01-18-2026 - GUIDED BY HEAVEN - VICTORIOUS IN PRAYER - Matthew 6:5-14

MESSAGE BY PASTOR ROB INRIG

FROM BETHANY BAPTIST IN RICHMOND, BC

I invite you to pray with me: O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in times of need: we humbly beseech you to look upon, visit, and comfort your sick servants for whom we pray. Look upon them with the eyes of your mercy; (Vicky O, Nancy R, Tere G, Stevie A, Socrates D, Sara's mom H, Margarita G, Rosy Ch, Patricia L, Lina J, Magda-, Miguel H, Silvia H, Brianda M, Alejandro M, Natalia M, Oscar N, Laci N.) comfort them with the sense of your goodness; deliver them from the temptations of the enemy and give them patience in their affliction. In your appointed time, restore them to health and enable them to live the rest of their lives in your fear and glory; and grant that they may finally dwell with you in eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

When you pray, you can include the names of family and friends who need prayer.

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This morning we conclude our short series on prayer, which we began in early 2026, in which we ask God to act in our lives, both personally and collectively. To end our series, I want to address a well-known passage, beginning briefly with the warning Jesus gave us before showing us a model of how we should pray:

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

The warning is brief but important—don't play the religion game. Don't pray to be seen, don't pray to be heard, don't pray to impress. If you are praying, don't act like you are. Get rid of the things that have distanced you from the real thing. Be honest with yourself about where you are and whether your heart is disconnected and detached from the words you speak. Jesus describes such hearts as hypocritical, a word that describes an actor playing a role while hiding behind a mask. Instead, return to the genuine; speak to God face to face with an honest heart. Jesus said,

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. (John 5:5-7)

Therefore , pray like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen. (Psalms 8-13)

Let's take a look : Our Father who art in heaven.

Beginning with these first two words, we are presented with a paradigm entirely different from that of the disciples who grew up in their Jewish world. These words, which are familiar to us, were not at all familiar to God-fearing Jews. To hear them refer to God as "Our Father" would have been shocking, since addressing God in that way was considered too intimate. Other religions saw their god as someone to be feared; the Jews knew their God as the God to be revered and obeyed. But to relate to Him in this way? If this prayer had begun with the more familiar God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob , they might have settled into a pattern they knew, a pattern they could have joined. But Father, who invites us into a relationship, a Father who wants to hear our voice, wants us to tell Him our joys and worries, our certainties and doubts, our victories and defeats—defeats so numerous and so great? And yet, that is what God wants to hear, not because He doesn't know, but because He knows and loves us even in those things that make us want to hide and run away. God wants us to know that, as our Father, He can take care of and transform what we cannot. He forgives when we ask Him.

However , for some, hearing God referred to as Father isn't easy—that reference carries a burden. Their human father, perhaps yours, isn't someone to draw near to, someone to admire, or someone with many positive qualities. That father whose greatest contribution to your life was disappointment and pain. For others, it's much worse. The adage is true: "What you are speaks so loudly that I can't hear what you have to say." But our understanding of God the Father is nothing like that of human parents such as these. Who He is is revealed to us by Jesus—Jesus , the revelation of the Father. He tells us, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father ” (John 14:9).

Our Heavenly Father is not the one who affirms us when we do good, but the one who withdraws when we do not. His love does not depend on performance or appearances.

His love does not stop when we stray, but pursues us even when we are completely lost. The hymn's author expressed it beautifully, "How deep is the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure , that He would give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure."

God's invitation to us is to know Him as Father, who IS unlimited in His love for us, unlimited in what He can do, unlimited in the obstacles He can remove from the path, unlimited in what He can change with a word.

And this Father is “In Heaven.” The expression “in Heaven” is much more than a description—it is a reminder that conveys to us that our Father has a perspective we do not have , that “in Heaven” He has a wisdom we do not have. “In Heaven” conveys that He has resources we do not have. “In Heaven” conveys that He has a power I do not have. When my eyes are so easily fixed on the immediate, where I understand that my situation is inescapable, my pain is immovable, the result is undeniable: God knows and works in ways I do not know.

Our Father God in heaven tells us that He gives us a way out of the temptations we face. Our God in heaven tells us that His heart desires to set the prisoner free. Our God in heaven tells us that He does the inconceivable to rescue the lost, forgive the prodigal, and love those we believe are unworthy of love—even those we ourselves believe are unworthy of love. Our God in heaven does the incomprehensible to invite us to the joy of the Lord ( Matthew 25:23 ). All this is because of His great love poured out on those who are called His children (1 John 3:1). All this in our Heavenly Father, who desires to free us from tears of anguish, despair, sadness, and regret.

It is to Him we turn, “Hallowed be Thy Name .” Jesus knows better than anyone how worthy He is of all the praise we can give Him.

When we think of God's name, many things come to mind. There are names that capture who He is— YHWH, the Great I Am, our God of the covenant presence. There is Elohim , the mighty God, present in Creation. There is El Shaddai , the Lord God Almighty, the all-powerful God of the promise. There is Adonai , the Lord Master, before whom we bow down.

These names agree with what we are told in Deuteronomy, “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome” ( Deuteronomy 10:17 ) or “The Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him . The Lord Most High is awesome; he is a great King over all the earth .” Psalm 95:3-5 , Psalm 47:2.

But with these names, we are also told of names that capture what He does in His love, where He meets us in the ups and downs of life. That is, He is Jehovah Raah , God our Shepherd, or Jehovah Jireh , God our Provider, or Jehovah Rapha , God our Healer.

This God, making it clear, as He Himself says : “I am God, I alone! I am God, and there is no one else like me. Only I can tell you what will happen even before it happens. Everything I plan will happen, because I do what I want. I will call a bird of prey from the east, a leader from a distant land who will come and do my will. I have said I will do it, and I will do it.” Isaiah 46:9-11

All of this speaks to the power of God, that He is the center of all that exists. That He alone is the one to whom we should turn to satisfy our needs, obtain guidance, and find strength.

But it is His character and His love that allow me to draw near to Him, to whom I can turn without fear, to whom I can call upon to ask for what I truly need. He is the Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him ( Exodus 34:6-7, 1 John 4:16).

Although we can praise Him for the compassion He gives us and honor Him for the faithfulness He shows us, we love Him for who He is—not YHWH, El Shaddai, but Father. For it is in that name that we are drawn to Him and where we can experience the full understanding of what this mighty God means to us. The love He has for us is not sparingly measured, but is poured out generously upon His children, whom He loves. Poured out on the cross in sacrificial love. That is why we must praise Him for all that He is, love Him deeply for the child He has made us. He is our Father.

It is by that name that we praise Him. In that name we worship Him. In that name we are sustained. In that name we have relationship. But here, Jesus wants us to truly know that it is to this God that we pray.

We have what even angels will never have - we are children of God thanks to the sacrificial love of Jesus.

The starting point of our praise is not His attributes, however great they may be, nor how glorious He is someday. No, the starting point of our praise is that this Being, who is beyond any other we have ever seen, is Abba, our Father. That is why we enter into where He is. I love the Mercy Me song, " I Can Only Imagine ":

I can only imagine what it will be like when I walk beside you. I can only imagine what my eyes will see when your face is before me. I can only imagine.

Surrounded by your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for you, Jesus, or will I remain still, overwhelmed by you? Will I stand before your presence or fall to my knees? Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak? I can only imagine.

It's a fabulous image, but in reality, no imagination is needed to put it into practice—we know what we will do: we will bow down. God has exalted him to the highest place and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord , to the glory of God the Father ( Philippians 2:9-11).

And we will achieve sanctification based on who He is—our God, the Mighty Creator, King of kings and Lord of lords, endlessly praised, celebrated, honored, and revered. His glory is indescribable. His majesty surpasses anything that can be said of Him. The angels sing, “Holy , holy , holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come ” (Revelation 4:8), and the seraphim call to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3). He is so sublime that when John saw Him in His glorified state, he fell as though dead before Him.

And one more from Revelation, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing! ” Revelation 5:12. Our “Hallowed be” declares: “Worthy, worthy, worthy.”

Taylor Swift's (singer) most publicized show doesn't even sound like a whisper next to the praise that we and all creation will give to the King of kings.

This is the One of whom it is said, “Hallowed be thy name .” God’s name is not hallowed by what we say and the praises we offer, but by who God is. It is up to us to enter into the praise that is due His name. He is not less because we fail to do so; rather, we are less because we fail to do so. Our relationship with God is diminished, our knowledge of His power is diminished, our vision of His glory is diminished, and our experience of His love is diminished.

Need “This” heavenly look at heaven’s answer helps us better understand who we pray to and what He has in store for those who believe in Him—a kingdom.

Thy kingdom come .

The kingdom is a recurring theme in Jesus—it is mentioned 126 times in the Gospels, but only 34 times in the rest of the New Testament . When we pray for His kingdom to come, we are entering into what He has promised us. We experience it in small measure now, but in the future we will experience His kingdom in a way that will far surpass anything we can imagine. It will be much more than those things that will not be seen, such as the absence of death, pain, or sickness, but will be experienced in all that is seen .

So when we ask for His kingdom to come, we are asking for those things we do not yet see, but also for God to shine His light in our world now so that others will respond and accept Him as King.

Your kingdom come means praying for the kingdom of God to come now, first and foremost as King of our lives, where He receives the first worship of our hearts and actions. It is where we gain a clearer understanding of who Jesus wants to be in our lives now. When Jesus confronted the Pharisees, speaking of Himself, He made it clear, “The kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:21). Jesus was present then, Jesus is present in us now, and He will be present in the future. For now, all that He is and has for us is hidden, as we are told, “we see Him in a mirror, dimly” (1 Corinthians 13:12). The kingdom as we know it now is only hinted at, only available to us in indistinct, black-and-white representations.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

So , how is God's will carried out in heaven? Isn't it that what God asks is done? Isn't it that Jesus is praised as He deserves to be praised? Isn't it that the glory of God fills everything?

But the prayer we must offer is that we may see on earth what is already present in heaven. That is, that everything that has been spoiled, defiled by sin—the actions committed, the ruin caused, the oppression felt—may be eliminated according to God's will.

May God's will be done so that His kingdom "there " may be celebrated as His kingdom "here ." May God's will be that repentant and redeemed people here may know what it means to live in the joy of the Lord experienced "there ." May God's will be that people who have come to saving faith in Jesus here may know what it means to live surrounded by a glimpse of the glory of God experienced "there ." May people be transformed from the kingdom of darkness into His kingdom of glorious light. Our experience of that kingdom is now known in part, to be fully known in a time to come. But we pray that His light and the glory of His kingdom will spread so that more and more people may see it. May His light spread, dispelling the darkness and causing His enemies to flee.

In our present, we are told that we must live now as children of the Kingdom. His will for us is that we not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. And this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality ( Romans 12:2, 1 Thessalonians 4:3). Other things are said, but in short, His will is that His children live the new life that has been given to us , the life to which we have been called here and now. A life where we walk humbly with our God, where we are imitators of Christ, full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control ( Galatians 5:22-23) .

All of this is understood in the context of what Jesus tells us we should pray to, remembering to whom we pray, our God, who is supreme over all, who cannot be compared to any other.

One more thing to keep in mind, Darrell Johnson (American Presbyterian Pastor) points out that in Greek the imperative voice is never used when speaking to someone who is superior.

It makes sense. Who would dare tell a king what to do? What employee walks into a company office and dictates to the boss the conditions under which they will work?

And yet, as we saw last week, you and I are told that we have been given “boldness to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way… Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:19-22). To approach boldly the presence of a far superior Being.

Now , here Jesus tells us to present ourselves to our Father with boldness in prayer, and he uses the imperative mood. In Greek, the verbs come first, and the subject follows. Here, the verbs "Hallowed be your name," "Your kingdom come," and "Your will be done " are in the imperative mood. Instead of "Hallowed be your name ," it is much more accurate to say "May your name be hallowed." Instead of "Your kingdom come ," it is "Your kingdom come ." Instead of "Your will be done," it is "Your will be done."

In other words, these words are not asked for as a wish, they are not said as something that is expected, they are imperatives: Hallowed be thy name, Thy will be done, Thy kingdom come.

First in us, then through us as His disciples, we live His truth. We live what He has called us to do. He does in us through His Spirit what He wants to do through us. We call upon our Father to do what He can do, because all this is about Your kingdom, Your will, the glory of Your name. You know what we do not know.

You provide for all our needs—the daily bread we need, what we need for whatever the day brings, the money we need, the things that worry us, the anxieties that threaten us. You, God, are not far from these things. You are not distant. You are not indifferent.

You , our Father, also know the debts we carry. The guilt we bear, the shame we feel, the mistakes we have made, what we have hidden. None of this is hidden from you, you who in your love forgive us when we come to you with sincere repentance. Thank you, God, for in Jesus you have renewed us. And as forgiven and renewed people, we do not withhold forgiveness from those who have hurt us.

Everything we need is given to us by our Father, who with the power of His Spirit guides us, protects us and gives us strength against temptation, against evil, against self-sufficiency and wrong and stubborn decisions.

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

Amen.

www.bethanybaptist.bc.ca