Matthew 6:5-14 (The Model Prayer)

INTRODUCTION:

Here’s a riddle: I’m your direct line to God, but I’m often on mute. I change hearts and worlds, yet I’m easy to forget. I’m free, powerful, and always available— So why do so few pick me up? What am I? — PRAYER.

Prayer, something we know we should do, but don’t. Something that gives us access to ultimate power, yet we fail to use it. Something that eases fears and gives peace, yet we still choose fear over peace.

Knowing about prayer doesn’t seem to change the believer’s habit of prayer. Think with me: When was the last time you prayed and it wasn’t before a meal or by someone else?

Jesus, in the most powerful sermon ever preached, continues in chapter 6 to highlight disciplines of true disciples of Christ. Over a month ago we covered giving.

Here’s the goal of Jesus’ sermon: we are to hold up what Jesus says as the standard for our lives. We are to examine ourselves and see if our heart and actions reflects Jesus’ teachings on true disciples of Christ.

In our passage today, Jesus is going to zone in on prayer. We’re going to break apart the passage in three sections — Who we pray to (vs. 5-6), How we pray (vs. 7-8), and What we pray (vs. 9-15).

As we walk through the passage, think about your current prayer life, examine it, and seek to be transformed by what Jesus has to say in these verses.

So turn with me to Matthew 6:5-15.

TO WHOM WE PRAY (vs. 5-6)

Matthew 6:5–6 KJV 1900

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is contrasting true disciples of Christ with the Pharisees and their way of living. If you remember, the Pharisees are concerned with the outward performance of a man. Jesus clearly states that he is primarily concerned with the heart of a man. Why? Because the heart is the control center of the body. In our passage today, this contrast continues. Here Jesus is contrasting true disciples of Christ with hypocrites.

Can someone define a hypocrite for me? Hypocrite: a person who pretends to have moral standards or beliefs they don’t actually possess. Can someone give an example of being a hypocrite?

Jesus exposes for us that hypocrites pray to be seen of men. Hypocrites pray to others. We’ll see that both hypocrites and true disciples have an audience when they pray. However, the audience of a hypocrite is others.

The location of a hypocrites prayer exposes their audience. They stand in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets. How can Jesus make this statement? Is this meant to limit the location of our prayers?

The hypocrites desires to be perceived as spiritual by others. Hence, when they pray, their location allows others to view their public prayers. Jesus is not saying that true disciples should never pray in public. Jesus is more concerned about the motive of the prayer which has already been stated — to be seen of men.

In the contrast, Jesus tells us that true disciples pray to their Father alone. The audience of a disciple is God alone.

Kevin Deyoung writes, “The biggest indicator of a Christian prayer is not the geographic direction in which we pray, or the body position while we pray, or even that we experience a certain feeling when we pray. What makes it a Christian prayer is, first, an awareness of the one to whom we pray.”

Notice with me two things in particular:

Where is the disciple located? In secret. This communicates that the desire of the disciples is to be heard by God, not others. It also communicates that the true disciples primary concern is God alone and not others.

How does Jesus refer to God in these verses? Father. This communicates something powerful that we’ll explore in the next point which is this: Expressing God as our Father communicates the relationship we perceive to have with God Almighty.

Jesus contrasts the audience of a hypocrite/disciple, the motive of a hypocrite/disciple, but ends with a contrast of the rewards of each prayer.

A hypocrite will be seen of men. They will be given their reward.

*Think about Deal or No Deal. You could win $1 million or nothing. Imagine you have two briefcases left and have a final choice between $1 and $1 million. Pretty big choice right? Now imagine they changed the rules to the game. Normally the briefcases stay shut and you blindly choose. This time they open the briefcases and you can see the numbers and which briefcase they belong with. The host asks, “Which briefcase are you going to choose?” And you choose the $1 case.

How crazy!?!? Right? We would look at the person like they’re nuts!

This is what the hypocrite is doing. They are going for a prize. But it’s the lowest prize that’s easily attainable yet never satisfying.

If your goal is to be seen by men, that will happen. But if your goal is to be hear and seen by God, the reward will be seen by others.

The disciple of Christ will be rewarded through being seen and heard by God and by his righteousness being witnessed by others.

Think about Psalm 1:1-3

Psalm 1:1–3 KJV 1900

1 Blessed is the man That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

This is the true disciple of Christ. His audience is God Almighty his Father. Yet, his spirituality will be seen by men as he bears righteous fruit.

To whom do we pray? Our Father. God and God alone.

HOW WE PRAY (vs. 7-8)

Matthew 6:7–8 KJV 1900

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

In summary, here’s what I believe about these verses: Prayer is not necessarily about the words we say, it’s about the action. The act of prayer does not tell God what he does not know. It reveals to God that we trust he already knows.

Jesus states in these verses that the heathens place an improper emphasis on the words they say/use. It’s a continuation of the contrast from above. The heathen uses vain repetitions out of the same motive as a hypocrite — to be seen of men / or to impress.

Have you been there? Is this why some of you are unwilling to pray in front of others? You don’t know what to say, or you won’t sound fancy enough. Maybe this is exactly why some of you pray in front of others. You pray so that you can use all of your fancy words and spiritual jargon. Jesus labels you a heathen if so.

I think these verses expose a misunderstanding that so many Christians have about prayer. And it’s here we’ll stop to address this question: What is the purpose of prayer?

Fundamentally, Prayer is admitting our need before God. What do I mean by admitting our need? It means recognizing our finitude. Did you know that you are nothing compared to God and you can do nothing compared to God? A lack of prayer therefore is perceiving yourself to not need God.

John Onwuchekwa writes, “Prayerlessness is spiritual suicide.”

A disciple of Christ prays in recognition of his finitude.

Here’s the comfort then from the verses we’ve already read. For the disciple of Christ, our Father already knows our needs even before we ask. I believe he just wants to hear us ask.

Prayer requires humility.

*illustration about my dad being able to fix anything. But I’ve got to ask first.

Problem is, we go through life without asking. And our Father is waiting. He already knows.

Can you handle life? Do you pray as mere performance or duty? Or do you pray because you recognize God as the true solution to every need and problem? God loves his children and desires to meet their needs. He’s just waiting for us to humble ourselves and ask.

How can you change the way you pray? What are some areas in your life you have need of?

Maybe it’s the strength to act in a loving way toward your sibling. Maybe it’s boldness to witness to a friend. Maybe it’s the courage to confess sin. We all have needs. We must recognize them.

But finally we’ll end with the most famous example of prayer in the Bible. These next few verses are referred to as the Lord’s Prayer or the Model Prayer.

WHAT WE PRAY (vs. 9-15)

Matthew 6:9–15 KJV 1900

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in 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 lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

We could spend 10-12 weeks alone on these seven verses and still not scratch the surface of what this prayer is intended to communicate. But I will attempt to highlight the important points of this prayer through which we can strengthen our own prayers. This prayer addresses the content of our prayers. The prayer begins and ends with the same subject — Our Father.

You will never go wrong if the only thing you prayed about is God. We prayer concerning the Father.

But Jesus highlights specific things concerning the Father that are of note:

Our Father — Kevin DeYoung writes, “Jesus wants us to call this God ‘Father’. To pray with intimacy to God as father is not a human right; it is a spiritual privilege. It is a privilege for the people of God who have been born again by the Spirit of God.” Do you recognize the privilege it is to call God our very Father?

Hallowed be your name — The Heidelburg Catechism states this, “means to bless, worship, and praise you for all your works and for all that shines forth from them… And it meanss, help us to direct all our living so that your name will never be blasphemed because of us but always honored and praised.”

Thy Kingdom / Thy will — When we pray this, we are asking God for the inbreaking of the messianic age. We are asking for his commandments to be obeyed promptly, gladly, and sincerely. We are asking for Christ to reign in human hearts.

Matthew 6:33 KJV 1900

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Primarily we pray to God about God. We confess to God what we believe about God.

But second, we pray concerning our good.

There’s several requests that are included in this prayer:

Give us daily bread — We depend on God for everything.

Forgive us our debts / trespasses — We owe to God what we cannot pay.

Every day we live as debtors to mercy. Do you believe that? Do you believe that just as you have needs to ask for every day, so you have sins that need to be forgiven every day? And notice the word in the prayer is not debt but debts, as in many. Every single debt deserves to be met with God’s righteous displeasure, but think about the many debts we owe to God, debts that we are powerless to pay. — Kevin DeYoung

But Jesus also concludes with some verses concerning forgiveness. These are simply meant to highlight the transformative truth of forgiveness. Forgiven people forgive.

Don’t lead us into temptation / Deliver us from evil — Can God lead us into temptation? NO! What does this mean? Here are sample prayer prompts: Do not permit me to be in a situation where the enticement to sin will be greater that I can bear. Keep me out of the path of sin, and keep me safe from the devil’s snares.

Jesus closes his model prayer with a quote from the Old Testament. He returns to the subject with which he began the prayer — Our Father. Listen closely as I read these final verses.

1 Chronicles 29:10–13 KJV 1900

10 Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. 11 Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.

Prayer points us to God, for His glory and for our good. May our prayer be forever changed because of this passage.

PRAYER PROMPTS:

“To Whom We Pray” (vs. 5–6) Father, help me care more about being heard by You than being seen by others. Teach me to pray with a genuine heart, not for attention, but because I want to know You.

“How We Pray” (vs. 7–8) God, remind me that You already know my needs before I speak. Help me come to You humbly and honestly — not with fancy words, but with real dependence. *write down some needs that you have in the space provided.

“What We Pray” (vs. 9–15) Father, let my prayers focus on Your name, Your will, and Your kingdom first. Then help me trust You with my daily needs, my sins, and my struggles.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

When you pray, what do you usually talk to God about first—your needs or who He is? How might Jesus’ model prayer shift that order?

Why do you think we sometimes treat prayer like a performance or a formula instead of a conversation? What would change if you really believed God already knows and cares about what you need?

If you could rewrite the phrase “Your kingdom come, Your will be done” in your own words for your life right now, what would it sound like?