6:5-15 | How to Pray
Preparing Our Minds for Prayer
Going to God in Hope
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Do not heap up empty phrases
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Exemplified in the rosary beads and liturgy
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We fall into the same trap with our customary prayers
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Prayer should never be mechanical or empty of meaning
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God does no value prayers with many words | Vs. 7
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It is a prayer that values quantity over quality
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Assumes that we need to be loud and persistent enough to inform God about something he might be unaware of
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It is the difference between a child asking or throwing a tantrum
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Exemplified in 1 Kings 18:25-29, 36-38
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He already knows all of your needs | Vs. 8
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God knows you better than you know yourself
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He is answering your prayers before you've finished praying | Gen 24:12-15
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He is our Father in heaven
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Approaching God as Our Father
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Approach God our Father
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Someone who knows all about us and cares enough to do something
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We are not approaching a stingy miser of a god | Romans 8:14-15
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How did you approach your father for help?
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Why pray if God knows? | We need to think about what prayer actually is
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Prayer is not the communication of information
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It is not a magic spell to get things from God | If I say enough of the right words I will get something from God
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It is an expression of our relationship with God as our father whom we depend upon
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The Model Prayer
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See how simple the Lord's prayer is
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No need to impress God with eloquence
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Don't feel the need to write a psalm
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A temptation when we lead public prayer
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The prayer is always is always plural, never singular
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Vv. 9, 11, 12, 13
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We need to pray for more than ourselves
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Intimacy and Respect
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God is prioritized
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The prayer divides nicely in half, with our needs last
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Before us goes his name, his kingdom, and his will
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Our top priority is not our name, but God's
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Our prayers must be filled with reverence | Hallowed be your name
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We must not treat God casually or with contempt
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We are not the spoiled kids who beg for money at every instance
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In all our prayers we must remember that God's will is above all else
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Prayers are not lists of demands
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When God answers our prayer differently we must accept that
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Pray for Our Needs
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Our daily bread
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Pray for need, not for greed
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Reflects a daily dependence on God
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Reflects an attitude of contentment with what God gives us
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Forgive us
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Our sins are only forgiven when we forgive others | vv. 14-15
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We are praying for restored relationships
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Deliver us from evil
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Not "don't allow us to be tempted"
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Give us strength to resist temptation - Don't abandon us to temptation
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Disputed verse | "For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen"
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Not found in the earlier manuscripts
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Not quoted by the early church fathers
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Is still an appropriate end, and scriptural
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This is what we must remember in every prayer - everything is God's and he can do whatever he wills
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Conclusion
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Prayer is worth doing
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The prayer of righteous man avails much
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God wants to help us
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Prayer should be personal
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Never mechanical
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Never demanding
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Focus on what we are praying for
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The furtherance of God's name and kingdom
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Our continued dependence on him
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A growing relationship with God
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