The Altar of Prayer
Matt 6:5-15
Intro
Last week – we learned about what it means to “Come to the Altar”
It means to approach, to acknowledge, to respect God
And if you recall, last week I said there were 2 primary ways of doing so. Both modeled in Scripture.
Prayer and Praise
Today I want to talk to you about prayer.
Show of hands, how many pray?
At it’s most basic: prayer is talking WITH God. Simple.
What does GOD say about how we should pray?
Well – God teaches us HOW to pray
And Jesus even MODELS a prayer for us
HOW to pray
Matt 6:5-8
You will notice that Jesus gives us some DO’s and some DON’Ts
Don’t pray for attention – Notice it says that the hypocrites have got their reward: “ To be seen by people” – they want ATTENTION
• Oh my what a mighty prayer
• Oh my he sure can pray
• Oh he must be so close to God
• I wish I could pray like that
• Big words, repeater – Thesaurus –
o Provider, supplier, laborer
o Lord lead us, guide us, direct us, navigate for us, show us the way to go
Jesus says don’t pray like that!
V6 – DO pray in private – spend time ALONE with God – Why?
I would say: Integrity – doing the RIGHT THING even when NO ONE IS LOOKING!
Jesus is talking about faith integrity!
Pray when it is you and God.
(Luke 5:16) – Jesus OFTEN went ALONE to pray –
(Mark 1:35) – You see a trend? Jesus went ALONE, to a SOLITARY place – and prayed – spent time with the Father!
Listen to me real quick – we are to be imitators of Christ – imitate that!
o If Jesus NEEDED alone time with God, and HE IS GOD’S SON, how much more do we need it?
o It’s GOOD!
Because what you do in SECRET, God sees!
7-8 – There it is again – babbling on and on – many words – acting like: if I don’t tell God, then God won’t know my needs.
• When the reality is God doesn’t NEED you to tell Him anything!
• He already knows
o He WANTS to have a relationship with you
o He wants to hear your voice
o He wants to communicate with you
? You are not informing God
? You are sharing your struggles with God
? Asking God for help
? Praising God
I am sure you know this prayer:
The MODEL Prayer
Matt 6:9-15
It is often referred to as the Lord’s prayer
Now verse 14-15 is an important message about WHY you pray specific things, but let’s go back through this again:
• V9 – Honoring God –
o your name is holy
o When we pray the first thing we should go is recognize WHOM we are praying to
? It’s not tha God doesn’t know
• It is to REMIND OURSELVES
o And at the same time, acknowledge who God is
• V10 – we are seeking God’s will
o Some would even say this can serve as a reminder that WE are to be a visible representation of God’s kingdom on earth
? And you know what, that should also remind us of WHOM we serve!
? Because we ARE supposed to be the visible love of God to people who have no clue who God is.
o But it is also a plea – let your kingdom come, let your will be done
• V11 – Give us our daily bread
o This is a look back to the 40 years the Israelites relied on God for Manna
o God met their NEEDS every day, without fail
o And God will meet your NEEDS – not your desires, NEEDS
• V12 – Father Forgive us AS we forgive others
o Look down at V 14 -
? Forgiveness has nothing to do with deserve, it has everything to do with GRACE!
? V15 - God says, I will forgive you, if you forgive others
• V13 – God protect us! Guide us and protect us!
Now some denominations will recite that prayer in repetition, typically in Congregational prayers, but sometimes alone –
• At men’s prayer breakfast every Tuesday the closing prayer is always a group recital of the Lord’s prayer
• Some people pray it, not just Catholics
There is NOTHING WRONG with that!
So don’t think I am saying that is WRONG!
This is Jesus giving us a model pray of how we should approach God in OUR prayer!
Brothers and sisters – If God gives us a model to follow – we should follow it!
ACTS Prayer –
• Adoration – Give God praise and honor for who HE is as Lord of all
• Confession – Honestly deal with the sin in your life
• Thanksgiving – Verbalize what you are grateful for in your life and in the world around you
o You will notice that Thanksgiving is not specifically mentioned in the Model prayer, but it is stated that every prayer should have Thanksgiving and Supplication in
o Philippians 4:6-7 –
• Supplication – pray for the needs of others and yourself
Conclusion
This week pray – use the Lord’s prayer
Us the A.C.T.S. Prayer
Just pray!
