Introduction
A. This come from Pastor Tim again, Part of my job as a public-health nurse is teaching new parents how to care for their infants. As I was demonstrating how to wrap a newborn, a young Asian couple turned to me and said, "You mean we should wrap the baby like an egg roll?" "Yes," I replied, "That is a good analogy." "I don't know how to make egg rolls," another mother said anxiously. "Can I wrap my baby like a burrito?"
B. This passage is speaking to those who Pray, people who take prayer seriously.
1. Prayer is one of the greatest acts of the Christian believer.
2. Talking to God, whether by thought or tongue, is the way a believer fellowships with God; and the one thing God desires is fellowship with His people
3. Thus, it is essential that we pray and pray often, sharing all day long.
C. However, that we do pray is not the concern of Christ in this point.
1. His concern is how we pray.
2. It is possible to pray amiss, with the wrong motive and in the wrong way.
3. It is possible to pray and never be heard by God.
a. Well, let me say that in a different way, a omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God cannot fail to know what is going on on this planet
b. But, when we pray with wrong motives, God chooses to ignore that prayer
4. It is possible to pray and to be speaking only to ourselves, to have our prayer go no higher than our own ears.
a. Therefore, Christ sets out to teach us the right and wrong motives for praying.
(1) The wrong motive: praying to be seen by men (v.5).
(2) The right motive: praying to be heard by God (v.6).
(a) Lets begin by turning to Matthew 6:5
II. Body
A. Prayer can become hypocritical
Matthew 6:5 (NKJV)
"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward
1. A person can pray for the wrong reasons, with the wrong motives.
a. Prayer can become habit-forming
b. Prayer is a wonderful experience, very rewarding emotionally and mentally and in having our needs met as God answers our prayer
c. We can begin to love praying and still be praying amiss.
2. Prayer can become connected with certain places
a. A friend of ours called the pastor one night and asked him to unlock the church so that she could pray
b. A believer has places that mean much to him in his prayer life, but he must guard against limiting God's presence only to those places, even if it is the church.
3. Prayer can become empty repetition
a. We will look at this aspect another time
b. But, a person can take any phrase or form of prayer and make it a meaningful experience, or make it a formal and meaningless occasion
c. Just think how often the Lord's Prayer is repeated by rote memory with the mind focused elsewhere
4. Prayer can become too long
a. We will look at this aspect another time
b. A believer can begin to feel he is heard because of "much speaking"
(1) Remember the contest between Elijah and the priests of Baal
5. Prayer can become self-glorifying
a. We will look at this aspect another time
b. But a person can begin to feel he must inform and convince God of his great need
6. Prayer can become self-deceptive
a. Christ says "when you pray,"
(1) He is referring to personal prayer
b. I believe that Christ assumes that the believer does pray, and the idea conveyed is that the believer prays often
c. Christ says there is a right way and a wrong way to pray, He says, "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites,” then He says, "But you, when you pray,”
d. Christ says that some "love to pray," and they are the very ones who commit this fault.
(1) They pray amiss, with the wrong motive
e. Christ pictures two men praying
(1) One man prays for other people to hear
(2) The other man prays to the Father
(3) The first man is a hypocrite
(4) The second man is a true son of the Father
(a) Lets read Matthew 6:5 - 6
B. Believers are expected to pray
Matthew 6:5-6 (NKJV)
"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. {6} "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly
1. I have to tell you, in this instance, I like the King James when it refers to the place Jesus says to go and pray, in your closet
a. Just because it is a smaller, more private than “Your Room.”
2. Prayer is God's appointed medium through which He acts for man
a. Sharing and talking together are the way all persons communicate, fellowship, and commune together
b. This is true both with men and God
(1) Turn to Matthew 6:9 and Luke 18:1
(2) Prayer requires our presence, sharing, and talking; and God wants to fellowship and commune with us
(3) It seems as though few people heed this fact
(4) It seems as though few people take prayer seriously
(5) Therefore, if we want the blessings of God upon our lives and ministries, if we want the work of God going forth in power and bearing fruit-we must pray and we must intercede in prayer.
Matthew 6:9 (NKJV)
"In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name
Luke 18:1 (NKJV)
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart
(6) In our passage Jesus says “Pray to your Father.”
(a) Looking back at Matthew 6:5
C. The wrong motive for prayer
Matthew 6:5 (NKJV)
"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
1. Prayer, even loving to pray, is not a sign that a person really knows God
2. The fact that a person really knows God means that he does pray
a. All yams are sweet potatoes, but not all sweet potatoes are yams
b. No matter what a man may think in his mind, if he really knows God and really believes in God, he talks to God
(1) There is nothing that could keep him from praying
(2) Remember Daniel, even though he knew that if he prayed he would be thrown to the loins, he prayed
(3) A child of God knows God personalty, knows Him as his Father who loves and cares for him ever so deeply
(4) Therefore, just as any child who truly loves his father, the believer talks, converses, and shares with his Father
(5) Daniel prayed, he was thrown in with the lions, and I imagine that he prayed while in with the loins
(6) And what happened? God prevented the starving lions from harming Daniel
3. This says something to the person who prays primarily in public and prays little, if any, in private
a. He must search the genuineness of his heart and profession
b. Christ says that a man who prays to be seen by men loves to pray, but he is a hypocrite
(1) His love is really for the public recognition
(2) The places where he loves to pray are out in public, in the synagogue (church), and in the streets (restaurants, and other public places)
4. Some love to pray publicly
a. They love representing the group and vocalizing their praise and needs to God
b. Some have become very charismatic and fluent at public prayer, yet they lack that essential love for private praying.
c. Christ calls them "hypocrites"
5. Some pray only in public
a. They pray before their family (at meals and family prayers, usually with children); in church (when called upon); and in public (when eating in restaurants)
(1) They seldom, if ever, pray in private
(2) How destitute is the prayer life of so many!
6. Prayer is to be offered to God both in church and in public
a. But public prayer is to be public, not private
b. Too often a person has his personal devotions when called upon to pray publicly
c. He has neglected his private prayers and his inner need has not been met
d. Thus when he begins to pray publicly, he slips into praying his own private prayer instead of representing the group
e. Some hypocrites pray, and they pray much
f. There are some religious people who pray little, if any
g. These can learn from the hypocrites
7. What is the posture of this hypocrite?
a. He stood praying
b. This is an acceptable posture for prayer
c. But the picture is that of pride, arrogance, and self-confidence
8. Kneeling is a picture of humility, reverence, and dependence upon God
9. The man who prays on the street corner or in the synagogue receives his reward, public recognition
10. This man's esteem, this public recognition, fails at several points
a. Man's esteem is temporary
(1) Everything passes ever so quickly
(2) Man soon forgets and moves on to other things
b. Man's esteem becomes commonplace
(1) Even the greatest skills that elicit praise become routine and commonplace to man when performed day by day
(2) Soon no one acknowledges this public display
(3) Such abilities are merely expected and accepted; he no longer elicits praise and recognition
c. Man's esteem is powerless
(1) It cannot answer prayer; it can only recognize man's ability to put words together and to see man's expression, fervency, and emotion
(2) Its power is limited to the things of this world, and that power is even limited and short lived
(3) Man's esteem can do absolutely nothing about the spiritual needs of his heart
d. Man's esteem is not to be the judge of his life, God is.
(1) No man is any greater than any other man; men are mere men
(2) All men have the same need: to turn to God in prayer, praying for His acceptance and recognition
(3) Therefore, the esteem of man by men is meaningless in light of judgment and eternity.
(a) Lets read Matthew 6:6 again
D. The right motive for prayer is praying to be heard by God
Matthew 6:6 (NKJV)
"But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly
1. Lets make this point, our personal prayer life is not for general consumption
a. It is to be between me and God
2. The willingness to take time to pray: "When you pray."
a. There has to be the will to pray.
b. The believer must take time to get alone and pray.
c. Too few ever take time to pray, and even fewer spend more than a few minutes in prayer.
d. Too many stay all wrapped up in the world and its day-to-day affairs, some of which are necessary, but how much more necessary is prayer!
3. A closet is a necessity, a private place
a. My private place is in the living room at 5:30 a.m. when no one else is up
b. The believer must have a private place deliberately chosen for prayer.
c. A personal relationship with God: a Father-son relationship is absolutely essential
(1) God is our Father, He is available as fathers are available to their children
(2) We are to go to Him, pray, share, commune and let Him shower us with His care and protection and meet our every need
E. When we pray, what is our motive?
1. Do we pray in public to be seen by men?
2. Or do we pray in private to be in communion with our heavenly Father?
III. Conclusion
A. Again Jesus is talking about motive and attitude
B. Is our prayer intended to be communion with God?
1. It should be
2. In that closet, at that time, in your heart, you and the Father commune Father to child
3. Know that His ear is attentive and that His eye sees, and your quiet time in His presence is precious
