When You Pray Series

WELCOME

THE LORD’S PRAYER

I thought I would begin this week with an untypical story. This has to do with our text this morning, but not indirectly as I usually do. In our passage today we will hear what has become known as “The Lord’s Prayer” and this prayer is quite famous. We see it used widely in popular culture.

The Lord’s Prayer used to be used as a time keeper. Cooks would time their recipes before everyone had clocks in their homes using the Lord’s prayer. For example, a recipe might have the length of cooking be: “simmer the broth for three Lord’s Prayers.”

The number of recording artists who have at one time or another recorded the Lord’s Prayer as its own song or using words as lyrics is in the thousands.

And as recently as last week, on the quiz game show Jeopardy, the answer to one of the categories was “Our Father who art in heaven” THIS “be Thy Name…” and like most Jeopardy contestants who are considered geniuses and have memorized so many facts about the world around us, the Bible questions always stump them. No one even ventured a guess as to the question. If you don’t know, the question is “What is hallowed?”

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

When we last met together in our series, we learned about the 3 pillars of Ancient Judaism and the practices they considered important. We spent our time on the first which was giving. We talked about Jesus’s imperative “when you give to the needy…” and in giving, “sound no trumpet…” Jesus was calling these people to not boast about their giving. It is hypocritical to do so. For the ancient Jew, they found honor to boast about their good deeds. Jesus was telling them to not do this.

The other 2 pillars are in prayer and fasting. This week we will address the second pillar of prayer. Let’s read our passage from the Sermon on the Mount and get into the details.

MATTHEW 6:5-15

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

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

11 Give us this day our daily bread,

12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

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

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

So Jesus now shifts the conversation from giving to a second spiritual discipline: prayer. Prayer in its simplest and most basic sense is a conversation with God. God has a large ear ready to hear from his children. He is ready and open to hearing our words to him. He will hear the prayers of his children.

Statistical surveys have historically shown that a large percentage of professing Christians spend little time in sustained prayer. While we say, yes prayer is important, we as average Christians don’t spend much time communicating with our Father in heaven. Many times, our prayers become rote, repeated lines that we say every time we pray and our hearts are not in the words. It is very easy to make people feel guilt about our failures in prayer and I don’t want to take it there this morning. I want to commend us to praying and show us that it shouldn’t be something difficult to do, but actually prayer is something that should bring us joy and show evidence of the Holy Spirit’s power in our lives.

This passage gives us some basic guidelines and principles in praying.

1. PRAY SINCERELY TO YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER

Jesus expects prayer to be a part of our regular habits. In the life of a disciple of Jesus, prayer is important. You will notice that Jesus makes a huge assumption in this passage just like he did in the last. Jesus says, “And when you pray…”

This statement brings in the idea and assumes we will pray. Not if, but when. We must be a praying people. Jesus again addresses a hypocrite attitude in prayer telling his hearer that you don’t need to go out and pray in the streets to be seen by others. One way to ask if you are being sincere in your prayer is to ask yourself this question: Do you pray differently in public than you do in private? Are your prayers little mini sermons you want to deliver to other people? Are your prayers reciting lists? Are your prayers using a particular language? Are your prayers repeating gossip you have heard? If you answer yes to any of these, then maybe check the motive and reason you are praying?