How Not to Pray
Notes
Transcript
Matthew 6:5-8
Matthew 6:5-8
Instructions are like a roadmap, guiding us through life's journey. They often come with warnings on what not to do and directions on troubleshooting a problem. The challenge for many of us, especially men, is our impatience. We skip over these instructions and then wonder why things aren't working. I can almost hear my wife in the background, asking, “Did you read the instructions?” But the consequences of not following the instructions for prayer are much more severe than a malfunctioning gadget.
Now, I am not saying I would listen or not, but I will say that women usually follow instructions better than men. Their attention to detail and respect for the process are things we can all learn from them. The Church has failed regarding praying. Christ said His Father’s house will be called a house of prayer. Matthew 21:13
“It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
Could you imagine making a cake without following the recipe? How do you think it would turn out? I have tried to make pancakes without the right ingredients. They tasted like biscuits from the military.
Just like following a cooking recipe, following the instructions on prayer can lead to a delightful and fulfilling experience in our relationship with God. The Church has missed out on this experience because we have stopped following the instructions.
In these verses, Jesus gives two great examples of how not to pray. Before we can start putting the ingredients together for prayer, we need to know what can cause it to come apart.
First, you seek earthly rewards.
Second, you seek to be heard by men and not God.
You seek earthly rewards.
You seek earthly rewards.
If you seek your own advantage or blessing through God you are not really seeking God at all.
Meister Eckhart (German Theologian)
In verse five, Matthew records Jesus’ words, “And when you pray….” Here, Christ sets the example of prayer for believers. He did not say “if”; He said “when” we pray. Too many people have a prayer life that is, at best, superficial. They wonder why God is not listening to them. We looked at Cornelius on Wednesday and saw how “he continually prayed to God.” Acts 10:2
Because of Cornelius’ prayer life, God heard him. Cornelius did not just start praying one day; God heard him; he had already built a prayer life. He was not like the hypocrites Jesus kept talking about.
Who were these hypocrites? They were the religious elite of that time, Pharisees and Scribes. These people loved to stand and pray in the Synagogues and Streets so everyone could see them.
When Jesus used the word “love,” He referred to the Pharisees. Matthew 23:6
they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;
Standing is a verb that implies taking a position and keeping it for an extended period. We see this done with our politics. When a senator or congressman/woman takes the floor, they do not have to yield the floor if they speak. This is done for political gain by the person. The same can be said of those who were standing to be seen.
Wide streets were heavily traveled streets that would yield the most observation. They positioned themselves for their gain. Jesus said they had gained their reward. A place where moth and rust could destroy what they received. Paul said in Galatians 1:10
Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
All of this is done for their sanctimonious agenda. Matthew 23:14
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
This was taught by their forefathers and carried out by them and even some today. Isaiah 65:5; Jeremiah 2:35
who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me, for I am too sacred for you!’ Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day.
you say, ‘I am innocent; he is not angry with me.’ But I will pass judgment on you because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
Look at Jesus also instructed them not to be like the pagans with their babbling words of many.
You Think You Will Be Heard
You Think You Will Be Heard
If you listen to salesmen and politicians, you will figure out a few things. First, they like to hear themselves speak. Second, they say many words that amount to a pile of dung. They try to babble and, with many words, confuse you and convince you to buy or vote for something you don’t need. The pagans would do this in ancient Rome and Greece. We call them philosophers today. 1 Kings 18:26-29
And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made.
And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”
And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them.
And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.
These heathens are those who are outside the covenant of God. They were all the nations of the world that were not a part of Israel. Think of the Tower of Babel. Just as the words were confusing to one another after God changed their languages so they could not communicate until His Name called us, our words are meaningless to Him. We think we are being heard, but we are sputtering nonsense.
Babbling is a word that means empty, cold, impersonal, mechanical. There’s no love, there’s no grace, there’s no sweetness, there’s no fullness in your praying.
Timothy Keller
The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces.
Anonymous
Babbling or heaping up empty phrases comes from the Greek word (Βατταλογἐω) to stammer or to speak for long periods. Too many people want to talk and not listen to what is being communicated. We must petition God with many useless words for Him to hear us. We must stop talking and listen for God in the quiet, still whisper of the wind.
Jesus explains why we must not pray this way.
Application:
Application:
Christ explains the countermeasure to each of these negative prayers.
1. We need to seek Heavenly Reward.
Christ is not saying that we will not have corporate prayer. He wants them and us to consulate our Father in private to avoid distraction or allowing ourselves to become puffed up with pride. We should be seeking a heavenly reward and not an earthly reward.
2. Remember, our Father in Heaven already knows what we need before we ask.
We do not need to be like the prophets of Baal with their empty words and dancing around to get our Father’s attention. We already have it! Ecclesiastes 5:2
Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
In the Bible, the tax collector in Luke 18 could only bring himself to say, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' Those few words carried the weight of his repentance and longing for God's grace. It serves as a powerful reminder that God values the sincerity and humility of a few heartfelt words, rather than empty verbosity, in our prayers.
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”