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OK, well then you can turn to 
Matthew chapter 6. Tonight we'll specifically look 
at verse 9a. I know that's a very isolated 
portion, but it is the preface to the Lord's Prayer. So before 
we get into the particular petitions of which there are six, we'll 
look at the preface, but I do want to read the larger context. 
So I'll pick up in chapter six, beginning in verse one, take 
heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men to 
be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward 
from your father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable 
deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites 
do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory 
from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they 
have their reward. But when you do a charitable 
deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is 
doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret, and your father 
who sees in secret will himself reward you openly. And when you 
pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to 
pray, standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, 
that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they 
have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into 
your room. And when you have shut your door, 
pray to your father who is in the secret place. And your father 
who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, 
do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think 
that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore, do not 
be like them, for your father knows the things you have need 
of before you ask him. In this manner, therefore, pray, 
our father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, 
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this 
day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our 
debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, 
but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom, 
and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive 
men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will 
your father forgive your trespasses. Moreover, when you fast, do not 
be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance, for they disfigure 
their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, 
I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, 
anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear 
to men to be fasting, but to your father who is in the secret 
place. And your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Amen. Well, in this particular 
section, verses 1 to 18, the Lord Jesus is dealing with religious 
observance or acts of piety. He deals with almsgiving, specifically 
in verses 1 to 4. He deals with prayer in verses 
5 to 15. And then, of course, He deals 
with fasting. in verses 16 to 18. And one of 
the interesting things about the almsgiving, the prayer, and 
the fasting is that Jesus assumes that these are things that the 
people of God will undertake. He assumes that these are things 
that religious people, people that imbibe the true religion 
of God Most High, will engage in charitable deeds. The children 
of God will be a people of prayer. The children of God as well will 
be those who occasionally fast, who set themselves to pray in 
extended seasons, giving up food and those sorts of things. So 
the assumption is there, what he is addressing or what he is 
giving here are particular rules, or not rules in the sense of 
pick up your socks and put them in the hamper, but instructions 
on how not to do it and instructions on how to do it. And the emphasis 
is on the internality or the internal nature of the exercise. Don't give alms so that people 
can see and say, what a great person you are. Don't fast and 
walk around all day and tell people I'm fasting. Rather, do 
it unto the Lord. The same thing with reference 
to prayer. He gives two specific cautions 
in verses 5 to 8. He speaks, first of all, with 
reference to the motivation. Verse 5, when you pray, you shall 
not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray, standing 
in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that 
they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they 
have their reward." So your motivation ought not to be just to be seen 
to be a man of prayer. Rather, your motivation is to 
go into the secret place and to find communion with God Most 
High. Then he deals with the manner 
in verse 7. He tells us not to be like the hypocrite. He tells 
us, secondly, not to be like the heathen, verse 7. And when 
you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think 
that they will be heard for their many words. You're not heard 
by God because you say things over and over and over again. 
You're not heard by God because you spend 13 minutes at the throne 
of grace. You're heard by God because He's 
gracious, merciful, and kind, and He is your Heavenly Father. 
So you see, He cautions us against praying like the hypocrite, He 
cautions us against praying like the heathen, and it's in this 
context that He gives us this particular model prayer. And 
that second caution concerning the heathen helps us to understand 
how we ought to approach this prayer. One of the things that 
the Roman Catholic Church does is use this prayer in the manner 
that the heathen prays. In other words, they recite the 
prayer over and over again. Well, Jesus just condemns that 
manner of using prayer. You don't just take it like it's 
a lucky charm, or like it's a holy horseshoe, or a three-leaf clover, 
four-leaf clover, and employ it before God in that manner. 
What we find in this model prayer are petitions that call us to 
consider these are the things that we ought to pray for. We 
ought to pray concerning God's name, God's kingdom, God's will, 
God's provision, God's forgiveness, and God's protection. So we don't 
just recite these things in some sort of an empty manner, but 
rather we take them, we ponder them, we consider them, we see 
how they apply in our own lives as individuals, we see how they 
apply in our own church context, in our family context, how they 
apply outside of that with reference to society as a whole. So it's 
not just a matter of learning the prayer and then reciting 
it over and over again. Certainly learning the prayer 
is absolutely crucial, but it's taking those petitions and internalizing 
them, thinking through them, and praying them back to God 
in an informed manner. We're not to be like the heathen. 
We're not to We're not to check out when it comes time to pray. 
Rather, we're to engage our minds, our hearts, our souls, our strength 
so that we may rightly worship God. Calvin says this with reference 
to these six petitions. He says, Christ embraces, therefore, 
in six petitions what we are at liberty to ask from God. Nothing 
is more advantageous to us than such instruction. Though this 
is the most important exercise of piety, yet in forming our 
prayers and regulating our wishes, all our senses fail us. No man will pray a rite unless 
his lips and heart shall be directed by the heavenly master." That's 
a very excellent way to approach this particular prayer. Note 
what Jesus says. He says, in this manner, verse 
9, therefore pray. Again, that prohibits this idea 
of vain repetition that the heathen engages in. And then I think 
we ought to observe the particular order, just before we jump into 
the preface. The order is very conspicuous, 
it's very specific. Hopefully all of this is a reminder 
to you so that when you go to prayer Tomorrow or tonight you 
can remember these things and be consciously aware of it. God 
comes first in the petitions Not only the preface our father 
in heaven. It's as if Jesus wants us to 
stop for a moment and contemplate our Father in heaven. I think 
what Jesus is teaching us is that theology proper, or our 
understanding of who God is, ought to affect the way that 
we pray. In other words, we don't just 
run into the presence of God and start throwing out our requests. 
We need to ponder our Father in heaven. We need to consider 
who he is. We need to understand something 
about his majesty. And then we present our petitions. And the conspicuous order is 
that his concerns or his glory comes first. His name, his kingdom, 
his will precedes our food, our forgiveness, and our protection. Spurgeon says, does not the daily 
bread often come in before the kingdom? That's a legitimate 
observation. Does not our prayer for bread 
come in before a petition for God's kingdom to advance and 
to thrive and to flourish? Ryle says the glory of God is 
the first thing that God's children should desire. Now, this is what 
grace teaches us, because outside or apart from grace, we think 
we come first. We think everything is about 
us. We think God exists simply to bless, to give, and to pour 
things upon us so that we may benefit and prosper. It is grace 
that teaches us what Ryle says here. The glory of God is the 
first thing that God's children should desire. Now let's look 
at the preface. After giving a bit of introduction, 
in this manner, therefore pray, he says, Our Father in Heaven. The Westminster Larger Catechism 
says this, and we'll sort of follow this, at least loosely. 
What does the preface of the Lord's Prayer teach us? The preface 
of the Lord's Prayer, contained in these words, our Father, which 
art in heaven, teaches us, when we pray, to draw near to God 
with confidence of His fatherly goodness and our interest therein. with reverence and all other 
childlike dispositions, heavenly affections, and due apprehensions 
of his sovereign power, majesty, and gracious condescension, as 
also to pray with and for others. Great, great summary statement. Notice it's our Father in heaven. This is a prayer to be sure that 
you can utilize in your closet, but it's absolutely legitimate 
to utilize it at a Wednesday night prayer meeting. It's absolutely 
legit for a pastor to implement it in the long prayer, the pastoral 
prayer, on a Sunday morning or Sunday evening. This is legit. It is a corporate expression 
of these particular petitions to our God. So let's look at 
our Father in Heaven. There's two important elements 
involved. First, God's presence, and secondly, 
God's power. He says, our Father. As I've 
already alluded to, theology proper, when I say theology proper, 
that means specifically the doctrine of God. We understand the word 
theology to mean the study of God, the science of the study 
of God, the knowledge of God, that sort of thing. When we say 
theology proper, however, we mean specifically the doctrine 
of God. Who He is, what He does, how 
he does it, and for his own glory, the fact that he does it. We're 
going to be studying theology proper in the next several weeks 
at our Sunday morning services from 9.30 to 10.30. I highly 
encourage everybody to be here for that. It's good stuff from 
our confession of faith. I trust that it will be helpful 
for us to see afresh who our God is, because as we see in 
a prayer like this, Understanding who God is affects us with reference 
to prayer. It affects us with reference 
to worship. It affects us with reference to family, society, 
everything. If we don't have a proper understanding 
of God, we are not going to be the people of God that He calls 
us to be. So the two elements involved 
is presence, first of all. There's just several things I 
want to bring out in this section. Our Father, first of all, is 
personal. We're not addressing faith when 
we come to pray. We're not throwing out holy horseshoes. We're not just hoping for the 
best of luck. We are addressing our Father. 
He is personal. He loves us. He looks upon us 
with favor. No two words could better invite 
the child of God to pray than this title of God, Our Father. This is a term of affection, 
it's a term of kindness, it's a term of goodness, like the 
Catechism says, to draw near to God with confidence of His 
fatherly goodness. The Lord Jesus addresses God 
as Father whenever He prays except in the cry of dereliction, when 
He says, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" The Lord 
Jesus bears a relationship unlike ours, Matthew 11, 27, in terms 
of unity and communion. But because of the redemptive 
work of Jesus Christ, he brings us into this blessed sphere of 
union and communion with his Father. What Christ is by eternal 
generation, What Christ is, by virtue of His very essence, we 
are brought in and adopted as sons. Now, we don't partake of 
deity the way Jesus does, but we are sons. We have a filial 
relationship, and we can call God our father. We are not addressing 
blind fate. We are not addressing impersonal 
power or some other entity. We are to go to prayer as a child 
goes to his father. So that's at least one thing 
that is expressed in this two words, our father. Secondly, 
our father is gracious to us. The fact that we can call him 
father, this speaks grace. The Bible teaches us that we 
are by nature children of wrath. For us to move from children 
of wrath to a place where we can address God as Father indicates 
that He has done something for us and has done something to 
bring us into this particular place. We are dead in trespasses 
and sins. We are completely alienated to 
the life of God. We have no union, we have no 
communion, and yet God brings us out of darkness into marvelous 
light. In Ephesians 1.5 it says, He 
predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself 
according to the good pleasure of His will. So before we take 
up these petitions, it might not be a bad thing for us to 
rehearse some theology in our minds and hearts in a prayerful 
disposition. We consider the reality that 
our father is personal. He hears us, he understands us, 
he knows us, he looks upon us and he pities us as a father 
pities his children. As well, we consider the fact 
that he's gracious to us. The very reason I can go before 
him and address him as father speaks of the reality that he 
has begraced me. He has first loved me and brought 
me in with reference to this particular position." This is 
a prayer for the believer. D.A. Carson makes this observation 
in his commentary. He says, the early church was 
right to forbid non-Christians from reciting this prayer as 
vigorously as they forbade them from joining with believers at 
the Lord's table. Now, the question comes up, do 
we teach our children to pray? Yes, we teach our children to 
pray. What we need to appreciate about this particular prayer, 
however, is that what God is telling us is that this is a 
prayer that is specially designed for the disciple of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. So our Father is personal, our 
Father is gracious to us. Thirdly, what we are taught here, 
at least by implication, is that our Father hears us, right? Isn't 
that beautiful? Does Dagon hear the prayers of 
the Philistines? Does Baal hear the prayers of 
the prophets when they're gashing themselves and dancing around 
the altar, praying to Baal to rain fire down upon the sacrifice? Of course they don't. Of course 
Baal doesn't hear prayer. He has ears, but he can't hear. 
He has eyes, but he can't see. He has a mouth, but he can't 
talk. See, we read Psalm 115, we read 
135, and some of that seems a bit odd to us because we don't think 
in those terms, but this is precisely what the psalmist is doing. He 
is mocking the idols of the nations around them. Go ahead and pray 
to your God. He has eyes, but He can't see. 
He has ears, but He can't hear. What's the implication? Our God 
has eyes and He sees, not physically. The Bible tells us He is spirit. He does not have body like man. 
but there are those anthropomorphisms, things the Bible says about God 
in our language so that we can get our minds wrapped around 
it. He has eyes that see, he has a mouth that speaks, and 
he certainly has ears that hear. And so when Jesus says, go into 
your secret room, or go into your room, and when you have 
shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place, 
and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. I love 
that passage. because it doesn't indicate anything 
about our disposition. I'm convinced that we don't think 
it's a good prayer meeting unless we feel good. I'm convinced that 
we don't believe God answers our prayers unless our hearts 
are warmed. I'm convinced that we put more 
stock in the feelings connected with our praying than in the 
praying itself. Jesus simply says, when you go 
into your room, when you have shut your door, pray to your 
Father who is in the secret place, and your Father who sees in secret 
will reward you openly. It's a no-brainer. It follows. 
No, I'm not suggesting we should be like cold dead fish. I'm certainly 
not encouraging that disposition or model of prayer. But brethren, 
it's not about your warm heart. It's not about how did God bless 
the prayer meeting. Did Brother so-and-so pray? For 
how long were the prayers offered up? When we list our petitions 
to a gracious God, He is merciful to hear us and to bless us and 
to answer according to His most glorious will. They have ears, 
but they do not hear. Not the God of Israel. You can 
turn to the Psalter, specifically Psalm 4. We'll just trace through 
a few of these passages that indicate this blessed reality 
that our God hears. And this is something that the 
saint of Christ needs constant reminder of. Because, as I say, 
if it is the case that we don't pray unless we really feel like 
it, then we're going to leave off. We pray because God commands 
it. We pray because it's an act of 
worship. We pray because it is good for 
us. We don't pray when we feel like 
it. We don't pray if we feel like 
it. We don't pray consistently or commensurate with the reward 
that we get. Our task is to pray. And God's 
task is to hear and to answer. Psalm 4, verse 3, but know that 
the Lord has set apart for himself him who is godly. The Lord will 
hear when I call to him. You say, well, that works if 
you're godly, but I'm a pretty ungodly guy or gal. You're godly 
in Christ Jesus. If you are in Christ, you have 
access to the throne of grace. The Father is your Father, and 
He has committed Himself to hear you when you pray. Look at 6, 
8, and 9. 6, 8, and 9. Depart from me, 
all you workers of iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice 
of my weeping. Maybe no one else has. Maybe 
you've been in your closet crying out. Nobody knows. Nobody understands. You've got the ability to put 
on a good game face. You go out into the day. You 
go about your tasks. Nobody knows the sorrows or the 
difficulties you are going through. But in that inner place, when 
you go before the High King of Heaven, when you offer up in 
our Father, we have this confidence. The Lord has heard the voice 
of my weeping. Verse 9, the Lord has heard my 
supplication. The Lord will receive my prayer. Psalm 18 verse 6, In my distress 
I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God. He heard my voice 
from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears. Isn't that beautiful? Your cry 
ascends into the temple of God Most High and it comes to His 
ears. The imagery is beautiful. It's 
illustrative. The picture is strong. Call upon 
the Lord. Let your cries be known unto 
Him. This is what the psalmist is 
telling us. Psalm 28 verse 6. Psalm 28, verse 6, blessed be 
the Lord. You know, when God blesses us, 
that means He does good things for us. He multiplies good things 
on our behalf. When we say blessed be the Lord, 
that means to ascribe praise to Him. It means to speak well 
of Him. It means to honor and glorify 
Him. It means what Christ is going 
to tell us in that first petition. Hallowed be thy name. Hallowed 
be thy name is sort of new covenant language for what we find scattered 
throughout the Psalms. Blessed be the Lord. Notice, 
because he has heard the voice of my supplications. You're sitting 
there amongst the people, and you've got a big smile on your 
face, and you say, praise God. And they say, why? Because he's 
heard the voice of my supplication. He actually listens to me. I 
wrote a letter last week to the prime minister about a particular 
court case that's going on. And I got a piece of mail today 
that said, office of the prime minister. It wasn't from him. 
It was from one of his cronies that said, we got it, and we're 
going to make sure whoever needs to see it sees it. Now, for a 
brief moment, I felt pretty good, right? I mean, people, by and 
large, we don't use that process anymore. So we think they don't 
care. And I pretty much think that. But I still try, by God's 
grace, to use means. Anyway, so I get this thing, 
Office of the Prime Minister. Well, that's pretty nice. How 
does that pale in significance to the reality that the high 
king of heaven listens to me any time I speak, any time I 
come to him, any time I call upon him as father? He's there. He answers. He hears. I mean, 
that's what the psalmist is amazed with, 34.6. 34-6, this poor man cried out 
and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps 
all around those who fear him and delivers them. Verse 17, the righteous cry out, 
and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 
Again, your righteousness is bound up in our Lord Jesus Christ. It is an imputed righteousness 
by which we call God, Abba, Father, and in which we can pray. We 
come before the Lord clothed in a righteousness not our own, 
and he hears us for Jesus' sake. Psalm 55 verse 17. Psalm 55 verse 17. Verse 16. As for me I will call 
upon God and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at 
noon I will pray and cry aloud. And he shall hear my voice. You 
see, it's an assumption. It's a presupposition. The child 
of God knows this. When he goes to the father, he 
understands that the father hears. It's like when your kids are 
little. When they come to you and they say, Dad, I need to 
talk to you. Do you say, go away, beat it. 
Maybe you did. Maybe I did. God will never do 
that to us. He'll never tell us to beat it. 
He'll never tell us, I'm busy right now. He'll never tell us, 
I don't have time for you. He's not this God that's kind 
of listening over here at China in the midday and over here, 
you know, at night, He'll be in Chilliwack. That's not the 
God of Holy Scripture. He hears His children when they 
cry out to Him. Look at Psalm 116, verse 1. I wonder if we've ever employed 
this kind of language. Psalm 116 verse 1, I love the 
Lord because... That doesn't seem right. I love 
the Lord. I'm supposed to. I love the Lord 
because He commands me. I love the Lord because He has 
heard my voice and my supplications. Certainly, He commands me to 
love Him. He first loved me. All those 
things are true. But it's legit to tell the people 
of God, I love the Lord because He has heard my voice and my 
supplication. I was facing a difficult situation. And the Lord God came in. He 
didn't swoop me out of the difficult situation. I had to go through 
it. But He was there with me every 
step of the way. And I love Him for that. He's 
heard my voice. He's blessed me. And as a result 
of that, I love Him. Because He has inclined His ear 
to me. Verse 2. Therefore, I will call 
upon Him as long as I live. He's going to listen. I'm going 
to pray. Right? If you ever met somebody, if 
you're going to listen to me, I'm going to talk. I'm going to just keep talking. 
You know, sometimes we listen to others, and then it's their 
turn to listen to us. And it's like, all right, I got 
two barrels full. I'm going to let you have it. 
Just listen. I don't want to hear anything. Just listen. God 
listens to us. He listens to the prayers of 
his people. The Lord Jesus said that when 
we go into our secret place, the Father who sees in secret 
will hear us and reward us openly. He is personal. He is gracious. He hears us. Fourthly, He cares 
for us. Now all those other ones indicate 
this to be sure, but there are specific texts that indicate 
this. 1 Peter chapter 5. 1 Peter chapter 
5. A lot of texts that I think are 
good for us to be reminded of so that we will be in earnest 
when it comes to this issue or this matter of prayer first Peter 
chapter 5 verse 5 likewise you younger people submit yourselves 
to your elders yes all of you be submissive to one another 
and excuse me be clothed with humility for God resists the 
proud but gives grace to the humble therefore humble yourselves 
under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due 
time casting all your care upon him for he cares for you Now, 
as you consider the world, I mentioned just a few of the events that 
are going on that are just, you know, a lot of things. I don't 
know if you just even look at the news occasionally. There's 
a lot of unrest in the world. I think it's typical for a believer 
to say, wow, I'm sure God's got his hands busy over in these 
things. He doesn't want to hear from 
little old me. That's a pagan conception of 
God. That's a Roman Catholic conception 
of God, not all Roman Catholics. But that's the mindset I think 
I imbibed or I learned. He was the cosmic operator that 
he could only do so much. So he appoints some mediators, 
not the mediator, his son, the Lord Christ, through whom we 
come. But he appoints Mary and he appoints others to kind of 
help in this work of mediation and prayer and petition. The 
scripture tells us we are to cast all our care upon him. for 
he cares for you." And of course, that comes from the Psalms as 
well. God cares. That's a reason to 
pray. Notice, when we just take those 
two words, our Father, I don't think it's a stretch to see these 
concepts contained in those two particular words. Roll these 
things around in your head. Consider these things in your 
heart. First, understand who God is, and then go to pray. I think this is helpful. Now, 
this doesn't mean that if you're about to go off a cliff, you 
stop and ponder Westminster Shorter Catechism No. 4, get yourself 
in the frame, and then pray. No, you pray. But on a regular 
basis, we need to remind ourselves of these basic truths concerning 
who God is. You see, this is the essence 
of Christianity, that they may know thee, the only true God, 
and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. You know, we're told today 
that Christianity is about going out and doing good things for 
others, and I certainly agree we ought to do good things for 
others. But when Christ defines eternal 
life there in the high priestly prayer, its essence is that they 
may know God, the only true God in Jesus Christ whom thou hast 
sent. It is good for us to rehearse theology proper and use this 
as a means to go to him in prayer. So he's personal, he's gracious, 
he hears, he cares. And fifthly, our father loves 
us. Doesn't the very language of 
father bespeak this? Now there are fathers out there 
that unfortunately do not love their children. a horrible, you 
know, blight on this creation. But for the most part, even nature, 
even animal kingdom, the fathers typically love their offspring. 
And when Jesus tells us to bid God our Father, or call upon 
Him as our Father, this bespeaks of His loving character. 1 John 
4.8, He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. Isn't that beautiful? You've 
probably heard us talking about impassibility and immutability, 
and sometimes people get scared. And they think, well, that just 
means God is some big motionless rock. No, God can't change. God doesn't change. And God doesn't 
suffer because God is always all that He is. And He's love. Our confession says He's most 
loving. He can't grow in His love for 
us He doesn't get more loving toward us tomorrow. When we call 
upon him today, we get all of the love of God that is at his 
disposal poured out upon his elect. This is something we need 
to appreciate. And we have known and believe 
the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides 
in love abides in God and God in him. 1 John 4, 16. Thomas 
Watson says, God loves his children with such a love as he loves 
Christ. It is the same love for the unchangeableness 
of it. God will not more cease to love 
his adopted sons than he will to love his natural son. It's 
a great implication. We have been adopted as sons 
of God Most High. What Watson says, and I think 
the New Testament and Old Testament bears forth consistently, is 
that God doesn't stop. This idea that somebody can be 
born again and saved and then lost is of the devil. It is not 
of Paul. It is not of the apostles. It's 
not of Moses. It's certainly not of God the 
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Because when God sets 
His love upon a sinner, when He brings that sinner into saving 
union with Christ, that sinner is loved forever. There's no 
end. And then sixth link. What Jesus is teaching here, 
as well, underscores the exclusivity in terms of prayer. Our Father 
alone. We're not to pray to saints. 
We're not to pray to Mary. We're not to pray to ourselves. We're not to pray to our religious 
leaders. We are to pray to the Father, 
to God alone. Some say, can you pray to Jesus? 
Can you pray to the Spirit? Yes, they are, in essence, God 
most high. But I think our confession captures 
the biblical teaching with reference to prayer. It says, but that 
prayer may be accepted. It is to be made in the name 
of the Son by the help of the Spirit according to his will. So the idea is, and I think we 
see this in several places in the New Testament, we come to 
the Father through the Son by the Spirit. Now, that doesn't 
mean we can't ever say, Jesus, save me, or Jesus, help me. I'm not suggesting that we can't 
do that. I'm not suggesting that we can't 
say, Holy Spirit, come upon us and revive your people. I'm not 
saying that's necessarily wrong. But what I'm saying is that when 
we look at the scripture, we go to the Father, through the 
Son, by the Spirit. And I think that this helps us 
in another element of theology proper as well. It continually 
reminds us, it continually sets before us the triunity of God. You see, our God is one who exists 
eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we come to 
the Father through the Son, by the Spirit, we are self-consciously 
being Trinitarian. I think that Pastor Cam does 
this. I seek to do this as well in praying and sometimes in preaching 
to remind us that we're Trinitarians. A Jew or a Muslim, certainly 
not a Muslim, but a monotheist shouldn't be able to come into 
our church and be happy. A monotheist, which we are, there 
is a difference, however, between the monotheism of Christianity 
and the monotheism of Judaism and Islam. They're not Trinitarian. We are Trinitarian. And so this 
means, pray to the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit, gives 
conscious attention to each of the three persons of the Trinity. 
Because what happens sometimes? We can be functional modalists. That means that God was the Father, 
He became the Son, and now He's the Spirit. We can be functionally 
wrong in our Trinitarianism if we are not reminded of our Trinitarianism. The two errors that people slip 
into with reference to the Trinity is that modalism, or it's a monad, 
that God the Father is supreme, and that Jesus and the Spirit 
are somehow lesser, somehow junior gods, or some other such nonsense. But the Christian doctrine of 
the Trinity teaches us there is one God. There is but one 
God. But this one God exists in three 
persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three 
are one, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. So 
Father, Son, Spirit in our prayer is a good thing. We give due 
appreciation for each of the persons of the Godhead. and the 
one true and living God. I hope that's not confusing, 
I hope that's helpful. So again, Spirit, please come, 
bless this prayer meeting, is legit. Jesus, save this person, 
that's legit. But in terms of our regular, 
ongoing praying, going to the Father, through the Son, by the 
Spirit, is a very helpful means by which we give due honor to 
each of the persons in their distinctness. So we have our 
Father. But then notice the second part 
of the preface, in heaven. He is our Father in heaven. And I think this underscores 
his power. So our Father presence, in heaven, power. Where is our 
God? He is in heaven. He is in a position 
of absolute authority. He has the ability to hear us. He has the ability to come to 
our rescue. I was thinking about this recently, 
and again, we're going to hear about this in the weeks to come 
in terms of impassibility and immutability. Impassibility is 
just another word, just like immutability. It means God doesn't 
change. Impassibility specifically means 
God does not suffer. And that's good. That is excellent. When you're going through the 
valley of the shadow of death, you want God with you, not as 
a co-sufferer, but as a sustainer and as a rock. You don't want 
God to cry with you, you want God to bring you through it. 
You want God, in His omnipotence, to be there to sustain you in 
the midst of all trial and all suffering and all difficulty. 
And again, I believe Pastor Cam will bring these things out. 
We won't get too involved in all of it, but enough to let 
you see, or hopefully all of us will see, how glorious this 
truth is, that our God is immutable. He doesn't change. He is impassable. He doesn't suffer. Of course, 
the God-man suffered, but as man, Christ, Jesus, not in the 
essence of deity. Anyways, don't wanna steal Pastor 
Cam's thunder there. But with reference to his power, 
or this little phrase in heaven, it suggests three things, at 
least. First, his transcendence. Now, 
using a few words today, but hopefully you're trying to define 
them. Transcendence means that God is removed from us. God's not shocking and jiving 
with us. I mean, God is omnipresent. God is with his people, always, 
to be sure. But the beauty of God is that 
he is in the heavens and that he does whatever he pleases. 
And it's glorious that he occupies this position of transcendent 
authority so that he can come to the aid of his people in their 
distress and in their trials. The apostle brings this out in 
Acts chapter 17. with reference to the transcendent-ness, 
the other-ness of God. You remember there is a distinction 
between the creature, us, and the creator, God. And that's 
what this whole idea of transcendence highlights and that this phrase 
in heaven underscores in Acts 17 verses 24 to 25. verse 23 in the middle, therefore 
the one whom you worship without knowing him I proclaim to you 
God who made the world and everything in it since he is Lord of heaven 
and earth does not dwell in temples made with hands nor is he worshipped 
with men's hands as though he needed anything since he gives 
to all life, breath and all things. You see he's removed from us 
There's a real practical implication here as well. When we come to 
our father and we consider the fact that he is in heaven, hopefully 
this understanding will affect us in the proper way. Let me 
just try and explain. We are not coming to the next 
door neighbor and asking to borrow a cup of sugar. We are not coming 
to an equal and suggesting that he just do us a solid. We are 
coming into the presence of the High King of Heaven and that 
ought to frame our hearts in a position or in a posture of 
reverence. It ought to promote in us fear, 
not a fear like, I've got to hide from God because He's going 
to get me. When I mention fear, I mean reverence, 
reverential awe, considering who God is and how we ought to 
act in His presence, the fact that He is transcendent. When 
you drop down in this particular section, what is the apostle 
condemning here? He's condemning idolatry. He's 
in the city of Athens. His spirit is provoked within 
him as he looks at the city given over to idols. As he highlights 
the transcendent character of God, as he highlights the fact 
that God is the creator, God is the governor, God is the Lord 
of all, notice his therefore in verse 29. Therefore, since 
we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the 
divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped 
by art and man's devising. What's Paul's point? Having a 
proper understanding of who God is should shatter this vain attempt 
to make idols and fashion our God into something like that. You see, theology proper is very 
practical for the Apostle Paul here at Mars Hill. He uses this 
as a way to attack the idolatry that is going on in this particular 
city. He says in verse 30, truly these 
times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere 
to repent. What's he saying? Yes, repent. of the lustful look that you 
took of the young woman earlier today. It's not about idolatry 
primarily. He's in a city given over to 
idols. They've got an altar constructed to the unknown God. What's Paul 
saying? Based on the reality of who this 
real, true, and living God is, you need to repent and forsake 
these idols and cast yourself upon the mercy of this one who 
transcends the creation who is over it, who has made it, who 
sustains it, who governs it, and who by Jesus Christ has redeemed 
his elect. So you see, understanding who 
God is also helps promote the proper disposition in prayer. You see, we need that. We come 
to our closet, we cry out to God, we confess our sins, we 
agonize, all that stuff, but we never forget who he is relative 
to us, or who he is distinct from us. He is our Father in 
heaven. That little phrase in heaven 
also underscores his sovereignty. He's transcendent. That means 
he's removed from creation, but he is sovereign. The scripture 
says that not only is our God in the heavens, he does whatever 
he pleases. You know a good passage to read 
before you go to pray sometime? I don't want to make rules here 
tonight. I'm not into that. Now, tomorrow 
night, when you go to pray, make sure you read this. I'm not going 
to do that. But you know, it's not a bad idea to rehearse some 
of these passages afresh before we pray. Imagine if you have 
some particularly difficult situation in your life. You have a scenario 
that's causing you a bit of grief, maybe frustration, just whatever 
the issue may be. Imagine reading Nebuchadnezzar's 
statement at the end of Daniel 4. You say, well, how could that 
ever help me pray? How could it not help you pray? 
Verse 34, and at the end of the time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted 
my eyes to heaven and my understanding returned to me. And I blessed 
the Most High and praised and honored him who lives forever, 
for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is 
from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth 
are reputed as nothing. He does according to his will 
in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, 
no one can restrain his hand or say to him, what have you 
done? Hopefully that'll put a little 
spring in your prayer step the next time you consider a difficult 
situation and whether or not our God has the power, the sovereignty, 
and the ability to come to our aid and to our rescue. You see, 
just a few moments reflection upon these four words can fill 
out or can illustrate for us some sound theology proper for 
us to consider before we take these petitions to him. And if 
you consider these things, our Father in heaven, the rest of 
it all seems to fall into place. Because he is our Father in heaven, 
we ought to pray that his name be hallowed. I mean, if He is 
that glorious and that majestic and that wonderful, it's a no-brainer 
that we pray His name is hallowed. If He is who the Bible says He 
is, we ought to pray that His kingdom would come. If He is 
what the Bible says He is, we ought to pray that He would indeed 
cause His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. If 
our father in heaven is what the Bible says he is, then I 
can come to him with my petition for daily bread. And if he's 
my father, I can certainly ask for forgiveness, because I'm 
an evil man. But when my son or my daughter 
says, could you please forgive me, I forgive them. Certainly, 
he being a holy, gracious, merciful God that was pleased to set forth 
his own son as a propitiation through his blood so that he 
might receive me unto himself. Certainly, when I ask for forgiveness, 
he's going to forgive me. and then with reference to protection. Do not lead us into temptation 
but deliver us from the evil one. This God that Nebuchadnezzar 
confesses in Daniel chapter 4 certainly has the power, the ability, the 
omnipotence to hedge me in and to keep me from the attacks of 
the evil one. You see, this prayer is so tightly 
knit together, it's so well woven together that you can't have 
a part of it without all of it. And you desperately want all 
of it because it's all so wondrous as our God has given it to us. So the importance of the address, 
we've seen the elements of the address, the importance of the 
address. Prayer is to be intelligent. Prayer is to be intelligent. 
Our confession again says, prayer is to be with understanding, 
reverence, humility, fervency, faith, love, and perseverance. Now whether we always think through 
all those things. Did I have enough love? Did I 
have enough humility? You get what they're saying. Prayer is 
to be intelligent. You see, pagans and heathens 
stop thinking when they address their gods. They typically worship 
their gods from the waist down, not from the neck up. They don't 
use their minds. You see, Christianity is about 
loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and 
strength. And I think the confession is 
spot on here. Prayer is to be with understanding. Who is God? Who am I under God? And what are the legitimate expressions 
or the legitimate petitions that I can bring to him? And this 
Lord's Prayer fills that in for us. The practice of Christian 
prayer is not emptying one's mind and approaching the idol 
in a spirit of ecstasy and carnality, but understanding who God is 
and approaching him accordingly. You see, this is important because 
today, whether it's the charismatic movement or the Pentecostal movement, 
sometimes effective prayer or effective worship is gauged in 
the amount of activity that the people are going through. In 
other words, if they're jumping up and down or they're clapping 
their hands or they're raising their hands, that's true worship. Where the scripture says, you 
with the mind engage with the God of heaven and earth, see 
him as our father in heaven, and present your petitions unto 
him. with understanding, reverence, 
humility, fervency, faith, love, and perseverance. As well, prayer 
presupposes knowledge. Our Father in Heaven. You need 
to know our Father in Heaven before you go to pray. Obviously, 
you need to be born again. You need to be converted. The 
Lord Jesus must save you from your sins. As Paul says, Galatians 
4, we need to receive the spirit of adoption so that we can address 
the Father as Father. We must know Him. Again, I think 
these next four weeks in our study in the Confession, you 
know, it's not just to inform our minds concerning theology 
proper, as important as that is, and I give that a, you know, 
a great big hurrah, but to promote worship and prayer. You see, 
it's the people who know their God that worship Him accordingly. 
You don't know God, you don't worship Him accordingly. Your 
two-year-old says, I love you, Daddy, and that's great, and 
we appreciate that. But when he's 22, he has a much 
more informed manner about which or about why he loves you. I 
love you because you've been there for me, dad. I love you 
because you bailed me out of these circumstances. There's 
an understanding, there's an information that produces the 
proper response. And when you know who God is, 
the proper response ought to be earnest, fervent prayer and 
faithful worship. Well, those are just some thoughts 
on the preface, just a couple of concluding thoughts. The use 
of the model, note the use of the plural hour. Again, this 
is something that we could pray together in our prayer meetings, 
our Father in Heaven. We could just take each of these 
petitions and we could pray these right back to God and apply them 
very specifically to our situation. You know, I hope that brethren 
pray before a Sunday service, God, we pray that your name will 
be hallowed when we meet. I mean, it ought not to be the 
case that our first petition is, Lord, when I come to the 
house of God, help me to hang out with my friends. That's not 
wicked. It's not wrong. But God, may 
your name be hallowed, may your name be praised, may your name 
be honored. Why are we here? We're not elks, 
we're not moose, we're not lions. We're here because we're Christians, 
blood-bought by the Savior himself to worship God. So our Father 
in heaven, hallowed be your name, is very appropriate to pray for 
the church. Frantz says, it is the prayer 
of a community rather than an individual act of devotion. even 
though its pattern would also appropriately guide the secret 
prayers in the storeroom. Certainly would, but again, he's 
giving it corporately, our father. It's all plural pronouns that 
is used throughout this particular prayer. The comprehensive nature 
of the Lord's Prayer, the preface, and the six petitions provide 
in a simple and brief compass a very comprehensive manner in 
which to pray to God. Have you ever wondered, or have 
you met people, I don't know what to pray about. I don't know 
what to pray about. Well, there you go, right there. 
Pray for God's name, God's kingdom, God's will, your provision, your 
forgiveness, your protection. That'll keep you busy. There's 
enough there. You say, I don't pray very long. 
Pray the Lord's Prayer. Again, not just recite it, but 
think about it. Think about people that you know 
and love that perhaps are far from the Lord, somebody that's 
unsaved. God, please take hold of their 
lives and teach them the fear of the Lord. Teach them that 
you are the Father, that you are in heaven. Cause them to 
hallow your name. May your kingdom come, God, and 
may it be so by the adding of this sinner to your kingdom. 
May your will be done in his life. I'm tired of this son or 
daughter or friend or wife or father who's continually rebelling 
against the Lord. God, put it in them to fear your 
name and to do what you call them to do. I think of all the 
petitions that we pray in terms of people that are physically 
hurting. What is that? Give us this day 
our daily bread. It's not just a piece of hot 
bread. It's all temporal things. It's 
medical health. It's physical health. It's spiritual 
stamina. It's all things necessary to 
keep us alive and stabilized on this earth. So in a sense, 
we are utilizing this particular model. We ought to pray for forgiveness. Do you ever go a day without 
sin? No. So you should never go a 
day without asking God, please forgive me. Again, it's not as 
if he cuts us off, but that 1 John 1, 9, if we confess our sins, 
he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all 
unrighteousness. It's the fatherly smile that 
we're seeking in that fresh forgiveness. Help us to forgive others. It's 
not always easy, is it, to forgive other people. Remember that instance, 
it's specifically in Luke's Gospel. I think it's in Matthew, Mark, 
and Luke, where Jesus teaches them to forgive seven times. Seventy. Remember? Peter, Lord, 
if my brother sins against me, should I forgive him seven times? 
I've got to think, Peter thought he was being very benevolent. 
That was good, right? I mean, it's hard to forgive 
someone seven times. You hit my thumb with a hammer 
seven times in a day, Jonathan. By the eighth time, maybe not. 
I may just say, forget it. Give me the hammer. I'm going 
to hit your thumb now. And then we'll call it even. But seven 
times seems, you know, the number of perfection. Peter's probably 
thinking in terms of Bible numbers and symbolism, it isn't this 
great. What does Jesus say? 7 times 
70. You haven't even begun to scratch the surface. You know 
what it says in Luke's gospel after Jesus says that? They say, 
Lord, increase our faith. Why? Because it doesn't come 
naturally to us to forgive somebody 7 times 70. Increase our faith. And then, of course, protection. 
We need protection from the devil, from the evil one, from the evil 
of our own hearts. God, protect us, watch over us, 
and lead us not into temptation. So that's the preface. God willing, 
in the next few weeks, we'll take up the petitions in particular. 
So why don't we close now in a word of prayer? Our Father 
in heaven, we do give you thanks for your glory and for your majesty. 
We thank you that you are one God and three glorious persons, 
Father, Son, and Spirit. We pray that you would teach 
us to pray through this great prayer recorded in Matthew's 
Gospel. We thank you, Father, that you 
inform us, that you instruct us, that you educate, and that 
you teach us who you are so that we don't come like the pagan 
to his dumb idol. that we come as ones informed 
by the grace of God, taught the fear of God, and able to come 
to the God of heaven and earth and to present our petitions 
to you. Again, we just pray tonight for the Slootweg family. We just 
commit them to you. We pray that they would know 
your nearness and your kindness and your goodness in the midst 
of this tragedy. We pray that your grace would 
see them through. We pray that you would increase 
their faith as a result of this, and that God, they would just 
be worshipers of you, the true and living God. We ask this through 
Christ our Lord. Amen.