A Life of Discipleship THE HEXAGON – LIVING A LIFE OF PRAYER

1. A Life of DiscipleshipTHE HEXAGON – LIVING A LIFE OF PRAYER Penge Baptist Church 9th June 2013

2. Jesus and prayer • “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.” (Luke 6:12) • “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35) • After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.” (John 17:1) • Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” (Matthew 26:36)

3. Jesus and the Lord’s prayer • This, then, is how you should 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 today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from the evil one.’ (Matthew 6:9-13)

4. 6 phases of the Lord’s prayer The Father’s character (Matthew 6:9) The Father’s kingdom (Matthew 6:10) The Father’s Protection (Matthew 6:13b) The Father’s provision (Matthew 6:11) The Father’s Guidance (Matthew 6:13a) The Father’s forgiveness (Matthew 6:12)

5. Practicing Jesus’ principles • Praying your request and see where it “sticks” • Father, I know you are my caring, loving heavenly Father. • You rule over all and will watch over me today from your throne in heaven. • Let your glory be seen in all I do today. • I want your rule and will to be done in all my thoughts and actions today. • Please provide for all my needs today, spiritual, physical, emotional…….financial!

6. Pour your prayer request through the model • Father your reign in heaven extends down to here on earth • Let your glory be seen in the life of my friend • In your kingdom there is no sickness, no pain. • Let your kingdom come in my friend’s life and body today • Providing our daily bread and our daily provisions includes having a healthy body so we can do your will, so please heal my friend today

7. Forgive my friend as he forgives others, knowing that unforgiveness in our spirits can affect our bodies too. • Let him not be tempted to turn from you, his healer, in his hour of need. • And protect him from the principalities and powers that want to cause him harm • Invite the Holy Spirit to cause you to stick on a certain area

8. Take one phrase of the Lord’s Prayer a day and focus on it in prayer time • What does calling the God of the Universe “Father” really mean? • If he really is my Father, what responsibilities does he have for me? • What do I have in my relationship with him? • What does it mean that he is in heaven?

9. See Lord’s Prayer as circular – see how each phrase is met in the others: • Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven: • Give us today our daily bread. God’s loving desire is to meet our needs, in his kingdom there is no want • Forgive us our debts, in God’s kingdom our sins are washed away and never revisited • as we also have forgiven our debtors As we walk in grace of God’s forgiveness we can forgive others. Freely we have received so freely give is a law of kingdom life

10. And lead us not into temptation, It is God’s will that we walk the path he has chosen for us. In his kingdom that path will fulfil us and not leave us tempted to take a quick fix • but deliver us from the evil one. The kingdom of God is all light, darkness disappears. So forces of spiritual evil has no power in God’s kingdom • Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, The kingdom is ruled by a king – who is our dad! We can feel at home in the kingdom, we are not strangers but sons and daughters. We belong in God’s kingdom.

11. Use a “sticking point” to show a need for repentance • Remember listening to God is an essential part of prayer (“one mouth, two ears, use them proportionally”). This fits in well with “The Father’s Guidance” but you could also perhaps think of the centre of the hexagon as the gap, the space, in which we are quiet and we listen to the Father’s Voice.

12. Link to the triangle • UP • Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, • Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. • IN • Give us this day our daily bread. • Forgive us our sins as we also forgive those who sin against us. • OUT • And lead us not into temptation. • But deliver us from evil.

13. The Lord’s Prayer for Penge • Father your reign in heaven extends down to here on Penge, for you are the creator and sustainer of all things • Let your glory be seen in the life of God’s people here in Penge and also in the wider community • In your kingdom there are no murders, fatherless children, substance abuse, domestic violence….. • Let your kingdom come in the life of the people of Penge today, empower and inspire God’s people to act in accordance with your will to accomplish this as your hands and feet • Providing daily bread and other financial needs requires good jobs, adequate benefits, even food banks so please provide for people’s needs

14. Forgive the people of Penge for their sins, for you loved them so much you died on the cross for them • Enable the people of Penge to forgive others, even those who have hurt them; protect them against the desire for revenge. • Let them not be tempted to turn to the path of the evil one, be it via crime or abuse of others. • And protect them from the principalities and powers that want to cause them harm, be it spritiually, emotionally or physically; empower God’s people to pray with authority against the forces of evil overhanging Penge

15. Remember the hexagon!