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The big idea

Prayer isn't about getting more from God; it's about getting more of God, and Jesus' model prayer in Matthew 6 teaches us how, not just what, to pray.

Prayer is an invitation, not a punishment—a way to get more of God, not more from Him. Jesus gives His disciples a model, not a script, showing us to pray clearly, expectantly, humbly, and dependently to a Father who already knows what we need.

A story from life

Preacher recounts his Catholic upbringing and childhood experiences with confession and penance

Point 1 of 6

Prayer is a desire we get to pursue, not a discipline forced on us

Pastor Daniel contrasts his childhood experience of Catholic confession, where forgiveness felt punitive and repetitious, with Jesus' actual purpose for prayer. He points to Jesus' own prayer life—withdrawing to pray all night before miracles—as proof prayer is a privilege that unlocks power, not a religious chore.

I believe that what Jesus is going to show us is that prayer, prayer is not about getting more from God, it's about getting more of God

— Pastor Daniel Goulding

It is not something we do because God forces us to do it. It is something that we get to do as the followers of Jesus

— Pastor Daniel Goulding

Prayer is something we get to do. It's not what we have to do

— Pastor Daniel Goulding

Illustration

Martin Luther quote: 'I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer'

Illustration

Story of early African church villages forging prayer paths through brush, with the overgrown path as natural accountability for missed prayer

Point 2 of 6

Pray clearly: know who you're praying to

Working through Matthew 6:9, Pastor Daniel unpacks 'our Father in heaven' as a paradigm shift for cultural Jews who saw God as distant and unnameable. He notes Jesus used 'Father' almost 200 times and shares a story about his son proudly showing him a french fry to illustrate the simple, delighted relationship God wants with us.

A story from life

Preacher recalls his daughter's pre-K graduation and his son sharing a French fry, used to illustrate God's fatherly delight

Point 3 of 6

Pray with reverence: keep His name holy

He describes the tension Jesus introduces between familiarity and supremacy—knowing God as Father while still recognizing Him as wholly other and set apart. How we see God, he argues, directly shapes how boldly or anxiously we come to Him in prayer.

Point 4 of 6

Pray with expectation and surrender: your kingdom come, your will be done

Pastor Daniel explains that knowing our identity in Christ lets us pray boldly for heaven to invade earth, while simultaneously surrendering to God's better plan. He uses the illustration of taking baseball cards back from his son to show how we distrust God's plan and try to control areas of life He asks us to trust Him with.

How you see God will drastically impact how you pray to him

— Pastor Daniel Goulding

A story from life

Preacher describes trading baseball cards with his son during COVID and taking them back when the son mishandled them, illustrating how we take back control from God

Point 5 of 6

Pray with dependency: give us today our daily bread

He notes this is easy to skip past in a culture of abundance (his own freezer full of food) but was a daily reality for the nomadic people Jesus addressed. He ties this to tithing as a reminder that everything we have was given, not earned, and that God is our true provider.

Point 6 of 6

Pray with humility: confess sin and forgive others

Walking through 'forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us,' he explains unforgiveness is a barrier to intimacy with God, comparing holding onto it to trying to start a fire underwater. Being forgiven, he says, should produce a forgiving heart toward others.

it literally is like trying to start a fire underwater. It will be a nonstarter every single time

— Pastor Daniel Goulding

it's not if we pray, but it's when we pray

— Pastor Daniel Goulding

A story from life

Preacher reflects on Saturday yard-work trips with his father and how he now wishes he could have that time back, illustrating that prayer is about being with the Father not completing an activity

Take it into your week

Pastor Daniel frames the charge as returning to prayer as relationship, not routine—learning to pray clearly, expectantly, humbly, and dependently.

Application

Find a private place to pray
Set aside a specific place—an office, a chair, a park bench—where you regularly go to be alone with your Father, the way Jesus modeled.
Address the sin you're hiding
Bring the sin you don't want to acknowledge before God with humility, trusting He already knows and wants to forgive rather than condemn you.
Extend forgiveness to those who hurt you
Let go of the outcome and release the burden of unforgiveness toward others, trusting God to deal with it rather than carrying it yourself.
Pray with surrendered expectation
Ask boldly for God's kingdom to show up in your circumstances while genuinely praying 'your will, not mine' instead of just treating God like a genie.
Return to God as provider
Practice dependency this week, including through tithing, as a reminder that everything you have was given by your Father and He will meet tomorrow's needs too.

Keep going

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