 So the record is on and we begin the class. Can somebody please lead us in a word of prayer, then we can begin. Thank you, Meena for leading us in prayer. In the last class, we looked at praying a prayer of asking and receiving and what are the important aspects or elements of praying such a prayer. We said that one needs to know what they are asking for, one needs to be aware that what they are asking for is part of God's will. Then it becomes a lot easier for us to approach God and to ask in confidence. Then we also pointed out that we've got to have a strong desire to receive that request. There is also persevering in prayer. So it's not like every prayer of asking and receiving is something that will come through right away. So there can be certain prayers which we will have to wait upon the Lord for. For example, I shared with you that we pray corporately as a community, we pray for revival, we pray for certain changes. It might take some time before we actually see the results or the outcome of such prayers. So today what we'll do is we will learn about a pattern for personal prayer. We've talked about the importance of the practice of prayer in one's life. And we looked at different categories. There are so many types of prayers that we can count about. Now how can one pray every day the way Jesus wants us to pray or the way he taught us to pray? So we have what the Lord Jesus taught us in Matthew chapter 16. And we will go through this model prayer and based on those insights, we can have a pattern for our personal time of prayer. Is it necessary to have a pattern for our personal time of prayer? What is your opinion? Okay, so it's easy if you have a pattern. That's one opinion about the others. Do we even need a pattern for prayer? Can we not just pray whatever we like? Pray, isn't it? Sometimes? Okay, so we might miss asking for some important things. Yes, next sentence. So it's better if we know what are all those prayer requests. Okay, so the majority answer here seems to be that it's good to have a pattern. Now there are many different patterns people use. You may have come across some patterns which were taught to you. No harm. You can follow any pattern that you like. There is a pattern. Some people say, maybe you've heard about it, ACTS. So basically each of those words, each of those letters stands for something. A stands for adoration, C stands for confession, T stands for Thanksgiving and S stands for supplication. So remember we said different kinds of prayers. So all those prayers are included in that one pattern. So it's helpful. When you start your prayer, you adore God, you worship God, then you go ahead and get right with God. As Jesus said, you have to pray for forgiveness. So we ask God for forgiveness. Then Thanksgiving and finally go ahead and ask God for your different needs that we may have. So ACTS is a common pattern which many people use. People also have something known as the tabernacle pattern. Have you heard that tabernacle? So basically when you look at the tabernacle, it has an outer coat. It has the inner coat. And then you have the holy, the innermost chamber which is the holy of holies where the presence of God dwells. So what some people say is the way you get into the tabernacle from the outside to the inside. Outside people will wash. There's a layer of washing. So you need to clean yourself. You need to cleanse yourself. So then there is repentance. There's all of those things that you would do. Then go a little more further in. So your prayers will be more of adoration, worship. Will you come to a place in your prayer where you're encountering the presence of God, where things are happening in the presence of God. So that is deep inside the tabernacle. So some people use that tabernacle pattern of prayer. So it's fine if you try to use any one of these patterns as long as you've had your time of prayer. What is the advantage of having a pattern for a personal prayer? One thing is a mind will not wander. At least we know that I must cover all these points. And if, let's say we are led in our spirits, I want to pray for one hour. Then you know, okay, I will spend 10 minutes on a certain matter, another 10 minutes on a different matter. And in this way cover that one hour of prayer. Otherwise what happens? Very random. You just pray anything, anything, nowhere. You're going nowhere. So it's good to develop a certain pattern. After talking about all these patterns, we might have the question, which is the best pattern that I can use for my prayer. The same way the disciples of Jesus in Matthew chapter 6, they went and asked him, God teaches how to pray. Then he talked to them and he said, when you pray, pray like this or use this pattern when you pray. So we are all familiar with the, we call it the Lord's prayer. But some people say, you know, you should actually call it the disciples prayer because they are the ones who needed to use this and apply this in their prayer life. So whichever way you look at it, it's a beautiful structure that will help us accommodate the most of our primary things that we want to bring before the Lord. So how does this prayer go? Matthew 16 versus, I know why I'm saying Matthew 16, Matthew 6, Matthew 6 versus 9 to 13. Jesus said, in this manner, therefore 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 this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors 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. So Jesus gave this prayer and said, pray like this. The next question which arises is, since we have this prayer given to us, most of us, we are taught this prayer in our family, in our church, in our school and it becomes a common practice to repeat it, isn't it? So, okay, everyone say the Lord's prayer, the whole group will go our Father, what in heaven hallowed be then. So there is nothing wrong because we are approaching God in the way we have been taught by Jesus. But it's possible to say the prayer and not mean it. That would not be correct. As long as we say the prayer and we mean it, then it's useful. So, the way we look at the Lord's prayer is, look at it like a pattern, don't look at it like something to memorize and repeat. In the very lines that Jesus gave us, there are categories that we can pick and pray. So, Matthew 6.9, he began this way, he said, therefore pray our Father in heaven hallowed be your name. So, what does it mean? Jesus introduced a very new way of praying. Till that time, people believed in Jehovah God and Jehovah God for them was a figure whom they feared, a figure whom they were in awe. So, no one ever dared to call God their Father. But what did Jesus do? He said, pray to God with a relationship in mind. He was the first person, in fact, who started saying our Father and we know that people opposed him. They said, oh, this is blasphemy. How can this man call God his Father? That was one of the accusations against Jesus. So, here is what Jesus was actually saying. He was saying, when we come to God in prayer, don't come like, okay, God, this is a duty or this is an obligation. You told me to pray, I'm praying. No, it's based on relationship. So, the very first few words there are our Father. Isn't it beautiful? So, when I come in personal prayer, it's based on my relationship with God. Okay, that is the first thing. And, you know, you could also say, he says our Father. Our Father means that though it is a time in personal prayer, I recognize that I'm a part of a larger body of believers. So, it's a personal prayer, but it's not necessarily like, you know, I'm an individual and it's just about God and me. But he recognized that you are a part of the body of believers. So, relationship, part of a body of believers and the first aspect here, hallowed be your name. So, this is what Jesus wanted us to do. He wanted us to adore and acknowledge the greatness and the goodness of God. So, hallowed be your name is like saying, God, I praise you. God, I know who you are, hallowed be your name or the person. You are Jehovah Shalom, you are Jehovah Nisi, you are Jehovah Jairah. So, for the person of God, I take some time to worship and adore him. So, maybe this might look like you begin your prayer and the first 10 minutes, you're doing nothing but praising God. So, the category of prayers of Thanksgiving, isn't it? So, you just pray, you praise, you thank, you worship, you adore, you magnify God. So, that's the way in which our prayer should start. Now, for many of us, we just want to go straight with our request. Heavenly Father, you know, I want you to bless me. I want you to bless my family and I want you to do all these things for me. So, we go straight into what is known as petitioning or supplication. But that's not the way Jesus taught us to pray. He said, you start with adoration. Acknowledge God for who he is first. Other things can come later. So, the first few minutes or the first portion of our prayer, you just take up time to adore God, worship God. So, that is the beginning of our prayer time. And moving on, Matthew 6.9. Jesus said, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So, what is Jesus telling us? Your kingdom come, what is the kingdom of God? When we study about the kingdom of God in the New Testament, Jesus had a lot to say about the kingdom of God. But in a nutshell, the kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God, where God's authority is seen, where God's authority is prevalent. When we look at heaven, heaven is a place where God's rule and reign exists without any interference. On the earth, definitely we have an enemy, Satan is an enemy and there is an interference from the enemy. But in heaven, what happens? There's no interference. That's why we read, there's no sickness in heaven, there's no pain in heaven, there's no tears in heaven. There's only joy, there's health, there's peace. All of what God has to offer for us is available up in heaven because there's no interference of sin or Satan. So, what did he teach us in this line? He said, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So, what Jesus wanted us to pray is, we have to pray God, the way your rule, your reign, your authority is in heaven. Let it come down. Let it come down where? We can take time to pray for every sphere that we are a part of. So, I can pray for my personal life and say, God, let your kingdom come in my heart. Let your rule, let your dominion, let your authority come in my heart in my life. Now, I may want to break that up further and say, God, let it come in my personal decisions. Let it come in my ministry decisions. God, let it come in my family decisions. So, I begin to ask for the kingdom of God, his rule, reign, dominion, authority to be seen in me personally. Now, from there, I might also want to pray for other spheres that concern me. I could pray for my church and I can say, Lord, you said in your word, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. There, the enemy is causing, you know, he wants to come in different ways. We say, no, let your kingdom come, let your rule, reign, authority, dominion, let it come in my church family. Then, in the same way, you could pray, you know, pray it over the lives of people who are in your life. So, we will see later that God gives us a certain direct influence over the family members who we are attached to. So, we can pray it over their lives, particularly, if you're a mad person, you can pray it over your spouse and you can say, God, let your rule, reign, dominion, authority, let it come in the life of my spouse or let it come in the life of my children. So, in this way, you can take the next section of your prayer time to just ask for this. You may be led by God to pray a little more in detail. So, when we say, your kingdom come, it's very broad. Maybe, when you are praying for yourself, you know, if you're a person who's struggling with anxiety, God may lead you to pray more for the peace of God to rule and reign in your life because that is what his kingdom looks like on Earth as it is in heaven. So, Lord, in my life, let your peace, rule and reign or you might think about your spouse, they are going through depression or some worry and you might pray for them and say, God, let your joy be their strength. So, what are you doing? You're declaring what is part of heaven in their lives. What is what this whole part means? Thy kingdom come means God's dominion in what concerns me and everything that is attached to me. So, we take time to pray for these matters. What next? Verse 10 here. We covered verse 10, I think so. So, what we read just now is verses 9 and 10. So, coming to verse 11, it says, give us this day our daily bread. So, now finally, the part that we usually pray first, Jesus has put it somewhere in between. This is the part where we ask for our needs. Now, is it wrong to ask God for our needs? No, sure. Are you sure? Okay, it's not real wrong to ask God for our needs because we began by saying our Father, Heavenly Father. So, a Father is somebody who will provide for us and so we're saying, God, I have needs. Now, these needs could be, we know that God wants the wholeness of our spirit, soul and body. Isn't it? So, we're quite clear on that. So, these needs could pertain to a spiritual person. They could be regarding our emotional person, our soul part of us or it could even be our body. So, we need things, we need opportunities. We need so many things in our everyday life. So, it's okay to bring it to the Lord and say, God, these are my needs. I know that we will provide for them because Jesus himself told us, he said, you ask God, give us this day our daily bread. And another important thing that you note here is, give us this day our daily bread. So, which means to say that every day we have to rely on God for our needs to be met. And God is faithful. He is faithful to give us what we need, provide in abundance for each and every one of our needs so never feel shy or embarrassed to have us God for needs. It's okay. Bring your need to the Lord, be very specific. I know that I mentioned the other day when we talked about the prayer of asking and praying. There are different stories, testimonies that people share. So, I remember reading this one book, The Fourth Dimension by Yonge Cho. There he writes how he prayed for a cycle because he needed a cycle for his ministry to go house to house and talk to people, meet people, pray with them. He did not have it. And for us, it seems like, what is this need? We are asking for a cycle, but for him it was important. But he talks about how God really taught him about the prayer of asking and receiving when he prayed for his need and a ministry need at that. So, in the same way, whatever be your need, bring it before the Lord and ask him for that. And God is about who will provide. We could also pray for the needs of our family members. When I say needs, need not only be me, but I may think of needs of several other people in my life and pray for them. So, what else did Jesus say? Matthew 612, he says, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. So, there's something very important about a right relationship for an individual, both with God and with others. Sometimes what we do is we say, I have a great relationship with God, you know, I'm strong in the Lord and I know my scriptures, I pray, I fast, it doesn't matter. My relationship with people doesn't work. But you see here, there is something so necessary about right relationships with people. We cannot carry grudges and bitterness in our heart and think that our prayers will be heard. So, no wonder Jesus put this also as part of the structure and he said, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. So, one is we're asking God to forgive us. And this is what even Apostle John said. He said, if there is some sin in us, we have to confess it. Only then we can receive the forgiveness of God. So, we're not supposed to say that, you know, everything is okay and hide our sin. One is confess our faults and our mistakes before God. Second is forgive others. So, whenever we seek the prayer, we may think of, you know, situations of people or matters that really hurt us. And if we don't deal with it, that will become a hindrance in our prayer, in the effectiveness of our prayer and our relationship with God. So, best thing to do whenever we sit for prayer is to check our hearts and release forgiveness to the people. Now, forgiveness is a completely different topic. You know, you might ask the question, so does it mean that if somebody has done injustice to me and to go back and become their friend? It doesn't mean that. It just means that in your heart, you have let that person go. You have forgiven them. You are not asking for revenge or, you know, you're not going to retaliate. Basically, that's what it means. You have the well-being of that person in your heart. Now, reconciling the relationship or not, it's a completely different topic. But in prayer, at least this much I can do because it's between God and me in that quiet time. So, forgive. Ask for forgiveness and also forgive people. So, we could spend a section in our prayer time, you know, dealing with forgiveness. What happens next? So, once we have done that, in Matthew 6.13, we read and do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. So here, what Jesus told us to do is he asked us to pray for protection, for his guard over our lives in what areas? What areas should we pray for God to protect us and guard us? So many different things. It can begin with our thought life. How does the enemy influence us primarily? Through our thoughts, isn't it? So, he'll put an idea in our minds or he will try to distract us. That's how generally he starts taking us away from God. So, we can pray. Lord, help me guard my mind. We could pray and say, God, help me, you know, guard my heart. Help me guard my words and help me guard my actions, my behavior, my lifestyle. And over and above, we could just speak God's protection over everything that belongs to you, every person who's a part of your life. So, you could just say, Lord, protect, let your protection be upon me. Lead us not into temptation or deliver us from evil. So, we're asking that God will protect us from Satan and his tactics to derail us. So, that is the prayer which we will include. Finally, we, in verse 13, we would say something like, yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. So, we began with adoration. We said, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. So, how are we ending the prayer now? Yours is the power. Yours is the glory. The kingdom forever and ever. Amen. So, sometimes, you know, we like to call it the sandwich technique. So, what do you do in a sandwich? You have bread on the outside, both sides you have bread and then you put a filler substance inside. Right? So, in the same way, when we come in for prayer, adoring God and Thanksgiving is a very crucial part of our prayer time. So, we start with Thanksgiving, but we also end with Thanksgiving and in between, what are all the categories? We said, God, let your rule and reign come. Help me, you know, to align myself to what you are doing in my life. Then we said that God, provide for my needs. We also said, God, you know, forgiveness. Forgive me, forgive others who have sinned against me. Let me not be distracted. Let not the enemy be able to put me on the wrong track. Deliver me from every evil and again come back with Thanksgiving. So, this is basically a pattern. So, based on the pattern, we might pray for one hour or we might pray the same pattern for two hours or if you really want, you could even pray the same pattern for eight hours. Okay? So, that is how Jesus wanted that pattern to be for the believers. All right? So, this is something. I don't know how many of you have tried using this pattern of the Lord's Prayer in your prayer time, but you can use it. And let me know how you've been able to cover different aspects. Okay? So, any thoughts? Any questions regarding the Lord's Prayer? Yes. Yes. There is a... This is for you. For you. For you. So, just a moment, I have a question for you. It is... after five minutes, he's been praying for seven days and it's not like he's... you have to pray for one hour. How do you have to pray for seven days and pray for one hour? But, my idea is to cover the Lord's Prayer as fast as possible. I can't pray about the Lord's Prayer. So, there is a lot of pain there. It was a little bit difficult. Okay. So, okay, we have a question here where there is a reference to James chapter five, where we are told to confess our sins one to another and then it talks about the fervent, you know, effectual prayer of a righteous man very much. So, whether this is connected to the Lord's Prayer pattern. So, I would say yes, because in that initial portion, it asks us to deal with our unforgiveness. Okay. So, once we deal with the unforgiveness, then it talks about the effectual prayer of a righteous person. So, very similar to what Jesus actually taught us to do. However, if you are asking whether every time we have to confess our sins to others, you know, how do you have a connection with the Lord? Yeah. Go and tell. So, this confession part, we see that in James five, but when you read about, you know, forgiveness in other place, you don't really find it in a repeated way. So, I think it depends case by case. There could be some circumstances where confessing to the person whom you offended may not be possible. Okay. But that does not invalidate your release of forgiveness for that person. So, my point is, forgiveness is important. Some cases, it may be necessary to find the person, confess to the person, and then only it is effective, but not in all the cases. Yeah. So, if we can confess directly to God, that should be sufficient. Yeah. Great. Great. Good question. Anything else, as you think about the Lord's prayer? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I know. So, again, you would just apply the rules of interpretation. So, the question here is, verse 13 says, lead us not into temptation. However, scriptures tell us that God is not the one who tempts us. So, when we see a standalone passage, which seems to say something, okay, like here, it feels like God is a tempter. But in all other portions, what do we read? We read about, I the Lord, I am holy, be the holy as I am holy. So, he cannot be a tempter. Right? Again, when you read the book of James, there also you see that, how is one tempted? One is tempted because of their own desires. We conceive that in our own hearts, and then we go away from God. So, God cannot tempt is what James says. Titus says, God cannot lie. So, now, based on the repetition, which is in scripture, I would look at this standalone passage. One passage is saying, lead us not into temptation. So, as if God is the one who is leading us into temptation. But, when I look at all other clear passages, they tell us that God cannot tempt. There is no sin in him. He cannot. So then, I will interpret this single verse based on the bright light of what is already been revealed through many other scriptures. So, in the writing, it has come across like this, but it does not mean that God is a tempter. Got it? But, we can take the essence of what Jesus said. Basically, Jesus was saying that I should not go away from the path of God. I should not go away from the purpose of God. Satan should not be able to tempt me and take me away. So, God protect me. It's a prayer of protection and guarding. Okay? So, does that make sense? Okay, sure. Good. Yes. Next question. Okay. So, see, again, no. When you look at the book of Job, the question here is, in the case of Job, in that book, you see that Satan went to ask God to be able to go and tempt Job. So, only after checking with God, he went and played havoc. So, isn't it God who some people use the word allowed or permitted Satan to do all these evil things? So, it's as if, like, see, whether I do the evil or I say, okay, you do it. I'm giving, I'm commissioning that evil. But then again, you know, you have to look at, when you look at the Bible, the literary forms in which it is written. Okay? There are certain passages in the language, the way it was written, it seems like, you know, it means God is evil or God allowed evil. So, the book of Job, one other thing you have to keep in mind is, it's one of the earliest books which was Zilton, okay? And using the principle which I just told you in, that standalone passage, if you look at, you know, all the other passages, you realize that anyway, Satan is here on the earth. It happened in Genesis 3 when man and woman disobeyed God. So, it's nothing new. Satan is doing that to everybody since Genesis 3. So, there's absolutely nothing new about it. It is in this corrupted world. You know, that's something that happens. Satan has access into people's affairs. Okay? So, in that sense, it's not a special permission which God gave Satan. He was already doing it. And he just did it in Job's life. Yeah. That's what I'm saying. See, if you look at what the Bible says, sin has already corrupted the world. The first time he's sinned, Satan already began doing evil things in people's lives. So, it was nothing new, no? He tempted He tempted different people he saw. He tempted so many different people. So, Job was one of them. So, it was just a part of what he does. So, it was not like something special that God commissioned the devil to do. So, that's what I'm saying. Does it make sense? Vimal, are you convinced? Or not really? Okay. Yes, please go ahead. Can you come again? Okay. So, when you study about temptation, I think it's in James chapter one. Okay, I don't carry the Bible here. So, just read out a portion for you and that should give you the answer. The question asked is, what is temptation? Is it from within us or is it something from God? God loves Satan. Okay. So, James chapter one, we will read from verse 13. It says, when tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. But, each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin and sin when it is full grown, gives birth to death. So, basically, it is whether a temptation comes to us or not, that we cannot avoid. Everybody is tempted. Even Jesus was tempted. But how you respond to temptation is personal responsibility. That's what this passage is saying. How does temptation happen? But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Basically, we are saying, okay, temptation has come. I am agreeing with the temptation and I am moving in that direction. Then, sin happens. So, God is not responsible. Just by virtue of the fact that we are living here in the world, temptations are there. The way Job was treated by Satan, that's the way Satan treats everybody. So, it's just part of the world that we live in. So, the point I am making is that special permission as it seems in the book of Job, it's not like God said, okay, I give you permission, go and trouble Job. No. We are all in the world, so was Job by default. It happened. So, that's how it is. We can't blame God and say, if you go to a pool, a swimming pool and if we get wet, it's not the fault of the person who owns the pool. He would say, you knew that before you came into the swimming pool area, it was your decision to put your feet inside the water. If you got wet, it's not my fault. I didn't give permission to make you wet. So, by default, when we are here in the world, temptations happen, attacks of the evening won't happen. These things happen. They are in a sense unavoidable and we should never say that God permitted it, God allowed it because it looks like especially it's being done, whereas that's not really the case. So, I am going to wrap up this call and we shall meet after 10 minutes with online students. If you have any questions, please come back with them.