The New Covenant - Prayer

Introduction

Matthew 6:5–15 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. 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. 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.

Like giving, prayer is a matter between you and God, not between you and others.

Pharisees engaged in prayer to demonstrate their righteousness to others.

Prayer is so much more than a hypocritical demonstration of O.T. righteousness.

Jesus condemns this attitude!

Always examine your motives!

Proceed in EVERYTHING with humility and complete dependence on God.

Matthew 6:7 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.

It doesn’t matter how we speak our prayers, just that we do.

God is not impressed with our vocabulary.

God is not even impressed with our praying.

God IS impressed with our attitude and with the condition of our heart during our praying.

The Lord’s Prayer - given to us as a format, an example for proper praying

Matthew 6:9 KJV 1900

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

We should always enter into prayer with worship

We address God as our Father. Only those who have true inner righteousness can address God in this fashion.

We are entering into the presence of almighty God. We need to show proper reverence and respect. His Name is to be hallowed and worshipped. We do not profane the Name of the Lord.

Matthew 6:10 KJV 1900

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

As children of God, our allegiance is always to the kingdom of God. That is our home. That is our nation.

We declare, and we are assured, that God will fulfill all His covenant promises to His people.

Our attitude in prayer must always be that His will is accomplished, not ours.

He is sovereign. We are subject to Him.

Matthew 6:11 KJV 1900

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

“Daily” - means “sufficient for the day”

We petition our Heavenly Father for all our needs.

Physical - food, clothing, shelter, financial needs, healing, etc.

Spiritual - Strength, forgiveness, ability to forgive, meaning of scripture, direction, etc.

Matthew 6:12 KJV 1900

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Everything preceeding this verse assumes we have no unforgiveness in our hearts.

Can we pray this prayer? Do we want God to forgive us just like we have forgiven others?

Matthew 6:14–15 KJV 1900

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.

The spiritual principle here is this: We have no right to harbor unforgiveness against someone else.

We are bought with a price and are not our own.

We have no rights at all to claim under this covenant.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights were included to protect us from our government.

Under the New Covenant, there will never be a reason to need any protection from God’s government.

If God has forgiven them, we must forgive them also.

If God has not forgiven them (they have not asked God to forgive them) we must still forgive them AND ask God to forgive them.

If we do not, we have this promise from God that He will NOT forgive us!

Matthew 6:13 KJV 1900

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.

We acknowledge in prayer that it is God who must lead us through the many pitfalls in life.

We are led by God’s supreme wisdom and knowledge, not our own fallible and incomplete knowledge.

We declare that we trust Him completely to do so.

We declare our complete impotence against evil and temptation. It is God’s power and God’s authority that we use to defeat our enemies, not our own.

We end as we have begin: with an attitude of worship, reverence, and humility.

We acknowledge God’s complete ownership of all things.

We acknowledge and declare that God alone has all power, all glory, and all authority, and they will be His for all eternity.

Conclusion

The primary focus for effective praying must be the condition of our hearts.

Have we properly prepared our hearts to enter into the presence of a Holy and Righteous God?

Is our attitude one of humility and reverence in the presence of Almighty God?

Do we recognize our complete dependence on Him?

Are we persuaded of God’s total ability to answer, and of His complete willingness to answer?

If our hearts are right, if our attitude is right, we can expect wondrous, miraculous answers from God.