The Secret to Powerful Prayer (September 15, 2019) – Tony Evans Sermon

Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative, chaplain of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and author of over 100 books, booklets & Bible studies. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 1,300 US outlets daily and in more than 130 countries.

a man one day was talking to a friend of

his and they were discussing biblical

things and the gentleman looked at his

friend and said that you don’t really

know that much about oh I bet you you

don’t even know the Lord’s Prayer in

fact I’ll give you $10 if you recite the

Lord’s Prayer his friend said I’ll take

that bet I said okay let’s hear it

the man said now I lay me down to sleep

pray the Lord my soul to keep

and if I die before I wake

pray the Lord my soul to take his friend

looked at him and laughed reaching his

pocket took out $10 I didn’t think you

knew it

a lot of people think they know the

Lord’s Prayer it’s recited before

sporting events in locker rooms Civic

events school events community

gatherings it is the go-to prayer but

we’re going to walk through the Lord’s

Prayer word by word line by line we

introduced it last week

where jesus told his disciples how not

to pray you let them know if you don’t

have a prayer relationship in secret

don’t think you accomplishing anything

in public he said God looks at the

secret closet of communication because

you want a relationship with him you

just don’t want something from him you

want to be with him for prayer is

relational communication with God yes to

draw heaven into history eternity in the

time and the mechanism that God has

established is prayer in Luke’s

rendition of the Lord’s Prayer in Luke

11:1

the disciples with him and said teach us

to pray we see this power you have these

miracles you do we see this direction

and and and this hook-up you have with

God we want in on that teach us to pray

and that leads Jesus to tell them the

Lord’s Prayer and as it is known it

really could be called the disciples

prayer because this is a prayer that

Jesus could never pray see Jesus can’t

pray this prayer because it says forgive

us our trespasses and he would never

need to be forgiven so it’s really not

his prayer to pray is him teaching us

how to pray now the Lord’s Prayer is

divided into a very simple flow two

halves if you will the first half is

concerned

with God hallowed be thy name thy

kingdom come Thy will be done it’s about

the I or you the second half is about us

our daily bread our trespasses lead us

not into temptation so the first half is

all about God the second half is about

you and then of course he closes it with

prayer about God again thine is the

kingdom the power and the glory for ever

and ever amen

so it’s God us God what leads Jesus into

this prayer from verse 8 is his

statement that God knows our needs your

father already knows before you ask what

your coming to him to talk about so

prayer is not an informational session

to inform God he says I I already know

what you want to talk about I just want

to know do you want to talk to me about

it here’s the key just because God knows

something doesn’t mean he will act on it

he has knowledge of everything but some

things he will not act on until there is

relational communication with him about

it

so his knowledge does not equal his

action I know what you need I just want

to know do you want me or just do you

want the meaning of the need prayer

becomes an answer to that question

Jesus says pray in this way in verse 9

pray like this this is really not a

prayer to be repeated word-for-word it

is really a framework a guide for

praying this prayer is one of the most

empty prayers prayed by people some of

you didn’t need to look at the screen

didn’t need to look at your Bible

because you know this prayer it’s it’s

been prayed since you were a child

he says pray like this

in other words follow this guy let this

be a a governing premise as to how you

approach prayer so it’s nice nothing

wrong with repeating it but he doesn’t

want just meaningless or what he called

in verses 5 to 8 vain repetition just

talking because you memorized it but he

says you can use this as an outline if

you will for communicating with God

today we want to look at verse 9 that’s

all our time will allow for 4 verse 9 is

pregnant with principles for prayer

first of all our Father our Father point

you are not an only child it’s not just

yo daddy

it’s our Father why does Jesus say when

you approach me you’re approaching an

our God and not just your God because

you’re not the only kid in the family if

you are a parent and one of your

children wants to act like they’re your

only kid there’s gonna be conflict not

only with the other kids

but with Daddy who has two equally

relate to the whole family so you can’t

be in a family of multiple people

multiple children and function like

you’re the only child in it it’s our

Father this is why God has said there

are certain things he will not do for

one of his children if they’re if they

are not connected to the rest of the

family so any unchurched uninvolved

Christian is blocking the father from

answering their personal needs because

they don’t want to be related to the

siblings so that’s why God wants every

Christian to be a functional

ministering part of a local church which

the Bible calls the family of God the

household of faith scripture says

forsake not the assembling of yourselves

together all the one anothers in

Scripture love one another care for one

another support one another connect

connect with one another assist one

another all these one another’s in

Scripture because God says you will get

more from daddy if I see you relating to

your siblings so church involvement has

to do with father engagement one father

many children so it’s our Father who is

in heaven not just your daddy but he is

father he is father let’s talk about

that you only have a father cuz you got

kids that’s what makes you a father

everybody who has accepted Christ John

1:12 has been made a son or a child or

daughter of God so you have a father so

when you approach God in prayer he wants

you to approach him relationally not

just God way up there

but daddy up in here

he wants a relational communication as a

father now the problem is many of us

have had a bad relationship with father

some of you have had no fathers others

of you might as well have had no fathers

because he was there and not there

others have had bad fathers or abusive

fathers and the temptation is to start

with the father on earth and let him

define your view of the father in heaven

so you and if you had a bad deal with

the father on earth it may have colored

your view of your heavenly father but

the idea is to start with the father of

there and let him define fatherhood down

here

so for all you men who happen to be

fathers let’s find out what the father

is like so you and I can know the kind

of father you supposed to be first of

all he is father by position because in

the scripture the father was the head of

the home I am the God of Abraham Isaac

and Jacob the breakdown of the father

God always did his covenants through the

father because the father held the post

of responsibilities so if you are a man

here God holds you in ultimate place of

responsibility for your home by position

and for your children maybe you didn’t

know that but every man he needs to know

in the Bible it is the father’s

responsibility to raise the children not

the mother the Bible says in Ephesians

chapter 6 verses 1 to 4 fathers raise

your children it is not the mother’s job

to raise the children it is the father’s

job to raise the children the job of the

mother is to help and fill in the gaps

when the father can’t be there because

that is your role the Bible tells the

father’s to teach their sons the Bible

gives the father the responsibility so

if the father doesn’t own it you may be

father by title but you’re not father by

position because you’re not carrying out

the rearing responsibility that belongs

alternately

certainly with the help of the wife but

ultimately belongs in the hands of the

man so if you were the devil what would

you do get the father’s out of the home

because by getting rid of the father

you’ve canceled the position create an

extra burden on the mother and perhaps

damage the kids so the devil has gotten

father’s away so that people can be

messed up about what our Heavenly Father

really looks like so there is a position

to be held the beautiful thing is if we

start with our Heavenly Father

he takes responsibility for all of his

children and for all of us who name the

name

of Jesus Christ he owns that God owns

that because that’s what father’s do in

addition to that position of raising the

children his job is to provide God told

Adam before he gave him a family I’m

gonna make you a provider and I’m gonna

provide for you so I’m gonna provide for

you so that you can provide for them

cuz I’m yo daddy I want you to be their

daddy in addition to the position and

the provider was the protection he says

you are to guard the garden and if you

guard the garden under me I’m gonna

guard you I’ll guide you while you guard

the garden and you cover the family so

it was the god fathering Adam Adam was

to father the family and Adam was to get

his clues of fathering from God if you

start with your human father and your

human father wasn’t a father worth

following and you transfer that to God

you have a bad attitude toward God

because you had a bad situation with

your human father so you’re not an only

child but you do have a father and he

says you start your prayer recognizing

that there is this relational connection

with God even in ministry I am pastor by

position but Paul says that your role in

1st Timothy is to father the flock so I

know I’m not just to occupy a position

but I am to father the lives of those

who is placed under me under a pastoral

staff too far that is to care for your

well-being because that’s what father’s

do they don’t just show up to Eve

they show up to care and so our Heavenly

Father has a position he is a provider

he is a protector and that’s who you

talk to you when you pray our Father

second thing you need to know is our

Father who art in heaven

translation our Father who’s not on

earth your father is a Heavenly Father

now this is critical because you and I

live on earth and on earth we operate by

our five senses and we are limited by

time and space cuz we’re earthbound let

me tell you something about your daddy

your daddy is not subject to the

limitations of time and space because

your daddy’s house is in heaven Daniel

4:26 says heaven rules over earth so

what you need to know when you pray to

your unseen father is that he’s very

much operative he’s in heaven and heaven

overrules earth

so therefore the limitations of your

earthly father are not the limitations

of your heavenly father because your

earthly father is is bound to earth as

you are but your heavenly father is not

therefore if you put all in your marbles

on your earthly father with their

limitations we’re gonna miss out on the

Pope potency of your heavenly father who

is not subject to this world order I’m

glad to know that earthly fathers don’t

have the last word so if you were raised

without a father if you were raised with

an abusive father if you were raised

with a neglected father I want you to

know right now that that earthly father

doesn’t have the last say so over your

life over your recovery over your

stability over your provision cuz your

daddy got a daddy who is in heaven that

is he operates out of a whole different

realm now when Jesus was on earth he

prayed to God as his father

every time Jesus prayed he prayed

relationally in fact the only time that

I’ve seen in scripture where Jesus

prayed and called his father God was

when he died on the cross my God my God

why hast thou forsaken me

every other time he calls him father the

reason he has to call him God on the

cross is he’s coming with our sin so

there’s no fellowship with the father so

he gotta have him way out there as the

transcendent God but when he was walking

on earth he called him father

this is why I love John chapter 20 verse

17 because John verse 20 chapter 20

verse 17 says he tells his disciples I

am going to my father he’s getting ready

to leave earth and go to heaven I am

going to my father but then he says and

yours o women I’m not only going to my

daddy I’m going to your daddy too now

why do you need to know that you need to

know that because what Jesus was telling

them that he’s telling us is the same

help that my daddy gave me when I’m on

earth now that I’m leaving he makes

available to you because you’re as much

of his kid as I am the Bible says that

Jesus Christ is seated on the right hand

of the Father in heaven and guess what

it says in ephesians chapter 2 verse 6

we are seated with him so the same level

of intimacy based on God’s will that he

had with Jesus he says he wants to have

with you if you’ll relate to him as

daddy some of us have gotten such bad

teaching that we might as well be

praying our judge who art in heaven

because we walk around feeling this

hammer over our head

that’s what legalism does it puts a

hammer over your head God is always out

to get you God is always out to judge

you now God does have a standard but

that’s not the relationship he wants you

to pursue he wants you to pursue an

intimate relationship with him so that

you feel sent and

variants his love not as discipline

because good fathers do discipline so

it’s our father he is your father now

you’re gonna have to grow into this

you’re gonna have to you gonna have to

grow into this but when you do when you

experience him on the father level not

the judge level although he does judge

not the way our bear level talking King

James English you know English you would

never use him human discussion yet you

get private with God or God or one who

lives in the third heaven one who put

the stars in space okay you don’t talk

to your daddy like that Oh father who

goes to work every day or father who who

brings home the bacon old father you

don’t talk to your daddy that way

because that’s stranger conversation he

wants to talk to one of his kids

prayer is a kid talking to his dad and

now it becomes a conversation not just

this ethereal discussion our Father who

is in heaven who operates I would have

that realm but I’m praying because I

need you in this realm and then it comes

to it here it is hollow to be that name

hallowed be thy name

the Greek word hallowed means to be

sacred separated and unique it’s to

treat as one of a kind it’s to treat a

special a class by itself it’s from one

of the cognates of the word holy to be

separate unique special daddy there’s

nobody like you if you’ve been around it

for some time from time to time

you hear me talk about my dad

he’s in a nursing home now and I fly up

as often as I can given everything else

that’s going on to spend a few days with

him in the nursing home it’s a joy for

me to talk about my father it’s a joy to

me to talk about my father because I

know the price he paid for our family my

father dropped out of high school

because my grandfather was not able to

make ends meet to help my father make my

to help my grandfather make ends meet he

dropped out of school and then when he

could went back to night school so he

could finish when he had the four of us

he was a longshoreman working on the the

in the Baltimore Harbor and some weeks

he wouldn’t have work to do of loading

and unloading boats sometimes they went

on for months that they didn’t call him

for work and so I remember now if he

were to go to the basement in the home

that I grew up in you’ll see all of this

stuff the old TVs or radios because to

make ends meet he would go down and he

would try to fix the neighbors ready or

the neighbors television to just get a

few dollars so we could eat as most of

you know I don’t eat fish can’t stand

fish

but there’s a reason I can’t even fix

and don’t eat fish because when my

father didn’t get work and couldn’t make

ends meet even shining people’s shoes he

would go fishing and he would go out and

take a net and catch herring

now herring a little fish with a billion

bones okay he would catch herring by the

hundreds we had herring and eggs for

breakfast

herring mammy sandwiches for lunch

herring and greens for dinner

and herring and ice cream for dessert I

mean we got overwhelmed with Harry I

hate fish because for some reason that

thing created a negative thing but my

point is he would do whatever he had to

do for his family he wouldn’t give

excuses he wouldn’t say it’s tough out

here he wouldn’t blame racism all of

those things were real but he had a

responsibility to take care of his

family and so when it comes to earth I

hallowed be his name I celebrate his

name and there is no inconvenience

there is nothing I’m not willing to do

that I’m able to do cuz I know the price

he paid when you know the price God paid

for your salvation for your deliverance

it should be a problem

Halloween his name that means to put it

in a class by itself he’s not to be

treated like just another deity or just

another greater no you are diminishing

his name that’s why the third

commandment says don’t take the name of

the Lord in vain that means don’t not

hallow his name

don’t treat his name as ordinary don’t

treat his name as something regular we

dealing with super unleaded here not

regular what does it mean to not hallow

his name that is to treat his name in

vain there’s a lot of ways you can do

that comedians do it by profaning his

name they will put his name or Jesus’s

name at the end or at the beginning of

cuss words or of evil and they profane

his name

they take the great name of God and they

desecrate it that’s not too hallow his

name or maybe it’s not something that

radical maybe you knew you were lying

but you said so help me God

so you used his name to back up your

life or your deception it’s been bad

enough your lives but to put his name on

it that’s why when you go to court do

you promise to tell the truth the whole

truth and nothing but the truth so help

you God

now why do they make you do that because

what they’re saying is if you gonna lie

after having put your name with God’s

name

you have perjured yourself because once

you do that now once you bring God’s

name into it you shouldn’t be lying

attached to it

that’s how serious in principle they use

the hand on the Bible and also help you

God

because you can profane many things the

word vain means empty with no real

reason that there there’s you just

throwing it out and not recognizing the

significance of it okay

I’ve said this before but to understand

this idea of Halloween stick making it

sacred treating it like it’s like it’s

unique I am in light of what’s happening

in our home with sister Evans and

everything I’ve had to learn to do

dishes

for 50 years I’ve not done dishes okay I

had other responsibilities you know the

trash cleaning the bathrooms I had my

fast but dishes was never one of them so

I never I never had to do dishes but now

I got to do dishes so I’m trying to

figure this out I’ve gotten instruction

but I’m trying to figure this thing out

there’s a dishwasher but that’s too much

like using a computer so I am the fool

with that so there’s a dish board

whatever this thing is that holds the

dishes over here and so I’m I’m washing

the dishes you know try to my big

problem is not making the water too hot

just trying to get it get it just right

so I so so every day I’m washing dishes

okay so I wash the dishes now the reason

I’m washing the dishes it’s because the

dishes in the sink are profane they’re

dirty those are dirty dishes that’s the

reason I’m washing them when I wash the

dishes they’re no longer hopefully

profane that I’ve gotten the dirt off

the dishes then the dishes after they

dry have to be put up in the cabinet in

the kitchen those are regular dishes

those are the dishes for breakfast lunch

and dinner so they are profane if

they’re in the sink because they’re

dirty but they’re clean and the cupboard

but they’re regular because you use

those all the time but in this whole

separate room call the dining room are

the untouchables

these are the dishes you better not

touch unless is the birthday Christmas

anniversary or you got special guests

over you don’t touch those dishes

they’re off limits why because those are

special dishes accompanied by special

silverware that is to be used for

special purposes those are holy dishes

those dishes get their own room own

glass cabinet you know those dishes are

not treated you know you know the few

times we get to use them

I kept toe with them things I acted I

kept toe with them things because those

are hollow dishes these dishes have been

separated as unique God certainly

doesn’t want to deal with the profane

but he doesn’t want you treating him

with the regular either he wants you

putting him in a class by himself now we

had some folks at first service the only

reason they were at first service is

because the Cowboys playing at 12th

I talk pointing them out without

pointing about I just pointed folk out

who I knew with we’re not here ever at

the early service but when I found out

the Cowboys was playing because they

hollowed their name she they treated

them so special that they were willing

to do something they don’t normally do

and get up for somebody that may or may

not win even some of you here today who

didn’t skip service think you fooling me

by having your phone low making me think

you’re reading along with me in

Scripture but I know you don’t have to

read along with me cuz I’m gues doing

verse 9 and you just quoted it so every

time time you lift down I know what

you’re looking for because you hollow

their name where you gonna hollow the

name of somebody that may or may not win

may or may not be successful what you

think you ought to do for the king of

kings and the Lord of lords who is your

daddy

you