the cross. There we can get a clear picture of His boundless compassion for us. While we count on intimacy when we come into the presence of our Father, we must also keep in mind His majesty. Heaven is the location of His everlasting kingdom and our eternal home. He rules there, and we belong there. When we turn to Him in prayer, therefore, He deserves our sincere respect and authentic reverence as His children. In Jesus’ day, a person’s name implied something about his or her character. Jesus directed attention to God’s character and instructed us to honor God as holy. Honoring His holiness means exhibiting His character in our thoughts, words, and actions. When we pray, it means affirming our eagerness for all people everywhere to recognize and worship Him as holy as well.

Review the bullet points (PSG, p. 26), and note that prayer centered on God’s kingdom and will focuses on: >> Personal surrender to God’s rule and reign in our lives—the lordship of Christ. >> Sensitivity to what God is doing in us and around us. >> Transformation through the trials we encounter—not merely escaping trials. >> The spiritual health of family and friends. >> A fresh movement of God in our generation.

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S e ss i o n 2

Verse 10. God’s kingdom is in heaven, and Christians are citizens in it (Phil. 3:20). The kingdom of heaven isn’t formed by land masses. It doesn’t grow by invading and occupying other nations. Instead, it’s a kingdom formed by relationships. As people receive God’s gift of salvation through Christ, they become citizens of His kingdom. The kingdom grows every time someone gives his or her life to Christ. Whenever a person is born again, therefore, His kingdom in heaven comes on earth. In the Old Testament, God’s people looked forward to the coming of His kingdom. In one sense, the kingdom came when the Messiah arrived. Like Jesus said, His presence on earth meant that the kingdom of God was near (Mark 1:15). In a way, Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection inaugurated the kingdom of God. But in another sense, His kingdom is still coming. It continues to come as people become citizens of it by receiving Christ. Therefore, kingdom citizens look to the future. Believers anticipate the day when He will exercise complete and ultimate reign over all the earth. Until that day arrives, growing believers continue to pray for His kingdom to come. The reason we pray for His kingdom to come to earth is stated clearly in the Model Prayer. When His kingdom comes to earth, we will be able to do everything He wants in the way He wants it to be done. With hearts of obedience, © 2015 LifeWay

believers will be able to do His will on earth just as it is done in heaven. There He reigns with sovereignty and majesty. He is worshiped and obeyed in complete submission. On earth, we struggle with obedience because we prefer to do what we want. We resolve the struggle in prayer by declaring that we give Him complete control over our lives each day. In that way, we allow His will to be done on earth.

DISCUSS: Question #3 (PSG, p. 26): What can help us keep a kingdom focus as we pray? (Alternate: How does knowing who God is help us pray?)

Matthew 6:11-13 TRANSITION: “After we 11 Give us today our daily bread.

submit ourselves to God and

12 And forgive us our debts,

His kingdom, we can bring our

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

needs to Him.”

13 And do not bring us into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.

STUDY THE BIBLE

[For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory

Matthew 6:11-13

forever. Amen.]

10 minutes

KEY WORDS: Daily bread (v. 11)—The basic food for people in Jesus’ day, made from flour and water then baked. It was prepared and provided for each coming day.

READ: Ask a volunteer to read Matthew 6:11-13.

Debts (v. 12)—Not financial balances due but sins for which a person was accountable. The debt was sin, and the debtor was the sinner.

GUIDE: Note the author

Present all your needs to God.

summarizes our needs in this passage into these categories:

Verse 11. Once we submit ourselves to our heavenly Father and His kingdom, we can bring up our needs as we pray. In this section, Jesus taught about the way He intends for His followers to bring needs to the heavenly Father. As we study His instruction, three details come into view. First, Jesus taught to ask the Father to give us what we need—our daily bread. By asking Him to meet our needs, we acknowledge that He provides everything necessary for us as serve Him. It also reflects our dependence on Him. This approach does not imply we no longer have to work. Rather, it underscores our trust in Him to provide us with what we need, whether it’s supplied by providing an income so we can purchase it or it’s supplied in some other way. Second, Jesus directed believers to pray for what they would need in the day before them. In the first century, bread was a basic resource needed to sustain life. With it, © 2015 LifeWay

physical, forgiveness, and protection. (See PSG, pp. 27-29).

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THE POINT

Prayer is grounded in a desire to honor God.

Focus on verse 11. IN ADVANCE, obtain a loaf of bread, preferably not in a wrapper. Show the loaf, and explain that by asking God to meet our physical needs, we acknowledge that He provides everything necessary for us as serve Him. It also reflects our dependence on God and underscores our trust in Him to provide us with what we need.

DISCUSS: Question #4 (PSG, p. 28): In what ways does a person’s lifestyle impact praying for “daily bread”? (Alternate: How have your experiences with prayer influenced your ability to trust God?)

GUIDE: Call attention to verse 12 to highlight our need for forgiveness. Explain that followers of Christ have been completely forgiven through the sacrificial death of Jesus on your behalf. Therefore, Jesus is teaching us to pray prayers of confession.

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S e ss i o n 2

people would be able to live. Without it, they would starve. Therefore, their priority every day was bread. Jesus took the reality of bread for the coming day to encourage disciples to ask the heavenly Father each day to meet their needs as they served Him daily. By instructing us to pray for daily bread, Jesus did not suggest we should not plan for the long-term future. Instead, He urged us to trust the Father to meet our needs as we face the daily challenges associated with being His disciples. Our best choice is to make sure we ask Him to give us what we need as we pray at the beginning of each new day. Third, Jesus showed us once again to keep others in mind as we pray. Instead of asking God for my daily bread, Jesus guided us to pray for our daily needs to be met. The meaning of the plural pronoun is obvious. We serve as citizens of His kingdom, and so do other Christians. As we bring up what we need, we do well to remember the needs of others who are devoted to Him too. Verse 12. In prayer, along with resources we also ask for something else. We bring to our heavenly Father a need that will strengthen our relationships. Jesus pointed out that strengthening relationships with our heavenly Father and others involves forgiveness. He made that point by reminding us that we have debts to pay because of our sin. Of course, the debt was paid when Jesus gave His life for us on the cross. Once we are saved, we live as forgiven sinners. We still sin, and we cannot dismiss that reality or pretend it doesn’t exist. Calling attention to our debt when we pray prompts us to ask our heavenly Father to forgive us. As a result, our relationship with Him is strengthened by the fresh joy of His forgiveness. But forgiveness has another dimension. Our relationships with others need to be strengthened too. And they’re strengthened by forgiving others. People violate us with things they do against us. Instead of holding a grudge or retaliating, kingdom citizens determine to forgive them. We have no other choice in light of the forgiveness we experience in our walk with our heavenly Father. Therefore, Jesus expects us to forgive others before we ask our heavenly Father to forgive us. Verse 13. Along with daily resources and strengthened relationships, we are directed to ask for His help to steer clear of anything that would draw our focus away from © 2015 LifeWay

serving Him. Jesus encouraged us to pray for spiritual direction. All of us face trials as we walk with the Lord. If we’re not careful, the trials we face can become opportunities for us to take self-serving actions that won’t please Him. That’s when they become temptation. Sometimes our most difficult struggle involves resisting temptations that come our way as we deal with trials in our lives. Because of that struggle, we ask for our heavenly Father’s direction when we pray. Specifically, we ask Him to guide us so we will not pass through the way of temptation but go instead in a direction that will honor Him. In some Bible versions, a declaration of submission is given at the conclusion of the model prayer. Granted, some scholars have noted that this declaration doesn’t appear in all of the ancient New Testament manuscripts. Even so, it’s a trustworthy declaration of our intention as kingdom citizens when we pray. The kingdom of God belongs to Him, so we want to please Him alone and avoid building our own kingdoms. Also, the power belongs solely to Him. We trust Him completely to empower us so we can serve Him well. In addition, all of the glory belongs to Him. We live to glorify Him and what He’s doing instead of glorifying ourselves and what we’ve done. When we use this declaration as our model in prayer, we declare that the Lord rules over us completely. Each day, we willingly and eagerly surrender ourselves to Him so we can honor Him with our lives.

By confessing, we agree that we see any sin in our lives as God sees it and that we are in need of His strength in breaking free from it. Developing the habit of confession reminds us of our constant need of God’s grace in our lives. Note verse 13 is a request for protection, for the ability to stand strong in the face of temptation. Believers must not let down their guard. We need God’s strength to help us stand in a sinful world.

DO: Direct attention to the activity, “Our Father” (PSG, p. 29). Invite volunteers to share their responses.

Matthew 6:14-15

TRANSITION: “If we expect

14 “For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly

forgiveness for ourselves, we

Father will forgive you as well.

must be willing to forgive

15 But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive

others.”

your wrongdoing.

STUDY THE BIBLE

Forgive others.

Matthew 6:14-15

Verse 14. Jesus went back to His instruction about forgiveness. He gave it further attention in these verses, teaching about this challenging directive. It helps us understand the connection between forgiving others and our heavenly Father’s forgiving us. When we received God’s gift of salvation through Christ, we confessed our sins and He forgave us. He took away the sins of the past, present, and future. The wall of sin © 2015 LifeWay

10 minutes READ: Ask a volunteer to read Matthew 6:14-15.

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THE POINT

Prayer is grounded in a desire to honor God.

SUMMARIZE: Now that we follow our Lord as forgiven sinners, forgiveness continues to play a critical role in our growth toward spiritual maturity. It serves as a crucial spiritual discipline that He expects us to put into practice. Like praying, giving, and fasting, which we learned about in the previous session, forgiving is something we determine to do so we will grow in the Lord. As we practice forgiving others, we have to make up our minds that we will work through the challenges that come with it. Only when we embrace forgiveness as a discipline of our faith in Christ can we appreciate the value of Jesus’ instruction about it in the Model Prayer.

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S e ss i o n 2

that separated us from God came tumbling down, and our sins were completely removed. The real-time experience of confessing our sin and receiving the Lord’s forgiveness still remains a precious memory for us when we reflect on the day we were born again. Nothing compares to the moment when our sins were taken away and we were declared righteous in His eyes. That’s the day we were born into God’s family. Now that we follow our Lord as forgiven sinners, forgiveness continues to play a critical role in our growth toward spiritual maturity. It serves as a crucial spiritual discipline that He expects us to put into practice. Like praying, giving, and fasting, forgiving is something we determine to do so we will grow in the Lord. As we practice this discipline, we have to make up our minds that we will work through the challenges that come with it. Only when we embrace forgiveness as a discipline of our faith in Him can we appreciate the value of Jesus’ instruction about it in the Model Prayer. Think about it this way. As we practice the spiritual discipline of forgiving others, we come to understand that it’s a matter of the heart. Our hearts can be filled with an unwillingness to forgive people who have violated us with their wrongdoings. Wrongdoing in this verse describes either a willful transgression or an unintentional offense. Someone did something to us that was offensive. They crossed the line with what they said or did, and their words or actions have harmed us. When we allow an unwillingness to forgive to remain in our hearts, it can turn into resentment and foster a desire for retaliation or revenge. For that reason, we learn that forgiving people who have wronged us is much better than carrying a grudge against them. When we forgive, we empty our hearts of the need to retaliate. Of course, letting go of the resentment may take quite a bit of effort. But we give ourselves to the hard work because we refuse to harbor resentment that stunts our spiritual growth. The testimony of a seasoned believer comes to mind. He had been a Christian since he was a child. For years he walked with the Lord with complete devotion. The Lord blessed him with excellent business skills and a superlative work ethic. He had a close friend who worked with him to start a business. Over time, the business grew and flourished. Then something tragic happened. His friend began to hide some of the money from the business and stash it away in a secret account. No one detected his crime for years. And © 2015 LifeWay

after the crime was exposed, the stolen money was never recovered. So much money had been stolen that the business had to be closed. That’s when the Christian had to struggle with forgiveness. For years, he allowed his friend’s wrongdoing to make him resentful. His friend had crossed the line, and the believer set out to get revenge. But as the Lord continued to work in his life, he came to see that he needed to let go of his unwillingness to forgive. Once he put the spiritual discipline of forgiveness to work in his life, he came to experience the peace and joy that resulted from emptying the lack of forgiveness out of his broken heart. When we take the hard road of forgiving, we determine we will empty our hearts of wrongs against us, and we trust the Lord to help us. That’s when we can expect Him to fill our hearts with the joy that comes when we experience His forgiveness in prayer. When we forgive, we’re ready to experience His forgiveness. That’s when we can ask Him to take our sins away. Verse 15. However, if we do not practice the spiritual discipline of forgiving, we will pay a high spiritual price. If our hearts are full of resentment because others have crossed the line in our lives and hurt us, we leave no room to receive His forgiveness. Consequently, our relationship with Him is damaged, and our growth in Him is stalled. The matter of nourishing a forgiving heart is so important to Jesus that He brought it to our attention more than a few times. For example, in His parable of the unforgiving steward, He showed us the absurdity of expecting to be forgiven by God when we refuse to forgive others (Matt. 18:23-35). His instruction about moving mountains when we pray also drives home the need to forgive. He instructed us to trust Him when we pray to move mountains. But at the same time, He expects us to forgive people who have hurt us (Mark 11:25). When we take seriously His mandate to forgive others before we seek His forgiveness, we honor Him when we pray.

GUIDE: Call attention to verse 15. Emphasize that if we do not practice the spiritual discipline of forgiving, we will pay a high spiritual price. If our hearts are full of resentment because others have crossed the line in our lives and hurt us, we leave no room to receive His forgiveness. Consequently, our relationship with Him is damaged, and our growth in Him is stalled. Any follower of Christ not willing to forgive another is certainly not acting like a believer. Take to heart the apostle Paul’s words: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ” (Eph. 4:32). (LEADER PACK: Point to the verse on Item 2: “Forgive,” and lead the group to say it together.)

DISCUSS: Question #5 (PSG, p. 30): When have you seen the power of forgiveness change lives? (Alternate: Which is harder: accepting God’s forgiveness or forgiving someone?)

© 2015 LifeWay

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THE POINT

Prayer is grounded in a desire to honor God.

LIVE IT OUT 5 minutes GUIDE: Emphasize The Point: Prayer is grounded in a desire to honor God. Review Live It Out (PSG, p. 31; see text to the right). Encourage each group member to commit to follow through this week with at least one of the applications.

Wrap It Up GUIDE: Emphasize that regular prayer is absolutely essential to a growing

LIVE IT OUT Prayer is essential to a growing relationship with God through faith in Christ. Jesus gave us a model to guide our prayer lives. How will you put the Model Prayer into practice this week?

>> Seek to Honor God first. If praying is an irregular

practice in your life, plan to spend a brief time in prayer each morning. Recite Matthew 6:9-10 as you begin, or put the verses into your own words with the focus on honoring God and seeking His will. Then allow your focus on Him to guide your requests.

>> Pray for another person. Discover a person in your

church or neighborhood who is going through financial difficulties, and pray each morning a “daily bread” prayer for him or her. Be available to God to use you to help meet a need of this person as He leads.

>> Forgive. Confess to God any bitterness you may have

for a person who has hurt you or someone close to you. Seek God’s forgiveness, and begin praying for the person. If possible, contact the person in an attempt to reconcile.

relationship with Christ. SAY: “Let’s resist the temptation to become selfcentered in our praying and remain focused in our desire to honor God every time we pray.” PRAY: “Father, thank you for the opportunity to come to you in prayer. Strengthen us to place your honor above everything else when we pray. Amen.”

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S e ss i o n 2

© 2015 LifeWay

Pharisees posted themselves

SHARING THE GOOD NEWS

there throughout the day to

The most important prayer

pray. Rather, at the time of the

we can pray is a prayer to

afternoon sacrifice, loud trumpets

ask for forgiveness, placing

heard throughout Jerusalem

our trust in Jesus Christ.

sounded from the temple. Some ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/BOB SCHATZ

Pharisees apparently arranged their schedules so they would “just happen” to be in the middle of the market when the temple trumpets blew. Then they would have to Roman arches in the northwest section of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The following excerpt is from the article “Prayer Customs in FirstCentury Judaism” (Spr. 1996), which relates to this session and can be purchased at www.lifeway. com/biblicalillustrator.

stop and pray—to the admiration of the crowds.”

with anyone in your group who wants to know more about becoming a Christian. See the article, “Leading Someone to the Greatest

of the Model Prayer” (Fall 1996),

guidance in leading a person

and “Forgiveness” (Sum. 1986)

to Christ.

relate to this session and can be purchased at www.lifeway.com/ biblicalillustrator. Look for Biblical Illustrator for Bible Studies for Life.

public from a standing position,

Judaism” (Spring 1996) can also be

whether at the temple or in

found on the DVD in the Leader

the synagogue. When Jesus

Pack.

corners (Matt. 6:5), He probably

the session to speak privately

Decision of All,“ on page 2 for

“Prayer Customs in First-Century

stood and prayed on the street

available either before or after

Previous articles “The Church’s Use

“In Jesus’ time, men prayed in

criticized the hypocrites who

Each week, make yourself

Remind group members that page 2 in the PSG offers guidance in how to become a Christian. Encourage believers to consider using this article as they have opportunities to lead others to Christ.

Subscribe to Biblical Illustrator at www.lifeway.com/biblicalillustrator, or call 1-800-458-2772.

did not mean that some of the

>> Get expert insights on weekly studies through the Ministry Grid (MinistryGrid.com/web/BibleStudiesFor Life). >> Grow with other group leaders at the Groups Ministry blog (lifeway.com/groupministry). >> Additional ideas for your group are available at BibleStudiesFor Life.com/blog. © 2015 LifeWay

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