Your Reason Determines Your Reward (2)
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Good morning Church!
I want to welcome all of our visitors today, those here and those watching online.
Scripture Reference: Matthew 6:5-15
The title for the Message today is Your Reason Determines Your Reward: Praying Without Hypocrisy.
Context
Context
This week, we are moving on to the second topic of discussion concerning hypocrisy. Last week, we were able to see that Jesus gave a stern warning against hypocritical giving. But His warning did not stop there. That same warning applies to the topic of prayer as well.
1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
So these verses about prayer are a continuation from the previous verses on giving. The same warning applies. The warning Jesus gave was “guard your heart against hypocrisy”. Be careful that you do not fall into this trap of self-righteousness. Be careful that you do not take what is meant to be private, between you and your Father in Heaven, and turn it into a spectacle for men to see. “Otherwise”, Jesus says, “you have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
Just like with the issue of hypocritical giving, those whom Jesus is calling hypocritical in their praying are those who do so standing on the street corners, or in front of crowds at the synagogue. It says that these men do so “that they may be seen by men”.
These men are doing what looks on the outside as a work of God, but they are not doing it for God, they are doing it only for themselves, to gain a reputation that is totally undeserved. But Jesus makes it very clear here in this text that these men will receive nothing but what they get from man. They have their reward.
But I want us to focus on Biblical prayer today. Prayer is such an important topic to discuss.
It is one of the spiritual disciplines given unto the church. A spiritual discipline is just that: something spiritual in nature that we are to discipline ourselves to do for the glory of God. Praying is one of those things, along with reading the Bible, fasting, worship, evangelism, discipleship, and a few more.
We are told over and over in Scripture to pray to God and every single one of the men God chose to call into leadership were men of prayer.
17 pray without ceasing,
8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;
Over and over we see the importance of prayer illustrated to us in the Scriptures.
38 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Out of all of the miracles that Jesus performed and all of the amazing things that Jesus did while here, there was only one thing that the disciples asked Him to teach them to do: pray
1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
The importance of prayer cannot be stressed enough. It is crucial to our own spiritual development and spiritual effectiveness.
So let’s dive in and see what Jesus has to say on the subject of praying in the will of God.
Content
Content
It Is Special
It Is Special
9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
To start with, we have to ask the question, “What is Prayer?”
Starting in this verse, Jesus gives us an example of how to pray. The very first thing said is, “Our Father in heaven...” Notice that it is addressed to God. So, if you boil it down into the most simplest of terms, prayer is simply talking to God.
There are two aspects of this we need to look at:
It is just talking.
Anyone can talk to someone else. Some people say they are intimidated to pray. Don’t be. It is simply talking with God. Don’t ever be afraid to talk to God. God wants to hear from you! Jesus tells us to do this. Prayer should be something that we do every day.
Prayer only becomes intimidating when you have to do it in front of other people. But prayer itself is not the intimidating part. As we have just said, prayer is simply talking and we all do that well. The intimidating part of prayer is when we start to place all of these other expectations on top of it. Remember that you are talking to God. He is the only person you should be focused on.
It is talking with God!
Think about that. The God of all creation has welcomed you into His presence so that the two of you could spend time together. Is that not amazing?
It is through prayer that we break through the noise of this sin-filled world and penetrate the glory, majesty, and the splendor of heaven. In prayer, we step over into the spiritual realm of God and find release from the woes of this world. We find solace during the time of prayer, because the cares of this world just seem to melt away as we come into the presence of Almighty God.
Prayer is such a special time. It is a time in which we get to stop worrying about the things of this life because we are talking to the boss.
I remember once as a young man that we went on a trip. My mom had made all of the arrangements for the trip, but when we got there, the young lady at the desk of the place we were staying at told mom that something was wrong in the system. I don’t remember exactly what the problem was, but here is what I do remember. After speaking with that young lady for just a few minutes, my mom said, “You know what, I would like to speak to your manager.” She no longer wanted to deal with someone who had no power and authority. She wanted to speak to the boss.
Why do we spend so much time dealing with those who have no power or authority? Men have no power except that which God gives them. Our Father is the boss and we have direct access to Him any time we want it. If we want to see change in our lives, and in others’ lives, we will stop dealing with those of lower rank and go directly to the manager. Amen! He is the One who calls the shots. He is the One who is mighty to save! He is the One who has the power to actually bring about change.
This is accomplished through prayer!
So that is what prayer is, but what should our prayer look like? How do we biblically pray?
It Is Secret
It Is Secret
6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place…
Our prayer life is supposed to be a private matter. Jesus instructs those listening that when it is time for them to pray, they are to go into a room, shut the door, and pray to God in secret. Jesus Himself also did this when praying. We are told that when Jesus needed to pray, He would go up on a mountain, or find somewhere secluded to do so. There are a couple of reasons for why God requests this of us in our prayer time:
All outside distraction needs to be removed.
When you try to pray without secluding yourself to privacy, everyone in the known world will become a distraction. As soon as you start to pray, you will get a text or call on your phone. Your children will all of a sudden need you right when you kneel to pray. Your wife or husband will all of a sudden need you when you kneel to pray. The timer for the oven will go off right when you kneel down, or maybe even a knock at the door from someone who don’t even know. We have to remove every distraction when it comes time to pray.
If you have ever done any praying, you know how easy it is to get distracted. Even when you do seclude yourself to a quiet place away from outside distractions, your mind becomes a distraction. You are trying to pray for your family, your church, or something else, and all of a sudden a random thought pops unto your head. Your mind drifts away from praying and before you know it, you have spent as much time thinking about groceries as you have talking with God.
The reason this happens, is because your body is fleshly, it is carnal. God wants you to pray and your spirit leads you to do so. But when you attempt to pray to God, your body begins to fight you. It doesn’t want you to pray. It knows that if you pray, the will of God will happen in your life, and it doesn’t that. Your fleshly body wants to go the way of the world, not the way of God. So it will do whatever it can to deter you from achieving the will of God in your life.
All outside influence needs to be removed.
These religious leaders would pray to be seen by men, but if God were to sit down in their presence, as He did with Moses in the Old Testament where He filled the temple with His glory in the cloud, these men would act completely different.
When we pray before others, often times our prayer is influenced by the fact that others are listening to us. This means we pray differently than we would if we were by ourselves. Jesus tells us that we should get to a private place when we pray, so that our prayers will be genuine and free from influence.
We must be vulnerable and honest.
We will simply not be honest with God about our life when others are listening. We will not say what needs to be said, but will rather pray a very safe, uncondemning prayer. God wants the real us, not some showboaty, or fearful version of us that is attempting to gain clout or is safeguarding ourselves.
It Is Straightforward
It Is Straightforward
7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
If there was one thing the Jews should have know how to do, they should have known how to pray. Throughout the history of mankind, no other group of people had been moved and operated through prayer as they had been. God had worked through the prayers of the priests and the prophets since the time of Abraham, so prayer should have been almost a second nature to them.
Unfortunately, as with most other aspects of their religiousness, their prayers had become nothing more than repetitive and impersonal. Their prayers had become ritualistic in the sense that certain prayers were to be prayed every morning and evening.
They had also developed specific prayers for different situations in life. So if you were going through this, then you prayed this prayer, and if you were going through that, then you prayed that prayer. They had taken every personal aspect of prayer from the people in doing so.
Also, they were to pray at certain times of the day. Mainly, they prayed at 9am, 12 noon, and 3pm. Now in one sense, praying three times a day would be a huge step in the right direction for many of us, but when you put prayer on the calendar and say I am going to pray every day at these specific times, you run a very dangerous risk of it becoming monotonous, especially when you are praying exactly the same prayer every day.
Jesus plainly says that we are not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. Our prayers to God are to be straightforward. They don’t need any fluff, or as some here call it, foo-foo. We do not need to fancy up our prayers when we are praying to God.
We don’t need to change the way we talk when we begin praying. Just be you, and just tell Him what is on your heart. Some of the most beautiful prayers to me are the ones that come from those who have little to no experience praying. Their prayers have not been defiled by repetitions and fancy words or phrases. Their prayers are very simple, very basic, very straightforward, and very Biblical. That’s exactly what God wants from us, honesty and clarity.
When we look through this model prayer that Jesus gives us, we see that it is only six sentences long… six sentences… that’s it. Prayers don’t have to be long, just direct. God simply wants to hear our hearts.
That doesn’t mean that all prayers will be short. Obviously, the burdens our heart is carrying that specific day may change the length of our prayer. We also see in the Gospels where Jesus sometimes secluded Himself to prayer for an entire night:
12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
The length and content of your prayer will change from day to day, or even hour to hour. What Jesus is teaching us here, is that our prayers should always be determined by our own hearts, not by others who are listening in. Get to a secret place, get in touch with God, and share the burdens or blessings of your heart with Him and only Him.
Prayer is to be secret and straightforward.
It Is Significant
It Is Significant
9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On 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 do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Notice the content of this model prayer. It is short in length, but full of meaning. These specific items that Jesus modeled for us to pray are heavy items to pray.
First, we see the weight of God Himself, “Hallowed be Your name.” Hallowed means holy. The very first statement alludes to the glory and majesty of God. He is the Holy God of all creation. It is a statement of adoration. It is a statement that acknowledges the majesty of God. He is absolutely perfect in all things, and everything that is good and right stems from Him.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
Second, we see a very humble, very sobering, very honest statement to follow, “Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Because He is the Holiest of all and the Father of all things, it is His will that must be accomplished, not ours. Making this statement acknowledges that my prayer is not about getting my will done in heaven, but God’s will done on earth. He is the One in control, and I am to be a conduit in which He operates. Prayer accomplishes this when it is done so correctly.
Third, He says to pray for our needs, “Give us this day our daily bread.” There is no fluff here, just very basic needs. He is not asking for a month’s supply of food, just enough food to get through the day.
This does not mean that we should never ask God for something that isn’t a need. In James, it tells us that we have not because we ask not. What Jesus is teaching, is that we should not become so focused on asking God for things that are not necessary, that we overshadow the basic needs of our lives. Many times, we take our needs for granted and only pray for our wants. Jesus is saying that we should not forget to give God the glory for meeting the most basic of our needs, for they are not guaranteed. Without Him, we would have nothing at all.
Fourth, He says to pray for our sinfulness, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Notice that our forgiveness is directly linked to the forgiveness we show others. This is a perfect example of praying in the will of God. When we pray, we must be sure that whatever we ask of God is also in the will of God. If we ask God to do something for us that goes directly against His very nature, we can be sure that the prayer will not come to pass. God tells us in multiple places that we are to forgive others for the things they do against us. If we are unwilling to forgive others for the mistakes they make, then God says He will not forgive us for the mistakes we make. This prayer lines up perfectly with that teaching. Jesus is teaching us here to pray in His will, that we might be like He is… merciful.
Fifth, Jesus says that we should pray for spiritual protection over our lives, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Without the protection of God over us, we would fall into temptation at every possible moment. Job is the perfect example of how we need God’s overwatch in our lives. Without His permission, the devil can do nothing to us. We need God’s protection against the devil and the temptations he brings. So be sure and pray that God protect you and your family from day to day.
Lastly, Jesus ends the prayer the same He started it, by giving God the glory for all things, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” Regardless of what takes place in our lives, God is worthy of our praise. Therefore, it always good to start and end every one of our private prayers by acknowledging the glory and majesty of God on high.
Prayer is significant to our daily lives.
So prayer is Special, it is to be done in Secret, It should be straightforward, It is very significant, and lastly, it is satisfying.
It Is Satisfying
It Is Satisfying
6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
The last thing I want you to get from this text about prayer is that God wants you to pray. It tells us here that when we put forth the effort to find a secret place in order to talk with Him, He will hear us. God hears your prayers.
One of the most common tactics of Satan against us is to try and get us not to pray. He will do everything in his power to keep us from communing with our Father. This in itself proves the importance of prayer in our lives. One of the ways he attempts to do this, is to try to get you to believe that you don’t need to pray. Maybe he will try to get you to believe that you have nothing to pray about. Maybe he will try to get you to believe that even if you do pray, God won’t hear it. Regardless of the tactic, know this: God wants you to pray and enjoys hearing from you.
8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.
8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
When incense is burnt, it puts off an aroma. This verse is telling us that our prayers, the prayers of the saints, are a sweet-smelling aroma before God. He loves them so much, that He has the angels pour them out before Him as they give Him praise.
Don’t you ever let the devil tell you that you don’t need to pray, or that God doesn’t want to hear your prayers. The Scriptures tell us plainly that God does want to hear from you, matter of fact He loves to hear from you.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Prayer is the means in which God operates. If you truly want to see more of God in your life, begin praying and see how it will transform your life.
Commitment
Commitment
