Pray According to the Heart of the Father
Sunday, 13th August 2023
Pastor Kit Ho (Guest Speaker)
Matthew 6:9-13
In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father 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 do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
We know these verses as the Lord’s Prayer, but at the same time, this is also the prayer about our Father. This is Jesus teaching us about who our Heavenly Father really is!
1. Receive the Holy Spirit and Cry Out Abba Father
For people who pray to their idols, they show a controlling spirit, they think that the more they pray and talk about their needs, the more their gods and idols will make them come true. But for Christians, we have a relationship with God, this is not how we should pray, because this is self-centred. We should know God more through prayers, because of our prayers, we will submit ourselves more to God and we will deny ourselves.
This is Jesus’ prayer, to let down of His own desires and let God’s Will be done. We must learn to let go of the way the gentiles pray, but to really know our Father in Heaven. Do we know God as our Father? Jesus show us who our Father is, when we see Jesus, we see the Father. When He taught the disciples how to pray, He said ‘our Father’, we are not an outsider, but we are participants. Through Jesus, every one of us can call ‘Abba Father’ and this prayer becomes our prayer.
2. Be a True Son Who Honours the Father
God’s Name, God’s Kingdom and God’s Will are so important to us. Do we know God’s Name? No matter how many mistakes we make, God loves us and He embraces us. He sent His only Son Jesus to us to show us how much He loves us. He forgives us again and again. If there is no God in this world, how can Japan be rebuilt after the war? How can Germany become such a strong nation today? We are damaging this world, but God continues to refresh our world and our culture.
Jesus taught us to care about what God cares, and let His Kingdom come. When we pray, do we want God to listen to us, or do we listen to God? When we know God’s Will, what is our attitude? God created us all different, He honours us and made us special. We all have our individual life story, and we all have the devotion to make, to follow God or not to follow God. None of us will live the same life, when we connect with God, when we connect with people, our ‘being’ will be revealed, and we can be the true sons and daughters of God.
3. Receive the Full Blessings of the Father
When we seek God’s Kingdom and Righteousness first, everything else will be given to us. God will give us our physical needs, our social needs, and our spiritual needs. He knows what we need and He will fulfil our needs even before we ask Him. When things happen, we complain, we become upset, but we don’t open our hearts to the Father. We can bring everything and anything to Him, He will take care of us.
Jesus told His disciples that after He left, the Holy Spirit will come to lead and guide them. Romans 8:15-16 says, ‘For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.’ This is what is so special about the Holy Spirit, to bring us to Abba Father and to become true sons and daughters.