How Should We Pray?
Matthew 6:5-15 5 "And now about prayer. When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you. 7 "When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don't be like them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! 9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored. 10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. 11 Give us our food for today, 12 and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. 13 And don't let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. 14 "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Intro: Video Clips- How Should We then Pray & Prayer Is an Encounter.
-Martin Luther – “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness.” Prayer is one of the most important activities of a Christian’s life. It is our lifeline! We won’t get far without it. We tend to complicate it sometimes, so I wanted to give some attention to it today with the hope that we will all engage in talking with God and listening to Him on a daily basis.
-As we saw in the clip, prayer is an encounter with God as we communicate with Him. Let’s look at some prayer basics from Matthew 6.
1. Pray to communicate with God, not to impress others
Matthew 6:5-6 5 "And now about prayer. When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.
-Notice here that Jesus does not say, “If you pray….” He says, “When you pray.” Man has always had the inner desire to pray. It’s how we go about it and to whom we pray that is of greater importance. Prayer is simply interaction with God. It involves both listening and speaking, but takes place on a spiritual level.
-Jesus told the woman at the well that those who would worship God (which includes prayer), must worship Him in spirit and in truth. So, when some of the religious leaders began to use prayer as a way to impress others instead of interacting with God, Jesus called them hypocrites or pretenders. They were using the gift of communication with God as a means of drawing attention to themselves. They weren’t really interested in hearing from God or connecting with Him. They were really after shaping people’s opinions of themselves. They were trying to use God for their own purposes, rather than inquire about God’s purposes.
-Prayer is the open line between heaven and ourselves. It is how we connect with the Divine. If we use it like a telemarketer, we are misusing a gift from God and it will not bring about any good lasting results.
-Imagine the husband who only talked to his wife when someone else was around. He wanted everyone else to think he really cared about her, so he acted the part when someone was watching, but was stone cold silent the rest of the time. They would not have a very close relationship, would they? God is not interested in being anybody’s trophy wife! He wants your heart! He wants your sincerity! He wants all of you!
2. Pray with more than just words
Matthew 6:7-8 7 "When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don't be like them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
-In the Greek culture it was common for people to use as many names of deities as possible in order to get their attention. Some believed that using the name of a god gave you some kind of power over it. Consequently, they might chant the name of deity or deities over and over again. Pagan worshippers would often remind a deity of favors or services they had rendered or sacrifices they had offered to it. These things were used like bargaining chips to get the deity to respond favorably to them.
-This is why I struggle with some of the pop theology that comes from some of the TV and radio preachers. “You need to hold God to His word!” I cannot help but cringe when I hear this. I need to hold God, who cannot lie to His own word? I need to hold God accountable? And why would I need to do that? Because He is dishonest and can’t wait to pull a fast one on me? Because He is forgetful and won’t be able to remember what He promised me if I don’t remind Him? Is God hoping that I forget His promises to me so He doesn’t have to honor them?
-Now I realize these are generally well-intended words, and perhaps what they really mean is that we need to hold fast to God’s promises. But let’s be careful with our words and be true to the character of God. God always keeps His word. He is 100% faithful! We may need to remind ourselves of His promises, but we don’t need to remind Him!
-Your Father knows exactly what you need! Did it ever occur to you that the only reason you are asking God for His help is that He put it in your heart to do so? So let’s keep it real between ourselves and God and never try to manipulate Him or twist His arm to make Him do what He already wants to do in our lives, which is to help us and bless us and show us who He really is!
3. Pray relationally
Matthew 6:9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored.
-So Jesus proceeds to tell His followers how to address God. He said to address Him as “Father.” This is the language of intimacy with the Almighty God. He is more than a distant force we have to reckon with. He is “our Father in heaven.” This plural possessive pronoun indicates that I am not alone in my worship of God. It shows that I live in community with others of like precious faith. It is not just me and God. It is us and God! And the fact that it is possessive doesn’t mean that we own God, but that He created us and owns us. He is our Father, not just another deity. We are in relationship with Him and recognize who He is – who He has revealed Himself to be throughout history and in our lives.
-God’s name was to be honored, not just by how we pray, but by how we live our lives. We can hallow God’s name by living rightly. “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray, seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear them from heaven and forgive them of their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). We are His people who are called by His name. If we live right, we honor the name by which we are called. If we live in sin, we profane or bring shame to His name. And yet forgiveness is ours when we repent and call on Him in faith because we have put our trust in His Son Jesus Christ and have a relationship of love and trust with our Father. Always keep that relationship in view. He is not a God who is afar off and who cannot hear. He is our Father who is in heaven, but who also lives within our hearts.
4. Pray that people will embrace God’s rule
Matthew 6:10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.
-We know that ultimately and eventually God’s plans and purposes are going to be accomplished here on this earth. This will happen after His kingdom comes and He establishes His throne on this earth.
-But that happens one life at a time. When a person responds to God’s love and turns to Him, then God’s kingdom has come to them. God becomes the King of their lives and they commit to follow His leadership in trust and obedience. God’s will is done in their lives just as it is in heaven. There is no hesitation or debate in heaven when God speaks. When God gives a command in heaven it is carried out urgently, reverently, and joyfully. That should also be the picture of our lives. “Lord, what do you want me to do? Okay. With Your help I’m on it!”
-So, we need to be sure that we have embraced God’s rule and authority in our lives, but we want to see everyone around us do the same. It is what we were created to do! God’s kingdom will come and His will is going to be done one person at a time until the day He returns in power and glory.
5. Pray for provision
Matthew 6:11 Give us our food for today…
-This is simply a brief request for the basic daily necessities of life. We generally take these things for granted because most of us have not had to go without. Rarely do most of us have to pray in our next meal or pray for drinkable water. We are very blessed! However, we must never forget to be grateful.
-Deuteronomy 8:17-18 17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth….
-We can get so full of ourselves sometimes that we forget reality. The reality is this: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” James 1:17.
6. Pray for forgiveness both inward and outward
Matthew 6:12, 14-15 12 and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. 14 "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
-Be quick to repent and ask God to forgive you when you sin, but realize that He will forgive you the same way you forgive others. Don’t hold grudges! Don’t be bitter! Don’t be a hater! If you are having trouble forgiving someone, tell God about it. He already knows, but it helps when you admit it out loud to Him and to yourself. Then ask Him to change your heart and help you to forgive the way He forgives. This is a prayer He will answer! Don’t stop the flow of grace in your heart by holding onto an offense. Don’t drink the bitter poison, hoping that it will hurt the other person! Forgive and be forgiven!
7. Pray for deliverance from temptation
Matthew 6:13 And don't let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
-Finally, Jesus knew that we would be tempted. He Himself was tempted in every way that we are, yet without sin. He knows our passions and our weaknesses. He knows our every thought. I don’t believe we are to pray that all temptations go away. Rather, we should pray that we will not give into temptations. Instead, we need to be delivered continually from the temptations of the evil one.
-1 Peter 5:8-10 8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
-We find in the Bible that Jesus Himself is praying for us. The Holy Spirit is praying for us. So, when we pray for deliverance for ourselves, we become part of a 3-way prayer that our faith will not fail and we will live a life that honors God.
Conclusion: Communicate with God, don’t try to impress others with your prayers. Pray more than just words. Pray relationally. Pray that people will embrace God’s rule in their lives. Pray for provision, forgiveness, and deliverance from temptation. This is how Jesus wants you to pray. Something happens when we pray that will not happen otherwise.
-If you are a follower of Jesus, maybe this message will stir you to pray more or be more faithful or consistent. Maybe it will help you remember that it is all about friendship with God, not just doing your spiritual duty.
-If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, I hope you’ve been able to see how much He loves and cares for you. And I hope that you will begin to have conversations with Him. God wants to talk with you! Isn’t that amazing? He wants to hear from you! I hope you will take some time to talk to Him today about your life and about His kingdom coming. When Jesus was on this earth, He called people to repent and turn away from doing life their own way because the Kingdom of God was at hand, it was near. It is near you now. It will come and His will is going to be done. My hope is that you will embrace it and call on the One who made you, knows you, and loves you.
