Christ's Teaching on Prayer

Introduction

INTRODUCTION

I heard a story of a ship that was sinking in the middle of a storm, and the captain called out to the crew and said, "Does anyone here know how to pray?" One man stepped forward and said, "Yes sir, I know how to pray." The captain said, "Wonderful, you pray while the rest of us put on life jackets--we're one short."

Prayer wonderful privilege enjoyed by the children of God is prayer

Through prayer we can receive mercy and grace to help in time of need - He 4:14-16

Through prayer we can find peace that guards our hearts and mind - Php 4:6-7

But the privilege of prayer assumes God will heed our prayers

a. Not all prayers are acceptable to God - cf. Pr 28:9

b. Indeed, God does not hear the prayers of all men –

Isa 59:1-2

Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

3. Do we know what qualifies as "Prayer That Pleases God"?

a. In His sermon on the mount, Jesus had much to say about prayer

b. Especially the kind of prayer which finds favor in God's sight

In this study, let's take a look at Mt 6:5-15, where Jesus taught His disciples regarding prayer. First, we find Jesus telling us:

Matthew 6:5–15 KJV

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

1. How Not to Pray

Here in verse 5 we find Jesus teaching us how not to pray.

It would seem that, just as was the case with helping the poor, so there was a tendency for people to use their prayers as a means of impressing others with their piety. But prayer is to be communion with God, not a means of increasing one’s reputation

A. Like the Hypocrites

These are people who profess piety to God, but they are more interested in the people that see them rather than God.

Who love to pray - Standing in the synagogues, or on the corners of the street (rather than seeking a humble bowing, kneeling, or sitting position). While we can pray standing up and anywhere they do so "that they may be seen of men" - Mt 6:5

Our prayers are to be different – we are a different people!

B. The Reward of the Hypocrites

That is, they are indeed seen by men

They were pretentious – attempting to impress by showing greater talent or importance. They wanted to appear more pious

But that is the extent of their reward (the praise of men. They have no reward or blessing from God!

C. This Does not Prohibit Public Prayer

Jesus is not teaching on public prayer, He’s teaching on hypocritical prayer; ‘that they may be seen of men.’

Evident from the fact that He Himself prayed in public – Mt 11:25; Jn 11:41

John 11:41 KJV

41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

As did Paul

Acts 27:35 KJV

35 And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.

The emphasis is the same as stated in Mt 6:1, "do not do your alms before men, TO BE SEEN BY THEM." (Of course we give in public and pray in public, but Christ is always looking at the heart.

How, then, are we to pray as to be heard by God?

2. Prayer that Pleases God

A. Given in View of God Alone

Matthew 6:6 KJV

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

This is the main idea of "praying in secret"

"The sincere and humble worshiper, one who is not interested in making a public display for the sake of enhancing his prestige, will find the secluded nook or den to be most appropriate for his devotions." (unknown)

This is a specific prayer session. Their public praying was for display not a momentary urgent need. Our sessions of prayer should be in secret.

Closet here is really any place of privacy.

The person who prays much in secret is praying to be seen of God, not men!

Note! We are praying to the Father – not Mary, not the saints, not to dear departed grandma.

Our reward for private prayer comes from God – we’re not told what it is, but we are told who it comes from. Many obscure saints will one day be rewarded openly before all.

B. Is Given to be Heard of God

Matthew 6:7–8 KJV

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Avoiding the use of "vain repetitions" - Mt 6:7

As was often practiced by the heathen religions

"The heathen tried to tire out their gods with such endless prayers. Mere formulas were repeated over and over again; the Jews had such prayer formulas, Catholics also have them in the form of their rosary." (Lenski)

Vain repetition is seen in ‘Our Father’s and Hail Mary’s’ It’s also seen in the charismatic non-sensical babblings.

Speaking of erring Jews, look what Jesus says

Mark 12:40 KJV

40 Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.

This is not condemning all repetition, but "vain" (insincere, useless) repetition

Jesus repeated Himself in prayer at Gethsemane - Mt 26:36-44

Paul repeated his requests concerning his "thorn in the flesh" - 2Co 12:7-8

Since "your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him," prayers to be heard by God do not have to be filled with superfluous words

Divine omniscience is no excuse not to pray. We pray so we continue to put our trust in Him.

Have you ever noted the brevity of prayers recorded in the Scriptures?

God is not swayed the by quantity of words, but by the quality of the heart!

C. Follows The Proper Pattern

Matthew 6:9 KJV

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

The phrase "after this manner" suggests that this prayer is a pattern for praying and not a liturgical exercise as sometimes practiced

This injunction to prayer is a divine command.

Note as we look at this how simple this pattern is – therefore – connects with before. Jesus is giving us an illustration of what he is looking for in prayer. Note how brief it is.

Let’s look at some of the key points

Prayer in Reverence for God and His Name

This notes our relationship to Him. Again we are only praying to the Father. He is in Heaven – He is above all that we deal with. His name is Hallowed or Holy – people use the name of God in very unholy ways – we should be reminded of Him and His nature.

Prayer for God’s Will

Matthew 6:10 KJV

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

God’s Kingdom implies He is the ruler – we see that this implies also that Jesus is coming soon. Our hope in prayer is that God’s will is done here.

Prayer for Physical Needs

Matthew 6:11 KJV

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

Notice here that we need God’s mercy to give us what we need. Not because we are good or deserve, we need him to be gracious to us. And not bread for life – but for today. We need to depend on God everyday!

The story is told of a wonderful, elderly, Christian lady. She had very little money and lived in a rundown house, but she was always praising the Lord. Her only problem was with the old man who lived next door. He was always trying to prove to her that there was no God.

One day, as the old man was walking by her house, he noticed the woman through an open window. She was kneeling down in prayer, so he crept over to the window to see if he could hear. She was praying, " Lord, you’ve always given me what I’ve needed." She prayed. "And now you know that I don’t have any money, and I’m completely out of groceries, and I won’t get another check for a week." She continued, "somehow, Lord, can you get me some groceries."

The man had heard all he needed. He crept away from the window and ran down to the grocery store. He bought milk, bread, and lunchmeat. He ran back to the woman’s house carrying the groceries. He set the bag down on by her door, rang the doorbell, and hid beside of the house. You can imagine how the woman reacted to seeing the bag of groceries. She threw her hands over head and began praising the Lord. "Thank you Jesus," she shouted. "I was without food and you provided the groceries." About that time the old man jumped out and said, "I’ve got you now." She was too busy shouting thank yous to Jesus to pay any attention. "I told you there was no God," the old man said, " it wasn’t Jesus who gave you those groceries it was me." "Oh no," the woman said. "Jesus got me these groceries and made the devil pay for them." She had the right attitude for God.

Prayer for our Spiritual Needs

1) Forgiveness of sins

Matthew 6:12 KJV

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

This is our greatest need – for salvation and for a continual walk with God. This takes humility. But we must forgive others as well – forgive those who have wronged us. No forgiveness ever comes to the person who does not have the right spirit.

2) Protection and deliverance from evil

Matthew 6:13 KJV

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

We are asking for God’s guidance in our lives – lead us in the right direction. I want to walk in purity. Deliverance from evil is not ‘get me out of a bad situation’ but trying to escape a transgression or sin. We ask people all the time to pray for us because we are sick, but do we ask people to pray for us not to sin?

3) Praising God

Matthew 6:13 KJV

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Praise to God at the beginning and at the end. Prayer is not just asking it is praising as well. We could use more praise to God.

D. Given in the Right Spirit

As indicated in the pattern prayer itself

Matthew 6:14–15 KJV

14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Otherwise, we cannot expect mercy for ourselves - cf. Jm 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment

This must be very important to Jesus, for this is the only part of the pattern upon which He elaborates!

CONCLUSION

But in this sermon Jesus sought to stress prayer that is designed...

a. To be seen by God, not man

b. To be heard by God, not man

-- Who knows better what kind of prayer that is, than He who now sits at the right hand of God!

If we believe that God hears prayer (Ps 65:2) and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (He 11:6), then let's be sure we offer the kind of "Prayer That Pleases God"!