How to Pray the Jesus Way

Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. Pastor, the Distinctives for Disciples series has been powerful. What is our topic today? In our current message series, we have covered assurance of salvation, the trustworthiness of scripture, the Bible, and the spirit-filled life. But how can we talk about Christian essentials without addressing the most basic practice of faith of all?

which is prayer. Here's the most profound truth you could ever grasp as a Christian. God Answers prayer. And I know that sounds simple, and you've heard it all your life. But think about how Your life would change if you really believed and acted on this truth.

God really does answer prayer. Today we're going to look at Jesus' example and how to pray the right way with the right heart to the right God.

So let's open our Bibles to Matthew chapter 6 and then let's learn how to pray the Jesus Way.

Now here's Dr. Graham with his message: how to pray the Jesus Way. Take your Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter 6.

Now Prayer is the most basic. Uh Religious practice, all religions. Every religion that I know prays in some way. But the question is Who is the God who hears our prayers? And If there is a God who hears our prayers, how do we get through?

How do we know that God is hearing and answering. Our prayers. Because not every prayer is a godly prayer. Not every prayer is a righteous prayer. Not every prayer is a biblical prayer.

Prayer.

So, Lord, we like the disciples say, Lord, teach us to pray. Of all the things that That inner circle of believers could have asked Jesus. They could have said, Lord, teach us to preach, or teach us to teach, and teach us to perform miracles. Yet, the one thing they said, Lord, teach us to pray. They saw.

in Jesus, the passion and the perseverance of his own prayer life. They knew he prayed differently than the self-righteous prayers of so many people that they'd seen around them. And so they said, Lord, teach us to pray like this. And so, in the midst of the greatest sermon ever delivered, known as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus took time and in other passages to teach on this subject of prayer. If I said to you I'm about to tell you, to give you the most profound thought.

than you could ever think as a Christian. All right. The most profound thing you could think about as a Christian. All right, here it is. Are you ready for this?

God Answers Prayer.

Now, if that is true. And I believe is true. According to God's word, And my own personal experience, and what I've seen in the lives of so many. If because that is true. Why is it that we have such a struggle to pray?

Why don't we pray? The scripture says you have not because you ask not. I mean, if you really believed, If God Almighty Answered. Your prayers. You would pray like never before.

You say, Well, I prayed and it didn't happen. I pray and it didn't work.

Well, you know, when we pray, there are Basically three answers, maybe four. One is yes, and you get the answer immediately or in due time. The other is no. God does say no. Have you ever thanked God for unanswered prayer?

Ruth Graham. The wife of Billy Graham once said, I thank God for unanswered prayer. If it hadn't been for unanswered prayer, I would have married the wrong man five times.

So God says no.

Sometimes I think with our prayers, the Lord may say, You've got to be kidding me. They really asked me that. It's like your kids sometimes, they ask you things, I can't believe you asked that. But Really, the third answer to prayer is. is wait and God may say wait because He's going to do something better and more than you could ask, dream, think, or imagine.

Do you know that? And so God does answer prayer in his own time and in his own way, according to his own will.

So we pray in the will of God, in the name of the Son of God, we can know that our prayers are answered. We ask the question. Does everyone pray to the same God? Are we all praying? Aren't we all on the same path to find God?

Aren't all the religions of the world equal? Aren't we the same? Is the God of Islam, Allah, the same as the God of the Jews, Yahweh?

Well, the answer is an absolute no. We do not pray to the same God. Recognize their true and false religions. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father, no one comes to God except by me. And so when we pray, we do not pray to Allah.

We pray to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And you say, well, that's narrow, that's restrictive.

Well, the Bible is narrow in this truth. And therefore, our biblical worldview is what. enables us to say with confidence and certainty. That Jesus is Lord. That our God and Father has given us His Son.

And His Spirit lives within us. And God gave us this all through the Jewish people. You say, why do we love Jewish people? Why do Christians care about Jewish people?

Well, God has chosen the Jewish people, and He called them, and it's a covenant that He has made with them, and it is a promise that He has given the Jewish people. And through the Jewish people, all the world has been blessed. How so? We have been blessed. In that Our Bible comes from Jewish people.

All the authors of the Bible, save one, are Jewish. From the psalmists to the prophets to the patriarchs. To the preachers of the New Testament, the apostles, All but one, and that was Luke. The physician. Who gave us the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, but all are Jewish people.

So God gave us our Bibles. Through the Jewish people. God gave us salvation. The Bible says salvation is of the Jews. Jonah said that from the belly of a fish, a Samaritan woman.

Talking to Jesus, said this to Jesus, that salvation is of the Jews. We know this. Our salvation came through the Jewish line, the Messianic line. We have a Jewish Savior. Jesus is Jewish.

Many Jewish people don't know that. Many Jewish people think that That we worship a Gentile God. No, we have been grafted in, we have been included as followers of Yeshua, and we are a part of the family of God because we are now in the new covenant and we are a part of God's eternal plan.

So the history of Israel, the destiny of Israel, is all in the message of God's Word, the Bible. And Therefore, we have great love. Our salvation is because of what has happened in Jesus. Through The Messiahic line through the Davidic line, through the promises of God. And if God denied his promises, these are ironclad promises.

If God denied his promises to the Jewish people, Then all the promises of God. would be invalidated. They would be untrustworthy. We have to ask the question. Why do so many people hate the Jews?

Why do these terrorist organizations hate the Jews and want to destroy the Jews?

Well, God gave Israel the land. But we have been so many times and met both Jews and Palestinian Christians and Muslim people in the land. And not every Muslim person is for the extermination of... the Jewish people. I would also say that not every Muslim person is a terrorist, but we know these terrorists are Muslims.

And so they worship Allah. They worship a different God. They worship a false religion. Again, there is true religion and false religion according to the Bible. That's just not what I say because I'm a Christian.

But it's what God's word teaches, and we are submitted to the word of God. But you have to ask your question: of all the little land, you know, the land of Israel is about. It's about the size of New Jersey. And it's really not even about, it is about the whole land, but even in the land, why, you know, all the end time events that are going to take place in the Middle East and in the world, why is the focus on Israel? Why is the focus on Jerusalem?

And not just Jerusalem, but a little plot of land called Mount Moriah, on top of Mount, about 14 acres, the Temple Mount, where now there is a Muslim place of worship there on top of the Temple Mount. And that is a very controversial area in Jerusalem today. But so it's about Israel, it's about Jerusalem, and it's about that little place, that little piece, that little partial, the very place where Jesus died for the sins of the world. Right there. And it's all coming to a conclusion, a climax.

There in Israel. We're seeing this come to be, and it's a whole other theme and a whole other message talking about Israel and prophecy in the future. And we're seeing, I don't know if this is the last days. Or these are the last days. They're the last days in the sense that since the cross, we're in the final epoch.

of human history. Maybe I should say, I don't know if we're in the end of days. But I do know this. That This is not, if it's not the end of days, it's the days of the end. Because all the signs and the signals of the last days, the final days of human history, we're seeing in even these events that are coming to pass in the Middle East right now.

But it all gets down to the extermination. And Satan has always hated the Jewish people. He's tried to destroy them in Egypt first as slaves and then in occupation by Babylonians and later by Romans and then scattered to the ends of the earth all over the world. And yet this minority people, this small little group of people compared to the world, I mean, you know, they still exist. I mean, back in the ancient times, you had Hittites and Amorites and Jebusites.

You never heard, you never met one of them. They are extinguished. They're gone. But the Jews, you can meet them on every street corner in every community in America and around the world. God has preserved His people.

And like the Apostle Paul, we pray. This is Romans chapter 10. Paul prayed, I would be willing to die and go to hell, to be accursed if my brothers and sisters in the flesh could come to faith in Jesus.

So we have a heart and a love. The gospel went to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message: How to Pray the Jesus Way. The 23rd Psalm is one of the most beloved passages in the Bible. There is so much depth and encouragement in knowing that God is our shepherd.

As we head towards Thanksgiving, we wanted to let you know it's not too late to join Dr. Graham as he leads and teaches through 23 days in the 23rd Psalm. If you would like to join the thousands who have already signed up for this special challenge, just text the word CHALENGE to 59-789. Again, text Challenge to 59789. In a time marked by confusion, anxiety, and spiritual compromise, your support of PowerPoint helps point millions of people to the one source of unshakable hope and truth, God's Word.

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To request your copy, simply text the word STRESS to 59-789. That's stress to five nine seven eight nine.

Now let's get back to today's message. How to Pray the Jesus Way.

So Jesus has taught us to pray. In Matthew chapter 6, when you pray verse 5. You must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others. And truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

In other words, their prayers aren't getting above the ceiling. just talking to themselves. But when you pray... Go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they.

think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not Be like them. For your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Three quick points out of this passage when we pray, we want to pray the Jesus way. Teach us to pray, Lord.

Okay, how do you pray? Jesus said, Okay, do it like this. First of all, pray sincere prayers. He said, don't be like the hypocrites. Who just pray to be heard?

They like hearing themselves. Self-righteous prayers. I like the way this is given in the message, a paraphrase of the New Testament. It says, and when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for 15 minutes of fame.

Do you think God sits in a box seat? Ha ha ha. No. When we pray, we pray sincerely. Not with hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy means to put on a mask, to wear a mask, to put on an act.

So prayer is not an act, it is not a performance. Jesus said, pray sincerely. Then he prayed, he said, when we pray, we are to pray sincerely. secretly. Secretly.

He said, go into your closet. Don't just be. Pray because You want to be seen of man as thought of as being spiritual because you pray.

Now this is not an objection to praying publicly. As I've already said, when we sing, we're praying publicly, we offer public prayers. Jesus did this. Jesus prayed in public.

So when he says pray in secret, he's saying pray to the Father who is in secret. Get alone with God. Make time in your day. Make time in your life. Pray.

Secret prayers. Do you have a time alone with God when you are praying? When you shut the door and shut out the world, I prefer, much prefer, the beginning of the day before the world rushes in to open my Bible and ask God to speak to me. And then I turn often scripture to prayers and my own heart to him as we pray in secret. This is how we're to pray.

So we're to pray sincerely. We are to pray simple prayers as well. Pray simply. He said, don't be prayed with all kinds of, some of you think if you don't pray in King James English, you're not really prayed. You know, if my children come to me and said something like, hey, Father.

It's greatest to be in thy presence. Wouldest thou takest me to the local hypothecary and purchase for me a comb of cream? I would say what?

Now they come, hey dad, take me to the ice cream store.

So when you pray, you can pray simple. Prayers. And you can also pray shorter prayers.

Now, I know there's depth and length and all of that, and there's time that we pray and we fast and we persevere in prayer and we pray longer prayers. I'm not diminishing that. But when you read your Bibles, most of the prayers of the Bible are short prayers. There are hundreds of prayers in the Bible, and they're very quick. They're very short.

The longest prayer in the Bible is the prayer that Jesus prayed. It takes less than three minutes to read it and pray it. That's John chapter 17. But some of the most profound prayers in the Bible are like the prayer the thief on the cross prayed. Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Or, like the publican, the tax collector prayed in contrast to the Elitest words of the Pharisee, he said, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. We just pray short prayers, and God often does His deepest work in the shortest prayers.

Sometimes we hurt so bad we don't know how to pray. The Holy Spirit prays with us. We talked about that in the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes the most profound pray is just simply. Hello. Oh, what peace we often forfeit, all, oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything, everything, everything to God in prayer. And so prayer. Is to be simple, it's a simple thing.

If you're a veteran believer, been praying for years, or if you're just a child getting started. Simple prayers. Offered to a great God through Jesus Christ can change the world, can change your life. Amen. And then play scriptural prayers.

So that's what this prayer, the Lord's Prayer, the model prayer, the disciples' prayer, Why Jesus gave us because He didn't say when you pray, pray in these words. He said, Pray in this way. And then He gave us punctuated principles, if you will, each sentence in the model prayer. The disciples' prayer. The prayer that our Lord gave.

Each sentence is A principle of prayer And I've done an entire series on it today, and I won't keep you till 2 o'clock with the whole series. But just simply to say each point, whether you're praying for forgiveness. Or whether you're praying for God's will to be known and dealt, God, your will done in my life. uh whether you're praying uh for God's protection. Deliver me from evil.

Or whether you're just starting where you start, which is Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. The focus of prayer. Is not me, is him. And we come to him in dependence, and the focus is on The Father. And the way we know the Father is through Jesus, his Son.

John 1 verse 12. It says As many as received him, Jesus, to them gave he the right to be called the children of God.

Well, isn't everyone a child of God? Absolutely not.

Well, God made everybody, correct? Yes.

Well, He made cockroaches and rats and snakes and a lot of things that aren't his children. We're children by faith in Jesus Christ. We become part of his family. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So that's why we make the Audacious claim from Scripture that Jesus gave us. That the way to the Father and the only way, not the best way, Not a way. But the only way Is through Jesus, by trusting in him. There is one mediator between God and man, the scripture says, the man Christ Jesus. We don't pray through Mary.

We don't even need somebody else to pray for us. It's good to have others praying for us. We've all been buoyed and strengthened, blessed by the prayers of others. And yet you don't need anyone to pray for you. You can pray.

You can go directly to the Father. Through your relationship with Jesus Christ. And all the provision of God is yours. But when you ask. in due time, whether it's yes or no, or you gotta be kidding or wait.

Something better's coming. God will answer your prayer.

So you have not because you ask not.

So keep on praying. Jesus said, keep on asking. He said, ask, seek, and knock. More teaching on prayer in Jesus. Ask.

Have you ever noticed A-S-K? There it is. Ask, seek, knock. It's right there. Just simply ask.

So pray simpler prayers and pray scriptural prayers. When I pray, I often turn promises of God into prayers. For example, or great passages in the prayers. If I am walking through, let's say, Psalm 23, 3. then I would pray, Lord, you are my shepherd.

And today, I put my life in your hands. I know that you will provide everything I need in my life because you are guiding me. And Lord, you're leading me. For in the paths of righteous, Lord, may I walk in your righteous steps today. May I live in the Spirit today.

And you see what I'm doing? I'm personalizing the passage, I'm making it my own. I'm turning a promise into a prayer, a passage into a prayer. And you can do that with so many of the scriptures that we find in God's Word. You can pray the scriptures, and this is the most powerful praying of all: taking God at His Word, Corey 10, boom.

who was uh A great supporter and sympathizers of the Jewish people back during the Second World War, during the Holocaust. She and her family hid Christians. You've never seen The Hiding Place. It's a great old movie. It's a great book.

But she and her family, and she survived the Holocaust. Her sister didn't. Her family didn't. She did. She became a powerful witness of the gospel of Christ and a wonderful Christian.

And she is reported to have said, sometimes when I come to a promise of God, And I see it there and I want to claim it, I want to take God's word, I hold up my Bible, I point at the promise and say, God, there it is. You said it. Read it for yourself. And we hold God. To what he said, because God will never lie.

God, you claim a promise from God and you. Act in faith on what God has prompted you to do, you will pray like never before. There's A whole book to pray.

So pray simpler prayers, pray sincere prayers, pray shorter prayers. Pray secret prayers. and pray scriptural. Prayers. Did you know the prayer that Jesus gave us?

is really a prayer for the second coming. He says, your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And in these days, in these deadly, dangerous days in which we are living, we pray like John at the end of the book, even so come, Lord Jesus. We pray like Jesus taught us to pray, your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

We're praying for Jesus to come, and he's coming, and he's coming soon. Are you ready? for the rapture. Are you ready for the return of Jesus? You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message.

How to Pray the Jesus Way.

It's easy to get caught in the cycle of always trying to do more, be more, and carry it all by yourself. As a result, so many people battle stress and anxiety, especially around the holidays. But that's not God's heart for you. And in his booklet, Breaking Free from Stress. Dr.

Jack Graham speaks directly to the anxious heart. offering biblical hope to those who feel weighed down and wrung out by stress. Drawing from Psalm 23 and real-life stories, he reminds you that while stress is inevitable, living enslaved to it is not. Breaking Free from Stress is our thank you for your gift of $10 or more to help proclaim the gospel through PowerPoint. And when you give, know that your support helps take God's word across the airwaves, into homes, prisons, and hearts all over the world.

To request your copy of Breaking Free From Stress? Text stress to 59-789. That's stress. to 59-789. The 23rd Psalm is one of the most beloved passages in the Bible.

There is so much depth and encouragement in knowing that God is our shepherd. As we head towards Thanksgiving, we wanted to let you know it's not too late to join Dr. Graham as he leads and teaches through 23 days in the 23rd Psalm. If you would like to join the thousands who have already signed up for this special challenge, just text the word CHALENGE to 59-789. Again, text CHALENGE to 59-789.

Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Okay. Here's something we need to understand about prayer. Powerful prayer. And it is this. Prayer is more than a religious experience.

It is your spiritual lifeline. And in a world growing darker day by day, Where chaos seems to reign and uncertainty grips hearts everywhere, where there's so much strife and division, your prayers become. A beacon of hope. cutting through the darkness. Here's what I want to challenge you with today.

Don't let prayer become something you do only in a crisis. Don't wait until the diagnosis comes, or till your marriage is falling apart. until the financial walls are crashing down. Make prayer your first response, not your last resort. Your first choice, not your last chance.

Let it be your life. the rhythm of your life and the very breadth of your soul. And as parents and grandparents, let's teach our children to pray. In a generation being raised on screens and instant gratification, let's give them the gift of knowing how to connect and commune with their God. Show them that the most powerful technology in the universe isn't in their pocket.

is on their knees before God. When we pray, God works. As we end today's program, I want you to carry this truth with you. Every step you take, every decision you face, every joy you celebrate, every tear that you cry can become like a prayer. It can be turned to prayer.

your entire life can become a conversation with God. This is why the Bible says pray without ceasing.

So Don't just pray harder. Pray expecting, expecting God to move and work. Don't just pray longer. Pray believing and trusting God. And don't just pray louder.

Pray trusting that the God who hung the stars in place is intimately concerned with every detail of your life. is true.

So let's pray the Jesus way. And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift of $10 or more to PowerPoint, we'll send you a copy of Doctor Graham's booklet, Breaking Free from Stress, as Our Thanks. Just text the word stress to 59-789. Join us again next time when Doctor Graham brings a message about how it's not the size of your faith.

But the size of your God that matters. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.