S.O.T.M. When You Pray [Matthew 6:5-15]

We come again to the section of prayer from our Lord’s sermon. If you remember our Lord has been dealing with Christian piety, our Christian life. He divides up the subject into three sections which really cover the whole of our righteousness or religious living. First of all comes the question of giving—our charity towards others, then the question of prayer and our relationship to God, and finally the question of personal discipline which He considers under the general heading of fasting. We’ve dealt with the issue of giving and we’ve looked once at prayer, which we come to again and will visit a few times due to the importance of it.

Stand for the reading of the word of God [Matthew 6:5-15]

Our Lord found it necessary to not only warn His followers of certain dangers concerning prayer, but also gave positive instruction on prayer as well. He has already warned them not to be as the hypocrites, who pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners in order to be seen of men. He has told them that vain repetitions in and of themselves have no value, and that the mere bulk or quantity of prayer will produce no special benefit.

He has also told them that they must pray in secret, and that they must never be concerned about men or what men might think of them, but that what is vital and essential in this matter of prayer is not only that they should shut out other people, but that they should shut themselves in with God, and concentrate upon Him and their relationship to Him. But, as we have said, He clearly feels that a general warning is not sufficient, and that His disciples need more detailed instruction. So He goes on to say, ‘therefore in this manner pray’, and He proceeds to give them this instruction with regard to the method of prayer.

We are face to face here with one of the most vital subjects in connection with our Christian life. Prayer is beyond any question the highest activity of the human soul. Lloyd Jones, ‘Man is at his greatest and highest when, upon his knees, he comes face to face with God.’ Giving is excellent; it is a noble activity, and the man who feels led, and who responds to the leading to help his fellow-men in this world is a good man. Again, fasting or self-discipline in various forms is a very high and noble activity.

These things, however, pale in comparison to a man engaged in prayer. When a man is speaking to God he is at his very highest point and therefore it is at the same time the ultimate test of a man’s true spiritual condition. There is nothing that tells the truth about us as Christian people so much as our prayer life. Everything we do in the Christian life is easier than prayer. It is not so difficult to give—the natural man knows something about that, and you can have a true spirit of generosity in people who are not Christian at all. Some seem to be born with a generous nature and spirit, and to such giving is not essentially difficult. The same applies also to the question of self-discipline—refraining from certain things and taking up particular duties and tasks. Prayer is undoubtedly the ultimate test, because a man can speak to others with greater ease than he can speak to God.

Ultimately, a man discovers the real condition of his spiritual life when he examines himself in private, when he is alone with God. We addressed last week the real danger for a man who leads a congregation in a public act of prayer is that he may be addressing the congregation rather than God. But when we are alone in the presence of God that is no longer possible. And is it not often true that, somehow, we have less to say to God when we are alone than when we are in the presence of others? It should not be so; but it often is. So that it is when we are alone with God, that we really know where we stand in a spiritual sense. It is not only the highest activity of the soul, it is the ultimate test of our true spiritual condition.

God’s people, through the centuries, have longed to be people of prayer and communion with God. We find it recorded in the Gospels that John the Baptist had been teaching his disciples to pray. They obviously had felt the need of instruction, and they had asked him for instruction and guidance. And John had taught them how to pray. Our Lord’s disciples felt exactly the same need. They came to Him one afternoon and said, in effect, ‘John the Baptist taught his disciples how to pray; Lord, teach us how to pray.’ Undoubtedly the desire arose in their hearts because they were conscious of this kind of natural, instinctive difficulty of knowing how to pray which we are all aware; but it must also have been greatly increased when they watched His own prayer life.

They saw how Jesus would rise ‘a great while before dawn’ and go up into the mountains to pray, and how He would spend whole nights in prayer. And sometimes, I have no doubt, they said to themselves: ‘What does He talk about? What does He do?’ They may also have thought, as I’ve thought to myself ‘I find after a few minutes in prayer that I come to the end of my words. What is it that enables Jesus to be drawn out in prayer? What is it that leads to this ease and dedication to prayer?’ ‘Lord’, they said, ‘teach us how to pray.’ They meant by this that they would like to be able to pray as He prayed. In a sense they said, ‘We wish we knew God as You know Him. Teach us how to pray.’ Have you ever felt that? Have you ever felt dissatisfied with your prayer life, and longed to know more and more what it is truly to pray? If you have, it is an encouraging sign.

There is no question that this is our greatest need. I wonder how often we miss the very greatest blessings in the Christian life because we do not know how to pray right. We need instruction in every respect with regard to this matter. We need to be taught how to pray, and we need to be taught what to pray for. And because this prayer covers these two things in a most amazing and wonderful manner that we must spend some time in a consideration of what has become known among us as ‘The Lord’s Prayer’. It is a perfect synopsis of our Lord’s instruction on how to pray, and what to pray for. Just so you know my intent is not to cover this prayer completely…we would be here for a long time…but my intent is to underline the central principles our Lord gives us in this prayer. Over the next couple weeks. First I want to give you some...

Preliminary thoughts on the Lord’s prayer

There are some for various reasons who refuse to recite this prayer in an act of public worship feeling it belongs under the realm of law rather than grace. There are some who would recite this prayer verbatim claiming that the Lord commanded us to pray this particular prayer always. I’m going to suggest to you that both of these views are a misunderstanding of what this prayer is. These preliminary thoughts are to help us understand what this prayer is.

The first is that this prayer is a pattern for prayer. The way in which our Lord introduces it indicates that. ‘After this manner pray.’ Now, says our Lord in effect, when you come to pray to God, this is the kind of way in which you are to pray. And the amazing and extraordinary thing about it is that it really covers everything in principle. There is a sense in which you can never add to the Lord’s Prayer; nothing is left out. That does not mean, of course, that when we pray we are simply to repeat the Lord’s Prayer and stop at that, that is obviously something that was not true of our Lord Himself. As we have already seen, He spent whole nights in prayer; many times He arose a great while before day and prayed for hours.

To say that this prayer is all-inclusive, and is a perfect summary, simply means that it really does contain all the principles. We might say that what we have in the Lord’s Prayer is a kind of skeleton for prayer. Take, for instance, the act of preaching. In your bulletins is an outline of the sermon, a skeleton, of the sermon but not a complete sermon. You have before you headings and principles which are to be emphasized. But I don’t just read the off principles; I expound and work them out, I put skin on the bones of the outline. That is the way in which we should regard the Lord’s Prayer. The principles are all here and you cannot add to them. You can take the longest prayer that has ever been offered and you will find that it can all be reduced to these principles. There will be no additional principle whatsoever. Take that great prayer of our Lord’s which is recorded in John 17—our Lord’s High Priestly prayer. If you analyse it in terms of principles, you will find that it can be reduced to the principles of this model prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer covers everything; and all we do is to take these principles and employ and expand them and base our every petition upon them. That is the way in which it is to be approached. And as you look at it in that way, I think you will agree with St. Augustine and Martin Luther and many other saints who have said that there is nothing more wonderful in the entire Bible than the Lord’s Prayer. The way in which our Lord summarizes it all, and has reduced everything to but a few sentences, is something that surely proclaims the fact that the speaker is none other than the very Son of God Himself.

Another observation is is that this prayer is obviously meant not only for the disciples, but for all Christians in all places and at all times. When we were dealing with the Beatitudes we constantly repeated that they apply to every Christian. The Sermon on the Mount was not meant only for the disciples at that time and for the Jews in some coming kingdom age; it is meant for Christian people now and at all times, and has always been relevant. Just as our Lord dealt in the fifth chapter with respect to the relationship of the Christian to the law, so we come face to face with this prayer, and with what our Lord says in this matter: ‘After this manner therefore pray.’ He speaks to us today exactly as He spoke to the people who were about Him at that particular times. Indeed, as we have already seen, unless our prayer corresponds to this particular pattern and form, it is not true prayer.

And in regards to this prayer being recited in public worship, I don’t see a problem with that on occasion, unless we are mechanically repeating it without any thought to it’s intent. It wouldn’t make much since for our Lord to command us not to use vain repetitions in prayer and then give us a prayer to be vainly repeated in all worship services.

Some have issue with the Lord’s prayer because it does not say ‘for Christ sake’ or it is not offered specifically in Christ’s name. They say it can’t be a Christian prayer unless it is prayed in Christ’s name…let me just say that the Lord’s prayer is a Christ centered prayer. Remember Christ is laying down principles in prayer concerning our relationship with God. And as we will see going through this prayer every aspect of our relationship with God is in this prayer…and let me add that no man can truly say ‘our Father in heaven’ with out Christ having redeemed Him.

There is nothing more exalted, and more elevating, than this wonderful prayer which the Lord Jesus Christ taught His people. We should also remember that He taught it, not that we might just repeat it mechanically for the rest of our lives, but rather that we should say to ourselves, ‘Now there are certain things I must always remember when I pray. I must not rush into prayer; I must not start speaking at once without considering what I am doing. I must not merely be led by some impulse and feeling. There are certain things I must always bear in mind. Here are the headings for my prayer; here is the skeleton which I have to clothe; these are the lines along which I must proceed.’ Let us realize that our Lord here was really telling these people how He Himself prayed.

Now about...

How to pray and what to pray for

Let’s first note that the key to successful prayer is having the right approach to prayer. People so often say, ‘You know, I prayed and prayed but nothing happened. I did not seem to find peace. I did not seem to get any satisfaction out of it. I didn’t see any outcome in my prayer.’ Most of the trouble is due to the fact that the approach to prayer has been wrong, that somehow or other they did not realize what they were doing. We tend to be so self-centered in our prayers that when we drop on our knees before God, we think only about ourselves and our troubles and perplexities. We start talking about them at once, and of course nothing happens. According to our Lord’s teaching here we should not expect anything to happen. That is not the way to approach God. We must pause before we speak in prayer.

The great teachers of the spiritual life throughout the centuries have agreed that the first step in prayer has always been what they call ‘Recollection’. There is a sense in which every man when he begins to pray to God should put his hand upon his mouth. That was the whole trouble with Job. He had been talking a great deal. He felt that God had not been dealing kindly with him, and Job, had been expressing his feelings freely. But when, towards the end of the book, God began to deal with him at close quarters, when He began to reveal and manifest Himself to him, what did Job do? There was only one thing for him to do. He said, ‘Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.’ And, strange as it may seem to you, you start praying by saying nothing; you recollect what you are about to do.

I know that seems counter to everything we know but don’t we tend to be pressed by the urgency of our position, the cares, the anxieties, the troubles, anguish, the bleeding heart, whatever it is. And we are so full of this that, like children, we start speaking at once. But if you want to make contact with God, and if you want to feel His everlasting arms about you, put your hand upon your mouth for a moment. Recollection! Just stop for a moment and remind yourself of what you are about to do when you come into His presence to pray. How do you as a parent respond when your child rushes in and makes a list of demands and rushes off? Slow down!

We need to come before our heavenly Father not in a demanding way but in reverence. Do you know that the essence of true prayer is found in the two words in verse 9, ‘Our Father’? I suggest that if you can say from your heart, whatever your condition, ‘My Father’, in a sense your prayer is already answered. It is just this realization of our relationship to God that we so sadly lack.

We hear it in the world today that prayer is good and they look at it from a merely psychological view…friends that is not how the bible understands prayer at all. Prayer means speaking to God, forgetting ourselves, and realizing His presence. This idea that prayer is good for the psyche or this idea that prayer is just getting down to business with God, ‘here’s my petition list God, get it done.’ is absolutely foreign to the bible. Every prayer in the bible, if you would look at it begins with an invocation. It doesn’t matter how desperate the circumstance or how urgent the request you will not find a prayer in the bible that didn’t start with adoration for God which invariably turns into worship of God before any petition is made.

We have a great and wonderful example of this in the ninth chapter of Daniel. There the prophet, in terrible perplexity, prays to God. But he does not start immediately with his petition; he starts by praising God. A perplexed Jeremiah does the same thing. Confronted by the demand that he should buy a plot of land in a seemingly doomed country, Jeremiah could not understand it; it seemed all wrong to him. But he does not rush into the presence of God for this one matter; he starts by worshipping God.

And so you will find it in all the recorded prayers. Indeed, you even get it in the great High-Priestly prayer of our Lord Himself which is recorded in John 17. You remember also how Paul put it in writing to the Philippians. He says, ‘in nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God’ (Phil. 4:6, RV). That is the order. We must always start with adoration, before we even begin to think of petition; and here it is put to us so perfectly in this model prayer. Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name!

Our Father in heaven

Let’s look at that statement briefly…our Father in heaven. Let me just say again that only true believers in Jesus Christ can truly say, ‘our Father’. Only those who have been bought by the blood of the lamb can say this. This is an unpopular doctrine in the world today. The world would like to believe in a universal fatherhood and a universal brotherhood, but that is not found in the bible. John 1:12, plainly says, ‘as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” Yes God created all mankind, but the bible clearly draws distinction between those who belong to Him and those that don’t. Only the Christian can cry ‘Abba, daddy, Father’ So when our Lord says ‘our Father’ he is targeting Christian people…that is why I say this is a Christian prayer.

But what kind of Father do we have? Many people in the world do not have an idea of fatherhood as a loving figure. There are many who’s father has been cruel, and hateful, and violent, and selfish, and unreliable. To the one who’s father beat them or their mother or verbally degraded them to tell them that God is father and leave it at that would not be very helpful…but our Lord doesn’t do that either. No he says ‘we have a Father which is in heaven’ and Paul says ‘the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’. Anyone like Christ, says Paul in effect, must have a wonderful Father, and, thank God, God is such a Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is vital when we pray to God, and call Him our Father, that we should remind ourselves that He is ‘our Father which is in heaven’, that we should remind ourselves of His majesty and of His greatness and of His almighty power.

When in our weakness and failure and our lowest we drop to our knees before God in anguish of mind and heart…we can remember…He is our Father in heaven who knows me, who loves me, and has forgiven me in Christ Jesus…the Christian can say our Father in heaven because of Christ. Remember when we come into the presence of God in prayer and want something for ourselves, or pray for forgiveness, or to intercede for someone else…Our Father in heaven knows already…but yet He wants us to come to Him. That still amazes me that the God of the universe wants to have fellowship with me, He wants me to bring everything before Him as if He is not aware of it…even though He’s already aware. That’s why we read in Psalm 51 as David wrote this prayer of repentance and claims, ‘you O God, desire truth in the inward parts.”

If you want to be blessed of God you have to be absolutely honest, you have to realize He knows everything, and that there is nothing hidden from Him. Remember also that He has all power to punish, and all power to bless. He is able to save, He is able to destroy. Indeed, as the wise man who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes put it, it is vital when we pray to God that we should remember that ‘He is in heaven and we are upon the earth’.

Then remember His holiness and His justice, His utter, absolute righteousness. Let us remember, says the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, that whenever we approach Him we must do so ‘with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire’.

That is the way to pray, says Christ, take these two things together, never separate these two truths. Remember that, in prayer, you are approaching the almighty, eternal, ever-blessed holy God. But remember also that that God, in Christ, has become your Father, who not only knows all about you in the sense that He is omniscient, He knows all about you also in the sense that a father knows all about his child. He knows what is good for the child.

Put these two things together. God in His almightiness is looking at you with a holy love and knows your every need. He hears your every sigh and loves you with an everlasting love. He desires nothing so much as your blessing, your happiness, and your joy. Then remember this, that He ‘is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think’. As your ‘Father which is in heaven’ He is much more willing to bless you than you are to be blessed. There is also no limit to His almighty power. He can bless you with all the blessings of heaven. He has put them all in Christ, and put you in Christ. So your life can be enriched with all the glory and riches of the grace of God Himself.

So when you pray. Before you begin to make any petition, before you begin to ask even for your daily bread, before you ask for anything, just realize that you are in the presence of, your Father which is in heaven, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ‘My God.’ ‘My Father.’