Praying With Jesus

This week Sojourn completed their sermon series on the Lord's Prayer, looking at the passage as a whole, Matthew 6:5-15

5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners [a]so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

9 “Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10 

‘Your kingdom come.

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 

‘Give us this day [b]our daily bread.

12 

‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 

‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from [c]evil. [d][For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

14 For if you forgive [e]others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive [f]others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

What is the goal of the Christian Life?
A life with God restored by Jesus
Being made fully alive
Remade into the image of Jesus
A transformed life right here, right now

The Orientation of Prayer
God and His Kingdom is where our prayers are to be oriented. Before we start asking for things, lets praise God and orient our prayers towards Him. Prayer is about orienting ourselves with God and the life we are doing together.
Let's get away from performed righteousness and establish a relationship and intimacy with God. We are being invited to live in another world, a world with God in His Kingdom.
Orienting our prayer towards God and His Kingdom confronts the language of choice. We subordinate our will to God's will who is over all things. This is asking for His Kingdom to come.

The Ordinariness of Prayer
We are to ask for what we need and seek forgiveness. These are everyday things and makes prayer part of the everyday life we live. Asking for daily bread reveals a heart of one who has seen provision. We are confident that God will give us what we need for today. We can trust God!
We live in a world of abundance that is given by God who loves us and takes care of us.

The Outcome of Prayer
We are bearing witness to a King and a Kingdom. In prayer we are making a connection between a the Kingdom of God and the ordinariness of life. God has given us life and His Kingdom comes in our everyday life.

God gives us a life worth living.