How to (and How Not to) Pray (#2 of 2)

Guest (Male): People will let us down. Sometimes they’ll do us wrong and not even care. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie takes us to the Lord’s Prayer to point out how believers should respond.
Greg Laurie: Forgiven people should be forgiving people. And according to Jesus, our generous and constant forgiveness of others should be the natural result of our understanding of the forgiveness that God has extended toward us. Well, they don't deserve forgiveness, do you?
Guest (Male): We’ve all been treated unfairly. Maybe they let us down, they put us down, they kept us down, and we may have paid a dear price for it. Maybe it happened 20 years ago or 20 minutes ago. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out what it does to us when we carry that burden of resentment. We'll look to the words of Jesus himself and find a way to set ourselves free from that bondage. We’ll see forgiveness sets a person free, not the perpetrator, the victim.
Greg Laurie: The Lord's Prayer. Most of us know it, or at least we know parts of it. It's a prayer that is sort of behind glass, "in case of emergency, pull this prayer out." And there's certainly nothing wrong with praying the Lord's Prayer verbatim, but it's more than that. It's really the words of Jesus given to us on how we can pray. Matthew 6:9. I'd like us all to say this out loud together. Let's see what Jesus says. Our Father who art 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 lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. The Lord's Prayer. So how do we pray? Here's point number one, if you're taking notes. We pray to a Father in heaven who loves us. We pray to a Father who art in heaven. Our Father who art in heaven. Not our vending machine who art in heaven. Not our butler who art in heaven. Our Father. A Father who longs for communication and fellowship with us. A Father who loves to bless us. He's a generous Father. He's a good Father. Jesus said it is your Father's good pleasure to give to you the kingdom. He's not a stingy God. He's a generous God. So I come to my Father. And then I say, "Hallowed be Your name." Hallowed be Your name. It means I set God apart in my life. In other words, He is above everything else. He is Lord of all. Because if He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all. When I say hallowed be Your name, it means in my life and character, I'm setting Christ apart and I'm seeking to live a holy life. Point number two. When we pray, we should always ask for God's will to be done. When we pray, we should always ask for God's will to be done. Look at verse 10. "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Prayer is not getting my will in heaven; it's getting God's will on earth. Point number three. We should pray for God's kingdom to come. Your kingdom come, Your will be done. Now this is a multi-layered request with different shades of meaning. What is the kingdom of God? It's the rule and reign of Christ in your life. Jesus said on one occasion, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. And what He meant was, "I'm here, and wherever I am, that's where the kingdom of God is." So when we're told in Matthew 6:33 to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, it means put Christ first, put the will of God first, have Jesus rule and reign in your life. Sometimes we confuse man's kingdom with God's kingdom. We get very worked up about politics. Having said that, every Christian should register and vote, and vote biblically. I think it's irresponsible for Christians to not vote. It's so important. But having said that, even if your candidate does not win, the kingdom of God marches on. We can't forget that. His kingdom is more powerful than the Democratic kingdom. His kingdom is more powerful than the Republican kingdom. His kingdom is more powerful than any kingdom, and in the end, He will reign. Your kingdom come, Your will be done. So it's a prayer for God's kingdom in my life, but it's also a prayer for Jesus to return to the earth. The word that He uses here for kingdom does not refer to a geographical territory, but His sovereignty and dominion. So when I'm praying "Your kingdom come," I'm praying for the rule of God on earth. In other words, I'm saying, "Jesus, come back really soon. I really want You to return." This should be the heart cry of every Christian. Like the Apostle John, we should say, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Come back soon. And you should live in such a way that you long for and desire the return of Christ. When Jesus uses this phrase, "Your kingdom come," it essentially speaks of a sudden instantaneous coming. Lord, I'm praying Your kingdom comes, and it comes soon. But it's also a personal request where I'm asking Him to rule and reign in my life. But also, it's a request for the salvation of those that don't know the Lord. So I'm praying that the kingdom will come to people who are not Christians yet. This is why we do these Harvest Crusades. This is why we're always looking for creative new ways to get the gospel out to new people, because we want the kingdom to come in their life. But we recognize only God can bring this about. That's why we pray for it. Sometimes we're tempted to pressure people. I was over on Maui a while ago and I went to this restaurant, they were called Leoda's. Really good restaurant. Fresh bakery. They make a killer hamburger. So I walked in and some lady recognized me. She said, "Aren't you Pastor Greg Laurie?" "Yes, I am." "This is my husband. He's a heathen." The guy's just sitting there and he happened to be holding the burger he was just getting ready to take a bite. "This is my husband who's a heathen." And I looked at this guy and I said, "Enjoy your burger. God bless you." That's not the opportunity to assault someone with the gospel. Come on. We're supposed to build bridges, not burn them. So we pray Your kingdom come. Here's number four. We need to bring our personal needs before God. Bring our personal needs before God. Verse 11. "Give us day by day our daily bread." It's really an amazing thing that this all-knowing, all-powerful, omnipotent God who created the entire universe would have any interest in us personally. But He does. He cares about you. Why would He make so much of this? Why would He care about our needs? I don't know, but Job 7:17 says, "What is man that You make so much of him and give him so much attention?" The answer is pretty simple. I think it's because He just loves you and He loves me. And He's not going to hold something back if you need it. Jesus says in Matthew 7:9, "You parents, if your children ask for a loaf of bread, are you going to give them a stone instead? If they ask for a fish, would you give them a snake? Of course not. If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him?" So if your little kid comes up, "Mommy, I'm so hungry, can I have a little piece of bread?" "No, but you can have a rock instead." "Mommy, can I have some fresh fish?" "No, but I have a live snake. Here you go, kid." Who would do that? We take care of our children. God takes care of us as well. "Give us this day our daily bread." Notice it doesn't say give us this month or this year our yearly bread. This keeps us dependent on God on a regular basis. By the way, bread was a staple in the Jewish diet at this time. They had bread with every meal. Nobody was on the keto diet back then. So they would take their bread, they would dip it in various sauces and have a meal together, not unlike what we would do with chips and salsa. By the way, don't be a double-dipper. What is a double-dipper? You dip the chip, you take the bite, and you come back with the same chip. No. Get that chip out of here. We want a fresh chip, right? So they would dip the bread and they would eat it together. So it was a staple. So when we say to God, "Give me this day my daily bread," I'm not just speaking about bread or even about food. I'm talking about everything. Lord, give me everything that I need. It's a funny thing. Back in the '60s, we used to use the word "bread" to speak of money. You'd walk up to somebody, "Hey, dude, you got any bread?" Right? How many of you remember that? All the old people. I feel like as an older person, I can mock older people, okay? Give us day to day our daily bread. You know, when you ask someone to give you something, you're acknowledging they own it. You're acknowledging also that you need it. They don't owe it to you. You don't deserve it. He's not saying we should pray pay us our daily bread. Give us our daily bread. This reminds us we're completely dependent on God. And it's an affirmation that everything you have comes from God. Everything you have comes from God. James 1:17 says every good gift and perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. You can work hard, you can invest your money wisely, you can do all the things that you do, but ultimately remember, it all came from God. Deuteronomy 8:18 says remember the Lord your God; He's the one who gave you the ability to produce wealth. So we thank Him, but we also pray about our needs. If you have a need, pray about it. James says you have not because you ask not. Do you have a need right now? It's a physical need, a financial need, a medical need, something else. Pray about it. "Lord, would You give this to me?" Now, of course, Lord, I pray Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. If there's something in this request that is outside of Your will, overrule it. But Lord, I do need this, and I'm calling out to You and I'm praying about it.
Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.
Greg Laurie: You know, I've heard people describe a trip to Israel as seeing the Bible actually come to life. Hey, everybody, Greg Laurie. And I've been to Israel many times and I've led many tours and I have to say that's absolutely true. Listen, when you're walking on the same stones that Jesus Himself walked on, well, that's something that's enriching to your faith. It's not just a travel experience; it actually energizes and enhances your study of the Bible. Think of it this way: it's a vacation with a purpose. And we're going to be taking a tour of Israel April 6 to 15, 2027. You can find out more at israel.harvest.org.
Guest (Male): Step right into biblical history. Join Pastor Greg for a tour of the Holy Land, April 6 through 15, 2027. Get details at israel.harvest.org. Well, Pastor Greg continues his message now called "How to (and How Not to) Pray."
Greg Laurie: God Almighty has promised to answer your prayers, but that does not mean that we sit around like lazy bums and say, "Lord, just provide." You know, get off your big fat lazy boy recliner. What did you think I was going to say? And get a job. Somehow people think the world owes them a living. The government owes them a living. Their parents owe them a living. "Well, my mom and dad will take care of me even though I'm 50 still." Wait. Get a job. Have a little self-respect. "Well, they don't pay enough." Just go out and have a work ethic. The Christian should be the hardest of all workers, doing it for the glory of God. The Bible says if a man doesn't work, he should not eat. You need to work. Now maybe you're not able to work. Well, that's another situation. I'm talking about those who are able. So we need to do our part. God will do His part and He'll provide your needs. And number five. We need to pray for personal forgiveness and extend forgiveness to others. We need to pray for personal forgiveness and extend forgiveness to others. And this is in the context of daily. "Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us." Just as I need to pray for daily provision, I need to pray for daily forgiveness. You sin every day, more than you think. And I don't mean you only; I mean me. All of us do. The Bible says if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. So we say, "Lord, cleanse me of all sin. Forgive me my debts as I forgive my debtors." Some people don't think they need forgiveness, but they do. Everyone does. Having received that forgiveness, I should also extend it to others. Forgiven people should be forgiving people. And according to Jesus, our generous and constant forgiveness of others should be the natural result of our understanding of the forgiveness that God has extended toward us. I love the statement by C.S. Lewis where he says, quote, "Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have someone to forgive." Right? It's a great concept. Oh, yes, I love forgiveness. Oh, let's all forgive. Until someone wrongs you. Until someone hurts you. But you too should forgive. "Well, they don't deserve forgiveness." Do you? I'll answer it for you. You don't. Again, what did Jesus do? Praying for His very enemies: "Father, forgive them; they don't know what they're doing." If you harbor resentment and fail to forgive people, you grieve the Holy Spirit. The word "grieve" means to make sad or sorrowful. Ephesians 4:30 says don't bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way that you live. Get rid of bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words; instead be tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God through Christ has forgiven you. By the way, there are fringe benefits to forgiving others. You'll live longer, literally. A new field of research has developed on the subject of forgiveness, and recent studies suggest that those that do not forgive are more likely to experience high blood pressure, bouts of depression, and problems with anger, stress, and anxiety. So you can keep it all inside, and you can be that person in the restaurant and they call out your name, "Bitter, party of one?" Or you can be a forgiving person. It's your choice. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us. And don't lead us into temptation. We need to pray to not fall into temptation. We're saying, "Lord, don't let me be tempted above my capacity to resist." The problem with temptation is we find a way to rationalize it. The problem with temptation is it's just so tempting. And we say it's okay for me. We're so quick to jump down the throat of someone else doing something, but somehow we excuse it in our own lives. Lord, don't let me be tempted above my capacity to resist. And listen to this: there's always a way out of every temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says there is no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God who is faithful will not allow you to be tempted above your capacity to resist, but will with the temptation make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. Let me paraphrase it. There's always a way out. He'll never give you too much. Sometimes it's as simple as the door, as simple as the off button, as simple as terminating a conversation. Whatever it is. Lord, don't lead me into temptation, but deliver me from evil. There it is. The Lord's Prayer. Certainly not an exhaustive treatment. So much more that could be said about so many aspects of it. It's sort of a flyover. But what a privilege it is to pray. But does it ever seem to you as though you pray and no one is listening? Does it ever seem to you like God doesn't hear or answer your prayers? Well, look. Prayer is a privilege for a Christian. Now anyone can pray. But a Christian has the privilege of constant communication with God. Now a non-believer can pray. They can say, "God be merciful to me a sinner." God will hear that prayer, and you can begin a whole new life and relationship with Christ. But if you're a non-believer living in sin, you're not going to have what we might call a prayer life, because your sin separates you from God. So God says it's not like My ear is deaf where it can't hear you or My arm is short and I can't reach you, but your sins have separated you from Me, see? So as long as I'm living with sin in my life, it puts a barrier in front of me and God. And the only way that barrier will come down is if I will acknowledge my sin and turn from it and ask for His forgiveness, which He will generously extend. God wants a close relationship with you. He doesn't want to just be "the man upstairs." "Well, the man upstairs." Who are we talking about exactly? "The good Lord is what I call Him." Always "the good." Make sure you get "good" in there. "The good Lord." He wants to be more than "the good Lord" or "the man upstairs." He wants to be your best friend. He wants to be your Father. He wants to hear from you and He wants to speak to you. And that can all happen for you right now if you'll admit you're a sinner and if you'll say that to God, He'll hear your prayer. So we're going to close now and I'm going to extend an invitation for you to ask Christ to forgive you of your sin so you can enter into this relationship with Him, so you can be ready for His return, which could happen at any moment. So you can be ready for the afterlife and you can know with certainty that when you die you will go to heaven. So you can discover God's plan for this life, His plan for you, and start walking in it. He's just a prayer away. Let's pray. Father, I pray for every person here and every person watching or listening wherever they may be. If they don't have a relationship with You, let this be the moment they believe. I pray that Your Holy Spirit will speak to their hearts and show them their need for Jesus and draw them to Yourself now. Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, if you don't have this relationship with God yet, you don't have the confidence that if you were to die, you would go to heaven. You don't know Jesus in this personal way we've been talking about, but you want to. You want to go to heaven one day. You want to be ready for the Lord's return. You want to know God's will for your life. Pray this prayer right where you are. You could even pray it out loud after me. Just pray these words: Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. But I also know You're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. Jesus, I turn from my sin now and I choose to follow You from this day forward. Be my Savior. Be my Lord. Be my God. Be my friend. Thank You for hearing this prayer and answering it. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.