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Let us pray. Dear Lord, I just pray that you fill Brother David with your Holy Spirit and help him to edify us with your word so that we can learn how to better love each other and to turn from our sins and to be better Christians, Lord, and to better serve you. And we ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Good morning, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. Sorry for the late start, but we're here now and we're ready to go. The title of this sermon this morning is How to Pray. Now, this is a very vague question, right? Think about it like this. If you had 10 athletes and you asked them how to do one specific workout, you're going to get 20 answers. So the subject of how to pray, let's let Jesus tell us examples of how to pray. Where you are in your Bible is Matthew chapter six. This is what's known as the Sermon on the Mount, right? Matthew chapter five, six, and seven tell us a lot of deep truths according to the mouth of Jesus Christ himself. And in the subject of how to pray, I want you to understand this. What I tell you is not necessarily gospel. What I said a moment ago is I'm going to give you my perspective on it and you're going to hear other people in your life tell you about prayer, how to pray, what to say, how to speak. And a good rule of thumb that I'd like to share with you guys, what I've learned and what works for me best is we need to speak with God and not to God. Does that make sense? We need to speak with God, not to God. For instance, if I had an employee that worked for me, right, I'm not necessarily always asking him his opinion on something. I am telling him to do something, Hey, John, go over there, pick this up and drive over here and install it like this. If you don't install it like this, it's not going to work. Do what I say. So when people speak to God, that's kind of what's happening. You're speaking to God as if you're speaking to an inferior, you know, God is supreme. He is divine. He deserves all respect. So we speak with God. The Bible talks about when we meditate on the word of God, we memorize his word. God speaks to us through his word. So when we pray, understand that if you are humbling yourself in speaking with God, he will help, as the Bible says, direct our paths in all our ways. Now look down at your Bible, if you would, at verse number nine. This is Jesus speaking. It says, after this manner, therefore pray ye. I'm going to pause there really quickly. Notice it says after this manner. It does not say, say what I say. It does not say, quote it like this. It says after this manner, in this way, when you talk to God, speak like this. After this manner, therefore pray ye. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallow be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. A lot of you are already familiar with this passage. This is what's known as the Lord's Prayer. And the first thing I want you to see in light of the Lord's Prayer is what does Jesus Christ teach us? Our Father, which art in heaven, hallow be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So the first point I want you to get when it comes to speaking with God is understand who you are talking to. You're not talking to me, you're not talking to your spouse, you're not talking to your boss. If you had respect for your boss, how would you speak to him? If you had respect for your spouse, how would you speak to them? We're talking about God, the creator of the universe, you guys. So let us reverence or honor our Father, which is in heaven. The Bible says, honor thy father and mother in the Lord, for this is the first commandment with promise. So God is teaching us in the fifth commandment to respect our parents, right? Not only that, notice it says, hallow be thy name. Remember a couple of weeks ago, I preached a sermon on the subject of the names of God. So we're talking about specifically God the Father here, because this is Jesus speaking to the Father. But you've got to realize that I've got to realize that Jesus Christ is our mediator to God the Father. The Bible teaches there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Now Jesus Christ is divine, we've figured that out already. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is fully God and He is fully man. But the reason you and I can have a relationship with the Father is because Jesus Christ died for our sins, and we put our faith in Him. Amen. He is God. We can come boldly to the throne of God and ask God of our desires, and He is willing to hear us out. Now it doesn't mean He will answer you, but He is willing to hear us out. So the first point I wanted you to know is speak with God, not to God. In reference to the Lord's Prayer, the Bible makes very clear, you need to reverence, respect, have honor to who you are talking to, you are speaking with, you're not talking to Him, you're speaking with Him. And think of it like this, if you end up in court, God forbid any of you end up in court for any reason, what do they force us to call the judge? Your honor. Your honor. My client, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, even if they're not an honorable person. Now if we're willing to do that for somebody in court, why would we not do it to our Father which is in heaven? Now God's not forcing you to do this, but in court you are forced, aren't you? I'm not going to ask for a raise of hand of how many of you have been in court before, but sometimes it happens and simply, if you don't refer to the judge as your honor, what do they do? They'll throw the book at you, they say, get them out of here, contempt the court, I don't want to hear whatever this guy has to say because they are not respecting me in my courtroom. So God is the same way in the sense of, He is not forcing us to do this, He would like us to do this. Why? Because of God. So remember, first point, speak with God, not to God. Second point is understand and realize who you are speaking to. The next point I want to get into is what's known as how often we should pray. In the passage earlier, right, this Matthew chapter 6 gives us a lot of context about when and where and how we are to conduct ourselves. In the first part it says when you give alms, don't give it in front of people, do it to them in secret. It says when you fast, don't show everyone you're fasting, just do it and keep it to yourself. When you pray, don't be as the Pharisees which go out and live to be seen of men and say, hey, look at me, I'm praying to God. Jesus says, go into your closet. That is when you should pray. Now there's nothing wrong with public prayer, we just prayed before the service here amongst us, right? But wouldn't it be strange if I was standing out at like Costco and I'm just like, oh dear God, thank you for all that you've done for us, thank you so much for salvation, you know, it's not appropriate there, that's not the place to be having prayer, why? Because you're trying to be seen of men. Now the Bible says right here, and if we keep going in verse 9, it says, after this manner therefore pray ye, our father which art in heaven, hallow 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 of our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, amen. For if you forgive not men their trespasses, your heavenly father will not forgive you, but if you forgive men their trespasses, neither will your father forgive you your trespasses. So one of the first things that God wants us to recognize when speaking with him is that we need to be humble and merciful. We need to, when we come to God for our own desires, realize that we have done people dirty in our daily life, our weekly life, and our monthly life. So let me ask you this, when Jesus says enter into your closet, how many times does somebody go to change their clothes? Once a day, maybe twice a day. I know some ladies like to change their clothes three, four times a day, but it's pretty normal to, once or twice a day, you'll enter your closet, right? So how often should we pray? I think that's a good rule of thumb. Exactly, now if you think of it like this, how many of you pray for your meal? I pray for every meal that I eat. Breakfast? Yeah, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Now when it comes to the subject of how often we should pray, there's a passage in Daniel, which means this is not a New Testament teaching. This is also in the Old Testament. The Bible says in Daniel 6, you don't need to turn there, it says, now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, and this is in context of people were trying to suppress Daniel's worship of God. At that time, they were told that if somebody worships God at this time period, they're to be put to death and thrown into a lion's den. So it says, now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house. Into his house, didn't do this publicly, and in his window being open in his chamber, which could be called your bedroom, toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knee, how often? Three times a day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he did a fourth time. So understand in the context here, Daniel is told, do not pray to your God in this time period, because if you do, you'll be thrown in a lion's den. What does he do? He walks home, he opens his window, he walks in his room, kneels towards Jerusalem, three times of the day, praise to God. What if somebody tells you, you're not allowed to pray? Does that mean we don't do it? No, we pray, we speak to God, because he is our father, and he wants us to communicate with him. So the first thing is speak with God, not to God. The second thing is, realize who you are talking to. And the third thing is, how often should this be done? At a minimum, I'd say at least three times a day. Some people have perpetual prayer, which I wouldn't recommend. I think it's good to have relations with people around you, but I think it's a good rule of thumb to remember that at least three times a day is a good rule of thumb. When you pray, don't be selfish in your desire, but think of others. Think of what others need. How can they be benefited? How can I benefit them? You love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, but do you love your neighbor as yourself? When's the last time you prayed for your neighbor? When's the last time you prayed for your boss, your spouse, your child? You know, I'm not saying we could never pray enough for our loved ones. What about non-loved ones, just unsaved people? I mean, a personal situation that I've gone through is that, I'm sure a lot of you may or may have not heard, that the island of Maui has just went through a very horrific natural disaster. A fire came and took out a lot of people. A lot of people have died in this fire. Now, although I'm from Hawaii, I've not lived in Maui before, but I'm praying for the people of Maui because that is a horrible thing to have experienced, that families gone, men, women, children have their life to end over a natural disaster. We need to pray for those who are in need of help and forgive those who have trespassed against us because if we're not willing to forgive somebody, why would God forgive us? Why would God give you the desires of your heart if you're not willing to forgive somebody of them doing you dirty? The Bible says in Romans chapter 5 verse 8, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. There's not a just man upon the earth that doeth good and sinnedeth not, but you know what? At the end of the day, we need to remember that God loves us and He wants to be there for us and if we're not willing to forgive our neighbor, God may not forgive you, but let's go on. We get it, David. We're going to speak with God and be humble and be respectful, not to God. I'm going to reverence His name and respect who He is and on top of that, I'm going to make sure I do this at a minimum two or three times a day. But when you pray, this is a good rule of thumb, pray assuming that whatever you're asking will come to fruition. Turn to your Bibles, if you would, to Mark chapter 10. You guys go ahead and turn to Mark chapter 10, staff, Louisa, Corbin, you mind helping them get to Mark chapter 10? Mark chapter 10. While you guys turn there, I just want you to realize this. God wants to give you the desires of your heart. God wants to bless you. God wants to bless me. But the thing is, how can we pray to God doubting that we're going to get what we asked for? Now once again, remember the sermon I preached not long ago? Doubt is natural. Doubt is inevitable. Doubt happens to every single one of us. But if you pray not doubting, do you not realize that we have a relationship with the Creator of the universe, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, whose earth is His footstool? That means He transcends time, everything, any and every power and ability, omnipotent. God is all powerful. We have access to God. And if we pray to God, asking God for the desires of our heart, then why would He not give us what we want? Mark chapter 10. Mark chapter 10. I'm going to go ahead and read. In Mark chapter 10, I'm sorry, Mark 11. Go if you went to Mark 11, one chapter, over. Mark 11, I'm going to just go ahead and start reading. Mark 11 verse 22, the Bible reads, And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God, for verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore, I say unto you, what things soever you desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Jesus Christ made very clearly that if you want this to happen, God wants to give you what you want. But this is the caveat, you guys. You need to line your will up with God's will. Remember the Lord's Prayer, Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So is what you want what God wants? Because let me tell you this, not all the time in my life do I want what God wants. For instance, I want a McDonald's cheeseburger every now and again. Raise your hand if you want a McDonald's cheeseburger. That's what I'm talking, Jack in a box, okay. Look, McDonald's cheeseburger is not the best thing for us to eat, you guys. You all know this, you don't need to be a scientist, you don't need to be a nutritionist to know that a McDonald's cheeseburger is not the best thing for you. The Bible says we need to respect the temple that he's given us and take care of this temple. But you know what? I eat a cheeseburger every now and again. And that's, you know, not me lining my will up with God. When you line your will up with God's will, this is how and this is how you can tap into the power of God, so to say. Because let me ask you this, let's say I moved to a new place. Let's say I moved to Kansas, and in moving to Kansas, I'm going to join a new church there and I'm going to assist that church. You know, I have me and my wife, we have little to not a lot of needs. We don't need much. We can live in a studio, a one bedroom apartment, we can live in a two bedroom apartment. We are content with less, right? What if I ask God for a Lamborghini and he's going to give it to me? God, I know that I'm moving to this new place and I'm going to serve you there with my whole heart and I'm going to need a ride, I need to get around. God, please get me a Lamborghini so I can go and preach the gospel to the lost. Why would God give you, why do you need a Lamborghini? You could get a Hot Wheels. You know what I'm saying, like, why? You don't need a Lamborghini. Now what if I went up to God and I said, God, I'm moving to Kansas, I'm going to be serving you at this church that I want to go and participate and help. Could you send me a 12 seater van because I'm going to wrangle people up and I'm going to bring them out to evangelize and we're going to go and drive to people's houses and bring them to church. You think God might answer that prayer? Why wouldn't He? You don't think God wants more people to be saved? God's not willing that any would perish but that all would come to repentance. God wants His house to be full of the saints. There are lots of people who are saved that aren't in church. So why would God not provide us with the means to get saved people into church? So this goes to my point about if you line your will up with God's will, God will fulfill the desires of your heart because they're not yours to begin with, they're God's. And if the Holy Spirit is in you, they are your desire because the new man, the spirit that lies in you, wants to do those things which are pleasing unto the Father. The Bible says in Psalms 37, 4, delight thyself also in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart, commit thy ways unto the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass. So the Bible is making very clear that we need to line up our will with God's will. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. Jesus says, not my will, but thine be done. Not that Jesus Christ didn't have a will that's pleasing to the Father, but that sometimes we have a different plan and God has a plan. Help when we pray, ask God, line my plan up with your plan. And the last part I want to go into is this, I'm not going to go deep into this subject, but I think it's good for us to know this here, is that meditation is not prayer. Let me say that again, meditation is not prayer. Now I'm not saying don't meditate on the things of God, but let me give you a biblical definition of meditating, right? Because other religions in the world say they meditate, right? I'm going to meditate to the divine. I'm going to transcend my body and go to God in my spirit, right? The Bible uses the word meditate some 20 plus times, okay? So let the Bible tell us what it means to meditate on the things of God. The very first time the word meditate is used is in reference to Isaac when Rebecca is coming and they're about to become wed and he's in the field meditating, right? The second time the word meditate is used is found in Joshua 1.8. It says, this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein, for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success. So the Bible is showing us that meditation has to do with thinking about the things of God, meditating on his law, the words of God. So the more of the words of God you have in your head and heart, this goes back to lining your will up with God's will. When you speak with God and you have a desire, God and the Holy Spirit will put into your mind a verse that'll help you to ease that burden. For instance, you're going through, you want more money, say somebody wants a promotion and a job, God, there's a new promotion and it would benefit us to have more money and I think it's good to have more money and I would like to get that promotion. But then a verse comes into your mind and it says, the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have pierced themselves and erred from the faith. So when you hear that verse in your head, because that's the word of God, you might then stop and realize and say, you know what, give me neither poverty nor wealth, but give me bread sufficient for me. So at one second you wanted more money, the next second you realize, hey, God is going to give me whatever I need. If I seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all things shall be added unto me. In all my ways, if I acknowledge him, he will direct my path. So to meditate on the things of God means to memorize more of God's word and to think about the Bible, think about what it says, think about what he wants us to do. Of the 20 mentions of the word meditate in the Bible, 15 of them are found in the book of Psalms. Of the 15 that are found in the book of Psalms, seven of them are found in Psalms 119, which is the longest chapter in the Bible. I won't have you turn there for now, for sake of time, I'll just read to you all seven times that word is mentioned in Psalms 119. Psalms 119, 15, I will meditate in thy precepts and have respect unto thy ways. Psalms 119, 97, men, oh, how love I thy law, it is my meditation all the day. Psalms 119, 99, I have more understanding than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation. Psalm 119, 23, princes also did sit and speak against me, but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. Psalms 119, 48, my hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved, and I will meditate in thy statutes. Psalms 119, 78, let the proud be ashamed, for they dealt perversely with me without a cause, but I will meditate in thy precepts. And the last one is Psalms 119, 148, mine eyes prevent the night watches that I might meditate in thy word. So what I wanted you guys to know is that meditating is not prayer, but I'm not saying don't meditate or think about the things of God. Realize more of the word of God, read your Bibles more often, think about the things of God, and in doing so, when you come together to pray, and you're there three times a day, and you're realizing who you're speaking to, if you line your will up with his will, he'll give you to the desires of your heart. The title of this sermon this morning is How Do We Pray? Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Dear God, thank you so much for allowing us to get together, thank you so much for letting us come together, even though it was a little later, hey, later is better than never, right? Please help fulfill our weeks with a new heart to desire more in you, to read your word more often, to think more about you, help all of us to line up our wills with you, and help us to realize that you want a relationship with us to the extent of if we humble ourselves, you will exalt us in due time. Thank you for all that you do for us, and in Jesus Christ's name we pray, amen.