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The Lord’s Prayer

Study Guide Member booklet

Member Booklet

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The Lord’s Prayer

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The Lord’s Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer is probably the most well-known prayer in the Western

world, even as mainstream Christian religion gets accustomed to a position

more on the margins than in the centre of society and culture.

And it is a startling prayer that is rich in theology and encouragement. In

addition to deepening our understanding and warming our hearts, we want

to let this most famous of prayers upgrade, recondition and rehabilitate our

own prayer lives. Each week in Term 1 we will investigate a single line

from the Lord’s Prayer; on Sundays and in mid-week small groups. Part of

the small-group task every week will be to rework our own prayers based

on the line from the Lord’s Prayer that is the subject of the week, using the

7 Days of Prayer device at the end of each study.

So we trust that the Lord’s Prayer will become your prayer, in a deeper,

truer, more vital and more vigorous way than before.

St Matthews Staff Team

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Study timetable We’ve prepared these small group studies to follow the Sunday message,

but you’re free to use them as you wish. Here’s a suggested timetable for

their use1.

Sunday Sermon Date

Topic Mid-week (small group)

What?

Sun 31 January

Launch day

Small group leader session (Thurs 28 Jan or Tues 2 Feb) Prayer and Praise night (Wednesday 3 February)

Sun 7 February

Our Father in heaven

8-11 February

Study #1: Our Father in heaven

Sun 14 February

Hallowed be your name

15-18 February

Study #2: Hallowed be your name

Sun 21 February

Your kingdom come

22-25 February

Study #3: Your kingdom come

Sun 28 February

Your will be done

29 to 3 February

Study #4: Your will be done

Sun 6 March Daily bread

7-10 March Study #5: Daily bread

Sun 13 March Forgive us our debts

14-17 March Study #6: Forgive us our debts

Sun 20 March Deliver us

21-24 March Study #7: Deliver us

Sun 27 March Easter Sunday

29-31 March Study #8: Amen!

Sun 3 April Holiday series begins

4-7 April Social/other

1 Studies are loosely based on materials obtained with permission.

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Study #1: Our Father in heaven

The Big Idea

Start JI Packer said, “you sum up the whole of New Testament religion if you

describe it as the knowledge of God as one’s Holy Father. If you want to

judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much they

make of the thought of being God’s child and having God as their father.”

Do you agree, disagree or want to qualify this statement?

Read The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:5-15 and share any first thoughts,

comments or observations…

Think & talk 1. Why was starting the Lord’s Prayer with our Father in heaven so startling

in Jesus’ day?

2. Why can Jesus call God “Father”?

• John 1:10-14:

• 2 Samuel 7:12-16:

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3. On what basis can Christians call God “Father”? How do these verses

contribute to our understanding?

• John 1:10-13:

• Galatians 4:4-7:

• Romans 8:14-17:

4. What are some of the benefits that we enjoy as the adopted children of

God?

5. If we are adopted children of God, what does that mean the Christian

life is really about?

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6. What do the addition of “our” and “in heaven” in our Father in heaven

add to our understanding of being adopted as a child of God?

• “our”

• “in heaven”

7. How does our understanding of our Father in heaven change the way

we pray?

Pray Each week we’re going to shape the lessons from the week into a daily

prayer pattern, using the grid below. The aim is to build a personal prayer

list that will help keep your prayers focused on the kingdom priorities

outlined in Jesus’ pattern for prayer. See a complete table at the end of the

booklet.

As you pray each time:

1. First pray through the priority you are focusing on that day. ��

2. Then prayerfully consider the resulting heart passions and purposes

as these increase in your life. ��

3. Now pray for others to experience more of this priority in their lives.

4. There’s space to pray for a key person on each day of the cycle and

also to include pressing requests each day.

5. End by praising God for answers. ��

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Some entries are already added, but you might like to add more of your

own.

Day 1 Pattern Our Father in heaven Priority of the day Adoption as God’s children

Prayer for the passions of our heart

Thank God for being Father; pray for a child’s joy

Prayers for other people Pray for believers to rediscover “sonship” and for seekers to discover it

Key person

Pressing requests

Praise for answered prayers

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Study #2: Hallowed be your name

The Big Idea

Start When you hear the name of God being used as a curse how do you

respond:

☐ I’m deeply hurt that God’s name is used so crudely

☐ I’m mildly offended, there’s plenty of other swear words on offer

☐ I really wish they wouldn’t but I don’t take it personally

☐ I’m not offended, they don’t know what they’re saying

☐ I’m a bit sad that it’s the only time that God gets a mention

☐ Other:

Read, think, talk 1. What does the placement of this line—hallowed be your name—suggest

is key to our prayer life?

2. Hallowed means to make holy or to consider holy. What might it mean

to hallow God’s name?

3. Read Isaiah 6:1-8. How do the various elements of Isaiah’s vision

contribute to our understanding of the 2nd line of the Lord’s Prayer?

• What Isaiah saw of God:

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• What the seraphim did:

• What the seraphim said:

• Isaiah’s response to all he saw and heard:

4. How does the unapproachable holiness of God reconcile with our

personal knowledge of God as tender Father that we thought about last

week?

5. The song of the seraphim in Isaiah is the song of heaven (Revelation 4:8),

which we will join in. But how might we hallow God’s name in this life?

• With our words:

• With our worship:

• With our behaviour:

Pray It’s time to pray. Remember the aim of studying the Lord’s Prayer is to

reshape our prayers so that they’re focused on the kingdom priorities

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outlined in Jesus’ pattern for prayer. See a complete table at the end of the

booklet. The basic flow is:

1. Pray through the priority you are focusing on that day. ��

2. Then consider the heart passions connected to this priority. ��


4. Pray for a key person on each day of the cycle and include pressing

requests each day.


Like last time some entries are already added, but you might like to add

some more of your own.

Day 2 Pattern Hallowed be your name Priority of the day Worship of holy God


Praise God’s holiness

Prayers for other people Pray for our worship to be energetic and a willingness to defend and honour God’s holy name

Key person

Pressing requests


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Study #3: Your kingdom come

The Big Idea

Start When you think of the idea of kingdoms does it sound enchanting (like

Camelot or a Disney kingdom) or like a return to medieval tyranny or an

authoritarian regime?

Read, think & talk 1. The essence of kingdom is God’s rule over his people. How is this

expressed in the Old Testament:

• The Garden of Eden:

• In the Promised Land of Israel:

• In the time of the prophets:

2. Jesus fulfils all the Old Testament expectations of the coming king. How

do we see Jesus’ kingship demonstrated in his life (if you like read Mark

1:14-34)?

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3. Are there areas of life which you haven’t surrendered to the lordship or

kingship of Jesus? What is holding you back from giving every aspect of

your life over to him?

Though Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament expectations of a coming king

when he came into the world, once again we await the coming of Jesus,

this time to usher in God’s perfect kingdom forever more. This is what we

are asking for when we pray Your kingdom come.

4. How often do you think about the return of Jesus? Is it something that

causes you fear, embarrassment or excitement? Why?

5. When we pray Your kingdom come we are also reminding ourselves to

live life now in the light of his triumphant return. How does the Parable of

the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) guide us in living today in light of

tomorrow?

6. In what ways does the return of our king to bring in God’s kingdom

shape:

• How we treat others? (see the next parable for a hint)

• How we conduct ourselves? (see 2 Peter 3:9-13)

• How we speak to others? (see 1 Peter 3:15-16)

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Pray You know the drill by now. Use the table below to help shape your prayers

around Jesus’ priority in the Lord’s Prayer, in this way:





requests each day.


Some entries are already added, but you can add some more of your own.

Day 3

Pattern Your kingdom come

Priority of the day Mission & service


Pray for Jesus’ return, pray that we’d serve and proclaim him

Prayers for other people Pray for friends and family to meet the King before his return

Key person

Pressing requests


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Study #4: Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

The Big Idea

Start Brainstorm all the different ways that we use the word “will” (both noun

and verb) in common language.

A primer on God’s will

The concept of God’s will is not a simple one. It includes God’s sovereign

will (sometimes called his secret will), in which nothing happens outside of

what he allows, not even those things which are expressly against his

commands. It also includes God’s ethical will, in which he tells us how he

wants us to live (this is sometimes called his revealed will). This includes

all his commandments and instructions, both positive and negative, and

more generally what we can freely learn from him in Scripture.

How do these two parts of God’s will intersect? To simplify, we can say

that everything that happens, including sad and bad things, fall within his

sovereign will. In other words, there is nothing that surprises him or is

outside his control, even though we might struggle to understand why bad

things happen. Nevertheless, because we know (or are growing in our

knowledge of) his ethical will, we should always try to learn it and put it

into practice. A crude summary could be thus: what happens, he knows

about; what he says, we should do. Look up Deuteronomy 29:29 to see

how the Old Testament puts it.

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Read, think & talk 1. How do we see God’s sovereign will (everything is within his control)

intersect with his ethical will (his commandments and instructions, etc)

when it comes to the crucifixion of Jesus (see Acts 2:22-24; 4:27-28)?

2. What do the following verses tell us about God’s power and freedom

compared to the freedom and power of the people of the world and

their/our idols?

• Psalm 115:1-8

• Daniel 4:34-35

3. Do you find yourself:

• resisting God’s revealed will & instructions,

• resenting his commands,

• reluctantly resigning yourself over to his ways, or

• embracing his instruction to us because we know it is in our best

interests?

How does the 4th line of the Lord’s Prayer shape our response to God’s

will?

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4. Read Matthew 26:36-39. How does the example of Jesus in the Garden

of Gethsemane shape our response to God’s will?

5. Praying for God’s will to be done requires us to know and learn what

God wants from us. How does Romans 12:1-2 encourage us to do that?

6. We have seen that we are praying for God’s will to be done in our own

lives, as we give them over to him and his guidance in Scripture. What

does it mean in relation to the rest of the world, particularly in the area of

justice and mercy?

But to pray your will be done, on earth as in heaven is also to open

ourselves up to be part of the process of bringing justice, or the relief from

suffering that we see around us. Our actions in this area will be part of the

way God answers our prayers.

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7. What opportunities are there before you to be part of the answer to this

prayer, to be a friend to the marginalised, the victim, the long-sufferer, or

the impoverished?

Pray Your turn!

Day 4 Pattern Your will be done, on earth as in

heaven Priority of the day Personal obedience; social justice


Pray to pursue heart obedience in our life, and justice in the world

Prayers for other people Pray for believers to surrender to Jesus’ rule; pray for the needs of the poor

Key person

Pressing requests


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Study #5: Give us this day our daily bread

The Big Idea

Start What is your favourite bakery product?

What do you think are your top 3 personal needs?

Read, think & talk 1. Read through the Lord’s Prayer again from Matthew 6:5-15. The

second half of the Lord’s Prayer turns to our requests. What does Jesus’

think are our top personal needs? Do these surprise you at all?

2. When Jesus talks about “bread”, what else do you think is caught up in

that metaphor? Read Deuteronomy 8:3 and John 6:48-51 and discuss.

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3. Jesus prays give us today our daily bread? What does his emphasis on

the needs of the single day teach us about God’s provision? You might

like to read the story of Israel’s experience with manna in the desert

(Exodus 16:1-30), Jesus’ words about worry in Matthew 6:25-34, or Paul’s

words in Philippians 4:6-7, 12-13.

4. Does this attitude of praying for daily provision seem like an excuse for

laziness on our part (see 1 Thess 4:11-12; 2 Thess 3:11-13)?

5. “Bread is wonderful…yet bread is the simplest of foods. In this petition

we ask to live with increasing simplicity”. Do you agree with this

statement? Is your life characterised by simplicity? Would you like it to

be?

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6. How do you think your perspective and habits change when you pray

give us this day our daily bread? What input do these verses provide:

• 1 Thessalonians 5:18

• Ephesians 4:28

• Proverbs 30:7-9

Pray Remember, let Jesus’ prayer priorities shape your prayer priorities…

Day 5 Pattern Give us today our daily bread Priority of the day Provision, thankfulness


Ask for trust, contentment, generosity, simplicity

Prayers for other people Pray for your neighbours’ daily needs, stable government and society

Key person

Pressing requests


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Study #6: Forgive us our debts

The Big Idea

Start Forgiveness is central to the Christian faith. Do you think it takes more

grace and humility to ask for forgiveness, or to grant forgiveness?

Do you think there needs to be repentance in order for there to be

forgiveness?

Read, think & talk 1. Forgive us our debts is a prayer that acknowledges and confesses our sin.

What does 1 John 1:5-2:2 tell us about sin and confession?

2. Forgive us our debts is also a prayer that expresses faith in Christ. How

does 1 John 1:5-2:2 give us confidence about Jesus work on our behalf?

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3. Do you practice confession, and do you know the confidence of being

fully restored and forgiven by the work of Jesus?

4. …as we also have forgiven our debtors is a commitment to forgive

others. How do Matthew 6:14-15 or the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

(Matthew 18:21-35) help illustrate this point?

5. Why do we find forgiveness so hard when we have been forgiven so

much by God?

6. What would you say to someone who says, “I cannot and will not

forgive that person until they repent and acknowledge their wrong”?

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Pray Time to make Jesus’ prayer, our prayer, as follows:





requests each day.


Day 6 Pattern Forgive us as we forgive others Priority of the day Forgiveness & mercy


Ask for freedom from guilt and release of bitterness

Prayers for other people Pray for relationships that require healing, and unity within church

Key person

Pressing requests


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Study #7: Lead us not into temptation…

The Big Idea

Start What would you say are the greatest evils in our world? (circle one or two)

Institutional racism Sex trafficking White collar crime ISIS

Personal greed & envy Random violence

Rich/poor divide Alcohol/drug dependence Donald Trump

Other:

Where does the Bible tell us that evil and temptation come from (match

the verse to the source)?

• James 1:13-14: from false teachers

• 1 John 2:15-16: from the devil himself

• Matthew 15:19: not from God

• Matthew 4:1-4: the lust & pride of worldly humans

• Matthew 24:4-5: out of the human heart

Read, think & talk 1. When we pray this prayer we are asking for God’s leadership. How

does he lead us and how receptive are you to that leadership?

2. Scripture clearly says that our struggle is not merely against flesh and

blood but against malignant spiritual forces, and that Jesus has conquered

them by his death (see Colossians 2:15). Do you feel confident in resisting

Satan’s attacks (see James 4:6-8)?

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3. In a similar passage in 1 Peter 5:8-11 Peter gives further reasons for

resisting the devil. What are they?

4. What ways do you think Satan attacks people or works in the world?

5. Ephesians 6:10-18 is the classic passage about spiritual warfare.

Bearing in mind that the war has already been won by Christ’s defeat of

sin, death and the devil on the cross, what does this important passage

teach us about deliverance from evil?

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6. What effect does praying this line of the Lord’s Prayer have upon your

prayer life and Christian life more generally?

Pray Last chance to have a crack at this. Feel free to add your own prayer points… Day 7 Pattern Lead us not in temptation but deliver us from

evil Priority of the day Protection and perseverance


Pray for strength to overcome temptation

Prayers for other people Pray for spiritual protection for people of church

Key person

Pressing requests


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Study #8: Amen!

The Big Idea This is a chance to put all that we have been looking at into practice.

Pray The 7 Days of Prayer with Jesus device is just a tool for arranging your prayer life according to priorities outlined in Scripture, particularly the Lord’s Prayer. �� Start your time in prayer by focusing on the Priority of the day. When you move to the Passions section, remember that these flow from the priorities. ��It’s tempting to rush this part of the list, but this part is key to keeping this tool free from legalism. So confess any weaknesses, distractions or misplaced affections and ask for transformation and alignment of your heart to God’s heart and to his priorities. Prayers for Other People ��is the place to pray for friends, individuals, missionaries, churches, ministries, organizations, people groups, etc. related to the priorities (if possible). ��Include others wherever it is most appropriate. Obviously people don’t fit in a box. The ��Key Person ��space is for the people in your life you want to spend concentrated prayer on (not just have them in your larger section of people to pray for). May typically include spouses, family members, and close friends. ��Pray for their heart affections and deeper spiritual needs. �� Pressing requests is the place for urgent needs for you, our church, and others in your life. In Praise for Answered Prayers you want to periodically and regularly go through what you’ve been praying for through your list; record answers and praise God for them. ��Recognizing answers to your prayers builds faith and momentum to continue in prayer for greater things.

Your turn On the next page is the prayer grid that we’ve built up all term; the page after that is your chance to create your own. All the best!

The Lord’s Prayer

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! D

ay 1

D

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! D

ay 1 D

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Our Father in

heaven H

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your name

Your kingdom

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!

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