2-10-19 Sermon Notes "Not About Us!"

One time a little 5-year-old boy went to church with his Nana for the first time. He had been to Sunday School before, but this was his first time in a worship service. His Nana chose the back pew, just in case he couldn't sit through the entire service. He was fascinated by the worship service, taking it all in with great curiosity. At one point in the service, the minister said, "Let us pray." Everyone bowed their heads in prayer. The little boy looked around and saw everybody with their heads bowed to the floor, and he said, "Nana, what are they all looking for?"
What a great question! What are we looking for when we pray? I hope we are looking to have communion with - and communication with - our loving Heavenly Father! We saw last week that by when He gave us the Lord's Prayer, Jesus gave us a pattern for praying...a "how to" guide for praying. We focused on the first couple of phrases of the Lord's Prayer, remembering that we are NOT to pray as hypocrites, just for show, or with a bunch of empty words. Instead we are to pray remembering that we pray to Our Father, seeking to hallow (or revere) God's name (character, reputation). That was the first in the "Praying as Jesus Taught Us" sermon series.
This week we will add the next phrase in the Lord's Prayer...

Pray then in this way:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. (Matt. 6: 9-10 NRSV)

Prayer requires a big shift of our attention. It is a shift from a "me" focus to a "God" focus. It a shift from "my" kingdom to "Thy" kingdom. It is a shift from "my will be done" to "Thy will be done." This big shift is the beginning...everything else in prayer flows from this shift. It is the initial thing we are "looking for" when we bow our heads to pray.

See you Sunday!
Pastor Sam