The Lord’s Prayer, Part 6 | How to Pray Well

Luke 11:4

In Luke 11:2 to 4, Jesus gave his disciples a pattern for prayer. Teaching them how to pray in response to the request of one of his disciples. And so, Jesus taught them to pray this way, “Father, hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins, for we,” also, “we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

Does God withhold restoring us back into his fellowship, if we withhold forgiveness from others? Answer. Yes, he does. God withholds his blessing, if we refuse to forgive others and that’s exactly what this verse is saying. This is not talking about those who are ignorant of the need to forgive. This isn’t talking about someone who forgives and then, in weakness and frailty remembers that offense that happened in the past and becomes hurt all over again and struggles through the process of forgiveness, repeatedly over and over. This isn’t talking about that.

 This is talking about someone who refuses to forgive altogether. Someone who bears a grudge. Someone who has a critical spirit and holds that bitterness. Cherishes it. Relishes it. Pets it. Helps it to grow. And we pray, forgive us our sins in verse 4, “For,” because, “we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.”

 Matthew 6:12, Jesus said the same thing there. On that occasion, the Sermon on the Mount, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” What’s the assumption, there? We forgive those indebted to us, period. We forgive all of our debtors. That is the basis of our appeal. Whenever we make this petition, namely that we forgive others. We share the heart of the father we’re appealing to.

 Forgiveness, forgiveness of others is the badge of authenticity, that we present to the father. Forgiving others is the seal of our adoption. Forgiving others is the family trait. That’s the genetic code that comes out. Forgiving others is the chief feature on the family crest. As Jesus said in the sermon on the Mount, we’re to “be merciful, even as our father is merciful,” Luke 6:36.

 In fact, I’d like to take a look at Luke 6, again. That’s the sermon on the Mount that Luke records. Back in Luke 6 and maybe starting in verse 27, Luke 6:27. This is a remarkable portion of Scripture, that is truly humbling, if you really think through the different phrases here.

 Jesus said, “I say to you who hear, love your enemies.” Wow, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. The one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, from one who takes away your cloak. Do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, from the one who,” takes away from your, “takes away your goods, don’t demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, you do so to them.”

 Keep reading, “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. But love your enemies and do good. Lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”

 Wow, how, how in the world can we love like that? How do we do that? That is other worldly? That is, that requires a superhuman, supernatural virtue working within us, that is exactly the power by the spirit that is working in the children of God. What is the first fruit of the spirit? Galatians 5:22, “love”, and it’s this kind of love.

 Let’s keep reading, verse 36, Luke 6, “Be merciful even as your father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged. Condemn not, you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure that you use it will be measured back to you.”

 Listen, if we’re not merciful to those who wrong us, who are, who violate us morally and ethically, then, if we’re not merciful to those people, we are out of step with the one that we call father. How can we expect him to forgive us, if we fail to forgive others and we’ve refused to forgive them? “Forgive,” Jesus said, “You will be forgiven.”

 God will be magnanimous. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together: He’s talking about going to the market to buy grain and that, that, that, that, the seller of the grain takes the grain and puts it in, in good measure. That is sound measure. He presses it down, shakes it so that he can get more in there and he keeps on piling on, until it’s running over and spilling over and then he pours that into your lap. Believe me, you cannot out give God. You cannot out forgive God and when you forgive, you are most like God, because God is a God who forgives.

 Now let me state this very, very clearly, lest you mistake my meaning. Our forgiving others, that’s not the basis of our forgiveness, but it is the condition of our forgiveness. Christ, and Christ alone is the basis of our forgiveness. He is the ground of our justification. His work is the ground of our justification, but once we are justified, the proof of our justification is that we forgive others and when we forgive others, that is the condition of God receiving us back to himself.

 So, if we do not forgive others, if we don’t receive, release them from their debt of obligation to us, we can be sure, we will not be restored back into fellowship with our father, when we’ve sinned against him. We will not have his fatherly love, his blessing. Which by the way, we sin daily. We sometimes sin hourly. Sometimes, even more than that.

 If you don’t recognize, how you sin daily against God, you need to see that as a sign of your spiritual dullness, not strength. You need to see that as a sign of your spiritual insensitivity, your immaturity, on your part, not, not your strength and your maturity. You’re not strong spiritually, if you don’t sense any sin against God. You’re weak. If you don’t see the depth and the breadth of your sins against a thrice holy God, you’re not seeing things clearly.

 Isaiah himself, when he faced a holy God, he fell down on his knees and he said, “I am undone. I’m a man of unclean lips. I live among the people of unclean lips.” He saw himself clearly. By God’s grace, as you grow in spiritual maturity, you’ll be like Isaiah. You’ll see as God sees. You’ll discern as he discerns and the gospel will, to you, become even more precious, because he’s accepted you, even, even in spite of the depth of your sin. You’re a trophy of his grace.

 Beloved, I think there are too many of us who take the failure to forgive sins, as a relatively minor offense. That ought not to be, it’s not a minor offense, it’s a major offense, when people refuse to forgive other people, that’s one that hinders our relationship with God and if that goes on, that, that hinders and prevents our growth in holiness. It robs us of blessing. It opens us up to further temptation and more, and more sin that becomes blinding. It’s like not just a log sticking out of our eyeball, whole forests coming out of our eye sockets and not only that, but speaking very frankly, Jesus acknowledges this. The failure to forgive may be an indication that someone does not belong to God, at all.

 This is not a minor issue. Back, to see this, turn back to Matthew Chapter 18. I know you’re probably familiar with this text, but it is worth reading, in this context. Matthew 18:21. Matthew 18 is the chapter on receiving little children and not being the cause of any of God’s children, of stumbling. It’s about restoring a sinning brother back into fellowship.

 Thinking through. Hear what Jesus just said about restoring. Restoring an offending brother. Peter posed a question here. Matthew 18:21, Peter came up, said to Jesus, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him as many as seven times?” Being, he thinks he’s being magnanimous there, being very broad, very liberal in his forgiveness. Jesus said to him, verse 22, “I do not say to you seven times but seventy times seven.” That caught him off, all off, guard. Jesus is saying you keep on forgiving. He’s not asking him to do math, there, he’s, and, and keep accounts, he’s saying you keep forgiving.

 He’s, he’s doubling down here, in the next, in the next verses. Take a look at verse 23, “Therefore the Kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants, and when he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents.” There it is, one million pounds of weight and since he could not pay, of course he couldn’t pay, his master ordered him to be sold with his wife and children and all that he had and payment to be made.

 Servant fell on his knees, imploring him, “Have patience with me. I will pay you everything.” That’s, that’s not true. He’s not gonna pay him any, he can’t pay that, that 10,000 talents. He’s pleading. He’s begging. Out of pity, verse 27, as pity for him, the master of that servant, released him and forgave him the debt.

 When that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him 100 denarii, a pittance. And he seized him, began to choke him, saying, “Pay what you owe.” His servant fell down. Pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, I’ll pay you.” He refused; he went; put him in debtors’ prison, until he should pay the debt and when his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed. They went and reported to their master, all that had taken place.

 His master summoned him and said to him, “You wicked servant. I forgave you all that debt, because you pleaded with me. Did you not have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had with you?” That’s exactly what he’s saying to us. You want me to forgive you, forgive others. In anger, his master delivered him to the jailers until he should pay all his debt. So, also, my heavenly father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother, not just externally, but from the heart.

 Wow. Why beloved? Why would any of us consider a refusal to forgive? To be a minor thing in God’s sight. Struggle to forgive. Sure. I understand that. We all struggle to forgive at times. But you know where we’re struggling. We’re struggling to forgive. It’s got a positive orientation toward forgiveness. Toward releasing the bitterness. Releasing that person. But a refusal to forgive, that is not Christian behavior.

 Every true Christian will find his way to forgive the debts of others, because God has forgiven our 10,000 talents of weight. Scarlet sins of debt. Again, Jesus teaches us to pray as his disciples, “Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.” We need to recognize, whenever we fail, at whatever point of the law we sin, we owe God an unpayable debt, which, is, it has an internal price for us to pay in hell. That’s our debtor’s prison.

 By infinite contrast, we need to acknowledge that any debt anyone owes us all those things are minor debts. They are a pittance. We recognize our greater sins against God. The minor debts of others sins against us. They are inconsequential and they are to be disregarded completely. As to the weight of offense, listen, praying this petition, daily seeking forgiveness from God, daily releasing the offenses of others against us, this trains us in keeping with our heading. This trains us to be meek people. This teaches us to be unassuming Christians, to be gracious with other people with their faults.

Beloved, if God has forgiven you, you get to practice the joy of forgiving others. You get to practice the joy of opening the cage and letting them out. Letting them free. You don’t have to hold it in any longer. This becomes our plea, “for we ourselves forgive everyone who’s indebted to us,” Lord. We say, Lord, I’m willing to forgive the debt of those who cannot repay a debt to me. I know it’s a minor thing, but will you not forgive me? When Christ has paid it all. That’s our plea. It’s the plea of a humble, meek hearted saint.

 And this brings us to our, our, final petition, number 5: which also promotes meekness. Jesus said, “When you pray, say Father, lead us not into temptation.” We have more, one more question to answer. One that we raised at the beginning: Does, does, the father ever lead his children into temptation? I mean why would we even pray, a prayer like that, when our father is good and gracious and kind? He’s not, he’s not soliciting temptation out of us, is he? Well, to put it simply. One way you can look at this is, this is a sort of a Hebraism, a manner of, a Hebrew manner of expression, that emphasizes our concern for holiness by stating the petition in starkly negative terms, and so contrary to the fact, that the opposite is meant.

 So, when we pray, Lord “lead us not into temptation,” we’re actually saying, with strong emphasis, Lord lead me into holiness. Get me away from temptation. Take me to holiness, sinless perfection, and purity. That’s what I long for. Help me resist all temptation. So, there’s a humility here. There’s a, a spirit of meekness in this final petition, that recognizes, that our future steps, we’re praying that they be heavenward, that they’d be walking by the spirit, never by the flesh, that we’re pursuing Christ likeness, that were pursuing holiness.

 We pray daily for our next steps. Not doubting that God wants us to walk in holiness, but acknowledging our own tendency to fall short. Confessing to him our need. Confessing our, our weakness, our propensity for following after temptation, for being enticed by stupid, feudal, sinful things. While at the same time, we’re confessing to him, our deepest longing and desire, which is to be like him.

 Our longing is expressed by James. He kind of puts this together, in a little bit of theology, in James chapter 1. He says, in James 1:12, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promise to those who love him.”

 So, James is recognizing, in that verse, that a man who goes through trial, he’s going through trial because God has put him through trial. Is God tempting him? No. God is testing him. God is putting him through a test to refine him. To strengthen him. That’s what he does. That’s what smelters do with metals, precious metals. They take gold, put it in the fire, turn up the heat, and let all that impurity come to the surface. Scrape it off, that that gold may be refined, and that’s exactly what God does to us. “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under that trial. When he stood the test, he’s going to receive the crown of life, which God has promise to those who love him.”

 Then, James says this, verses 13 to 14, James chapter 1, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I’m being tempted by God.’” No. “God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.” He has nothing to do with temptation. “Each person is tempted when he’s lured and enticed by his own desire” and “Then desire when it’s conceived gives birth to sin, sin when it’s fully grown, brings forth death.”

 Oh, we’re children of life, and light, and truth. We want nothing to do with death. And so that’s what this prayer is saying. Lead me not into temptation. Don’t let me fall into that process. Don’t let me slip down that slope. We get that, don’t we? We understand that. We pray with David, at the end of Psalm 19. Rejoicing in the word of God, he prayed, “Declare me innocent from hidden faults, Lord, keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and even deeper, the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.” That’s this prayer, “Lead us not into temptation.”

Again, we pray with David, Psalm 139:23, “Search me O God, and know my heart, try me.” Test me, know my thoughts is what he’s saying there. So, turn up the heat. Bring on the trials. Bring on the test. Bring on the affliction. Bring it Lord, because I want you to see. I want, my thoughts to be exposed. I want to see if there be any grievous way in me and I want it gone, so that I can be led by you in the way of everlasting.

 Listen, those are the prayers of a humble, broken, contrite, meek, saint of God, who longs for holiness. Beloved, when this body dies. We will know immediately where we stand with God. We’ll answer to him for our life upon this earth. If you’re not in Christ, then you are called before the pure and holy one. You’ll be in his presence. You’ll be there, stained and defiled. And you are not going to be able to stand before him at all. You’ll be bowed down before him. Not just in view of his glory, but because you’d be weighted down with the crushing guilt of your sin. That burden of one million pounds of your debt.

 That debt, that will drown you beneath the sea of God’s holy wrath and will pin you down forever in an eternal fiery hell. But if you come to Christ. If you’re found in Christ. Then your sins are atoned for, your debt is paid. Ever wonder why men, like David, are recorded for us in scripture, with all of his failures. His greatness, but, also, his failures, as well.

That’s God’s promise of comfort to you. That your sins are not beyond his mercy. No sins of yours are too dreadful, to be beyond God’s grace. If God has forgiven you, he looks upon you, as if you’d never sinned. He, sends your sins into an oblivion and he remembers them no more. He removes, forever, the threat of his perfect holy wrath and more than that, if he’s forgiven you, he’s also bestowed on you, his righteousness.

 He’s imputed to you, the very righteousness of Christ, his beloved son, and that means, if God has forgiven you, your conscience has no more authority to accuse you. There is nothing left in heaven and on Earth; nothing that can hurt you, nothing of which you need to be afraid. You’re in Christ and Christ is your champion, and then he becomes the goal of your life. The upward goal. The upward call of God, in Christ Jesus, to live as Christ.

 With the sting of death removed, we can face death with hope, with joy, that the Christian death is gain; the very worst becomes our very best. Now, anything short of death in this life, any affliction, any trial, any pain, any suffering any sorrow, God has commissioned all of those, as his servants, for your good. They’re tools to chisel you, to refine you. They’re heat, that turns up the heat and purifies and refines you. Even the loss of some of the most painful loss, in life, is to lose dear loved ones, but even those losses, become gentle reminders of God’s grace, and his loving kindness, and comfort.

I love this: What Thomas Watson wrote, he said, “God has taken away, thy child, thy husband. But he’s also taken away thy sins. He’s given thee more than he hath taken away. He hath taken away a flower and given thee a jewel. He has given thee Christ, and the spirit, and thee earnest of glory. He hath given thee more than he has taken away.” Isn’t that precious?

If God has forgiven you, all things serve your growth and holiness, all things sanctify you, so that you might not sin, that you might serve, the honor and the glory of God, dignified as a servant of the king. And you’re now authorized to come before him, to come before God in humble boldness, not only as a servant, to this great king, but as a child comes to his father.

Since your sin’s been removed, separated as far as the east is from the west, God never brings up your former sins. He never chastises you. He never makes you feel them. Instead, he covers them over. He atones for your sins and he welcomes you with loving arms, like the father of the prodigal, covers you with his, his own garment, puts the ring on your hand. He sacrifices the calf and he says, come, and he kisses your face, invites you then to pray, calling him father and learning his perfect will. He wants you to grow in humility and meekness, that he might bless you more, and more, and more.