Jesus And Prayer: Programming The God Machine?

This is the manuscript of the sermon I preached at Christ Church in Los Angeles on July 8, 2018.   

Many Christians believe that if you do it the right way, have the right formula, position your body the right way, at the right time, then God will hear you and will answer your prayer, and if He doesn’t answer it the exact way that you prayed then you must not have done it right.  You didn’t program the God machine correctly.

I’m dating myself but when VCRs were first introduced and we found out that you could set it to record a certain program at a certain time a lot of people, including me, had trouble doing that.  Then came personal computers that would allow a person who wasn’t a software engineer or computer programmer do some things that made it easy to write and send messages, do school assignments, tasks at work, personal and business accounting. Then came cellphones and tablets that enabled you to do these and a lot more things that were unthinkable twenty years ago, but to do those things you had to  learn how to use them.  The way you learned was from an instruction manual, or you had someone to train you how to do it or you somehow figured it out on your own, often with disastrous results.  At least in my case.   

That’s the way that many Christians think about prayer.  If you do it the right way, have the right formula, position your body the right way, at the right time, then God will hear you and will answer your prayer, and if He doesn’t answer it the exact way that you prayed then you must not have done it right.  You didn’t program the God machine right.

If you go into a book store, it doesn’t matter if it’s a Christian book store or not, or you go online to Barnes and Noble, Amazon, or one of the many online Christian bookstores you’ll find hundreds if not thousands of books on prayer, written by hundreds of people. 

One that was published several years ago, and it  was on the New York Times bestseller list, is The Prayer of Jabez. In the two years after it was published in 2000 it had sold over 9,000,000 copies.   I don’t know what the number is today but it may be well over 10,000,000 copies.  I never bought a copy and I’ll tell you why in a few minutes.  For those of you who bought a copy I hope that it was of some help to you.  Like I said I have never read the book but from the description of the publisher

It’s a timeless prayer that produces timely results! Bruce Wilkinson, the author, takes readers to 1 Chronicles 4:10 to discover how they can release God’s miraculous power and experience the blessings God longs to give each of us. The life of Jabez, one of the Bible’s most overlooked heroes of the faith, bursts from unbroken pages of genealogies in an audacious, fourpart prayer that brings him an extraordinary measure of divine favor, anointing, and protection. Readers who commit to offering the same prayer on a regular basis will find themselves extravagantly blessed by God, and agents of His miraculous power, in everyday life.

1 Chronicles 4:10 (NKJV)¹⁰  And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!" So God granted him what he requested.

Again I’m not criticizing anybody that bought the book and really tried to follow the book’s formula for prayer.  It gave instructions on how to program the God machine.   If the Prayer of Jabez book is right and you programmed the God machine correctly then everything you prayed for should have happened right?  If it didn’t then you must have missed a step in the program. 

That's not what prayer is it's not programming some machine to spit out goodies. Prayer is a relationship, it's a lifestyle, is a conversation with our heavenly father.

I don’t mean to pick on Bruce Wilkerson the guy who wrote the book or any of the other people who write books on prayer, but if you want to learn about heart surgery you would study a renowned heart surgeon, if you wanted to learn about evangelism you may want to read or study Billy Graham. 

If I want to learn about prayer I should to go to Jesus for instructions on how to pray.  His life was a living prayer, He prayed incessantly, He prayed unceasingly. Jesus, the man of prayer, has something to teach us about prayer. 

Jesus knew the transcending power of prayer. Jesus knew you could transcend whatever happened in life with prayer.  He knew that was the only way to know the power of God in your life. He prayed early in the morning.

 Mark 1:35-37 NKJV Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. And Simon and those who  were with Him searched for Him. When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”

 He prayed before He fed the multitude.

Matthew 14:17-19 NKJV And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to Me.”  Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.

He prayed all night before He selected the Twelve.

 Luke 6:12-13 NKJV Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself;  and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:

 He prayed before Peter denied Him.

Luke 22:31-32 NKJV And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.  But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me,  strengthen your brethren.”

He prayed in the upper room.

The entire 17th chapter on John is Jesus’ prayer. In verses 1-5 He prays for Himself, verses 6-19 He prays for the disciples, and in verses 20-26 He prays for all believers.  That includes you and me.

 He prayed in the garden.

In Matthew 26:39-46 He prayed the same prayer 3 times;

“O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will. ”

He prayed before Lazarus was raised from the tomb.

John 11:41-42 NKJV Then they took away the stone from  the  place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”

He prayed on the cross.

Luke 23:34 NKJV Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.

 Luke 23:46 NKJV And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ”  Having said this, He breathed His last.


Every significant place in the life of Jesus was surrounded and immersed in prayer. His life was a prayer.

The only thing the disciples ever asked Jesus to teach them was how to pray.

Luke 11:1 NKJV Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

It’s interesting that Jesus never tells us to understand prayer. Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus say  “You should understand prayer.” “Go out and understand prayer.”  If you wanted to you can find an attend seminars about prayers where you try to understand the dynamics of prayer; I’m not knocking it if that's what you want to do but Jesus said simply, “Pray,”

When they asked Jesus to teach them He gave them a model that completely changed the way prayer was viewed. It turned their world upside down.

We call that prayer model the Lord's Prayer and it's recorded in both Luke and Matthew.  In Luke 1:2-4 and in Matthew 6:9-13.  It's Matthew's record that we sing each Sunday. That's the passage I want us to look at today because Matthew includes it in the middle of Jesus’ sermon on the Mount which is part of Christ’s vision for our relationship with God and each other, which at that time was  revolutionary.  The complete Sermon on the Mount is recorded in Matthew 5, 6, and 7.

Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV)⁹  In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.¹⁰  Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.¹¹  Give us this day our daily bread.¹²  And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.¹³  And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

This needs to become more than just a song that we sing on Sunday morning. More than just something we repeat in unison. More than just some memory verses that we teach our children.  This is the model that Jesus the man of prayer the man whose life was a prayer gives us as to how to have a conversation with our Heavenly Father and our friend.

Before Jesus gives His instructions on praying, he spends some time criticizing the prayer practices of the Pharisees, the religious leaders of that time.  

Matthew 6:5-8 NKJV “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.  And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.  For they think that they will be heard for their many words. “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

Our prayers reveal our deepest convictions about God, about ourselves, and about the world around us. Every word we utter in prayer, every idea and concept that we form as we pray, and every emotion that flows out of our heart is a reflection of what we believe about God.  There is a saying  “As we believe, so we pray” Nothing uncovers the true state of our souls like prayer.

After explaining how not to pray He gives them a new model to follow in prayer.

Matthew 6:9 NKJV In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

Jesus does not start the prayer with a request.  He begins, instead, by identifying the character of the God as our Father.   Then He makes His first request which is  our Father  hallow, or make His name holy.  Jesus is asking God to move and act in the world in a way that people value his glory, esteem his holiness, and treasure his character above all else. We must not miss this: Jesus’ first request is not that personal needs be met, but that God’s glory and holiness be known. Jesus’ model focuses our attention first on God and not on us. Our chief concern in prayer is not our own comfort but God’s glory.

One thing you will notice is that the words  I me, my or mine are never part of the prayer.  It's our, us, or your. Jesus is reminding us that when we enter into a relationship with God, we enter into a relationship with his people. When we are saved by Christ, we are saved into his body, the church.  It shows that we are part of a family. Our Father's family. Individual needs while important in prayer  should not be the objective of prayer.  The point is not to deny our own sins or our own needs, but to never leave the focus only on us.

Then He says

Matthew 6:10 NKJV Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

The second request, “your kingdom come,” builds on the first one by showing us how God’s name is hallowed in the world. God reveals his character and reputation as his kingdom spreads to every corner of the earth and as we the citizens of that kingdom do God’s will on earth.  By praying “your kingdom come,” Jesus Teaches us that we are ultimately meant to value God’s agenda, or purpose not our own.

He then said that we should ask that our Father

Matthew 6:11 NKJV Give us this day our daily bread.

The request to “give us this day our daily bread” reminds us of our dependence on God for even the most fundamental needs of life. Jesus in this model of prayer points out the difference in the Creator and the creature. God’s name is to be hallowed in heaven.  We, on the other hand, are incapable of even getting basic sustenance without his help. Jesus teaches us to exalt God while humbling ourselves. This passage teaches us that our physical needs point to our deeper spiritual needs.

Deuteronomy 8:1-3 (NKJV)¹  "Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers.²  And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.³  So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. 

Our need for daily physical sustenance is a faint echo of our daily need of spiritual sustenance and satisfaction from God.Jesus referred to himself as the “bread of life,”.

John 6:35 NKJV And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

Jesus is God’s ultimate provision for our spiritual lives.

Each day, as we pray for our daily bread, we should be reminded of our daily need for Christ to forgive our sins and empower us for obedience. Each time we pray for daily bread, we should recognize our deeper need for the bread of life, Jesus, the only one who can truly satisfy.

Jesus tells us that we should ask forgiveness

Matthew 6:12 NKJV And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.

Jesus’ use of the word debt is very significant.

Debt for us today can be very stressful.  Too much debt can put serious strain on our lives restricting our ability to live stress free lives. The Bible says that debt makes us slaves.

Proverbs 22:7 NKJV The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.

You will remember the parable in Matthew chapter 18 about the servant who was forgiven his debt, then turned around and had a fellow servant put in prison for not being able to pay a debt owed to him.  When his master found out about it he had him tortured until he could pay.  Owing somebody a debt that you couldn't repay was very very serious in those days.  In those days be forgiven a debt was an act of extravagant mercy. 

The debt that we owe to God is for our sin and the penalty for not paying that debt is death. So asking God to forgive us of that debt is a very big deal. 

While the request that God “give us this day our daily bread” emphasizes our most urgent physical needs, the petition “forgive us our debts” emphasizes our most urgent spiritual need. Saying we owe a debt to God means that we have failed to give him the obedience he is rightly due. We owe God our obedience, and we have failed to pay up. We stand before God condemned, rightly deserving punishment. Only God’s forgiveness can clear our guilt and establish a meaningful relationship between God and us.

The only way that we can pray and ask that God forgive our sins is when we stand on the finished, atoning work of Jesus Christ. We can only rightly pray the Lord's Prayer when we recognize that we are deeply sinful and only God’s grace in Christ can remedy our situation.

Romans 5:1-2 NKJV Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

And

 Romans 10:8-10 NKJV But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Not only does Jesus tell us to ask God for forgiveness, he tells us to pray that God forgive us in the same way that we forgive our debtors. Now we must be very careful with this so that we don’t take it to mean something that Jesus didn’t mean. Jesus is not saying that we are forgiven by God because we have forgiven other people. That would mean that our forgiveness and our acceptance with God was based on our own works and not God’s grace. Scripture is very clear that we are justified before God by faith alone, not by works.    

Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it  is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

When Jesus said that we should ask God to forgive us because we have forgiven others we’ve misinterpreted what He said. God’s forgiving us has nothing to do with our forgiving others. That would make our forgiveness based on works.

 What Jesus is affirming in these words is that when we experience God’s forgiveness,  we are fundamentally transformed into forgiving people.

Again, the grounds of our forgiveness is never our own works. But forgiveness is evidence that we have received forgiveness. Hard hearts have no place in the kingdom of God. The reason, of course, is that the King himself is a forgiving king. Just as he forgives us when we rebel against him, so the citizens of God’s kingdom forgive one another.

 Those who truly know the forgiveness of sins, forgive others. Jesus emphasized this point a number of times throughout his ministry:

Matthew 18:21-22 NKJV Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Luke 17:3-4 NKJV Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you,  rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.  And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

Matthew 6:13 NKJV And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.

Temptation, is I believe, a weapon that the enemy uses in spiritual warfare.  We talked about spiritual warfare last week and the strongholds that can be established by temptation.  Jesus’ reminder to pray regularly against temptation reminds us just how prevalent and dangerous the appeal of sin can be in the Christian life.

This reminds us that we are not able to resist temptation by our own power. Most people know by experience that your willpower is not quite as strong as we would like to think.

Jesus does not teach us to pray, “Lord, give me more willpower in the fight against sin.” These words “do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one” express a heart of dependence, not self-sufficiency.

James 4:7 NKJV Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

The model prayer ends with a doxology which is “an expression of praise to God.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen

To learn about prayer from Jesus is to understand that prayer becomes a lifestyle. It is a habit.

I don’t want us ever to think that we are programming the God machine, but I want us to learn that prayer is developing a deep relationship. It is a walk with God, and instead of programming Him, we have Him imbedded in us through the Holy Spirit.

Philippians 2:5 NKJV Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

 Let’s not program a machine. Let’s walk with God.