This past Sunday Pastor Vic continued our series on the Sermon on the Mount by preaching on Matthew 6:5-15. He laid a framework for prayer by focussing on God as a God who speaks and desires to listen to us. Prayer is communication with God where we hear from him and speak back to him.
Pastor Vic walked us through the Lord’s prayer line by line to show us why Jesus modeled this prayer and the implications for us. He emphasized six key characteristics of kingdom people. Kingdom people…
- think when they pray
- seek to pray well
- pray for the Kingdom to come
- are forgiving people
- have a battle win sin
- pray together
There is a quote that captures the importance of praying together well:
“There may be religions that come to you through quiet walks in the woods, or by sitting quietly in the library with a book, or by rummaging around int he recesses of your psyche. Christianity is not one of them. Christianity is inherently communal, a matter of life in the Body, the church. Jesus did not call isolated individuals to follow him. He called a group of disciples.” - Hauerwas and Willimon
Pastor Vic left us with a few important practices to end our time.
- Memorize, learn, and regularly thoughtfully worshipfully pray the Lord’s prayer
- Spend time in conversation with the trinity (you, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit)
- Pray this prayer together sin corporate worship
