Lessons from Matthew 6: Prayer

Jul 1

Jesus moved further into the theme of true worship in Matthew 6:5 by focusing on prayer.

He said that when you pray don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray to gain others’ recognition and approval. They position themselves in highly visible places and they pray lengthy prayers.

Ever heard someone go on and on in prayer? Or use prayer as a way to communicate to others what they know? Some go on for so long that they take our focus away from God and put it on themselves.

This is what the hypocrites were doing, but Jesus saw right through their self-righteous acts and empty words. He taught His followers that true prayer is worshipful. It’s sincere in heart and intentional in words.

Prayer

Prayer is simply our means of communication with God. God speaks to us through His Word and we speak to Him with our words.

Jesus said to seek God our Father in prayer in private first and do not go on repeating our prayers with vain repetition. This means don’t just pray before others without seeking God in private also. It also means our prayers are not to be just a recitation of words without heartfelt meaning and mindful thinking. They are to be sincere, not eloquent of speech but honest and forthright, even as words of a child who knows no other way. We are to come before Him and offer up what we have.

There are times I have tried to pray and no words would come out. And yet I know that God knew my heart. Romans 8:26-27 says,

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

So use words when possible, but when words are not there rely on the Spirit of God to pray for you! The important thing is that we pray!

Prayer should be an everyday occurrence. Not just once or twice a day, but the scriptures say that we are to pray without ceasing! This is a heart and mind that is Christ-centered and not self-centered!

Jesus said these prayers offered up to God our Father will not go unnoticed or unrewarded. And best yet, verse 8 assures us that our Father knows what we have need of even before we ask.

So if the Father knows what we need before we pray, why pray?

Prayer is a human mystery. It goes beyond our human understanding of how it works, yet even Jesus took time out of His day to go and be alone in prayer with His Father. And if Jesus, the holy, unique Son of God took time, several times, out of each day to pray, how much more should we.

Here are several reasons we should pray:

God commands us throughout the Scriptures to talk to Him.
It’s a means of joining the Lord in the outworking of His will.
It is a means of expressing our devotion as well as our needs to God. It is a manner of releasing our concerns to God and trusting Him to answer as He pleases.
It is a means of glorifying God in that it raises our awareness of His answers, since we asked, with the result that we praise Him more for the answers.
God wants to accomplish His will through our participation in His will.
In trusting that God tells the truth, prayer is a means of obtaining what we would not otherwise obtain.
There is power in prayer. The possibilities are endless as we seek God through the power of prayer!

Jesus then gave not a prescription for prayer, but rather a model.

Our Father in heaven,

Recognizing God as our Father puts us in a personal relationship. Recognizing He is in heaven sets Him above us and all other living things as the Father of all creation.

hallowed be your name,

Holy is His name for it is above all other names and all other people. It is meant to be kept in that way.

your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

God’s kingdom in heaven is brought to earth through the heart and mind of each believer in whom Christ lives.

Give us today our daily bread.

We acknowledge God as our source for all things. He is our sustainer and our provider, and it is a misconception that we provide for ourselves. God in His goodness provides all that we have need of (our jobs, our homes, our talents and resources. etc.). Apart from His goodness we would have nothing.

And forgive us our debts,

We must recognize our bent towards sin and seek His daily cleansing. Though we have been saved once and for all, we all need a daily bath.

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Those who realize how much they have been forgiven will exercise that same mercy and forgiveness to those who have wronged them. This not only opens the way for reconciliation but also keeps the path open for a right relationship between ourselves and God.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

God never tempts us to sin, but He does test us. The difference between a test and temptation is what we do with it. When God tests us it is for the purpose of proving who we are in Him and whether we truly trust Him or not. When we choose to trust and obey, we pass the test. When we choose to fear or disobey, we fail the test and fall into the temptation of Satan.

God’s purpose is always for our success but He never forces our choice or behavior. We decide which road we choose and that is why prayer is so important. We need to pray in advance of our success so that we do not fall in failure. The good news is, if we do fail we are only a prayer of confession away from restoration and reconciliation to God our Father.

Ask God to help you recognize temptation and to give you strength to overcome it and choose God’s way instead.

Jesus closed out these verses on prayer (Matthew 6:14-15) by warning us that unless we forgive others who have sinned against us, our heavenly Father will not forgive us. If we are faithful to forgive others, we too will be forgiven.

Why? It is often easier to ask for forgiveness for ourselves than it is to forgive others. But forgiveness is based on knowing what we ourselves have been forgiven of, and when we realize the depth of our own sin it is easier to forgive others. Those who refuse to recognize their sin are often those who refuse to forgive others.

Where do you see yourself? And how will you pray to God concerning this?

Terri Hamman