Does Prayer Work? | Rediscovering The Lord's Prayer | Episode 1

Does prayer actually work? Does the Creator of the universe really hear us, and if so, what difference do our prayers make? In this study, Pastor Jim Thomas reminds us that prayer isn’t about impressing God with lofty language. It’s about communion. When we don't know what to say, Jesus has gracefully given us a model to rely on: 66 words that can realign our hearts with God.

As we begin to unpack each line of The Lord’s Prayer here on Timeless Truth, we notice the opening section is all about God and it tells us that God is personal, God is preeminent, and God is powerful.

Transcript

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So have you ever wondered about whether or not prayer works? Whether God really hears your prayers, and if he does, what difference your prayers make to God? Maybe you've struggled to figure out what to pray for in a given situation. Or perhaps you've had doubts about whether or not you are praying correctly, whatever that might mean. These kinds of questions are why in this season of Timeless Truth, I'd like to focus our attention on prayer. I believe prayer is indeed our lifeline to God. It's the way we communicate with God and hopefully the way that we commune with God. That is, the way we talk to God and also the way we can often hear from God. I found in my own life that communing with God is one of the most effective ways to nurture my spiritual life. And on the other hand, when I'm not intentional about prayer, I often grow spiritually dull, drifting further and further away from God's voice, finding it harder to hear from the Lord. And eventually all the noise distractions and busyness of the world around me can drown out God's voice and make it difficult to hear from Him. And I find myself ending up in some kind of a spiritual wasteland or wilderness during those seasons. Does that resonate with you too? Well, for me, questions about prayer also include how should we think about prayer? I mean, is prayer just a theological topic, or is it also about our devotional, experiential, relational life with God? And then there are the practical questions about how we should pray. Is there a right way, a wrong way to pray a correct way or an incorrect way? And where should we turn for answers to these kinds of questions? Well, I'd like us to examine what is arguably the most famous prayer of all time, the Lord's Prayer, and to see if it can help us find some answers to these questions. So over the next 14 episodes of Timeless Truth, we will explore the Lord's Prayer line by line. I hope you'll join me as we learn more about prayer and how to deepen our relationship with God. Now, in the Gospels, we gain both insight and inspiration by reading the prayers of Jesus. It's clear that Jesus' disciples overheard him praying on multiple occasions. And at one point in Luke's Gospel, they ask him directly, Lord, teach us to pray. And in both Matthew and Luke's Gospel, we read this prayer that's so well known that we call the Lord's Prayer. And I would have loved to have been there to hear everything Jesus said then when the disciples asked to be taught how to pray. As a congregation, we at the village chapel recite Matthew's version of the Lord's Prayer every single week. And somehow it never grows old, it never becomes a mere ritual to me. There's something special about praying together as a congregation. When we all speak and listen to each other pray, the words that Jesus taught us to pray, it creates a powerful sense of unity in the Lord. So as we begin this series on timeless truth, let's pause no matter what you're doing right now and pray these 66 words that make up the traditional version of the Lord's Prayer. Will you join me? Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Now I don't know about you, but I'm really grateful for a prayer like this because there are times when I long for God's presence and feel an urgency to pray, but I'm not sure what to say. Sometimes I'm just exhausted, frustrated, anxious, perhaps, that I can't I just can't find the right words. And that's one of the great things about this thing we call the Lord's Prayer. Jesus has given us a model, and we can rely on that model when we're struggling to form our own prayers. Why do you think Jesus and the rest of Scripture for that matter put such an emphasis on prayer? The first and most obvious thing to notice is that God wants us to pray. God wants us to commune with him, to talk with him, uh, to fellowship with him. And he wants us to know how to pray effectively. Prayer, you see, is God's design and God's desire for us more than anything else. The God of the Bible wants us to come to him, to lay everything on our hearts and minds before him. Prayer is how we experience a conversational relationship with our Father who art in heaven. You may have heard me tell the story of the little girl who attended her church's midweek prayer meeting with her mother. Um, mom set her up on a pew toward the back of the sanctuary, and then mom went up front, and uh, she had given the little girl uh some crayons and a coloring book to kind of keep her busy as uh mom went up front and prayed with the adults. They, of course, prayed in a more formal King James kind of English, using big lofty words, and the little look, the little girl in the back, she could hear all of this. And at one point there was a long silence, and suddenly the little girl stood up on her pew, looked up at the ceiling, and said, Dear God, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and continued reciting the entire alphabet. Well, the adults were stunned, as you can imagine. And the mother rushed back to ask her little girl what she was doing. And her daughter replied, I don't know all those big words, mom. And when that when adults use those words, I still find myself wanting to talk to God too. So I just gave the Lord all the letters that I know. And I figured he could put them together just the way he wants to. I love the innocence, the vulnerability, and the courage of that little girl. Um, I think we might benefit from taking a similar posture in our prayers more often. Lord, teach us to pray. And Lord, um, we we long for you, we want to commune with you. And we've got that greater example with greater clarity, hope, and promise in the model prayer that Jesus gave us, the Lord's prayer. As Tim Keller says in his book called Prayer, the Lord's Prayer may be the single set of words spoken more often than any other in the history of the world. The Lord's prayer must stamp itself on our prayers, shaping them all the way down. And I think Keller was right in that. Um, when we just prayed the Lord's Prayer together, did you notice how the first section is not about us at all? No, it's all about God, actually. God's name, God's kingdom, God's will, God's glory. It's not until the second section of the Lord's Prayer that Jesus teaches us to mention our needs and our desires. This teaches us that an effective prayer life begins by focusing in on God, especially reminding ourselves who God is. I've mentioned this before at the village chapel many times, but my 92-plus-year-old mother has made it a habit every single day for decades to recite Psalm 23 and the Lord's Prayer every single morning before her feet hit the floor. I can think of no better way to start the day than to remind yourself that the Lord is both your shepherd, Psalm 23, and your father in heaven, the Lord's Prayer. Perhaps some of you will take up that practice as we walk through the Lord's Prayer together during this season of timeless truth. As we unpack each line throughout this, these next seven weeks or so, we'll see that God is personal, God is preeminent, and God is powerful. We'll notice how the prayer is stated in the plural: our, us, we. We'll also see how it addresses our very real everyday needs while reminding us that we, tiny and needy as we are, can approach the Almighty Creator of the universe. This prayer speaks to our past, our present, and our future. It offers both relational intimacy and divine provision. As Howard Colbertson, Emeritus Professor of Missions, put it, in short, the Lord's Prayer encapsulates key themes such as worship, submission to God's will, dependence on divine provision, forgiveness, and spiritual protection. It models for us how to approach God in prayer and how to get our hearts aligned with his purposes. So as we walk through this prayer line by line together, may we rediscover the wonder and the beauty of the gift of prayer. And may we grow in our communion with God as we focus in on the Lord's Prayer. Until next time, may the Lord bless you and your prayer life. I look forward to walking through each line of the Lord's Prayer with you here on Timeless Truth.

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Thank you for listening to today's episode of Timeless Truth. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss future episodes. Wherever you are in your walk of faith, we're glad you joined us today. And we hope this conversation encouraged, challenged, or inspired you. At the Village Chapel, we believe God's word is unique in its source, timeless in its truth, broad in its reach, and transforming in its power. To find more resources or support our ministry, visit the VillageChapel.com.