The Sermon on the Mount (18)
Notes
Transcript
Today we pick back up in the Sermon on the Mount. The last time we talked about giving and hypocrisy, well today we continue with the theme of hypocrisy, but Jesus pairs it with prayer in His second illustration about being a hypocrite, the first was giving and now prayer. Before we dive in let me ask you all how important is prayer?
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.
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.
We must understand a bit about Jesus time to see what He means in the text. They had specific times of prayer, they coincided with the morning and evening sacrifices. They would pray at 9 am noon and 3 pm. Well if you timed it just right you would be on the busy street corner at prayer time so everyone could see how righteous you were by your prayers. They were praying to be seen and heard by men and not by God. Jesus is not condemning all public prayer, but He was emphasizing that prayer is essentially a private conversation between the believer and God. It is a private and not exhibitionist, we are to shut out every distraction and focus on God. Jesus makes it very clear if we pray to be seen and heard by man then that is our reward. Again it is about the heart—why are you praying. Our prayers should reflect a genuine conversation with God.
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.
He then gives instruction on how to pray—go into your room and pray. How many of you have gone into a room and shut the door so you could have a private phone conversation. The person who only prays in public and never in private is praying for the wrong reasons. Our prayers are to be a pure and private communication with our heavenly Father. We need to shut the door on the world and focus on Him. God sees everything and will reward those heart centered (in His will) private prayers. When we pray where is our focus is it on God or something else. Sadly many prayers public and private never rise above self.
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.
Prayer is not a 2,000 word essay, it is a genuine conversation between a Father and His children. Its not about quantity it is about quality. It is not about repetition and self-promotion. Now Jesus is not saying all your prayers must be only short and of few words—Jesus Himself prayed for hours at a time. It is about the content of our phrases “empty phrases” is what He says to avoid. Rambling on just to hear yourself, or so others can hear your long wordy prayer and think wow they are really righteous. We must come to God from the heart, maybe our prayer should be God help me to pray earnestly and from the heart.
8 Therefore do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Do not be like the hypocrites or the Gentiles, God knows your every need before we even ask, even though God has chosen to grant some things only when His children pray (James 4:2). Do you like talking to your children and grandchildren or great grandchildren—well God likes to hear from us. When we pray from the heart it shows our faith in God, and it is in a way a form of worship. We need to ask ourselves this—do I pray more fervently and more frequently in private or in public, what do I think when I am praying in public—just the right words, am I thinking of the people more than God, am i a spectator at my own performance. Am I praying to men instead of God. The therefore ultimately comes back to verse one.
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
The Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount
How is your prayer life, is it healthy. Do your prayers come from the heart of a child of God desiring His will over our own. Or our prayers mechanical in nature, done because we feel we must, the same repetitive prayer day after day. God desires an open line of communication with His children.
