General
Outline of Sessions:
·
Opening Prayer
- Introduction
·
Readings and questions for discussion
·
Closing Prayer and Prayer requests (daily bread)
·
Time for personal conversation and private
prayer
Opening
Prayer
(Mt. 6.9-13 NIV 2013)
Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name,
Your Kingdom come, your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread,
And for give us our debts, as we also have forgiven
our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from
the evil one
1. Teach Us To Pray
Introduction
Jesus is teaching His disciples how to pray. They were
all devout Jews and the Jews were a praying people. Everyone believed in God
and believed God heard each individual prayer.
The Jews knew they were a
covenant people. Their ancestors had had direct personal experience of God
revealing His love by rescuing them from captivity in Egypt, protecting and
feeding them as they were formed into a covenant people and giving them the 10
Commandments as the rules for remaining in this relationship. Their history was
passed down from generation to generation by parents and teachers of the Law.
They were men and women of God in a legally binding covenant – like a marriage:
· Each
person was in a personal love relationship with God
· Rule #
1 (the First Commandment was to love God with all their heart, mind and soul)
· Rules
2-5 (no other gods, no idols / images of gods, respect God’s name, keep
Sabbath, honour parents) define this relationship
· Loving
their neighbour was included because God was their spiritual father and all
Jews were brothers (Rules 6-10 regarding murder, adultery, stealing, false
witness and coveting what belonged to their neighbour.
Lords Prayer assumes their first loyalty was to God
and neighbour. Did you notice there is no I, Me, My or mine in the prayer?
Instead we have:
· Our
father
· Your
name
· Your
kingdom
· Your
will
· Give
us
· Forgive
us – as we – those
· Lead
us
· Deliver
us
Jesus knew about human weakness so it ends with a cry for
help in coming back into right relationship not “if“, but “when” we fail:
·
Forgive us our sins as we forgive others (conditional)
·
Lead us not into temptation / hard testing
·
Deliver us from the evil one (NIV)
The Lords Prayer is a summary of Christian faith.
Reading
Matthew 6.5-15
Questions for
discussion:
¨ What
do you notice about this prayer?
¨ Who is
it addressed to?
¨ What
does it tell us about God?
¨ What
does “Hallowed” or “Holy” mean?
¨ What
is this kingdom like?
¨ What
is God’s “will” for us?
¨ Who is
included in this Kingdom?
¨ What
does the coming of the kingdom mean?
¨ How
can we help this kingdom come?
¨ What
three things does this prayer suggest we pray for?
Closing prayer and
prayer requests:
2. Lords prayer is
a framework for all prayer
Introduction
Because we are
human and confused in different ways at different times, the prayer is an
outline.[1]
It begins with a reminder that we should always begin a prayer with and
expression of our love, respect and loyalty to God: “holy is your name”, “your
kingdom come” and “your will be done”. In the middle we ask for the things we
need:
– Bread
– Forgiveness and
– Spiritual protection.
– But we don’t just need bread and we don’t
commit sins in general. We need specific things – a job, healing from cancer,
guidance etc. Generic prayers for “sins” are ineffective. The spiritual world
is very legalistic. The sin is my adultery with…, stealing from ---, lying to …
etc. These are specific things we can repent and come to Jesus for forgiveness
from.
Before we pray
we need to spend a few minutes listening to what the Holy Spirit is bringing to
our conscience or memory in each part of the prayer:
1. Holy is your name – adoration /
thanksgiving
2. Your Kingdom come – we are all
evangelists, builders
3. Your will be done – the battle to
surrender our will to God
4. Give us our daily bread – things we
really need
5. Forgive us (me) for ….
6. Lead us (me) not into temptation (OR Save
me from the time of trial) - Help me resist the temptations of ………
7. Deliver us from the evil one – save me
from…..
Jesus tells us
to pray from our heart, not by rote. We should add these personal petitions
silently in a group or out loud when alone. Many people do what is called a
“self-examination” before attending public worship to identify and come with
repentance for their sins. In liturgical churches like the Roman Catholic,
Anglican and Lutheran there is often a specific time for a general confession
where people can silently include their personal requests for forgiveness
Reading
Matthew 6.5-15
Questions:
¨
How does this prayer start?
¨
How is it organized into parts?
¨
How would you describe these parts?
¨
How is it like an outline where we can add our
specific personal needs?
¨
What can we do to obey God’s will?
¨
What can we do to help God’s kingdom come?
¨
What else do we need besides “bread” ?
¨
Could we pause and add our own needs here?
¨
Could we pause and add our own sins
¨
Could we add our own requests for spiritual
protection and deliverance?
Closing prayer and prayer requests:
3. Our Father in heaven
Introduction
Many people weep
when they hear the Prodigal Son story in a meditative environment. This is an
experience of the Holy Spirit speaking to our personal spirit (our intuitive
mind) and telling us how much our heavenly father loves us. The key words are
that the father saw the repentant son coming from “a long way off”. The father
had not just forgotten his rebellious son and gone on with life. Hour after
hour and week after week he was constantly watching and waiting for his beloved
son to come home. This is undeserved, practical and sacrificial love. God is
our father who loves us no matter what we have done. Love forgives all things.
The other lesson
is the response of the elder brother. Like many of us he had worked hard and
done all the right things – but without love. He did not love God, his brother
or his father. This was a clear violation of the Hebrew Covenant which requires
us to love God and His creation (Rule #1 and honour our father and mother (Rule
# 5).
This opening
phrase tells us the place of God in our lives as our spiritual creator, guide
and protector. While God the Father describes our identity as sons and
daughters of God this is only one way of thinking of God. God is also our
redeemer or saviour in the visible form of Jesus and the one who personally
guides us and makes us holy as God the Holy Spirit.
Reading
Luke 15.11-32
Questions:
¨
What
did the younger son do with his wealth?
¨
What
did he decide to do to turn his life around?
¨
When
did his father see him returning?
¨
What
does this tell us about the father?
¨
How
did his father respond to his request for employment?
¨
What
does this tell us about God the Father?
¨
How
did the older brother respond?
¨
What
does this tell us about the older brother?
¨
What
Commandment did the older brother break?
¨
Which
of the brothers really loved God and his neighbour?
¨
Has
anyone here experienced forgiveness like this?
Closing Prayer and prayer requests.
4. Hallowed be
your name
Introduction:
It is tempting
to skip over the word ”holy”, but like every word in the Bible, it is
important. Names in the Bible always indicate the essential nature of the
person. Holy is a word modern people do not hear often. This is tragic as Holy
describes the most important characteristic of God – and the key issue in our
relationship with God. Holy means different from, whole, pure, perfect and
undefiled. How can a father who is as holy as a consuming fire, have a
relationship of love with a son or daughter who is not whole, impure, imperfect
and defiled by sin? It would be like setting a can of gasoline near a blazing
fire. God does not keep us out of His presence because He is angry. He loves us
enough to protect us from the consequences of our sins. He explained this and
created a solution by coming in the human form of Jesus, dying a sacrificial
death for our sin guilt and making a new Covenant that enables Him to forgive
those who repent, believe in Jesus and ask Jesus for forgiveness.
This is the
first place in the prayer where we can pause and insert our own words to make
the prayer less ritualistic and more personal. Our prayers should always begin
with adoration and thanksgiving. How would we like it if a friend began every
conversation with a list of things they wanted from us? Praise and thanksgiving
are like dialling a phone number. It establishes a personal link or opens a
channel for communication. The Lord dwells in His praises! For example:
•
Praise
you for your mercy in…
•
Thank
you for……
Now that we have
honoured God, and understood whom we are praying to and what God wants us to
do; we can ask more intelligently for what we really need:
·
Help
in building God’s kingdom
·
Help
in developing our own spiritual life
·
Forgiveness
of our sins
·
Strengthening
and protection from the evil one
Readings
Exod. 19.20-23; Luke. 4.34; Rom. 12.1-2;
Questions:
¨
What
does this tell us about God
¨
What
does “holy” mean?
¨
How
do we fail to respect the holiness of God?
Closing Prayer and prayer requests.
5. Your kingdom
come, your will be done
Introduction
We all struggle
to surrender our will to the will of God so this is a good place to pause and
insert our own more specific requests. For example:
·
Help
me give up my distraction of ….
·
Help
me to trust you with….
The rest of the
prayer is a plea from the heart of the things we need from God to surrender our
will, be made holy and be included in Gods’ Kingdom:
·
Spiritual
guidance
·
Forgiveness
of our sins
·
Help
in resisting temptation
·
Protection
from the evil one
This is the
central message of Jesus and the mission statement of the Christian church.
Saudi Arabia is one of the last remaining states that calls itself a kingdom
and has a traditional kingdom-like government. The point is it has a king who
is the ruler and has real absolute power. This is why churches are not supposed
to be democratic and waste huge amounts of time fighting over questions they should
be praying about.
Readings and Questions
Matthew 5.3-12: (The Beatitudes)
·
Who
will be blessed and come into this Kingdom?
o The poor is spirit /humble / loving
o Those who mourn
o The meek
o Those who hunger for righteousness
o The merciful
o The pure in heart
o The peacemakers
o Those persecuted for righteousness
o Those who suffer on account of faith in
Jesus
Matthew 13.44-50 (Pearl of great price, hidden treasure
& net))
·
How
important is it to be sure you are included?
o Like the most valuable thing you could
own
o Sell everything
·
What
happens to those who do not enter this Kingdom?
o Wicked will be separated from righteous
o Burn up in the fire of God’s holiness
o Do not have a spiritual life
Mark 4.1-20; 30-32 (Parables of the sower & mustard
seed)
·
Who
is the sower?
o God
·
What
does the seed represent?
o The Word of God / Bible / our experiences
of God
·
What
can prevent us from entering this Kingdom?
o Seed on path eaten by birds – Satan and
demonic
o Rocky soil – don’t develop roots in faith
and can’t face persecution
o Thorns – fears, temptations and worries
of life distract and choke faith so does not develop fruit
Matthew 7.21 and 18.21-35 (Unmerciful servant)
Who will be
excluded from this kingdom?
·
Those
who pay lip service (Matthew 7.21)
·
Have
an unforgiving spirit (Mt.18.21-35
·
Those
distracted by worldly riches and power
·
Unbelievers
and the un-forgiven
Big Question: What do we have to do to grow
and be included in this Kingdom?
·
The
will of Him who sent Me – faith in Jesus and His teachings
Concluding Prayer and Requests
6. Give us today our daily bread
Introduction
We are to
acknowledge our daily dependence on God. Notice how immediate and temporary our
prayers are to be. What we need today and for today. Bread is of course a
shorthand way of saying what we need to live on – the essentials of life. It is
very open-ended but does not include winning a hockey game. This could be the
longest part of the prayer if we need to pause and ask for something very
important. What are we desperate for?
·
Healing
from a life threatening disease or condition for….
·
Employment
for…
·
Comfort
in grief for…..
·
Housing
for …..
Reading and questions Matthew 6.5-15
¨
What
does the Lords Prayer suggest are our basic needs?
¨
Can
we think of specific examples of our personal needs?
¨
Can
we think of ways in which we have failed to:
¨
Honour
Gods” name as holy?
¨
Respect
God as our personal “king”
¨
Do
things that help us be part of this kingdom?
¨
Have
we followed the “will of God” in our lives?
¨
Do
we need forgiveness for any specific sins today?
¨
Do
we need help in overcoming specific temptations today?
¨
Do
we need deliverance from past sin guilt?
Concluding Prayer and Requests
7. Forgive us our debts (trespasses/ sins) as we
also have forgiven our debtors (those who trespass against us / those who sin
against us (NIV)
Opening Prayer
Introduction
Notice the
special condition. We are only asking for forgiveness in the same way as we
have already forgiven others. We are limiting God by prohibiting Him from
forgiving us until we have forgiven all our debtors / those who have sinned
against us. This can be seen as putting a curse on ourselves so that God cannot
forgive us unless we have forgiven others. The point is forgiveness is very
important and un-forgiveness is an unforgivable – but very common sin. I have
seen three people in my own family place themselves in bondage and let
un-forgiveness ruin their lives.
Un-forgiveness
is the main reason people come for prayer ministry. Often people have held
grudges and lived lives of bitterness for years. In my book “Going Spiritual” I
share how a great feeling of heaviness and darkness was lifted from me when I
forgave my ex-wife. We had not spoken directly for 30 years. Healing ministry
is simple and effective. We simply ask the Holy Spirit to show us where there
is un-forgiveness. Many people are in denial. They believe they have forgiven
but they have only forgiven in their heads. In their heart (personal spirit)
they still hold anger, and that anger is destroying their lives. The good news
is that we can ask the Holy Spirit to show us where there is anger and
un-forgiveness – and get an answer. The Holy Spirit includes our conscience and
guides us spiritually.
Once we discover
what is un-forgiven, many people find it hard to let go of their anger and
forgive someone from their heart. Fortunately we can ask the Holy Spirit to
give us the strength and love we need to forgive someone. The Good News is that
God answers the prayer of the heart – when you have trouble with the words God
will either give them to you or accept your unspoken intention. It’s all in the
intention of the heart.
Christian
churches are in the forgiveness business – in spite of what some people think.
This is generally during pastoral visits, spiritual direction of counselling
sessions. Some churches have healing prayer services or offer brief healing
ministry after or during services. If you think you do not need forgiveness
from the church you are probably wrong. Jesus gave specific authority to the
Christian church to pray for repentant sinners and offer forgiveness as James,
the brother of Jesus writes:
“15 And
the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well;
the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will
be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to
each other and
pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer
of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (NIV)
One of the
reasons Christians gather in communities is accountability. Members of the
community are there to help each other stay on track and grow spiritually. Most
churches have a time in their service for confession and absolution. Serious
Christians go through some form of self-examination before worship to identify
things they need prayer for. Asking for help from the Holy Spirit in examining your
life will help you remember those you need to forgive.
The Roman
Catholic Church has a long developed process called the “examine”. Ideally
Christians go through a process of self-examination weekly before coming to
church. This can be as simple as sitting quietly in prayer and asking the Holy
Spirit to help you see examples of rebellion against God’s rule and failures to
love God and your neighbour. For example you can start with Monday morning and
then go slowly through the week recalling what you did or failed to do during
the day. With practice you will find your attention focussing on what you said
to other people, did or failed to do. Often people feel a twinge of guilt or
regret in their conscience (personal spirit). Roman Catholics are encouraged to
see a priest and do a formal confession, repent and ask for forgiveness during
the week before coming to Mass.
Liturgical
Protestant churches may have a formal part of Sunday worship, like the Holy
Communion service, that includes a general congregational prayer of Confession
where everyone expresses repentance of “the things they have done or left
undone”. Those who come prepared are encouraged to say the general words aloud
with everyone else, but be silently repenting specific instances of failure in
their hearts. The prayer concludes with the priest giving a general absolution
that applies to what has been really repented from the heart. This is the most
effective way to restoring your relationship with God and other people – and
assuring your place in to Kingdom
Readings: Matthew 6.14-15; 1 John 1.5-10; Luke
24.46-49; Acts 10.43;
Questions:
¨
Can
we think of common examples of “debts” or “sins”?
¨
Why
are they called debits or sins?
¨
Why
are these debits or sins so important?
¨
Why
do we need forgiveness?
¨
Is
this forgiveness unconditional?
¨
What
is the condition for God to forgive us?
¨
Why
do we need forgiveness from both God and our neighbour?
¨
What
does it mean to say Jesus is our personal “saviour”
¨
What
does a saviour do?
¨
What
did Jesus do?
¨
How
did God respond to what Jesus did?
¨
Who
is Jesus?
¨
Why
is Jesus called our “Lord and Saviour”?
¨
Has
anybody ever gone for a formal time of confession and absolution with a priest?
.
Concluding prayer and personal prayer
requests.
8. Lead us not
into temptation / save us from the time of trial
Opening Prayer
Introduction
Today we are
going deeper into the Lords Prayer. We are beginning to see that this is a
prayer not just for forgiveness but a prayer for personal spiritual guidance
and protection. The Lords prayer is really a prayer of covenant or contract
with God where we are asking for “bread” – the material things we need each
day, forgiveness and spiritual protection. This is God’s part of the agreement.
Our part is to honour God as holy by keeping His rules and accept Jesus as our
personal Lord and Saviour.
Today we are
examining the hard realities of the temptations we face each day and God’s
final judgement.
Readings:
1 Corinthians
10.6-13; Matthew 26.36-41
Questions:
·
What
temptations do we face in life?
·
Why would
God “lead us into temptation”?
·
What
happens when we give in to temptations?
·
What
can we do to protect ourselves against temptations?
Reading
Matthew 25.1-46
Questions:
·
What
is this “Time of Trial”
·
When
does it come?
·
What
happens in the Time of Trial
·
What
does Jesus teach us to do to be saved from spiritual death?
Concluding prayer and personal prayer
requests.
9. Deliver us from the evil one.
Opening Prayer
Introduction:
Deliverance is
the final thing we ask for in the Lord’s Prayer. Deliverance is a scary word
that many people do not fully understand. Many translations of the Lords’
Prayer sadly do not include the word “one” (personal one in Greek). The result
is confusion over what is meant by “evil”. Evil is commonly assumed to mean “badness”
or “bad things” happening. From a theological point of view “evil” generally
refers to the work of Satan and his spiritual destruction of human lives.
Notice evil is “live” spelled backward.
While Satan is
under the authority of God, he is a fallen angel who rebelled against God and
continues to tempt and deceive humans into joining his rebellion against God.
His goal is to destroy our spiritual and human lives. He does this by deceiving
and tempting people into patterns of sin that gradually separate them from
their love of God and Jesus and obedience to His teachings. Satan rules over
the demonic spirits that do his destructive work. When people fall into
patterns of sinful behaviour they break their covenant relationship with God,
wound themselves and loose Gods’ spiritual protection. This may allow demons,
such as spirits of alcoholism or pride to enter their personal spirit and
oppress them from inside, gradually gaining control of the will. This demonic
oppression can lead to spiritual bondages such as alcoholism, intellectualism
and homosexuality that trap people in destructive behaviour patterns. This is
what we may need spiritual deliverance and healing from.
Reading:
Romans 6.15-23
Questions:
·
What
is “evil”?
·
Who
is the “evil one”?
·
What
does the evil one do?
·
How
do we become “slaves to sin” v. 16?
·
What
does being a slave to sin lead to (v. 16, 23)?
·
How
does Jesus free us from our slavery to sin? (V.23)?
·
What
do we have to do to become free from our slavery to sin (v. 16)?
·
What
does “obey from the heart “ mean (v.17)?
·
How
do we become “slaves to righteousness”?
·
Other
questions?
Concluding prayer and personal prayer
requests.
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