Matt 6:7-8

Your Father Knows What You Need

Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament, 28th Edition Chapter 6

7 * Προσευχόμενοι δὲ μὴ βατταλογήσητε ὥσπερ οἱ ⸀ἐθνικοί,* δοκοῦσιν γὰρ ὅτι ἐν τῇ πολυλογίᾳ αὐτῶν εἰσακουσθήσονται.* 8 μὴ οὖν ὁμοιωθῆτε αὐτοῖς· οἶδεν γὰρ ⸂ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν⸃ ὧν χρείαν ἔχετε πρὸ τοῦ ὑμᾶς ⸄αἰτῆσαι αὐτόν⸅.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

OPENING REMARKS

Our text today is from the sermon on the mount, which runs from Matthew 5 all the way through to chapter 8. Jesus is teaching the crowds on the subject of prayer.

In verses 5 and 6 He warns them against some of the practices of hypocritical Jewish leaders who pray publicly with great fanfare in order to be seen by others, He now warns against the practices of the Gentiles or the pagans as its also possible to translate it. By pagan, we shouldn’t think here only of someone who visits Stonehenge frequently and worships the moon but more broadly of any non-Jewish religious practice.

do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do...

Jesus tells them they are not to follow the example of the gentiles by ‘heaping up empty phrases’ or ‘babbling repetitively’ as other translations have it.

The phrase ‘heap up empty phrases’ is a translation of just one Greek verb; βατταλογήσητε. Which appears no where else in scripture; this is referred to as a ‘hapax legomenon’ in Biblical Studies. A word which has just one instance. Therefore it’s not always easy to know exactly what is being communicated by the word. But we can deduce by what Jesus says next ‘that they think they will be heard for their many words’ that it has to do with using a lot of words unnecesarily.

So what is the Lord forbidding us to do? Use lots of words? Or repeat ourselves. I don’t know about you but I often find myself repeating a phrase in prayer, or bumbling or stammering while praying outloud. Is this what Christ is warning against? What is it to pray like the pagans?

It’s often said that the best interpretor of the Bible is the Bible itself; and thankfully we have another text in scripture which may help us to understand what Jesus is getting at here.

On another mountain, due west from the mountain Jesus preached this passage from some 850 years previous, one man stood alone for YHWH against 450 prophets of the idol Baal. The story is found in 1 Kings 18:20-39

1 Kings 18:20–39 ESV

20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention. 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. 35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water. 36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”

The prophets of Baal appeared very devout, they raved on crying out to Baal from morning until well into the afternoon cutting themselves and limping around the altar. What a scene it would have been.

What are we to learn from this? Well, it’s clear to me that the truth of a religion is not determined by the zeal of it’s followers. It’s commonplace to hear an atheist say; how can you say that your God is the true God? People of other faiths are just as sincere and devout in their practices as you are!

Humans throughout history have very often been far more zealous and passionate in their worship of falsehood than they have been of the truth. In fact, the more carnal, sensual and zealous the worship is the more likely it is to be idol worship. Passion and zeal alone tell us nothing about truth.

In contrast to the long, laboured prayers of the priests of Baal Elijah steps up and prays a short and simple prayer; “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” and fire from heaven fell.

Note that the length of the prayer, the show of devotion had no impact on the response. Baals prophets; long prayers, blood letting. No answer. God’s prophet; Water poured all over the sacrifice and in a ditch around it, short prayer. Fire.

Also note how Elijah prayed; he didn’t command fire from heaven, he didn’t say ‘I just release the fire of God..’ He didn’t start with the problem at hand. He actually started by telling God who He is. He started with theology!

And how does Jesus suggest that we avoid babbling like the prophets of Baal? By knowing God, by praying from theology.

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him...

Strong and effective prayer is effective because it is prayer to THE God who exists. And our confidence and strength in prayer should be founded upon the knowledge of God; which is theology.

People say such silly things about theology; ‘I don’t need theology, just Jesus.’ But how can you define Jesus without theology? You can’t have the Jesus of the gospels without theology. Every single Christian is a theologian whether they like it or not. As R.C. Sproul said, the question is not whether we do theology as a Christian but rather whether we do good or bad theology.

What is the significance of these two theological statements about God and how does knowledge of these two things prevent us from praying like the pagans?

GOD IS YOUR FATHER

Matt 7:9-11 - Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are 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!

I remember growing up that me and my sisters came to rely on Dad’s taxi service pretty regularly. It didn’t matter how far away we were, or how late at night it was, Dad would be a total saint and come pick us up. Why was that? Because our needs mattered to him. Because of what he could get out of it? No, all he got was usually a smelly ungratful teenager sat in the passenger seat. He would do these things because he is our Dad.

If God is your Father then what does that mean? That means that your cares, worries, dreams and trials matter to Him, in a very real way. As your Father, you matter to Him. He reponds to your prayers not in a detached business like manner but in the manner that a loving Father would listening to His child pour their heart out. If that doesn’t encourage you in your prayers I don’t know what will!

As a Father it doesn’t matter what time my girls come in to see me at night I’m going to wake up help them with whatever they need, even if they aren’t expressing themselves very clearly, as the grown up I’m going to make sure I get to the bottom of their need. That’s what Jesus is saying here, that’s what should really hit us about God; He’s our Father. It’s His prerogative as a Father to understand us when we pray, even if our words are short and not well put together.

“Fear not because your prayer is stammering, your words feeble, and your language poor. Jesus can understand you.” - JC Ryle

HE KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED BEFORE YOU ASK

Jesus then ventures to tell us what kind of Father He is; He is almighty, sovereign, all knowing, even of our smallest needs.

There are a number of chapters in Isaiah referred to as the ‘trial of the idols’ where God puts the idols of the chaldeans on trial to see if they truly are gods. These are some of the highest passages concerning the might and power of God our Father in all of scripture.

Isaiah 46:6-11 - Those who lavish gold from the purse, and weigh out silver in the scales, hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; then they fall down and worship! They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there; it cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his trouble. “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.

When we pray, we aren’t teaching God new things, as if He wasn’t aware of what’s happening around us. We don’t need to teach Him, or convince Him to act as if we were lobbying a politician. When we pray, we are praying not to rouse God to action but to worship Him, to be intimate with Him.

New Testament Ia: Matthew 1–13 6:7 No Empty Phrases

But if he already knows what we need, why do we pray? Not to inform God or instruct him but to beseech him closely, to be made intimate with him, by continuance in supplication; to be humbled; to be reminded of our sins.

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

Isaiah 41:17-20 - When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together, that they may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Do you consider yourself needy today? Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness? Or are you full. The LORD will answer the prayers of the needy, however short they may be, however simple. He will not however answer the prayer of the proud, nor can the arrogant twist His arm through impressing Him with their works. God has provided a spring of water in the wilderness, Jesus Christ. It’s a spring of water that only the needy can find, the proud, the arrogant will never find it. Are you in need of God today? Then pray to Him and ask for His living water today and He will give it, springing up to eternal life.

Pray/End.