“The Precautions of Prayer” (Part 1)

THE LORD’S PRAYER Sermon Series

“The Precautions of Prayer” (Part 1)

KEY PASSAGE: Matthew 6:5–8 (NASB)

Heavenly Lord, we bless Your name for the songs and the sound of worship that have filled this place. Now, as we prepare to receive Your Word, we ask for illumination, conviction, and transformation. Let Your Spirit rest upon every listener, and may Your truth take root in every heart. We commit this time to You, through Christ our Savior. Amen.

Please be seated.

TITHE and OFFERING

We will call on the ushers to pass around the offering plates so we can collect our tithes and offerings. The worship team will lead us in song as we collect our tithes and offerings.

PRAYER FOR TITHE and OFFERING

Lord Jesus, who gave all for us, receive these offerings as acts of devotion. May they be used to advance Your gospel, strengthen Your church, and bless Your people. We give with grateful hearts. Amen.

WELCOME

Welcome to our Sunday Worship Service—we are glad you have joined us today. Let’s take a moment to stand and greet one another with the joy of the Lord. If you are visiting for the first time, we would love to recognize and warmly welcome you. To those worshiping with us online, may you feel the presence of Christ Jesus right where you are.

ANNOUNCEMENT

🕊️ Monthly Fast & Prayer Gathering: On Friday, September 12, at 6:00 p.m., our church will launch a monthly fast and prayer gathering, open to the entire congregation. Once a month, we will fast from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., followed by corporate prayer and communion, starting with the theme “Unity in the Church.” 📖 Wednesday Night Bible Study Connect Join us every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. for a time of learning, fellowship, and spiritual growth as we study the Word of God. We are currently in the Book of First Samuel, and this week we will focus on Chapter 14. Please read ahead and come ready to engage! 📅 Corporate Prayer Meeting: We gather every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. downstairs in the fellowship hall for a time of prayer. All are welcome as we seek the Lord together in unity and intercession. 📱 Download the Church App: Stay connected throughout the week by downloading our church app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. It’s your one-stop resource for updates, sermon archives, event details, and more.

DECLARATION of FAITH in GOD

Let us stand and say the Declaration of Faith in God together. Please remain standing as we pray.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Let’s pray. Lord of the Word, as Your servant preaches, let Your truth thunder and whisper. May every exposition be faithful, every insight Spirit-led, and every heart ready to be transformed. Speak through Your Word, and shape us by Your grace. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. You may be seated.

SERMON INTRODUCTION

Many of us know what it is like to push our limits — to stretch a little further than we should, hoping that we will make it just in time. Take driving, for example. We have all had moments when we have ignored the fuel gauge, convinced that we could make it to the next gas station just on time. We drive our cars on fumes, not because it is a wise thing to do, but because we have gotten away with it before. We cruised to the next gas station at the last second, with our hearts pounding, thankful our cars didn’t come to a complete stop.

When the gas tank hits empty, and we find ourselves stranded — embarrassed, frustrated, and wishing we had filled up our gas tank sooner. We pop the hood, hoping others will think it is a mechanical issue, when deep down we know the truth: we didn’t stop to refuel. That is what a prayerless life looks like. You can coast for a while. You can run on spiritual fumes for a while, relying on yesterday’s devotion or last week’s sermon. But sooner or later, the soul runs dry, and when it does, you are not moving forward — you are stuck.

For too many Christians, prayer is like a roadside assistance card. It is there if you need it, but you don’t plan to use it unless there is an emergency. Other people treat prayer like a parachute — something to keep nearby, just in case life starts to fall apart. And for some people, prayer is like the national anthem before a football game: a ceremonial start that doesn’t affect the action on the football field.

Let’s be honest — prayer can feel mysterious. You are speaking to Someone you can’t see, who doesn’t respond, and sometimes prayer feels like your words vanish into the air. That is why so many of us struggle with prayer. We question its purpose, its power, and its practicality.

We are not alone in this because the disciples of Jesus — men who walked with Jesus, witnessed His miracles, signs and wonders, and heard His voice — and heard His voice — had to ask the question, “Lord, teach us how to pray.” The disciples didn’t know how to connect with the invisible God. The theological tension surrounding prayer is real. One side says [The Calvinist], “If God is sovereign, why should we pray?” The other says [The Arminian], “If prayer moves God, are we in control?” But here is the truth about prayer: prayer is not about changing God’s mind — it is about aligning our hearts with God’s heart. Prayer is not about informing God — it is about inviting Him. Prayer is not about manipulating outcomes — it is about maturing in faith.

Today, we begin a new sermon series on ‘The Lord’s Prayer,’ where Jesus doesn’t just teach us how to pray—He first teaches us how not to pray. He calls us to examine our motives, our posture, and our audience. Before Jesus teaches us how to pray, He first teaches us how not to pray. Jesus begins with a warning: don’t imitate those who misuse prayer for performance or empty repetition. Jesus invites us to sit at the feet of the Shepherd — like a sheepdog awaiting instruction.

The concept of prayer was tied to the time when the sheepdog went to the shepherd and sat at the shepherd’s feet, waiting for instruction about the next move. To put it another way, when you pray, you are a sheepdog at the feet of the Shepherd. You have come to sit at the feet of Jesus to receive instruction, to hear from the Shepherd. That is the heart of prayer. Today, we want to start where Jesus starts, and that is with the precautions for prayer, things to watch out for because they can ruin your prayer life.

  SERMON EXPOSITION 1

He says in Matthew 6:5, “And when you pray.” To put it another way, He doesn’t say, “And if you pray.” The first thing Jesus wants you to know is that we must pray regularly [Repeatedly; Recurrently; Persistently]. Whenever you do it, don’t do it like this, because He is getting ready to state a negative, but His issue is with the way you do it. Prayer is a believer’s communication with God through the person of Jesus Christ, [Watch This- Here it is] assisted by the work of the Holy Spirit.

At the core of prayer is communication with God. God is a person, and prayer involves communicating with a person. Prayer is communicating with God. In other words, the test of your prayer is whether God is the audience of your conversation. God must be the audience for you to call it prayer. God must be on your mind, and He must be the focus of your attention, and your goal must be to get through to God if you are praying.

Prayer is communication through Jesus Christ. And the only reason you can get to God is because the blood of Christ opened a door. Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” I am the access point to God: no Jesus, no God. You cannot jump into the presence of a holy God as a sinful man or woman without Jesus. Access must be granted through Jesus to get to God.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION and STORY 1 – ACCESS THROUGH THE SON

One day, a man sat alone on a park bench, his face buried in his hands, tears flowing down his cheeks. His heart was heavy with grief. A young boy saw the man’s sorrow and walked over to him: “Sir, why are you crying?” The man told the boy, “His brother is in prison, and he has been sentenced to death.” The only person who can pardon him is President Abraham Lincoln. The little boy paused for a moment and said, “Sir, come with me.” He took the man by the hand and led him through the city streets. When they arrived at the gates of the White House, the Secret Service saw the little boy, and they all stepped aside, without asking any questions.

They walked past the Chief of Staff’s Office and through the hallways, and no one stopped them. The man was astonished. “How is this happening?” he whispered to himself. And finally, they entered the president’s office, and Abraham Lincoln stood up from his desk, looked at the little boy, and smiled. “How can I help you, son?” he asked. You see, the reason the man gained access to Abraham Lincoln’s office was that he was walking with Abraham Lincoln’s son.

The son had full access—and because the man was with the son, he too had full access to the president’s office. This story is a powerful picture of our access to God through Jesus Christ. We don’t come to the Father based on our merit, our good works, human performance, or our desperation. We go into the presence of God because we are walking with the Son, Jesus Christ. And that is why every time we pray in the name of Jesus.  

SERMON EXPOSITION 2

 The Bible says in Hebrews 10:19–22 that we have access by the blood of Jesus Christ. [Watch This] The sacrificial death of Christ satisfied the demands of a holy God. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Jesus Christ is your access point, and it is with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:26–28 reminds us of a profound truth: we don’t always know how to pray as we should. There are moments when words fail us—when the pain is too deep, the confusion too great, and the silence too heavy. Sometimes we come before God and all we have is a groan, a sigh, or a tear. We feel blank, and it’s like we are in outer space.

That raises a question? How can I pray and know I am praying into the Holy Spirit? The job of the Holy Spirit is to take the mess you call prayer and turn it into a comprehensible outline. The Holy Spirit’s job is to take your weakness and turn it into prayer. Now, I know what some of you are asking. But why pray? Hebrews 11:6 puts it this way, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists.” Prayer is a way of expressing faith. So, if you are weak in faith, pray because “Watch This” prayer is an act of faith. I am coming to a God I cannot see. That takes faith. Praying to God is an act of faith.

“When you pray,” when you adopt an attitude of coming as a sheepdog before a shepherd, you open your life up to God, and you create a relational communication with the Almighty God. Secondly, we must pray sincerely, verse 5 says. “When you pray, you are not to pray as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.” It is like a man wearing a prayer shawl, which which indicates that he is praying. This goes with verse 1, which says, “Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”

“Now watch this.” If you pray for the applause of men and women, you lose the applause of heaven. Most Jews during the time of Jesus prayed three times a day. The morning prayer was at 9:00 a.m., the afternoon prayer was at 12:00 p.m., and the evening offering and prayer was at 3:00 p.m.

When it was time to pray, the hypocrites would position themselves in the busiest parts of the city center seeking attention rather than communion with God. They went to the marketplaces. They went to the street corners because they wanted everybody to see that they were spiritual. They wanted everybody to know that they had religious piety. But Jesus says, when you pray, you are not on a big stage.

This is not about folks hearing you use words that you picked up in Bible study. This is not to appease the crowd. You see, eloquence, Jesus says in prayer, may impress people, but eloquence has no power in heaven. We look for applause, approval, and validation from the crowd, forgetting that heaven’s reward is reserved for those who seek God the Father in secret.

SERMON STORY 2 – “God Can Hear Me… But Grandma Needs Help”

It’s like the story of a little boy who knelt beside his bed one evening to pray. With childlike sincerity and a voice full of hope, he said, “Lord, bless Mommy and Daddy. Bless my Auntie and Uncle. Give us a good day tomorrow. And Lord… please, please give me a bicycle for Christmas!” The little boy wasn’t just praying—he was shouting. His mother overheard him praying to God and walked into his room. She said, “Son, you don’t have to shout when you are praying to God. God is listening, and He can hear you. The little boy looked up and said, “I know God can hear me, Mama… but Grandma’s in the next room, and she can’t hear very well, and she is the one with the money for the bike!”

When we pray, we don’t need to shout to get God’s attention; we need to trust that God is already listening to us. This story of this little boy reminds us that prayer is not about volume—prayer is about faith in God. And our Father in heaven doesn’t need to be convinced. God delights in giving us good gifts according to Matthew 7:11. And so, when you pray, let it come from a sincere heart, not like those who pray just to be seen, applauded, or affirmed by other people. Prayer is not a performance for public recognition; it is a private conversation with a holy God.

SERMON EXPOSITION 3

Jesus says, we must pray in secret. Notice what verse 6 says, “But you,” That is, you disciples—the disciples of Jesus Christ. “But as for you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

True faith is ultimately manifested in the quiet places – when you are alone. When no one is watching, and it is just you and God. If you invest more time and energy trying to impress people in public than seeking intimacy with God in private, then your spiritual priorities need realignment. Jesus says, “When you pray, pray in secret.” Now, Jesus doesn’t mean never pray in public. There are plenty of public prayers in the Bible.

In 1 Timothy 2:8, Paul instructed Timothy that men in the church should lift holy hands in collective prayer. Joel 2:15-17, the priest calls together the people to pray – this was a call to corporate prayer. Jesus also prayed in public. Jesus prays at Lazarus’s tomb. In Matthew 14:19, Jesus offers a prayer of thanksgiving in public to feed 5,000 people.

Jesus isn’t condemning public prayer. He is confronting the hypocrisy of public prayer without private devotion. It is a façade—when you show up at Wednesday Night Bible Study or Sunday Morning Prayer Meeting acting spiritually engaged, but haven’t spoken to God in private all week. True prayer begins in the closet, not the crowd. It is a sin to raise your hand on Wednesday Night and Sunday Morning when you haven’t raised your hand all week long. That is looking holy before the crowd when no time was spent in secret.

In secret means, shut out everything and anything that keeps you from concentrating on God. Jesus says there should be no distractions when you pray. Why? Because it doesn’t take much time to keep you from hearing the voice of God. God is a spirit. If you and God are going to connect, you must connect with Him spiritually. You will not hear loud voices when you pray to God. If you are going to connect with God and God is going to communicate with you in prayer, it will happen when your human spirit links with the Holy Spirit, bringing you into the very presence of God. Church prayer cannot be your only prayer. Public prayer and worship are powerful—but they are meant to overflow from your private devotion with God.

SERMON EXPOSITION 4

Jesus says, we are to pray thoughtfully. Verse 7 says, “And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.” The word meaningless repetition used in verse 7 means babble, and babble means thoughtless verbosity. Words with no brain. Words with no real thought behind them. Nothing went into it; you are just repeating the [same] words that you always say.

SERMON APPLICATION 2

We all know the bedtime prayer: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep…” If you are two years old, that is a sweet and simple prayer. But if you have been walking with the Lord and been saved for ten years, and that is still the depth of your prayer life, something is off– something is wrong. That is not spiritual maturity—that is meaningless repetition.

We say, “Lord, bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies. In the name of Jesus, amen.” But we say it out of habit, not out of heart. It is not that the words are wrong—the problem with this prayer is that our mind is not engaged. You can say it with your mouth and never think it with your mind. God is not looking for polished phrases in prayer—He is looking for engaged hearts. Prayer is not a ritual to check off the box—it is a relationship with God.

SERMON EXPOSITION 5

Jesus closes with verse 8 in Matthew 6 by saying, “Therefore do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” That is a powerful reminder about prayer: you never pray to inform God—He already knows. Prayer is not about breaking news to heaven. It is about drawing near to the One who already sees, already understands, and already cares. So, when you pray, don’t come with worry or a sense of performance. Come with confidence, knowing that your Father is already aware, already attentive, and already working on your behalf.

Let’s close with this passage from Matthew 7:7: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” Asking requires humility—because it means admitting you need something. Seeking requires action—because to seek, you have to move. Knocking requires persistence—because nobody taps once on a door and walks away. You rap on that door until someone answers. Ask with humility, seek with expectation, and knock with persistence. God honors the heart that keeps coming, keeps looking, and keeps knocking—because that heart is serious about encountering Him.

Verse 8-11 says, “ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or what person is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake? So, if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

SERMON CONCLUSION  – INVITATION TO FAITH, COMMISSION TO ACTION, AND CALL TO THE ALTAR

Please notice, Jesus doesn’t mention gold or silver. He doesn’t say steak and wine. He says bread and fish—the ordinary, everyday meal of the Jewish people. That was the regular diet of a Jewish person. You catch a fish from the Sea of Galilee, grab some loaves, and that was lunch. Remember the little boy at the feeding of the five thousand? What did he have? Bread and a fish.

Here is the point: God cares about the ordinary stuff – fish and bread. He is not just waiting for you to call when you have been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He’s not just available when the job falls through or the storm hits your house. God doesn’t want to be your 911. God wants to be a part of your everyday life. God wants to hear from you when you are a little tired. When something small goes well and you whisper to God, “Thank You, Lord.” When you are facing a minor decision or feeling a quiet joy in your spirit. When you talk to God about the fish and bread moments—the ordinary stuff—you will begin to understand what Paul meant when he said, “Pray without ceasing” in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Because life is filled with ordinary moments, and God wants to be part of them all, He is not just your emergency contact—God is your everyday Father.

Praise God when He opens the Red Sea. Praise Him when He brings water from the rock and rains down manna from heaven. Praise Him when the doctor says, “You are healed.” But don’t forget to praise God for the ordinary— For the food on your table, for the strength to drive through McDonald’s, for the bread and the fish, the simple provisions of daily life. Invite God into the ordinary, and you will find God to be faithful in the extraordinary. And all of God’s people said—Amen. God bless you. If Spirit is prompting you today, please come forward for prayer. The altar is open. Come as you are and meet God in the quiet place.

CLOSING WORDS OF GRACE

Let’s stand on our feet and pray together. Our Father, we thank You for the gift of Your presence and the power of Your Word. As we have gathered in Your name, You have reminded us that prayer is not just petition—it is communion, surrender, and transformation. May Your kingdom come in us and through us. May Your will be done in our homes, our churches, and our communities. As we go forth, let us carry Your peace, walk in Your provision, and live for Your glory. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Intercessor, we pray——and all God’s people say Amen.

You are dismissed. God bless you. We look forward to seeing you next week at 10:30 a.m.