Why Are We Here? (6)
Working On A Building • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
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!
Pray!!!
Scripture Reference: Matthew 6:5-13
Context
Context
We have been walking through a series titled “Working On A Building”. We have used 1 Cor 3 as our base text and we have been asking this question, “Why Are We Here?”
We have covered several reasons for why we come to this place, and I hope that you have listened intently and taken these things to heart. This place is important. This place is sanctified. This place is set apart for the Master’s use. This place has meaning and purpose.
Now we are coming near the end of our series, but I want you to know and understand that this list of reasons that we have given for why we come to this place is by no means exhaustive. We could spend a whole year talking about why we come here. But this week and next will wind us up in this series.
Today, we want to talk on the topic of prayer.
One of the reasons for why we come here is for prayer. The need for prayer in our lives is so massive that it cannot even fit onto a scale. There is no way to even begin explaining how essential prayer is to us. All throughout the Scriptures, OT and NT, one of the common denominators of all the faithful men and women of God was that they prayed.
We read in Daniel 6:10
10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.
David said in
17 Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice.
Jesus Himself had a prayer life that was second to none:
35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
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.
23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.
When you look throughout the History of the Church, those names whom you remember most have one thing in common… their prayer life was well above average. They spent ample amounts of time talking with the Lord every day.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, was said to have prayed for 2 hours every morning.
Martin Luther, one of the leading voices of the Protestant Reformation was famously quoted as saying, “I have so much to do that I shall spend 3 hours in prayer each morning.”
David Yonggi Cho, the founder of the largest church in the world, was said to have spent 3-5 hours a day in prayer before the Lord. He was a Pastor of a church in South Korea that grew to over 1 Million members.
Charles Finney, one of the leading figures in the Second Great Awakening, was said to have often spent hours in prayer, and recorded on several occasions as spending all night in prayer. During his ministry, tens of thousands of people was said to have come to faith in Christ.
John Hyde, a missionary to India, spent so long in prayer so often that he literally became known as “Praying Hyde”.
John Welch, a Scottish Preacher, was said to have spent between 7-8 hours a day in prayer by his own wife. She said that often times, she would wake in the middle of the night to find him weeping on the floor for the souls of his congregation.
John Knox, a bold witness for Christ during the 1500’s under the reign of “Bloody Mary”, the queen of England, was quoted as saying, “I don’t know how anybody could lay in bed all night and not rise to pray even once.” As a result, Queen Mary was quoted saying, “I fear no man; I only fear the prayers of John Knox.”
And the list could go on and on. These notable men and women of history, inside and outside of the Bible, were known for their consistent prayer lives. It was their time with the Lord that empowered them to rise to new heights and leave a lasting legacy behind that has not been soon forgotten.
And because prayer has been so essential to the church throughout history, we see only one thing that the disciples asked of Christ:
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.”
Jesus’s disciples, after watching Him for some time, finally came to the place to where they realized that Jesus’s prayer life was the catalyst that enabled Him to do everything else that amazed them on the daily. So when it came time, that was their request.… “Lord, teach us to pray.”
I don’t know about you, but I have that same request. If prayer is that important, then like the disciples, I would give anything to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn how to pray… Amen!!!
Thankfully, you have that opportunity here today. Now Jesus is not here in the flesh, but the words that He gave to His disciples concerning how to pray was recorded for us, and so today, we get the opportunity to learn our very first lesson on how to be giants of the faith.
Matthew 6:5-13 is where we going to start.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Content
Content
Private Prayer
Private Prayer
Before Jesus gives them what we call the “Model Prayer”, He sets the context for them first.
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.
He tells His disciples, not to be hypocrites in their prayer life. We have to understand what He is saying right here.
During their day, there were three prayer times at the synagogue each day. If you were available and in the vicinity, you went to church to pray. So if you were out town when prayer time came around, you wouldn’t go home, you would go to the synagogue. You would gather together there to pray.
Also, there were many different recited prayers that were taught to those who attended rabbinical training… bunches of them. Only the smartest people knew all of the prayers by heart.
That is what Jesus is alluding to here when he says, “For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets”. These men who had memorized all of these recitations would stand in the synagogue and go on for some time praying out loud. Those who weren’t close enough to the synagogue at the time of prayer would just stop on the corner of the street and do the same thing in front of the crowds.
Jesus calls them hypocrites. Why does He do that? Isn’t praying a good thing? Isn’t leading others in prayer a good thing? Whats wrong with what they are doing?
Jesus says that they did this, “that they may be seen by men.” For them, it was a show. It was a means to brag and say look at me… look at how many prayers I have memorized. Listen to my fancy prayers. Listen at how many verses of Scripture I can quote as I pray.
According to Jesus, they have their reward.
In other words, “Your Reason Determines Your Reward.”
If you pray out loud to be heard by other men, your reward is that other men think you are skilled at praying. That’s it. That’s all you get.
But if you pray for the right reasons, so that you might come into contact with the Heavenly Father, your reward will come from Him.
So Jesus goes on to say:
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.
When it is time for you to pray, go to your private place of prayer. Shut the door, or remove any and all distractions from yourself. And then pray to your Father in secret. Do not make a show of it. Do not do it for others sake. Do it for the right reasons.
Your secret place does not have to be a room. It is wherever you have peace and quiet and no distractions. Peter, in Acts 10, prayed from the roof of the house.
Jesus often times prayed from a mountaintop.
Jonah prayed from the belly of a fish.
It may be that your basement is your secret place. It may be that your bedroom, or a converted closet is your secret place. It may be that your car is your secret place, your couch in the living room early in the morning before others rise or late at night after everyone else has already went to bed. It may be your kitchen table. It may be the sunroom, or maybe even as you do a morning walk down the road.
I don’t know where that secret place is for you, but if you don’t have one, you need to find one. Where is the best place for you to get away from the hustle and bustle, away from distractions and temptations, away from noise, and have a quiet time with the Lord. Wherever that is for you, you need to be using it daily.
Notice the difference here. The hypocrites pray to be seen by men, but real praying is done for the purpose of being seen by the Father.
He goes on to say:
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.
Vain means empty, without meaning or purpose. Don’t use repetitious sayings simply because you are now talking with God. Just keep it real.
8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
He already knows what it is that you need from Him. There’s no sense in dressing it up a bit. It isn’t going to change anything. Just say what needs to be said and move on. It doesn’t have to be fancy… matter of fact, Jesus is telling you not to make it fancy. You don’t have to start using thee’s and thou’s and thy’s all of a sudden because you are praying. You never talk like that, so don’t start now. Just be you. Talk like you always do. That’s it.
Praying is having a conversation with God. It’s talking to the Lord. We all know how to do this.
Many people say they don’t pray because they don’t know how. Yes you do. All you do is talk with God. You talk to people all of the time. Same thing, except your talking to someone you can’t physically see.
Dont try to make it fancy or pretty, God doesn’t want you to. He just wants you to talk to Him. We need stop looking at prayer from a perspective of quality, and start looking at it more from the perspective of quantity.
Stop worrying about how it sounds. Just do it often. Pray to Him all throughout the day, especially at morning and night.
Just pray. Amen… Just pray!
Now Jesus walk them through the “Model Prayer”. No notice that He does not say, “Pray this prayer.” Instead, He says, “Pray in this manner.… Pray like this.”
That’s why we call it the “Model Prayer”, because we are to use it as a model for when we pray.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed by 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 forgive our debtors. 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 first that He starts and ends the prayer by exalting the Father. “Hallowed by Your name...Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen!”
It should be no different with us. We shouldn’t start our prayers by saying, “Father, please do this and do that.” No… we should start our prayers by acknowledging the one whom we are talking to.
Next, notice that the prayer is based upon the will of God: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It is a reminder that we are not trying to get our will accomplished in heaven, but rather to get His will accomplished on earth. When we are praying, we should be praying in accordance with His will, what He wants and desires. This is why many people will tell you to pray from the Scriptures. If you pray from the Scriptures, you know it is the will of God, because He has already said so in His word.
Next, notice how the prayer focuses on the immediate needs of the day: “Give us this day our daily bread.” He is not asking for an abundance of anything, but rather that God would supply their immediate needs. We know this is in the will of God because He has already promised to do just that.
Just a few verses later in this same Chapter, starting in verse 19, Jesus explains how that mankind is more valuable to God than the birds of the air or the lilies of the fields, yet God cares for each one of them. God will supply our needs.
Then, the prayer focuses on forgiveness, but notice how it has a built in contingency: “Forgive us our sin, as we forgive those who have sinned against us.” The forgiveness we receive from the Father will depend on the forgiveness we have towards others. Just a few verses later, Jesus actually says as much:
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Have you ever wondered if God allowed something to happen to you relationally just to see if you would be willing to forgive them, because in some other area of your life you made a big uh-oh and need His forgiveness. So he just waits and says, “Ok, let’s see how they handle such an act as this. If they will forgive their brother or sister, I will forgive them.” Kind of puts things in perspective, you know.
And then finally, Jesus says the prayer should involve us asking God to guard our hearts against temptation. Man, oh man, how important this is. You and I are weak… if we’re just being honest. We need the protection of God upon our hearts. First thing in the morning, we should be asking God to guard us against any and all spiritual temptation that may come our way.
That’s it. Nothing fancy...nothing pretty...nothing extravagant...just a simple, straight-forward prayer. Some would even call this a basic prayer, a simple prayer, a childlike prayer, but let me remind you of a few things:
Who asked Jesus to teach them to pray?
It was the disciples, followers of His.
Who is Jesus teaching to when He gives the Sermon on the Mount?
To a massive crowd, no doubt made up of mostly adults.
Jesus, when teaching adults and disciples how to pray, gave this prayer as the model prayer. This is the foundational prayer that we are to take and build on.
Someone might say, “Well, brother Thomas, is it wrong for me to pray for specific needs or people, since Jesus didn’t do that?”
No… of course not. We see many examples throughout the Scriptures of Godly people praying for specific things, specific burdens, and specific people. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Again, this is a model prayer.
Jesus wanted you to know this… don’t worry about praying pretty, worry about praying powerfully. How do I do that? Pray in accordance to His will. Pray trusting Him, that He can and will answer your prayers. Pray believing that He cares for you and hears your prayers. Pray in faith. Those are the things that should concern your heart, not how it sounds.
Now, this is private prayer. We should all be consistently praying before the Lord in private each and every day, multiple times a day.
But then some ask, “Well is it wrong for us to pray out loud in church, to pray publicly?”
No, of course not. We also have examples in Scripture of where the church came together and prayed as a group.
Public Prayer
Public Prayer
23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.
24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,
5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.
12 So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.
13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.
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.
There are many examples within the New Testament of how the people of God came together for various reasons and prayed together, prayed over one another, prayed with one another.
Listen, the ins and outs of prayer is not so much about what to do and what not to do, but rather about the condition of your heart. When we pray, we must remember that we are praying not to be heard of men, but to be heard of God. When we pray, we must remember that we are attempting to understand the will of God over our lives and current situations, and then trying to align ourselves with that will.
Time of Worship
Time of Worship
True genuine prayer is mode of worship. It is an act of bowing low before the Lord, as low as our physical bodies will allow us to, and submitting ourselves to Him, the righteous ruler over Heaven and earth. It is a time to where we align ourselves with the Lord.
So as we come into this time of worship, what is it in your life right now that you need to be praying about? What is there in your life right now that you need to confess, to God or to someone else? Bring them with you to the altar, confess your sins to them or your forgiveness over them, and then pray together before the Lord. I know that seems odd, but that is how God wants it to be done.
Come, give God your worship. Ask Him like the disciples did, “Lord, teach me to pray.”
