Life is always going to be difficult, but we can avoid a lot of hardship and needless struggle when we are prepared and practice the essentials. In the spiritual realm there are essentials to practice, and one area is in our prayer life.

SERMON MANUSCRIPT

As many of you know, Kathy and I have been away on holiday down in Phoenix, Arizona to be with family. Good for us that we left in January because the next day the snow and cold hit here. It was good to be in the mild weather. However, both Kathy and I got covid which kind of dragged on with us. So, pick your poison. One of the things we missed out on doing due to our illness was hiking in the desert hills there, something we have done for many years.

I remember when our family was on furlough from Africa and the kids were young when we had our first trek in the Superstition mountains. They are not big peaks but rather high rocky hills with pretty desert landscapes in the twisting valleys between them. Kathy’s folks warned us about some of the essentials to take: plenty of water, sun block, a good map. But I must admit I took the preparation too lightly. As we wound our way along the sun soaked trails we realized we were getting short of water so decided to turn back. But when we did, we realized there were trails that intersected ours that we had not seen before and didn’t seem to be on the map. Which was our trail back to the car? I soon realized we were lost. And for an hour or so, there was some desperate searching and some earnest prayer. Finally, God sent along some other hikers who pointed us in the right direction. Lesson learned. Be strong on the essentials. For us it meant a better map and certainly more water.

 Life is always going to be difficult, but we can avoid a lot of hardship and needless struggle when we are prepared and practice the essentials. In the spiritual realm there are essentials to practice, and one area is in our prayer life.

We will read the same prayer in Luke 11:1–4.

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”²He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation’”

Luke 11:1–4

Before we consider the words of the prayer, consider who asked to be taught to pray. A disciple. This question in and of itself was quite astounding because these disciples were quite accustomed to prayer. They were Jews raised to believe in God and to pray frequently. What more could Jesus teach them about prayer that they did not learn from their parents and in their synagogues? As it turned out, there was much to learn. In fact, although many call this the Lord’s prayer, it would be good to call it the disciples’ prayer because it was meant for them.

Now the meaning of the prayer. Some years ago I had the privilege of talking to a group of Catholics about this prayer. I asked the how many times they had said, and they replied, “Millions of times.” But after our discussion, they replied again, “We never knew that was what it meant. Now we know.“

So let’s look at the words. Such a short prayer, but so meaningful. I submit to you that Jesus was teaching his disciples the essentials of daily prayer. There are other things that we are encouraged to pray for that aren’t in these words. For instance, this is not the sinner’s prayer which is a prayer for salvation. It says in Romans 10:9 that we must confess with our mouths the Lord Jesus in order to be saved.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

Romans 10:9

And it continues in verse 13, “The one who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

The Lord’s prayer is directed to the Father. The sinner’s prayer is directed to the Son. If you pray to the Father for salvation he will direct you to the Son because the Son is the door. Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father but by me” in John 14:6. A while back a lady said to me, “I trust God, but I don’t trust Jesus.” Well, she is close to the door but she has not entered in yet. She needs to go to Jesus.

And the Lord’s prayer is not a prayer of intercession. The Bible tells us to pray for each other, for our government, for our church, for our missionaries and pastors, for neighbours and friends and even our enemies. These items are not part of the Lord’s prayer. Why? Because Jesus is telling us about the essentials, the things every believer needs to personally pray for every day for their own spiritual well being. And he means every day!

For it says, Give us each day our daily bread. Each day we are setting out on a journey, a hike through life and each day there are challenges and obstacles known and unknown. Will we be prepared? How shall we pray so that we have the essentials for life this day? Let’s look at the five essentials one by one.

1. The first essential is your identity. Remember who you are.

“Father, hallowed be your name.” In Matthew he adds, “Our Father in heaven.” I suspect that Jesus wanted to delineate the father we grew up with on earth. He was the one who sired us and gave us our names. We learned our earthly identity through that initial connection with parents.

One day, when my daughter Lisa was four years old, she asked me this question, “Daddy, who am I?” I, of course, answered and told her her identity “You are my daughter, and you are a loved and precious child in our family.” But I also told her about the Father in heaven, the one who planned for her to be born long before her mother and I made such plans, and who loved her with an everlasting love. I told her that she would always be my beloved daughter, but it was even more important for her to know that love of the heavenly Father and through faith in Jesus belong to him forever as a dearly loved child of God.

See how great a love the father has bestowed on us that we should be called the children of God, and such we are.

1 John 3:1

So, here is our first essential. Remember who you are spiritually by remembering who your father is. This may sound easy for some of us who have known the truth of our spiritual identity for years, but it is a different world out there today. There are attacks on the nuclear family. Communism has sought to destroy the family structure and now Marxist ideology has permeated our society. The family with a fatherly leadership is under great pressure. It is no longer politically correct to espouse the nuclear family as an ideal. People are also confused about other identity issues, sexual identity for instance. There used to be two sexes, easy to understand, and now there are many by some accounts. And racial identity is once again being preached as the most important factor. The colour of my skin is paramount. The problem comes when we forget that our primary identity is spiritual. When we lose sight of spiritual identity, then there is confusion. The content of your heart, having the presence of the living God in you, means infinitely more than any racial, social, or sexual identity.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave not free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus

Galatians 3:28

So, rehearse in prayer who you are every day by calling God Father. I am who I am because is who he is. That is the first essential. Then he adds, “hallowed be your name.” In other words, make God’s name to be high, exalted, glorified. Worship him. The higher he is in your heart’s devotion, the better it will be for you. You are not the offspring of a lesser god, but the child of the God and Father of all, King of the universe.

There’s an old hymn we used to sing:

“My father is rich, in houses and lands, He holds the wealth of the world in his hands, of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold, his coffers are full, he has riches untold. I’m the child of the king, the child of the king, with Jesus my Saviour, I’m the child of the king.“

2. The second essential in prayer is to commit to your spiritual purpose. Remember your purpose.

In the next line of the prayer Jesus simply says, “Your kingdom come.” Is he talking about the future kingdom of God’s plan for Christ’s reign on earth? Surely there is an element of that thought in this verse. Christ will reign in the future. But the added thought in Matthew’s gospel helps us out here: “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

In other words, it is a sentiment that applies to doing the will of God in your life today, not just desiring it for the future. What we should be praying is this: Father, may your kingdom come in a practical and specific way in my life today. I want to be a kingdom person whose will is surrendered to do what God wants today and to do it for him. I sign up today for this in my prayer.

Here is the point. If I do not declare and commit to a God-centered purpose for today, be default I will engage in a non-God-centered purpose. Many of us are not so goal oriented in life. When pressed for an answer, we would probably reply with something like to have a good day or to be nice and get along with people. Nothing big or specific , but nothing that makes our primary goal God-centered. That is because there is a default position in our thinking. It is the old nature that thinks about me first living my own life. Having a good day or being nice is not what God calls us to. We are to be kingdom builders, living for God first.

Some of us are very goal oriented and have a plan for the day, for the week and even for 10 years down the road. Our purpose is clear—get somewhere in life. Get things done. Have accomplishments. For whom? For myself. I asked a Christian college student why he was studying. “To pass my course so I can get a good job”, he replied. “For what purpose?” I persisted. “To make money so I can have a good future”, he responded. Then I asked, “Where is God in this plan?” To which he replied, “I’m sure God wants me to do well in life.” “Then who are you living for?” I asked. “I guess it is for me.” “There is a verse I want to show you”, I countered.

And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

2 Corinthians 5:15

You see, we have to make a choice about who we live for, who we serve. If we don’t choose to serve the Lord and do it for him, then, by default, quite unintentionally, we serve ourselves. Frankly, this young man is the rule, not the exception, because so many of us do not dedicate our days and the activities of our days, to serve the Lord. The words Joshua used to challenge the people of Israel still apply to us as well:

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

Joshua 24:15

So, pray about it every day, especially every morning. Make a choice to serve the Lord, to live for him, to honour his name today. That way you will carry the essential of godly purpose into the day.

3. The third essential in prayer is to call on the Lord for his provision.

“Give us each day our daily bread.” There is a slight difference between this passage and the one in Matthew. In Matthew he says “this day”. “Give us this day our daily bread”. There the emphasis is on today. It is about the moment. The present tense of our life. In Luke it says “each day” which puts the emphasis more on the continuing nature of our prayer. I won’t just call on God for provision today, but every day of my life.

You might wonder about the expression daily bread. Well, fortunately we have the same expression being used in English today. We say, “I’m going to work to earn my daily bread.” The money we earn isn’t just of buying bread. It is for all that we need for our existence, for getting food, shelter, supplies, transportation, gas, etc. With the price of fuel, pretty soon we won’t have enough left for a loaf of bread!

Some of you may be asking this question: “I thought Jesus said my heavenly Father knows what I need before I ask him. Why then should I be asking about my needs to be met?” Good question. It is true God knows what I need before I ask, but what he is doing is teaching me to trust his provision. What a wonderful opportunity we have to prove the faithfulness of our God. Jesus is going to circle back to this very idea in the next chapter where he says, “Ask and you shall receive” (Matt. 7:7),. And again, it says in James, “You have not because you ask not” (Jas. 4:2).

So ask, ask the Lord for what you need. He is a loving and giving God who delights to meet our needs. So, what are our needs? Certainly the things we have already discussed like food and shelter. But what about the intangibles? Things like wisdom, strength, health, peace of mind, sleep, joy, friendship, community. We are encouraged in the word to ask for all these things. They fall under the general category of daily bread.

There are some reasons why we do not ask God for these things. One may be that we fear being greedy. But I say, leave that to God to decide. Ask. Another is that we feel we don’t deserve what he gives. Well, the truth is none of us deserves what God gives. The reason for God giving us anything is always found in his heart of love, not in our worthiness. So ask. Another is that we fear he will not answer us and we will then be disappointed at his non reply. The root of this is unbelief. We need to trust that God knows best what and when to give us his good gifts and then ask.

Finally, we don’t ask because we believe we can provide these things ourselves. Perhaps this is the most damaging thought of all. I remember an athlete who was interviewed after winning a bicycle race and commentator asked if he was thankful to God. The answer, “God didn’t win this. I did.” We are shocked at the arrogance of such a statement, but as Christians we can have that same arrogance, proudly relying on our own strength and ability to provide and perform. So, be humble before God and ask.

4. The fourth essential is moral accounting.

“Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” Once again, the Matthew passage adds to the understanding. Here it is sins being dealt with, but in Matthew it is debts. That is because God views sins as bringing moral indebtedness. We use this kind of thinking too. When someone wrongs us we might say, “You owe me for that,” implying that there is a kind of moral accounting to be settled.

God is a moral God who requires an accounting for sin. Mercifully, our God forgives sin. What does forgiveness mean? Forgiveness is a legally binding transaction where one surrenders the right to collect on an account of sin. The centerpiece of the gospel is this very thing. Because Jesus, by his work on the cross paid the price for our sins, God is now legally freed to give up his right to make us pay for our sins. They were accounted for by Jesus. But we must do the business of transacting this with God. That is what the verse is saying. So, in prayer we go to God and ask him to cancel our debts of sin.

How often should we do this? Our verse says often. At least daily. Those who have learned the secret of having peace with God ask forgiveness for their sins as soon as they are aware of the moral debt. And the Bible says,

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, he will forgive our sins and cleanse us form all unrighteousness

1 John 1:9

But what about when I have been sinned against? The same kind of moral accounting needs to be done with God in prayer, even though this time I am not the debtor but the creditor. I take the account to God and and I give up my right to hold on to the account. I put it in God’s hands. I will let him deal with it. So it says in Mark’s gospel,

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

Mark 11:25

So, when should I forgive someone for a wrong done to me? The verse says at your next prayer. I remember a Christian who was refusing to forgive someone before God. He was in a lot of mental anguish and had come to talk about it. I showed him this verse and indicated he needed to forgive at his next prayer. “I know”, he said, “that is why I haven’t prayed in over a month.”

Working out the account with the other person is important as well and the Bible speaks about the need to go and make peace with those who we have wronged or have wronged us. But that is the secondary issue. The primary issue is whether we have taken these moral accounts to God in prayer and dealt with them before the throne of God in heaven. Those who neglect this business of moral accounting lose their peace with God. The warning is this:

If you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Matthew 6:15

Without moral accounting, there is no settled peace with God. If you are in this condition, then go to the Lord today and settle the accounts. Ask and be forgiven. Forgive others. Then make it a daily practice to keep accounts short with the Lord. This is an essential.

5. The fifth essential in prayer is the plea for spiritual protection.

“Lead us not into temptation.” What does this mean? Does it imply that God would purposely try to tempt us to sin. No. the Bible declares that God is a holy God and would never tempt anyone to sin.

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, not does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.

James 1:13–14

Once again, clarification comes when we look at the prayer in Matthew: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matt. 6:13)

The sad truth is that there is an evil kingdom in this universe and an evil king, Satan. He is allowed by God to be there. He works as the opposition party in the governing of the universe. That way no one can accuse God of not allowing legitimate choice. There is a choice of government you want to be under, God’s or the devil’s. That evil government permeates all of society. And its minions are free to roam and to tempt us to sin. Just like Satan tempted Adam and Eve to sin in the garden of Eden. Just like Satan came after Job in the Old Testament. Just like Satan came after Jesus. So too, we are exposed to this evil destructive force at all times.

Unless! Unless we pray for God in his mercy to lead us not into temptation, but to deliver us. This is mercy extended to us by God. “You are in enemy territory, but I will show you a safe path. The enemy is strong, but I will deliver you from his clutches. Do not be naïve and careless. Instead, pray for this protection and I will help you through.

So, do we believe this narrative? Do we think that it is a minor issue that requires scant attention? Or do we consider that this is an essential in prayer, one so important that we voice it every day? For much of my early Christian experience I did not pray this prayer for divine protection. Since realizing the seriousness of it, I have not ceased to pray for divine protection from the devil on a daily basis. And not only for myself, but for my family and for my church and for others as well. You see, it is an essential. Without this prayer we are surely heading for trouble. Our journey will be greatly imperiled.

So there you have it, the daily prayer essentials as listed by Jesus. What are they again?

1. First, remember who you are by remembering who God is.
2. Second, declare your purpose to be God-centered and God-serving.
3. Third, pray for your provisions, for your daily needs to be met.
4. Fourth, remember to do moral accounting every day.
5. Fifth, pray for spiritual protection from the evil one.

Then, pray for whatever else God lays on your heart. And I know that God will richly bless you for your obedience in praying according to his will.

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