PRAYING PRAISE

PRAYING PRAISE

Matthew 6:5-15 (v.9)

Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell

First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI

September 9, 2007

Prayer – it’s as deep a subject as one can possibly find. We never “get to the bottom of it,” but are always learning more about prayer, and yes, sometimes we seem to find more questions than answers. A number of years ago, a doctoral student at Princeton earnestly asked Albert Einstein a question: “What is there left in the world for original dissertation research?” Of all the answers Einstein could’ve given he replied: “Find out about prayer. Somebody must find out about prayer.”[i]

“When it comes to prayer,” says author Philip Yancey, “we are all beginners.” [ii] How true! And yet, so many resources on prayer abound. The Bible is hardly silent on teaching us how to pray and our Lord Jesus was hardly silent on the subject. All four Gospels clearly indicate that prayer was very much a part of Jesus’ life and ministry, praying in solitude, praying with His disciples, or praying in the midst of a large group of people. In the Sermon on the Mount, He taught on the subject of prayer, warning us against self-seeking hypocrisy or lengthy, verbose prayers that are hollow in meaning.

He also gave us a prayer to use known today as the Lord’s Prayer. So often, ministers have preached a series of sermons on the Lord’s Prayer, unpacking each of the phrases to find the meaning Jesus intended and to then relate that to our life with God and each other. I did this myself, in fact, seven years ago.

But there is another way of using the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus indicated in saying, “Pray then like this …” (ESV); “Pray, then, in this way …” (NAS); “This, then, is how you should pray …” (NIV) The structure of this verse in Greek indicates that we can not only pray the Lord’s Prayer, but we can also use it as a model for our own prayers as we pray “in this way,” “like this,” “in this manner.” So, for the next few weeks, we’re going to be looking at this exemplary prayer – as a prayer that can instruct us and teach us in the praying of our own prayers.

This morning, we begin where Jesus began: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” When you and I are inclined to approach God in conversation – which is what prayer actually is – how shall we approach God, assuming the fact that we are Christians?

WE CAN APPROACH GOD IN PRAYER

WITH CONFIDENCE AND TRUST

AS WE CONSIDER,

“OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN …”

Prayer begins in knowing that there is nothing in us that merits our ability to go to God in prayer. What gives us access to the God of the universe has nothing to do with who we are or what we’ve done. But it has everything to do with who God is and with what God has done. Apprehension or fear should exist if we try to go to God on our own merit. But it is God in Jesus Christ who has opened up for us this access to God in prayer. As the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, He gives us both the forgiveness we need and the righteousness we need to go to God in prayer. For this reason, we pray “in Jesus’ name” as a reminder to ourselves that it is to a throne of grace we may go, and that grace and unmerited favor are given through the saving work of Jesus Christ.

The author of Hebrews connects Christ, grace and prayer in this way:

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” [iii]

Again, it is by grace in Christ that we have a relationship with God that then enables us to go to a throne of grace in prayer. It’s by that same grace that we may address God as not only the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, but as our Father as well. The God, whose power and authority are referred to by His being “in heaven”, can be addressed respectfully as a Father, who is worthy of our trust, as He will always answer our prayers in the way He sees fit according to His infinite wisdom, power and love.

Today, on many college campuses, a course in comparative religions will be found. Depending on the particular viewpoint of the professor, a conclusion will probably be finally presented, often with the proposal that all religions have their value and it all gets down quite simply to personal preference.

Some years ago, a conference was held on this subject in Great Britain. Experts and scholars from all over the world attended this event and sought particularly to find the unique feature of Christianity. After a debate went on for some time, the notable C.S. Lewis came into the room and asked: “What’s all the rumpus about?” When told, he quickly replied as to what the unique feature was: “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.” [iv] As the scholars thought about it, they all came to the conclusion that Lewis was absolutely right. For whereas all the other religions are a matter of futile moral and spiritual effort, only the Christian faith reveals a God of unconditional love and unmerited favor, One who has acted on our behalf.

When it comes to prayer, always remember that it is by grace that we are saved, and it is by grace that we can have access to God in prayer, and because of Christ, it is to a throne of grace that we may go in prayer. And if we remember this, then we will approach our heavenly Father with confidence and trust.

WE CAN APPROACH GOD IN PRAYER

WITH PRAYERFUL PRAISE,

AS WE CONSIDER,

“HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME.”

In prayer, as in all of life, we are to seek the honor and the glory of God. In fact, to pray “hallowed be Thy name” means literally, “to make holy, to regard as sacred, to consecrate and sanctify Your name and Your character – Your very being.”

Now, just because God is our heavenly Father does not mean that we are on the same plane with God. We can’t approach God just as we please, or just as we would talk ever so casually with an earthly friend. It does not mean that you and I should ever approach God in prayer with careless familiarity. While we rejoice in such unconditional, unmerited love that enables us to approach God as Father in prayer, we must also acknowledge that the Fatherhood of God does not allow us to ignore or neglect the majesty, glory, the supremacy and the sovereignty of God. There is never a good excuse for irreverence in prayer.

As we pray, Hallowed be Thy name, in a very real sense we are requesting that we may know God rightly, praise God rightly, and live before others rightly in such a way that God is always honored, and never dishonored. It is a request that reveals and radiates a passion for God’s glory.

Quite frankly, many of us struggle here at times in firing up an inner passion for the glory of God in prayer. But Jesus’ model prayer teaches us that this is the way prayer should begin: with worship because God is so worthy of our worship! So, what can help us in stirring up a passion for praise as we come to God in our time of prayer?

Let me suggest to you that we can offer prayerful praise and worship by consciously and conscientiously focusing on elements that will help us do just that. For example, we can take time in prayer to focus upon the different titles or names of God. [v] Elohim – Creator; El Elyon – God Most High; El Shaddai – God Almighty; Jehovah Tsidkenu – Lord our Righteousness; Jehovah Jireh – The Lord will Provide; Jehovah Raah – The Lord my Shepherd; Jehovah Shalom – The Lord gives peace; Jehovah Nissi – The Lord is my Banner; Jehovah Rapha – The Lord who Heals; Jehovah Shammah – The Lord is there.

We can also consciously focus upon the attributes of God, such as those listed for us in the Westminster Larger Confession:

“God is a spirit, who in and of himself is infinite in being, glory, blessedness and perfection. He is all-sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, beyond our full understanding, present everywhere, almighty, knowing everything, completely wise, completely holy, completely just, completely merciful and gracious, patient, and overflowing with goodness and truth.” [vi]

Praise-full prayer can also occur as we think of God’s gift to us of His Word as a lamp to our feet and a light for our path. We can surely be led to praise as we think of God’s gift of written revelation, for the Scripture is not only the Word of God and a Word about God, it is a Word from God, revelation from God.

Reflection on God’s works of creation and redemption also lead forth to praise. This occurred with David when, meditating on creation, he exclaimed in a burst of praise in Psalm 8: “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!”

Our prayer will be full of praise as we consciously reflect on God’s providence, in the many ways God has most clearly been working in our lives and in our world. If we but pause intentionally to reflect upon any one of these, our passion for God’s glory will arise, our purpose in prayer will be deepened, and our praise in prayer will come forth in fullness.

This happened to Richard Foster as he tells us in his book, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home.[vii] Some time ago, Foster attended an annual meeting of a small group of writers at a resort near Canada. Because of weariness from a hectic travel schedule and being weighed down by concerns for others, Foster decided to take some time for solitude, taking a solo hike in beautiful surroundings which included a lake, woods, river, waterfall and canyon. In a brief amount of time, the majesty of creation led to thinking of the majesty of the Creator.

“A spirit of adoration and celebration sprang up within me”, Foster writes, as he began to sing and praise and pray and rejoice before the Lord. “Praises joined with the river in joyous exaltation. It felt like I was being invited to join, in my feeble way, into the ceaseless paean of praise that ascends before the throne of God.”

As Foster saw the day coming to an end with the shadows of twilight, he knew without doubt that he had been praying praise. “That afternoon I experienced no ecstasy in the classic sense of the term, but I did enter a loving adoration that heals our sorrows and draws us near to the heart of the Father.”

That’s the kind of prayer I believe Jesus is giving us and teaching us in the opening words of the Lord’s Prayer. As we draw near in prayer, may we also enter into “a loving adoration,” assured as we are in the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and offering up “prayerful praise,” drawing near to the heart of the Father!