Bible Text: Matthew 6:5-15 | Preacher: Pastor Joe Ricchuiti | Series: A Master’s Class in Prayer, Matthew

1.  “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer ignorant.  They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God.  Don’t fall for that nonsense.  This is your Father you are dealing with, and He knows better than you what you need.”  (Matthew 6:7,8 The Message)

2.  After warning the disciples about an insincere attitude in prayer (praying with public recognition in mind), He warns them about using meaningless words, that is: using endless repetition; many words, and repetitive phrases.  This was the form that pagan prayer took in Jesus’ day, they thought they had to overcome the reluctance of their ‘deity’ to hear and answer them.  Jesus assures His disciples that the Father heard them, knew their needs, and could not be manipulated.  He was not a reluctant Deity.

3.  Jesus then teaches His disciples about prayer by giving them a model or pattern to follow in their prayer in Matthew 6:9-15. 

-“[It] is a prayer for beginners….There is no indication that this prayer ever was repeated from memory in the early church or considered a part of its ritual.” (Walvoord)

-“The Lord’s Prayer, often more accurately ‘The Disciple’s Prayer,’ is a timeless masterpiece that serves as a model for all prayer, containing all the essential elements of an effective prayer.” (Unger)

4.  This ‘model’ prayer contains all the elements that make up prayer.  It is how we should pray (literally “in this manner” or “along these lines”) not what we should prayer (a rote recitation of a memorized prayer).  It begins with worship and then includes six requests; three related to God and His purposes, three related to our need. The first three requests include: a desire for God’s reputation, a desire for God’s kingdom, and a desire for God’s will to be accomplished.

5.  “To pray Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven is to rebel against the worldly idea that sin is normal and inevitable and should therefore be acquiesced to or at least tolerated.  It is to rebel against the world system of ungodliness, the dishonoring and rejecting of Christ, and also the disobedience of believers.” (MacArthur)