Prayer

What is prayer?

According to the Lexham Bible Dictionary prayer is simply communication with God.

What Did Jesus Teach About Prayer?

Matthew 6:5–15 ESV

“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. 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. “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. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

1. The first thing that Jesus mentions about prayer is that it should be genuine and real. He says not to be like the hypocrites. Jesus was referring to the Pharisees when he mentioned hypocrites. They were the religious leaders at the time and they lived off the respect and honor that others showed them.

Jesus openly condemns christians for using prayer as a tool for gain. So as christians our prayers should not be built to impress others.

2. The second thing that Jesus mentions about prayer is that there is a reward attached to prayer. However the ones who use prayer as a tool for gain will not receive it. The only reward that the hypocrites will receive is the glory from others. But from God they will get no such thing.

3. The third thing that Jesus says about prayer is that it should be done in secret, between only us and Him. And it is this kind of praying that leads to Him rewarding us in the open.

4. The fourth and last thing that Jesus mentions about prayer is that when we pray we shouldn’t try to speak so many words and repeat ourselves. Don’t say the same thing over and over or try to say the right things, thinking that by doing this we will by some means be heard sooner. Instead we should use few words.

By looking at the words of Jesus here we can conclude this about prayer: Jesus wants your heart. There is nothing more that He requires.

Why Should We Pray

Prayer is how we stay connected to God as our Father.

When you became saved you were adopted as a child of God. Your sins have been covered by the blood of Jesus and you are sealed by the Holy Spirit. You must stay connected to the Father.

Rev 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

Prayer is one way we open the door to God and are able to come into His presence.

When someone falls overboard a ship someone throws them a lifebuoy to save them from drowing. In the christian walk Jesus is our lifebuoy, the boat is Heaven where all His promises will be made true and the rope attached to the buoy is our prayer life. We must pray so that we can remain abiding in Jesus.

What happens to your relationship with someone when you haven’t spoken to them in a long time? You grow apart. Your prayer life if you will be diligent to prioritize it will always keep you close to God.

You see God doesn’t grow apart from us when we don’t pray, matter of fact He stays with us, rather it is us who grows apart from Him.

Prayer is how we gain direction from God.

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

This great Proverb tells us that as Christians we must trust in the Lord with all our hearts and in all our ways acknowledge Him. How can we do either of those things if we don’t communicate with Him? Prayer is one of the most obvious ways that we acknowledge God, and if we never do it how will we ever let God lead our lives?

Being in God’s will is the absolute best place for anyone to be, but without prayer you may never know what His will is. Jer 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Without communicating with God we will never know these plans.

Prayer strengthens us to resist temptation

Mark 14:38 ESV

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Jesus gives us a humbling reality with sweet promise: We are weak, His Spirit in us is stronger than any temptation. And Jesus also mentions here that prayer is one way that He strengthens us to resist sin. As a christian we commanded to “be holy” for He “is holy” 1 Pet 1: 15

How Should We Pray

Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus gives us the model in which we should pray. we can pray this prayer but it can also be used as a model in how we can orchestrate our prayers.

“Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name”

The opening of our prayers should include praise and recognition of who God is.

This gets our heart and mind set on God. When we pray we need to make sure our minds and hearts on Him. By praising Him it also reminds us of who He is to us and who we are in Him.

“Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

As followers of Christ we should always pray for God’s will to be done. And for His Kingdom to grow and dwell in the earth.

God’s kingdom is where our citizenship is.

“Give us this day our daily bread”

Jesus is clear, we are to only pray for our daily bread. That means we are to take our walk and prayers to Him daily. He doesn’t tell us to ask for our weekly bread, but our daily bread. This is to motivate us to trust Him daily for things we need and to reveal our Lord’s heart that He wants to walk with us daily.

“and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors”

This portion shows us 2 things: Jesus acknowledges that we may still sin in our daily walk and He wants us to know that 1. He is always here to forgive and cleanse us. 2 . That we should always be cautious about living with our soul in a sinful condition.

Also Jesus is showing us here that as He forgives us we must also forgive everyone else who sins against us. Matthew 18:21-22 “Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Furthermore in Matthew 6: 14-15 “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Clearly Jesus wants us to be just as conscious about our grudges that we are our own sin.

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Jesus knows ahead of time that in every day life temptation is inevitable, nonetheless we are not given a free excuse to sin, He makes it clear that He can and will deliver us from every temptation satan may throw our way. Heb 4:14-16 “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Conclusion

Jesus wants each and everyone of you to begin to develop your prayer lives. He has made it clear, don’t make it confusing. Jesus has many great plans in store for each and everyone one of you,

There are even things that go on in your life that cause you pain, real pain. Jesus sees that and He wants you to come to Him and humble yourself to commit a life for Him. Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.””

Remember this: Jesus will not compete for 2nd place in your life, He must be first. Once you place Him first, that is when your life will change forever.