When You Talk To Your Father
Griffith Baptist Church – 12/2/07
A.M. Service
Text: Matthew 6:5-8
The Introduction
Jim Elliot, a missionary slain by the Auca Indians in the 1950’s, once said: God is still on His throne and man is still on his footstool. There’s only a knee’s distance in between.
1. There is pre-instruction on prayer given here in 5-8 to get us ready for 9-15
A. Here, Jesus goes a step further and talks about the heart condition of prayer
B. You have heard it said, “You need to pray.” Prayer is what every Christian should do!”
C. We invest to much time in talking about prayer and not enough time actually praying.
2. Some things to notice before we get into the text.
A. Prayer is assumed - And when thou prayest (verse 5)
i. Not “if” you pray
ii. Prayer is commanded, it is non-negotiable
B. Prayer is relational – “thy Father” (verse 6 twice, verse 8 once)
i. We have a holy and righteous, all encompassing God who is our Father
ii. There is a relationship
iii. He did not say pray to your buddy, your idol or a detached deity
iv. It is your Father
C. Prayer is personal
i. We are in the presence, one on one, with a Father very interested in us
ii. 1 Peter 3:12 – For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: (Psalm 116:1-2)
Prayer is more a matter of the heart than it is a matter of the words or the amount of words
Prayer, for most of us, functions as a rescue ladder. We only need it when there’s a fire!
Four thoughts on prayer as Christ prepares us for His model of prayer.
Body
1. Prayer Succeeds When The Heart Is Right
A. This is the second time we are warned about hypocrisy in this section
i. Verse 5 - The Pharisees love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men
B. How do we make our heart right?
i. We have to get rid of sin - Psalms 66:18 - If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
ii. We have to pray in the right spirit – Mark 12:38-40 – 38And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, 39And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: 40Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.
C. Our heart is right when our motives are right when we pray
i. Do we pray selfishly?
ii. Do we pray to get noticed?
2. Prayer Is Always Between One Person and God - 5-6
A. Even when you pray in public, an audience is never intended to be impressed
B. There are two manners in which you pray; public and private
i. Private – by yourself
a. Jesus did this – Matthew 14:23 – And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
b. This is prayer in its most intimate form
ii. Public – with others listening
a. There is nothing wrong with public prayer
b. This was done several times within the Old and New Testament
c. We can all pray at once and still be heard as individuals – Psalms 34:15 - The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. (Is. 65:24)
C. We need to stop being conscious of what others think
D. They should not be grading your prayers anyway
i. Some might say, “Wasn’t that a lovely prayer.”
ii. Others might say, “Boy, that person does not know how to pray.”
iii. Who made you judge? You’re listening for the wrong reasons.
iv. Your mind is supposed to be on God, not on how wonderful or pathetic a person prays.
3. Prayer Should be Spontaneous - 7
A. It should be natural
i. It comes from the head and the heart
ii. It is not some memorized chant
iii. It is not some repeated, magical phrase
B. It is not about quantity but quality
i. Quality is not about being fancy in prayer but being open and honest with God
ii. Long prayers are alright if they are necessary
iii. There is nothing holy in bragging that you pray for hours on end.
C. There are vain repetitions and necessary repetitions
i. Vain repetitions – in the greek means to repeat the same things over and over, to use many idle words, to babble. It is like a mantra or some type of chant.
ii. Necessary repetition – when we pray repeatedly for a request, but not in the same prayer.
a. Ongoing prayer needs
b. Salvation of unsaved
c. Luke 18:1-8 - 1And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
4. Prayer Done Right Is Rewarded Prayer – 8
Several years ago in Chicago, Joseph Kratzle, a service elevator operator in an apartment house, recovered two checks for $114,000 that had been lost by the tenant in the apartment house where he worked. His reward was a fifteen cent tip and a solicitous offer to put iodine on the cuts on his hands that he received while searching through fourteen trash bags and garbage cans. The job took three hours, he said. Mr. Kratzle accepted the fifteen cents. But declined the offer of first aid. He administered his own treatment when he returned to the basement from the tenant’s apartment. The checks were in envelopes, that had been placed by error with a bundle of letters to be discarded.
It was not Mr. Kratzle’s first experience at finding valuables. Years before, when he had been employed as a window cleaner, he was working in the Federal Reserve Bank, and found a package on the floor. It contained $83,000 in cash. That adventure was more profitable. The president of the bank gave Mr. Kratzle twenty-five dollars.
God is not so tight in giving out rewards!
A. It is a comfort to know that God knows before we even ask
i. God is omniscient
a. His understanding is infinite (no limit) – Psalms 147:5 –
b. His knowledge is intimate – Psalms 139:1-6 –
ii. That is a comfort for us (Job 23:10; Ps. 34:15-16; 90:8; Prov. 15:3; 1 Pet. 3:12)
B. So if God knows before we ask, why pray?
i. It is commanded – 1 Thessalonians 5:17 - Pray without ceasing.
ii. It keeps us humble
iii. It glorifies God
iv. It builds a relationship with God He wants and we should want
Conclusion:
When we pray with the right spirit and motive, verse 6 says it all – he shall reward thee openly
When you talk to your heavenly Father, what is the inward drive for being in His presence?
Do you pray so others take notice of your spirituality or is that not even a thought?
