THAT JESUS BE GLORIFIED

OBSERVATION

It seemed as though Jesus was being selfish in this prayer but the reason He wants to be glorified is so that the Father would be glorified.

UNDERSTANDING

Jesus began this prayer by praying for Himself, but in praying for Himself, He was also praying for us.

“A prayer for self is not by any means necessarily a selfish prayer,” wrote Dr. R.A. Torrey, and an examination of Bible prayers shows that this is true.

Jesus’ burden was the glory of God, and this glory would be realized in His finished work on the cross. The servant of God has every right to ask his Father for the help needed to glorify His name. “Hallowed be Thy name” is the first petition in the Model Prayer and it is the first emphasis in this prayer.

Bible Exposition Commentary – Bible Exposition Commentary

The Westminster Catechism reminds us that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. In this passage we read that Jesus’ desire is that we glorify Him because in glorifying Jesus we bring glory to the Father.

The word glorify means to bring honor, respect and worship to the one being glorified.

LIFE APPLICATION

• Why do you do the things you do?
• What is your purpose behind your work, your play, your service and your relationships? Is it to glorify God?
• Do these actions reflect well on Jesus?
• Does it leave a sweet taste of Christ in the mouths of the people we are around?
• How will you glorify Jesus today?

Week 3:  The Greatest Prayer Ever Prayed

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Jesus’ prayer in John 17 falls into three sections…

• Jesus praying for Himself
• Jesus praying for His disciples
• Jesus praying for the church to come

But to look at the whole prayer those three things fall into the larger container of Jesus praying that God may be glorified. He prays that the Father continue to be glorified in all that Jesus had done and was about to do. That was always the motivation of Jesus, that the Father be glorified. Even when He prays that He (Jesus) be glorified in verse one it, the motivation is so that ultimately the Father be glorified.

I also think that this prayer bridges Jesus’ earthly ministry with His heavenly ministry. In this prayer we hear Him interceding for His disciples and for His church and as Hebrews 7:25 tells us He is now in heaven interceding on our behalf. In essence we get a glimpse of what Jesus is praying for us even now.

A paraphrase of John 17:13 says, “These are the prayers which in heaven I will never cease to make before God. but 1 make them now in the world in your hearing so that you will know that I am going to be always promoting your welfare in heaven. When you know this, you will be partakers of My joy.”

I think it is one of the reasons Jesus prayed this prayer out loud in the presence of His disciples. He didn’t need to but He prayed out loud to let the disciples in on the conversation between the Trinity.

• They caught a glimpse of the heart of God for us and how special we are to the Father and His Son.
• They heard that God called them His own.
• They heard how Jesus was praying for them regarding their mission and living in this world.
• They heard Him ask the Father that the disciples and the church would live in holiness and righteousness.
• They heard Him pray that they would live in love and unity – looking to always have a spirit of reconciliation rather than division.
• They heard His heart for the world to hear the good news of the Father and be returned to relationship with Him.

Father thank you for loving us so much you sent Your Son to reconcile us to you. Thank you Jesus that you came and that you completed the work the Father sent you to do. Thank you Jesus that your heart was always to bring honor and glory to the Father and now I ask that you would help us to do the same – may I glorify the Father by accomplishing the work that you have ordained for me. I pray that your people at DSC will have a heart to live holy lives and bring honor and glory to Your name. Father glorify us in order for us to bring even greater glory to your name.

Week 3: The Greatest Prayer Ever Prayed

THE LORD”S PRAYER

SCRIPTURE

John 17:13-19 (NIV) ¹³  “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. ¹⁴  I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵  My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹

OBSERVATION

Jesus in His prayer tells us that the Word of God is essential for us if we want to live victorious Christian lives.

UNDERSTANDING

Jesus prays that the disciples would have joy and then says that the joy comes from the words He spoke. (v 13)

The Word of God gives us joy to live overcoming lives in this world.  The Bible tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength and we gain a perspective of joy as we read God’s Word to understand His character and revel in His promises.

God’s Word also assures us of His love for us.  (v14)

The world may hate those who are children of God but we are able to stand strong because of the assurance that God loves us.  We experience this love through the Holy Spirit but we know of this love because of God’s Word.

Jesus also tells us in His prayer that God’s Word gives us the power we need to live holy lives.  We live in an unholy world but we are called to live holy lives and that can feel insurmountable at times as we are bombarded with the things that lead us to unholiness.  This is why the Word of God is so important – we must daily wash our minds in the Word.

LIFE APPLICATION

Jesus prays that we will overcome the world and He tells us that the Word of God is one of the tools necessary to be able to accomplish that.

D.L. Moody wrote in the front of his Bible, “This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book.”

Are we taking advantage of this tool?  Are we learning to wield it properly, learning how to be proficient with it?  Are we practicing with the Biblical sword or do we wield it once or twice a week hoping that somehow we will be experts at it?

Week 2: A PATTERN FOR PRAYER

JUST PRAY!

Week 2: A Pattern For Prayer

THE MODEL PRAYER – THE ENDING

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 6:13 (NKJV) ¹³

OBSERVATION

Although the line “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen,” is not found in the most reliable manuscripts they seem to be perfectly fitting to this passage, and they certainly speak of the reality of God.

UNDERSTANDING

After asking for provision and forgiveness, guidance and protection the prayer ends with a declaration that allows us to believe that our prayer is not in vain. After all we are asking our requests to the One who is in charge of everything and can do whatever He wants. He is almighty and powerful. When we end with such a declaration it is a faith builder because we are reminding ourselves that God, to whom we have asked our requests is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ever ask or think.

LIFE APPLICATION

Remember the saying…

If the request is wrong God says NO

If the timing is wrong God says SLOW

If you are wrong, God says GROW

And if the request is right, the timing is right and your heart is right God says GO!

Pray. Pray with confidence that God is able to meet all of your requests because He is in charge of everything and can do whatever He wants.

Week 2:  The Model Prayer

OUR NEED FOR FORGIVENESS AND TO FORGIVE

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 18:21-35

OBSERVATION

This is not a passage about salvation but rather a passage about forgiveness in relationships. Just as children of God we do things that require forgiveness from God on a daily basis, so too we are in relationships where people do things that require us to forgive them. How we respond to those people can free God or tie His hand in our forgiveness.

UNDERSTANDING

Peter in asking Jesus the question of how many times we should forgive makes an assumption that many of us make – we assume that all offenses are against us and that we never offend anyone. If he thought that he was the offender do you think he would have asked, “How many times should we forgive? Seven times?” Truth is Peter was being generous because the Rabbis of the day said that three times was sufficient. So Jesus tells the parable to help us see that we are both offender and the offended one and how we respond to the those who offend us determines how God will deal with us when we offend Him.

The reality of the whole story is that if we cannot forgive people who offend us then our hearts are not in the right place (righteous) and so God cannot forgive us when we confess our sins to Him and ask for forgiveness. When our hearts are humble and repentant we will gladly forgive our brothers and sisters, but where there is pride and a desire for revenge then there is no real repentance, and God cannot forgive.

It is not enough to receive God’s forgiveness, or the forgiveness of others, we must experience that forgiveness in our hearts so that it humbles us and makes us gentle and forgiving towards others. The servant in the story was not humbled by the forgiveness of his debt, he was just glad to be “off the hook” and that showed in his treatment of those who were in debt to him.

LIFE APPLICATION

Forgiving others in order to fully receive forgiveness is an important part of prayer and God responding to our requests. Jesus reminds us that when we are praying and there is an issue of unforgiveness we need to stop praying and go and deal with it. (Mark 11:25)

Take some time today to ask God to show you the areas where you have sinned against Him and then ask Him to forgive you.

Also take time to verbally forgive the people who have sinned against you. Say out loud…

WEEK 2:  THE MODEL PRAYER

OUR NEEDS

SCRIPTURE

OBSERVATION

GIVE US

When we submit ourselves to the Father’s care being passionate about His Name, His Kingdom and His Will, it gives us the privilege of asking confidently for our needs. A master cares for the food of his servant, a general of his soldiers, a father of his child. And will not the Father in heaven care for the child who has in prayer given himself up to His interests?

UNDERSTANDING

Give us our daily bread is a prayer for all the daily necessities of life.

Martin Luther suggested that the bread represents all that we need in the physical realm: food, drink, good health, good weather, a roof over our heads, good jobs, good government, and so on.

He included the following sentence in his book for Peter the barber.

Give us favorable weather and good harvest. I commend to thee my house and property, wife and child. Grant that I may manage them well, supporting and educating them as a Christian should.

Jesus isn’t suggesting that we don’t work, and just pray for food. We do both. The old maxim applies here: “Pray like it all depends on God; work like it all depends on you.” This prayer is a reminder of our humble dependence on God. We are to live a day at a time, trusting our Father to care for us.

And notice it’s not a “me-prayer” but a “we-prayer”—give us our daily bread. Most of us here have no shortage of daily bread; if anything, most of us have too much. So when we pray this, we must also pray for those who have too little or nothing at all.

LIFE APPLICATION

Lord, you know what we need. You know our daily necessities. Please provide for us. Lord, I have everything I need, and more; for this I humbly thank You. So I pray today for those in our church who don’t have what they need. I pray for those who need money, or basic necessities like food and shelter and heat—provide what they need. Provide jobs for the unemployed and better jobs for the underemployed.

I pray these same things for the needy in our community. Help us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless.

I pray that no child would go to bed hungry in our town.

I pray for all the single moms struggling to provide for their kids—bless them with everything they need.

Bless us so that we can bless others. Bless our businesses so that we can provide jobs for those who have none. You said that if we have two coats we should share with those who have none. Help us share our abundance with those in need right here in our own church or community.

And we pray this prayer for daily bread for the poor and needy around the world.

Father, let what breaks Your heart break ours. We have everything we need—don’t let that become an excuse to be selfish, but let it become a reason to share what we have and work for the welfare of others.

Week 2:  A PATTERN FOR PRAYER

THE MODEL PRAYER – GOD’S CONCERNS

SCRIPTURE

OBSERVATION

UNDERSTANDING

HIS NAME

According to the prayer God wants His name hallowed. Another meaning of hallowed is holy or revered.

This request reflects a passion for God’s reputation, for God’s glory. May all the world see God as He really is and give Him the honor and respect He deserves.

What’s so big about a name?

It represents God. God is His name. So when we hallow His name we are literally giving honor, respect and reverence to God.

HIS KINGDOM, HIS WILL

God’s kingdom come and His will being done are two sides of the same coin. If the kingdom of God were to come here on earth as it is in heaven, then His reign and rule will be established and His will would be what is done. So when we pray Lord let your kingdom come what we are saying is may your will be accomplished as your kingdom rule is established here on earth.

Matthew 29:18-20 tells us how God’s will can be established on earth as it is in heaven. It requires our obedience to Jesus’ command to go and make disciples of all nations. Starting in our own homes we are to teach others what Jesus taught us about God and to obey His commands. As we develop other disciples who know God and follow His ways God’s kingdom is established on earth as it is in heaven. Do you see how important you are in this process?

LIFE APPLICATION

In my own words, today, I would say something like…

God you are perfect and I want to declare it throughout the world. You are worthy of every bit of praise that man could give you. You are a mighty God, full of power. You are without beginning and without end and your grace and compassion cannot be measured. You are awesome and majestic. I worship and adore you, I exalt your name here on earth in my words and my deeds.

Lord let your name be glorified and adored on earth as it is in heaven.

Lord let your heavenly kingdom be established here on earth (starting with us!)

Lord let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven and I surrender myself to you so that this can be accomplished.

Lord I pray for your kingdom and will to be accomplished in the life of DSC. I pray that the children of God at DSC will embrace your kingdom purpose to become a Great Commission Movement – declaring your good news in Santa Clarita, Los Angeles, California and to the ends of the earth.

I pray for your children at DSC to have a passion for you and to want to obey you with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. I ask that they will be hungry for you and put you FIRST! Dethrone everything in our lives that seek to usurp your pre-eminence in our lives. Be first on the throne of our lives.

WEEK 2: A PATTERN FOR PRAYER

ADORATION

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 6:9 (NIV) ⁹“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

OBSERVATION

Jesus tells us that we are to call God Father. The implications here are mind blowing when we stop and think about it.

UNDERSTANDING

We were people who had not spiritual father. We were children of sin and darkness, in bondage to sin and on our way to death – eternal separation from God. We were hopeless because there was nothing we could do to change that situation, it was out of our control.

But God…man how I love those words! I was hopeless and in despair but God did something about it. I was lost and on my way to death BUT GOD did something about! God in His amazing love did what we could not do, made a way for us to change our destiny. To go from death to life. He did that through the work of His Son Jesus and now because of Jesus we can be adopted into the family of God.

Adopted. Grafted in to His family. No longer outsiders but we have become insiders – children of God.

We have been redeemed by God through Jesus – set free by the paying of a price. But we are now no longer slaves to sin but we have become sons and daughters of God. That means we have been adopted in the family, we get to enjoy the family of God. We get all the liberties that come with being a child of God and we have become heirs to His inheritance.

Because we are children we now have a loving and caring Father whom we can turn to anytime with any need and know that He is gracious and compassionate towards us, always listening to hear our cries.

We have access to the most powerful Father in the universe and He encourages us to come to Him and ASK of Him. Pray and ask regarding His Kingdom and His Will, for our needs and for forgiveness and for Him to lead us and protect us.

What are we waiting for?

This prayer is a pattern for prayer: it tells us what to pray.  It can be used as an outline for prayer.  Just remember it can easily become meaningless repetition if we are not careful.

Prayer begins with worship

your name, your kingdom, your will

Prayer isn’t primarily placing orders at the heavenly catalog counter; it is getting marching orders from our king.

It isn’t primarily telling God what we want, but finding out what He wants.  It is God first, not me first.  This kind of prayer seeks what God wants before we present what we want.

All of life, all of our needs are represented in these requests, and teach us that all of life can be brought to God and laid before Him for His help.  There is nothing too small for His love or too large for His power.

LIFE APPLICATION