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Now, here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Hi, this is Robert Jeffress, and I am glad to study God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory, Jesus taught us that prayer has to be a priority in our life. But then Jesus gave us the pattern for how to pray, beginning in Matthew chapter six, beginning in verse nine. Jesus said, "When you pray, pray in this way." Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr.
Robert Jeffress. Many of us remember memorizing the Lord's Prayer in Sunday school, but the Lord's Prayer isn't a poem simply to learn by rote. It's God's instruction manual for powerful and effective prayer. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress gives an overview of the model Jesus provided for laying our requests before God's throne.
But first, let's take a moment to hear some important ministry updates. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Let me begin this brand new week of Bible teaching with a personal question: How much time did you spend talking to God this past week? Oh, for some, that question really makes us squirm. Why is that?
Well, I think many of us are simply uncertain how to pray, and frustrated when our prayers don't seem to be answered.
So we treat prayer like the oxygen mask on an airplane, comforting to know it's there, but something we grab only in an emergency. But prayer isn't an oxygen mask; it's oxygen itself. Today we begin a new series called "Prayers That Really Work," and in this study, I want to show you from the prayer Jesus gave us, often called the Lord's Prayer, how to pray with confidence and power. You know, when my daughter Julia was a little girl, we taught her she could pray big things. That simple truth shaped her whole life, and now she's written "You Can Pray Big Things," a beautifully illustrated book that shows children no request is too big or too small for God.
It's the perfect bedtime book for parents and grandparents to read aloud to the young child in their life, and with Christmas just around the corner. It makes a wonderful gift too, and for you, I've written a book on prayer for adults called Spiritual Essentials: How to Study the Bible, How to Pray. When you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, I'm going to send both books to your home. I'll say more about both books when I finish today's study. Right now, let's give our attention to Matthew chapter six.
I titled today's message. God's pattern for prayer. Few years ago, the security service chief of Gaza was in a motorcade when suddenly Israeli troops opened up fire on the motorcade. The panicked security chief reached for the phone in his car, and he immediately called the then president of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat, and asked Arafat if he could be of some assistance that he was under fire. Yasser Arafat, upon receiving The call picked up.
The telephone call, and he called the U.S. ambassador to Israel and pleaded for intervention. The ambassador in Israel picked up the phone and called U.S. Secretary of State at that time Colin Powell and asked for assistance. When Colin Powell heard about the ambush, he picked up the phone and he called the Prime Minister in Israel, Ariel Sharon, and asked for assistance.
Sharon said yes and ordered a ceasefire. That security chief's life was saved literally because he had the right connections. He knew whom to call. You know, you and I, if we're Christians, we have a connection available to us to someone infinitely more powerful than the Secretary of State. Through prayer, we can be connected to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
We can call to Him for His help at any time, and yet even though we possess that connection, it is a connection that most Christians use infrequently and ineffectively. If you have your Bibles, turn to Matthew chapter six. Matthew chapter six, beginning in verse nine, Jesus said, "When you pray, pray in this way." He never said, "Pray this prayer." Nowhere did God mean for us to ever repeat the Lord's Prayer, the model prayer, word for word.
Nowhere in the New Testament did any apostle ever pray this prayer word for word. Instead, this is a pattern for how to pray.
Now we're going to look at this first phrase today—the phrase that tells us that we're to begin with praise—and the theme of the sermon is very simple. Today, we ought to always begin with praise. To God, our prayers should always begin with praise to God. Jesus modeled this when he began his prayer. Remember, he was teaching his disciples to pray.
He said, "Pray in this way: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name." Now, in those two phrases, are two very crucial concepts to remember when you pray. First of all, the first phrase reminds us of our relationship to God, our Father who art in heaven.
Now, the word Abba is an Aramaic term of endearment for a father. For a Palestinian boy or girl who was born into a family, the first word they learned was the word Emma, mommy, mama. The second word they would learn was the word "Abba." It means "Daddy," "Papa." Jesus said, "When you come into the presence of God, if you're related to Him through Christ Jesus, if you're a part of His family, you can come to Him saying, 'Daddy,' 'Papa.'" Now, honestly, some people have trouble with that. They have trouble thinking of God in such intimate terms. Mainly because of the biological father they have.
Some of you listening today, you have fathers that maybe were cold and distant and detached from your life, and it's hard for you to picture God as a loving, caring father. And if that's true for you, I want to encourage you when you pray: remember, you have a father who loves you. Our daddy, our papa, who is in heaven, he's a powerful monarch, but he is a loving father. I know, for some of you, maybe that just seems almost bordering on sacrilegious to think of of God as your daddy or papa. I want you to notice in the second phrase how Jesus balances that truth when he talks about our reverence for God.
He says, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." How many of you have ever prayed that prayer before? You've actually repeated those words, "Hallowed be Thy name." How many of you would feel comfortable standing up and giving a precise definition of what that means? Isn't it funny we pray that prayer? Very few of us understand what that means. "Hallowed be Thy name." Now there are two parts of that phrase.
First of all, Thy name. What do we mean by Thy Name? We sing a lot about the name of God. We're constantly talking about the name of God. What's the big deal about God's name?
Let me show you what the big deal is. I'm going to give you a name, and I want you to tell me, think about what comes to your mind when I say the name Robert. What do you think about?
Some of you ladies think about Robert Redford, the actor.
Okay, some of you more literary types might think about Robert Louis Stevenson, the great Stevens, the great writer. But if I say the name Robert James Jeffress Jr., there is a very definite image that comes into your mind. You think about my appearance, my voice, my mannerisms. You think about the things you like about me, the things you don't like about me. But you definitely have a feeling when I say that name, because that name simply represents my entire being.
Of course, that leads to the second part of that phrase, "hallowed." What does that mean? When we're talking about God's name, that is His being. Being hallowed. What do we mean?
Now that word hallowed is an old English word that comes from the Greek word hagios, and the word hagios means holy. When we say our Father who is in heaven, what we're praying is holy is your name.
Now, what does the word holy mean?
Some people say, "Well, that means to be free from sin." Well, that's one aspect of it, but that's not really the meaning of holy. The word holy comes from an Old Testament word that means to cut or to separate. When we say God is holy, what we're saying is God is separate. He is different. He is distinct.
He is a cut above any one or anything here on earth. You see that usage in Exodus 28. Remember, one of the commandments was: "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it what holy." Does that mean keep it free from sin? No, it means keep it different, separate than every other day of the week. In First Peter two nine, Peter says that we are to be a holy people.
If you are a Christian, that means you are to live separately, differently than the unbelievers around you. And in the same way, when we come before God, we are to remember that God is holy. He is separate. He is different than we are. Holy be your name.
That's what Jesus said we ought to begin our prayers with.
Now the truth is, God is holy, regardless of whether you and I recognize it or not. Isn't He? There's nothing we can do to make God any holier than He is.
So why should we pray, Holy be your name, if your name is already holy? Why should we pray, May you be holy, God? What he's talking about is not making God holy in the world; making God holy in our own lives. That's what this prayer is about. When we come before God, yes, we remember He is our Papa, He's our Daddy, but we're to also remember He is holy.
He is different than anyone or anything on earth. He's not our good buddy. He's not the man upstairs. He is the sovereign Creator of the universe. He's our Creator.
How do we remember that? How do we make God holy, different, separate in our lives? And I suggest three practical ways that we make God holy. First of all, we hallow God's name. We make God's name holy through our worship of His being.
Great illustration of that is found in Psalm eighty-six, David. Wrote this psalm when he was going through a lot of problems. I mean, he was having problems at home. He really had problems at home. But not only that, he had problems at work.
The kingship deal wasn't going that well, and he was weighed down with all of these problems. But when he came into the presence of God, instead of coming with a laundry list of things he wanted God to do for him, I want you to notice how David prayed. Look at this Psalm 86 verses 8 to 10. There is no one like you. Among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.
All nations whom you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and they shall glorify your name, for you are great, and you do wondrous deeds. You alone are God. Do you notice how he prayed? He began by saying, "God, you are different than all the other gods. You are holy, you are great, and you are majestic." And then notice in verse seventeen how David closed the prayer.
He said, "Show me a sign for good that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, because you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me." David began the prayer weighed down with anxiety and worry. He finished the prayer, comforted and at peace. What changed? None of his problems had gone away in those moments he was on his knees. What changed was his perspective.
As he concentrated, as he began thinking about who God was, the power, the majesty of God, his problems melted away. And the same will be true for you when you pray. Don't rush into God's presence. With all of your requests, there'll be time for that. But at least begin by remembering the holiness, the separateness of God.
We hallow God's name through the worship of His being. Secondly, we hallow God's name through our obedience to His will. Through our obedience to His will, that's how we make God holy in our hearts by obeying His will. In First Peter three fifteen, the apostle writes, "But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts." That word "sanctify" is that Greek word I just told you about, "hagios" to be holy. It says, "Make Jesus holy as Lord in your hearts." Now, again, you can't make Jesus any more holy than he is.
But notice what it says is, "He said, 'Make him Lord in your hearts.' That is, put God on the throne of your life, just as he is on the throne in heaven. Let God have the final say in your life and everything about your life." Some of you are old enough to remember this. Remember the old Saturday Night Live? There was a comedian on there named Chevy Chase. Remember Chevy Chase?
And Chevy Chase would do the weekend update, and he would begin his weekend update every time with this line: He would say, "Hi, I'm Chevy Chase, and you're not." Remember that? I'm Chevy Chase, and you're not. You know what Jesus is saying? When we come into the presence of God, we ought to begin by saying, "God, you're God. I'm not." And therefore, you have a right to make every decision in my life.
That's how we hallow, make holy the name of God by obeying what we already know to be true.
Somebody has said, "Prayer is ever and always, first and foremost, a recognition of God's majestic glory and a submission to it." Third, we hallow God's name; we make God's name holy in our life. Through our awareness of His presence, through our awareness of His presence, in Psalm 16 verse 8, David said, "I have set the Lord always before me." I hope you'll memorize that verse. Psalm 16:8. I have set the Lord always before me.
Now, what was he saying? How can a finite being like David take hold of an infinite being like God and set God before him? That sounds kind of crazy when you think about it. No, what he was saying is not that he makes God any more omnipresent than he already is. God was always omnipresent.
God was always before David. What David is saying, in my mind, in my thinking, I have set the Lord before me. That is, I have trained myself to always be aware of His presence.
Now there were times in David's life when he was aware of God's presence. Remember in Psalm one thirty nine, David said, "Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there. If I make my bed in Sheol, Thou art there." David said, "I don't care where I go; I can't get away from You, God.
If I go up to heaven, You are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, that is the grave; You are there as well." And yet, there were times when David wasn't aware of God's presence. When he made his bed with Bathsheba, he conveniently forgot the presence of God. Ladies and gentlemen, the single most revolutionary thought you can saturate your mind with is this: God is always judging your every thought, your every action. That's what David was saying in Psalm sixty-eight.
I have always set the Lord ever before me. I am constantly reminding myself that God is watching, He's evaluating, He's judging my every thought and action. That's how we make God's name holy in our life through the constant awareness of His presence.
Now, that's easier said than done, isn't it? How can we keep the Lord before us in a practical way?
Well, one reason we come together on Sundays is to do just that. We need a weekly reminder, but once a week isn't enough. We need daily reminders that God is always present. That's why we talk about the importance of reading God's word daily, of praying daily. I tell you, even if you're in one of those passages, like I was talking about a few weeks ago in Second Kings, that is dry as dust—at least in your own mind at that time—and absolutely has no application to your life.
There is value in reading the Word of God, if nothing else, to remind you that God is ever before you. He's watching you. He is ruling your life, just like He did the Israelites. We do it through reading scripture, but you know, if you are like me, I need hourly, I need minute by minute reminders that the Lord is ever before me. One way you might do that is by putting scripture verses around your house, framing them to have the Word of God all throughout your house.
In your office, maybe put some. Mementos of spiritual milestones in your life. I have a picture taken on a trip to Philippi that sits in my office. A few years ago, it's where I made a momentous decision. At that point, it was a spiritual milestone in my life.
For some of you, it might be a baptismal certificate or something else. Just something that reminds you that your life is more than what you see. That's how we keep the Lord before us. We keep the Lord before us by the music that we listen to. That has a way of either feeding or discouraging our spiritual nature.
We need to set the Lord before us by what we watch and what we listen to.
Now I know I'm going to step on some toes here, but there's some of you who need to change the station on your car radio. You need to quit listening to all that talk radio, okay? You need to quit listening to those people who keep telling you that America is going to hell in a handbasket. They are feeding off of your fears. They are making millions and millions of dollars by.
Proclaiming a negative message by telling you that everything is just so awful right now, and some of you listen to that and you get all worked up and you get your emails going back and forth and you dump them on me sometimes, you know. And oh, pastor, you where? What's going on? Oh, the sky is falling. Oh, woe is us.
That is being a terrible witness for God to be that way. We don't need to feed our mind on fear. We need to change our station from one go to ninety point nine KCBI, and listen to messages from God's Word that remind you, no matter what's happening in Washington D.C., God's still on His throne.
Okay, He's still sovereign. He still has a plan that He's working out. Instead of having Glenn Beck ever before you, instead have God ever before you. Keep your mind centered on what He's doing. Get His perspective on the world affairs, and you'll have a much better life.
We need to constantly remind ourselves that God is in control. We make God's name holy by constantly being aware of His presence. David Jeremiah tells a true story about one man who found a unique way to do that. Brendan Manning was a Catholic priest who one day received a phone call asking if he would go and see a man who was dying in the hospital. Manning went, and as he went into the hospital room, he saw the man laying in bed, dying, and next to the hospital bed was an empty chair.
The man who was dying said, "Father, I realize I'm about to die. That doesn't bother me. I'm ready to go meet Jesus." But I do have a question I want to ask you. It's been bothering me for years. Father Manning said, "Well, what's the question?" He said years ago I was having difficulty in my prayer life.
I felt like my prayers never made it above the ceilings. And a friend suggested that if, when I prayed, I would pull up an empty chair next to me, and imagine that Jesus Christ was sitting in that chair, it would give new vitality to my prayer life. And so, years ago, I started doing that. I started praying with an empty chair next to me. I imagined that Jesus was there, and I found myself praying sometimes an hour at a time.
Father Manning, I want to know now, as I'm about to die, was that all right to do? Father Manning says, "Not only is it all right; I think it delighted the heart of God for you to realize that prayer was an intimate conversation with your heavenly Father." Father Manning left the hospital room. A few days later, he received a telephone call from the daughter of that man. She said, "Father Manning, I wanted to thank you for coming to see my dad. I wanted to let you know that he went home to be with the Lord this morning.
But Father Manning, when we went into the hospital room, we saw something strange. Our dad was in a strange position. His head was leaning up against an empty chair." That man had discovered what prayer really is all about. Yes, when we pray, we're coming into the presence of a powerful monarch, the one whose throne is in heaven, whose footstool is the earth. Yes, but when we pray, we're also coming into the presence of a loving heavenly Father who cares about every detail of our life.
The kind of father we may not have experienced, but the kind of father every one of us has longed for. Engaging with the living God is like pulling up a chair and chatting with a good friend, and when we create this imagery in our minds, it's so much easier to open our hearts and begin talking to God. He longs to hear from us.
Well, there's much more to learn together about prayer, and in the days ahead, we'll dig deeper into the study about prayers that really work. Along the way, I'm recommending that you request the two books. I mentioned earlier, the first is for you. It's my book for adults called Spiritual Essentials: How to Study the Bible, How to Pray. Like any friendship, our relationship with God requires us to spend time talking with and listening to Him.
But most of us don't know how to carry on a conversation with God. My book will help you do so. The second is written by my daughter Julia Jeffress Sadler, and it's for the young child in your life. Kids are fully capable of pulling up a chair and having a chat with God, but sometimes they need a little guidance and prompting from Mom and Dad or Grandma and Grandpa. It's called "You Can Pray Big Things," and it's the perfect book to read together at bedtime.
It also makes a wonderful Christmas gift. Both books will be sent. To your home with my thanks when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. Here's David to tell you more. Today, when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, you're invited to request a copy of Julia Jeffress Sadler's book for children.
You can pray big things. Plus, you'll receive Dr. Jeffress's highly practical book for adults, Spiritual Essentials. To request these two resources, call 866-999-2965, visit ptv.org, or text ptv to 78800. And when your gift is seventy-five dollars or more, we'll also send you this month's teaching series, "Prayers That Really Work," on both audio and video disc.
One more time, call eight six six nine nine nine two nine six five, or visit p t v dot org. If you'd prefer to write, here's that address: P O Box two twenty three six zero nine Dallas Texas seven five two two two. Again, that's P O Box two twenty three six zero nine Dallas Texas. Seven five two two two. I'm David J Mullins.
When you bow your head in prayer, what's the first thing you say? Find out why the way you begin your conversations with God bears particular significance. Join us Tuesday for Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas.
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Well, they're going quickly. Just picture yourself aboard the beautiful Celebrity Infinity sailing round trip. From Athens, now each day you'll gather for biblical teaching, worship, and fellowship, and then you'll step ashore to stand where Paul stood in Ephesus and walk the streets of Thessaloniki, where his letters still speak to the church today. Nine unforgettable nights with more biblical destinations along the way. Every meal prepared, every detail taken care of, plus the joy of traveling with like-minded believers.
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