Always open & close any study of the Bible with prayer ;)
The Sinner’s Prayer
The first prayer we each must pray in order for God to hear us is the sinner’s prayer because "otherwise We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. " ~John 9:31
The sinner’s prayer is about acknowledging WHO WE ARE: that we are born into sin by Adam’s fall, and that we are separated from God. "..for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." ~Romans 3:23
Read ACTS 16:25-34 (the story of Paul, Silas, and the jailer) to learn the answer to the jailer’s question “What must I do to be saved?”
Acts 16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” 29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
““Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved …” (Acts 16:31 NIV). The Greek word translated “believe” in the passage is pisteuo, meaning “to believe, put one’s faith in, trust, with an implication that actions based on that trust may follow.”[2] Belief, then, encompasses more than just knowing about Jesus. One must also act on this knowledge, combining faith and trust and acting on it.
So what exactly are we believing when we “Believe in the Lord Jesus”? What is the “word of the Lord” that Paul and Silas spoke to the jailer’s family? The Bible tells us that Jesus was born differently than all other men. He was born sinless and that He lived a sinless life. And because He was sinless, he alone could satisfy God’s requirement of a holy sacrifice; He alone could pay the price to redeem mankind and restore the relationship of man to God. How did He pay that sacrifice? He was crucified (scourged and killed on the Roman cross) for our sins, died, buried, resurrected on the third day, and is alive evermore. So that is what it means to “Believe on the Lord Jesus” – to believe He is who He said He is (the sinless Son of God) and that He died in your place for your sins.
[ Reference: Matthew 27:27-Matthew 28:10]
So, the first prayer we must ever pray is a prayer of acknowledgement of that Belief. No special words, no special place, just an act of placing faith in this Belief.
The Lord’s Prayer is about our realizing WHO GOD IS. Jesus prefaces teaching his disciples how to pray in this passage with:
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.9 “This, then, is how you should pray: ~Matthew 6:5-9
Jesus taught the disciples that God already knows our needs. He explains that praying is not simply giving God our grocery list of things to supply for our life.
In verses 9-13, Jesus proceeds to teach his disciples HOW to pray. Notice how Jesus’s emphasis in this prayer model is about acknowledging who GOD IS:
Matthew 6:9-13
9 Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. • Our Father which art in Heaven Jesus teaches His disciples that God is our parent in Heaven. The Apostle Paul restates this by exhorting the believer to address God as "Abba" (Aramaic for "Daddy"- the kind of intimate word that a child would use to his or her father) " And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."" (Rom 8:15, NIV)
• Hallowed be thy name The first of seven requests in this prayer. "Hallowed" means holy. God is separate from us, completely pure and faultless. Here we become aware of our own frailty as we adore and worship the living God.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. • Thy kingdom come God's kingdom is to do with His ways and order. So here we are asking that God's ways happen here, as they are fully obeyed in Heaven.
• Thy will be done The third request in this prayer is that God's will occurs. Here we are aligning our will with God's will, we are submitting ourselves to Him, and asking that His way triumphs.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
• Give us this day our daily bread We need God in all areas of our life (physical, spiritual and mental), and this is a daily need. We need to come back to God regularly, each day- indeed, many times each day and many ways, for we can quickly become independent and self-seeking. Jesus reiterates this daily dependency when he exhorts us to not "worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself" (Math 6:34, NIV)
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
• And forgive us our trespasses Different versions of this prayer use different words here - sometimes "trespasses", "debts" or "sins". Here we bring to mind the ways in which we have failed God and others, and ask the Lord for His forgiveness.
• As we forgive them that trespass against us As we receive God's forgiveness, we bring to mind anyone who we feel may have wronged us, and pardon them.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: • And lead us not into temptation The sixth request in the Lord's prayer is not to be in a place where temptation might overwhelm us. It is not wrong to be tempted or tested (Jesus was!). It is wrong to give in to this temptation.
• But deliver us from evil The final request is for protection by our Father in heaven. When Jesus was tempted by Satan, he declared 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'(Math 4:4 NIV). In times of trial, Jesus recognizes the Lord as His source of deliverance. Likewise we are to depend on God when evil is at our door.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. • For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory. Forever and ever. Amen. The prayer finishes with a closing doxology, that is, a hymn of praise to God.
The purpose of the Lord’s Prayer is to teach us the posture we should have towards God simply because of Who He is and His provision for us when we pray.
After Jesus had been crucified, buried, and resurrected, He appeared to many people before He ascended into heaven. He told the people that when He did go to be with the Father that He would send a comforter, a Helper – the Holy Spirit.
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever;
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
Paul teaches in the Book of Romans about one of the roles of the Holy Spirit:
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. ~ Romans 8:26
But this step is not passive; it is the act of yielding ourselves to the Spirit with expectation and prayerful anticipation.
Paul also teaches us in the Book of Ephesians that we should....
18 Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people). ~ Ephesians 6:18
Ponder
What have we learned about prayer through the study of these three prayers: the sinner's prayer, the Lord's Prayer, and the prayer of the Holy Spirit?