Jesus' Prayers Week 1

There are 27 specific prayers in the Bible attributed to Jesus. In this series we will see what we can learn about prayer by studying how our Lord prayed. Since there are many, many passages in scripture that describe aspects of prayer, we know prayer is important to the believer. This week we will examine the model prayer, in Matthew 6:9-13.
What is your definition of prayer?
What are some mistakes people sometimes make in their understanding of prayer?
Verses 1-8 give some needed context to the prayer, so let’s read it first.
Matthew 6:1-8. According to this passage what does Jesus expect of believers?
• Don’t practice righteousness before men to be noticed by them.
• Give to the poor without fanfare
• When you pray – do it in private
• Don’t use meaningless repetition in prayer
There is a time for private prayer and there are times for public prayer. Jesus prayed alone, with others, and for others. Jesus uses the words “us” and “our” in the prayer. These are pronouns. They are also plural (meaning they are spoken on behalf of more than one person). “Us” is a first person plural personal pronoun, and “our” is a first person plural possessive pronoun. The idea is that this prayer is meant for a public setting as opposed to using “me” and “my”.
Now Let’s look at the Model Prayer: Mat 6:9-13.
Does this prayer focus more on God or more on the person praying?
Why do you think it is so short?
Simple Outline

God and His Kingdom
Us – Physical needs, relationship with others, relationship with God
God and His Power and Glory

As I look at this prayer, it begins and ends with an emphasis on God.
It’s clear that prayer is not something for us to do to be seen by others. V5
It’s also seems that Jesus is teaching that in our prayers, we need to make sure we realize who we are praying to. This prayer is the perfect example of how we can pray together, but it isn’t exactly how we do it. We often use our “prayer time” for sharing prayer requests and other information with each other. I think that is one of the best things we do as a group, but it does not always follow this pattern.

Ask for 9 Volunteers for the Model Prayer skit. – Model Prayer