Purposeful Prayer

Title: Check your motives pt2

Text: Matthew 6:5-15

D.T The way we pray matters

Introduction: READ Matthew 6:5-8

Matthew 6:5–8 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.

On March 29th at noon televangelist Kenneth Copeland stood in an empty room and he began to pray. When Copeland prayed he did not acknowledge God’s holiness, he did not acknowledge the will of God, he didn’t pray for the forgiveness of sin, he didn’t even pray for provision. When Kenneth Copeland prayed he claimed to destroy COVID-19, in this prayer he claimed to have the power to rebuke COVID-19 and declare the disease “done” he even stole Jesus' words from the cross and said “It is finished.” Did COVID-19 end when Copeland commanded it to end? Did it stop spreading? Was March 29th its last day? No, absolutely not. Yet Copeland claimed to end it using the power of Christ. Does that bring honor or shame to the name of Jesus.The way we pray matters!!

Transition Jesus of course knew this better than anyone. He knew that sometimes people would be tempted to make their prayers a spectacle more about the individual than God. Jesus is calling out the Pharisees and teachers of the law who were making worship and prayer more about them than Christ. In this section Jesus is giving instruction on how to ensure that God is getting his due credit.

As we continue our study in this passage, I think it’s important that we clarify what Jesus isn’t saying so we don’t get the wrong idea or impression from his teaching

Jesus isn’t condemning public prayer. I know it might seem as if Jesus implies this, however we find multiple examples of the disciples or apostles praying publicly. In Acts 1:24 the apostles prayed publicly as they prayed to find Judas' replacement. In Acts 3:1 Peter and John were publicly praying in the temple. What Jesus is condemning is the public prayer with the purpose of being heard by people so they will be impressed. Jesus is condemning people who are trying to earn the kudos and praise of the audience, rather than praying for the purpose of communicating with God.

Jesus isn’t condemning repetition Jesus tells us of the need to be consistent in prayer in 1st Thessalonians Paul tells us to pray without ceasing. Jesus instead is condemning prayers that are not heart felt. Prayers that are constructed in a way that sounds good but they don’t actually communicate anything. This most frequently manifests itself with Christian Buzzwords or hype-words.

Break-through

Wealth Transfer

Season of Elevation

These words are used with the purpose of provoking an emotional response as opposed to an emotional one. However if you prompt a spiritual response, an emotional response will inevitably follow suit. Jesus is far more concerned with a spiritual response

The Lord's Prayer (READ Matthew 6:9-15

Matthew 6:9–15 ESV

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.

After showing people their prayers shouldn’t be self centered, but rather God centered. Jesus then gives an example of how we can pray that ensures that God remains the focus and the center. This prayer actually serves two functions. This prayer first serves as a model prayer that we can pray word per word. This prayer also serves as a framework for what our prayers should look like. The framework established itself in a series of Acknowledgements and Requests. Jesus teaches us to pray in a series of Acknowledgements and Requests. Let’s examine how the lords prayer is broken down in these categories.

God’s holiness Jesus begins this prayer with “our father who art in heaven.” God has become our “buddy” “the man upstairs” and our “cosmic Santa Claus. The Lord's prayer absolutely forbids this. Jesus does this by reminding us God’s name is holy “hallowed be thy name” this implies God’s holiness. In our prayers we should acknowledge God as a heavenly father, but also the very embodiment of holiness and righteousness. He’s Holy, but approachable.He is our heavenly father, not some third party bystander that doesn’t really care. His actions are based on the love a father has for his children.

God’s sovereignty Your kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Remember Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane? Jesus literally requests that God spare him the cross if there is any other way. We know how important the cross is for our salvation. Jesus requests that if there is another way besides being crucified, that God please make it happen. However the key is what Jesus says next that’s so important. Yet not my will, but your will be done. When we ask God for the drastic in our prayers, we shouldn’t be afraid to do so, but every request should be accompanied by acknowledgement. "Lord, your will be done”

God’s provision Give us this day, our daily bread. This speaks of God’s provision, and implores that God provides for us at all times. During the days of Jesus people would be paid on a daily basis.The notion of needing daily provision in both money and food is hard for us to understand. However nonetheless our prayers should be imploring that God provides. Our sense of security is a facade, we must pray that God always provides it every day.

God’s forgiveness Forgive us our debts, as forgive our debtors. This is about the forgiveness of sin pure and simple. We need to forgive as we’ve been forgiven. Our daily prayers should always ask that God forgive us for our sins, and we forgive those who wronged us.

God’s protection lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. This is all about God protecting us from the schemes of Satan, we are reminded in 1st Peter that Satan roams about this world like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. God alone offers us sanctuary from the devourer, our prayers must implore God’s protection from Satan.

Invitation: Let us continue to pray the Lord's Prayer verbatim. However we shouldn’t forsake the model of this prayer. Let us acknowledge his goodness, and present him with our requests. We try our best to sum up the nature of our message in a sentence or 2. Thankfully it wasn’t particularly hard with this passage. In fact I believe the spirit, the purpose, and the goal of the Lord's prayer is best summed up in another passage. READ 1st Peter 5:6-7

1 Peter 5:6–7 ESV

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.