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Honest communication with God is so essential, and today Dr. Wilton takes us to a familiar passage to give us even more insight. That's right, we'll be headed to Matthew chapter 6 on today's message of the Lord's Prayer with Dr. Don Wilton in just a moment, but we want you to know that we're here and available to connect you with a number of resources every single day.

Dr. Wilton sends out a free email, and you can sign up on our website at www.tewonline.org to get that email. It's not about resources, it's not about trying to convince you to buy something, it's all about teaching God's Word on a daily basis. A wonderful passage of Scripture, a daily insight, and an opportunity to pray, it's online at www.tewonline.org. Just sign up for the daily encouraging word devotional.

Again, that's online at www.tewonline.org. Now today's message with Dr. Don Wilton. As we study God's Word today, the Lord has put a very particular word into my heart today, and I'm going to ask you to open your Bibles to Matthew's Gospel and chapter 6. Matthew's Gospel and chapter 6. You'll need your Bible, so maybe using your computer right now or that Bible app.

Maybe you got a hard copy like I've got when I preach and share God's Word. You know, here's the bottom line. I want you to see what God has to say about what I'm about to share with you. Here's the subject we're going to be looking at.

Very simple. Please, God. I'm going to say that again. I want this to get into your heart. Please, God. Maybe I can say this again. Please, God, would you?

Can you hear that? So I don't know where you are right now, but God does. He knows exactly where you are. He knows how long you've been at it. He knows about the scars that you carry.

You know what he knows about? He knows about your regrets. Knows about those things that you and I do and have done.

Some of them go way back, don't they? He well knows about the language that you used that you deeply regret. He knows. He knows all about us. Do you know that he sees us? He loves us.

One of my favorite Bible verses, and I'm sure yours is too, that even the very hairs upon our heads are numbered in the presence of God. He made you. Jesus died for you. And he loves you. He knows you. He sees you. And he wants you to know something that you can come to him and say, please, God, I got some things I need to talk to you about.

You know what? He not only hears our prayer, but he answers our prayer. Join me as we pray together. Lord, right now, I want to pray for people, friends of mine, people that I don't know, people that send me emails, write to me, people in my own congregation, people in congregations and gathering all across the United States of America. I want to pray for people in uniform right now. People who serve, our brave men and women everywhere, for our medical community. Lord, right now, specifically, I'm praying for somebody who's grappling and crying out to you. They don't know whether they should.

Maybe someone who feels like they're begging. Maybe, Lord, I just pray that right now people not only give their lives to Christ, but they would come to the point at which they see you as our loving, heavenly Father. This is the moment of decision. This is your encouraging word. And we believe it.

I believe it. May someone right now believe it, that we can come to you and say, please, God, in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

All right. So let's go to Matthew chapter six. I'm going to read to you the Lord's Prayer.

That's right. What a prayer. So much that can be said about the Lord's Prayer. I love the Lord's Prayer, don't you? I feel as though I've prayed the Lord's Prayer all my life.

I went to boarding school in Africa as a young boy. We prayed the Lord's Prayer. I have quoted, recited the Lord's Prayer. And I might add, in languages other than English, I've said the Lord's Prayer.

I've read it. I've preached on the Lord's Prayer. And I want you to see something today that God has put in my heart. Here's this group of people. These were people just like you and me living in a struggling world surrounded by very difficult circumstances. Can only imagine the regrets that they had, the unkind things that they'd said.

I wish we could sort of take a peek into their family life. I wouldn't be surprised if one of these men who were the disciples had a real problem with constantly leaving to follow Jesus all over, because back at home, they always left their wives, the mothers and their children. Maybe you've been left at home and you've got such a sweet spirit about you. Maybe your husband or your wife, whoever's the breadwinner in your home, is out there making ends meet and having to travel a lot, pack suitcases. You know, I've got a friend I know that comes home on Friday night, gets home at seven o'clock at night, and spends Saturday and Sunday, Monday morning, first thing, 6 a.m., the first flight out of town. They go on all week.

This has been going on for years. This particular person hasn't been home for years during the week, comes home on the weekends. Hard to be a father, a mother, just on weekends, right? Boy, do we thank God for parents who have been sort of foundation holders and builders. We're just so grateful to the Lord for that. Well, this is what Jesus said when they came and said, Lord, teach us to pray. Jesus said, and I'm reading from verse nine of Matthew chapter six, this then is how you should talk with God, talk to God.

This is how you should converse, have a conversation with God. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, just as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us for our debts, as we also have forgiven those who have sinned against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. And many manuscripts add, for thine is the kingdom, yours is the kingdom, yours is the power and the glory forever and forever.

Amen. You know, my friends, a lot can be said about the Lord's Prayer. This is a theological statement. It's a doctrinal statement.

It's a teaching statement. Tells us about God, tells us about ourselves, uncovers just a myriad of deep truths about life and about our relationship with our Heavenly Father. But I'm going to tell you that God showed me something that I just simply pass on to you today. God was showing us something. The Lord Jesus gathered these who meant so much to him. And in this instance, I could heard Jesus say to those that he loved, you can ask me, please, would you do whatever it is that you're asking?

And Jesus was very specific. I want us to go through this and show you something amazing. What is it that we can go to our Heavenly Father and ask him? You know, I'm putting that word please there.

Please, God. Because I think it's absent many times, don't you think? I think it's symptomatic sometimes even of our own interrelationships. Have you noticed how so many people forget the little please?

Thank you. You know, I think God's got something to say about that. You know, we need to teach our sons and our daughters and we and ourselves need to be just so much more deliberate when we ask someone for something. You know, it doesn't hurt to say please. And when someone gives us something to say thank you. Even with our grandchildren, with our sons and daughters, with our spouses, with one another.

But it falls on me. I want to be able to say please. And I want God to remind me always, I'm surrounded by such precious people. Thank you.

I thank you. I say to you today, please, would you give your life to Christ? Would you trust Jesus as your Savior?

I'm asking you. Please forgive the interruption, but always the pastor challenges us with that concept of trusting Jesus Christ. Perhaps you'd like to talk with someone. We would love to answer questions if the Lord is stirring your heart in this teaching at the 866-899 word number. Again, I pray you jot it down or store it in your cell.

It's available 24 hours a day, 866-899-9673. We'll connect with one of us. Happy to talk or listen or pray or connect you with great resources like this. When Jesus comes, every eye will see him, even those who crucified Jesus and those who mocked the name of Jesus. Do not be shocked or surprised at what's going on in America today.

We had better wake up, America. Jesus is coming again. This month, for your gift of support of the encouraging word, you will receive Dr. Wilton's powerful and timely message, Trusting God, along with the bonus DVD movie on celebrating Ruth Bell Graham, a life marked by the faithfulness of God. Call us at 866-899-WORD to request Trusting God and the bonus DVD movie today for a gift of $20 or more.

Thank you for standing with us. It's a wonderful resource, but there's so many more. You'll discover them on our website at www.tewonline.org. And of course, yes, that's the place you can find the new book from Dr. Wilton called Saturdays with Billy about his time with Dr. Billy Graham.

All the details are online at www.tewonline.org. Now back to today's message on the Lord's Prayer with Dr. Don Wilton. Kindly, I mean, please, please today, it carries with it in many ways an urgency, doesn't it? But it also carries a marked sense of directiveness. Please, would you give your life to Christ?

But it carries with it. Yes, I am. I'm begging you to do that because this is important. Your relationship with Christ is that important. I beg you, please give your life to Christ. Call that number on the television screen and tell me I've given my life to Christ. Contact us, send an email, tell your next friend, please, would you do that?

Please, I ask you to do that. You know, when you give your life to Christ, I want to say to you, thank you for giving your heart to Jesus. I'm not thanking you, accepting, telling you, that's an expression in many ways of my joy because you have become my brother, my sister in Christ. So what was it that Jesus was sharing with us here today that would fall into that category? Well, there's seven activities that are focused into the content of what Jesus was giving to all of us and saying to us, you can say, please, God, this is what he wants to do.

Let's go through them. Number one, please come. Look at that first statement there in verse 10. Your kingdom come. Please, O God, would you bring the reality of your heavenly kingdom to bear full brunt on the sin sick world of ours? You know, I've thought about that, why please come? Why did God tell us when we pray, let's ask him to bring his kingdom to come?

That means let it happen now. I think because Jesus knows how perfect his kingdom is. We don't any more than we understand perfect people. I was sharing with a friend just recently, you know, we lose loved ones and I have and you have and our hearts hurt and we miss them. And many times we punctuate the missing of our loved ones by saying, oh, if only daddy had been here for my wedding. Oh, that's very real. Well, I just wish God hadn't taken my mother so soon.

You know, I know that my sister's in heaven, but I just wish that she had. Oh, that's all real. Don't even think twice. Don't take away from that. I'm with you 100 percent. And here's Jesus saying, let's ask him, please, to bring his kingdom.

Do you know why? Because he knows what perfect means. The coming of his kingdom is the very announcement of the perfectness of the recreation of God.

It means everything goes back to the way God intended it to be. No exceptions. No one left out.

The earth and the firmament, the galaxy of God's sovereign orbit and every single person who is called upon the name of Jesus. Perfect. I love that, don't you?

We don't understand that. Jesus said, please come. Here's the second one. Please guide. Please guide me. Look at verse nine. Thy will be done. Your will be done. What does that mean? It means that Jesus is inviting all of us to ask him to guide us, to counsel us, to show us, to give us his wisdom, his direction, his understanding, his peace.

Your will be done. You know, by the way, in one John chapter two, the Bible says that you know him and the way you know that you know him is if in fact you do his commands. The one who says I know him but does not do his commands is a liar and the truth is not in that person. The Bible says the mark of knowing Christ as your saviour is the submission of you and I who claim to know Christ to the very will of God.

You know, Jesus showed us the way, standing in the garden of his betrayal and looking up to the heavens. This is Jesus himself sweating drops of blood and he says, oh God, please take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done.

Isn't this fantastic? Jesus looking at us saying, here's what you can ask him for. Please, please come. Please, God, you know, we sing a great hymn, guide me, oh, thou great Jehovah, pilgrim in a barren land. Guide me, you need God's guidance, I do, you do, we do, you take the will of God out of our lives, we become aimless. Just look at the children of Israel delivered from bondage in Egypt and every time they stop pleading with God to make known his will and to obey his will, they got into a speed wobble. They were running into each other, shouting, carrying on, getting into wars, hating one another.

Did you hear that people? The will of God, we need God's will when we marry, we need God's will in our homes, we need God's will for our lives, business decisions. We need God's will as we study his word, as we bring up our sons and our daughters. We need God's will in knowing which college to go to and which way to turn, we need God's will to know whether to go left or right.

Please, God, please, Lord Jesus, come, your kingdom come, please guide. Number three, please provide. I love this third one, verse 11, so basic, give us today our daily bread. By the way, I love bread, I know you do too. It's a basic, basic food type, basic. You know, I've been among people, you have too, where I'll tell you one slice of bread is a lot.

For some people, that's an entire meal. You know, what Jesus was saying here, look at the very basic, the basis of the things that you need in your life, the basic provision of your life. Ask God, what is it that you need today?

What is it? What are you yearning for? What's missing?

Where's the gap? What is it that you want God to do for you? Is it finances? Are you struggling to make ends meet?

Your job? Maybe your wage is not high enough, maybe you're barely making it. Maybe you've racked up some unbelievable medical bills and you're just so burdened and pray for God's miracle today. I'm going to pray with you. Write to me, say, Pastor, pray with me. Maybe you're just so burdened, maybe you've got so many bills right now, you don't know which way to turn.

Maybe it's to reconnect with a son that you love or a daughter. Maybe your basic provision is just a sense of peace in your home. Yes, you're married and you've got your home, but there's just a sense of disquiet. It's like an unspoken, unseen disquiet. I'm going to pray with you, okay?

That's what he's saying here. Please, Lord, provide. Yes, provide, we always reduce this to things, but it's the provision of my heart and my soul.

He'll do it for you. Number four, please forgive. Forgive us for our sin. You're a sinner, my friend.

That news to you? Bible says all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. None righteous, no, not one. Step number one with forgiveness is ask God to forgive you for your sin under salvation.

Do it now. Ask him to forgive you and receive Jesus into your heart. And I'm going to ask you in a minute to record that, to write that, to respond to that. You can say yes, because you've just given your life to Christ. Ask him to forgive. That's why he died on the cross for your sin and for my sin. Please, oh God, would you forgive me for my sin? And he'll do it because it's already been done on the cross. Jesus died for your sin and for mine. He paid the price in full. The debt is paid. You are forgiven, my friend. Wow, isn't that fantastic?

Number five, please help. I wish that Jesus had just stopped with the forgiveness. You know, I love talking about Jesus forgiving me.

But what did he say next? Just as I am forgiving those who have sinned against me. Whoa. You carrying that burden right now?

I tell you, folks, I don't know many people that don't. You've been hurt by someone. You've been abused at boarding school in your childhood. Someone molested you many years ago. Someone belittled you. Someone made fun of you when you were playing that sport. Someone made you feel about that big. Someone treated you sarcastically. Listen, the list goes on and you harbor something. Yeah, right, you do.

It's so hard to forgive, but you must forgive others. How do we do that? Please help me, Lord.

Can you hear that? Please help me, Lord. I can't do this, but you can when Jesus does it in and for you by his spirit. Number six, please prevent. Please prevent. Lead me not into temptation.

All of us get tempted. Lord, please prevent me from succumbing to the evil one. Lord, I've made a decision. I'm no longer going to say I'm no longer going to do. I'm no longer going to touch. I'm no longer going to be. Lord, help me. Please prevent me. You know what he does?

He throws up a roadblock. Christ in you enables you to become and overcome. One more. Please accept.

I love the last one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Please accept my praise of you like he doesn't.

But he wants us to. It's like my children, my grandchildren. They don't have to tell me that they love me. I know they do. But I still want them to tell me. It does something for my soul spirit. But you know it's good for them to tell me to.

You got it? That's who Jesus is. This, my friends, is the transforming work of God in Christ Jesus.

This is the relationship he gives us. Please, God, would you hear me? You ready to give your life to Christ?

Would you trust him as your Savior? And Lord, pray this prayer with me today. Dear God, please save me. I ask you, I repent of my sin, and by faith I receive you into my heart today. Please, God, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. Perhaps as Dr. Don was leading in that prayer, you made a decision to give your life to Christ for the first time or rededicate your life. I pray that you are like I am every time I hear the word. I want to move ahead different. And if there's changes that need to be made, we would love to pray along with you, especially if you've given your life to Christ for the first time or rededicated your life.

Dr. Wilton has a wonderful package of resources free for you. If you'll just call us at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. Or if you'd like to email Dr. Don and tell him what God's doing in your life, it's Don, D-O-N, at T-E-W, online.org. The letters are such a blessing to all of us, but especially to Dr. Don as you share what God's doing.

Love to hear from you. Don, D-O-N, at T-E-W, online.org. And speaking of T-E-W, online.org, that's our website. Many resources there, including the new book about Dr. Billy Graham. Again, it's online at T-E-W, online.org. Or give us a call for your copy at 866-899-9673.