Jesus on Prayer

Series: The Gospel Truth

Text: Matt 6:5-8; 6:9-13; 7:7-12

Introduction: (What?)

Matthew recorded Jesus’s teaching on prayer in both chapters 6 and 7. Recently I preached from chapter six. Today we will revisit that as we move toward the teaching in chapter 7.

As you read through the gospels you will readily notice that prayer played an important role in the earthly life of Jesus. The disciples noticed that and were prompted to ask Jesus about prayer. While most believers today would say that prayer is very important, few spend more than mere minutes in prayer each week and most of their prayers revolve around health issues; either their own or someone they know or some request on the church prayer list. While prayers for healing are important, we must realize that there are many other prayer topics and people that should not be ignored. Paul wrote in Eph 6:18-19 “Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.”

In Phil. 4:6 Paul admonished “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Focus on the Family printed an article about 7 types of prayer in the Bible; Adoration, Lament, Thanksgiving, Petition, Deliverance, Contrition (confession), and Guidance.

Jesus taught His disciple the how and why of prayer and urged them to persist and not give up until they got an answer.

Examination: (Why?)

1. The How and Why of Prayer (6:5-13)

Matt. 6:5-13 ““Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him. “Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

As we mentioned last week regarding fasting, Jesus assumed that His disciple would pray. He said, “whenever you pray”. He first admonished them what NOT to do in prayer. Don’t pray for show, which is what the hypocrites did and do. Later He told them not to pray long prayers (many words). Then Jesus moved to what TO DO in prayer. Let prayer be between you and God. George Mueller built and maintained orphanages for hundreds of orphans, and never told anyone but God what he needed to provide housing, clothing and food for them as well as salaries for those who served as house parents and maintenance persons. God met his needs.

Then, in what we call “The LORD’s Prayer” Jesus dealt with the HOW of prayer. His statement, “Therefore you should pray like this” shows that this is the how. Notice that He didn’t say “Pray This” but rather He said “Pray LIKE this”. Simply put Jesus said that we should start with acknowledging God, His name and His main concern (His kingdom). Then we should pledge to do God’s will immediately and without question (as it is in heaven.) Then Jesus followed with 4 personal requests: Give us what we need for today; forgive us as we forgive others and; don’t lead us into temptation, but deliver us from tempter.

2. The Persistence of Prayer (7:7-12; Luke 18:1-7)

Prayer is not a “one and done” operation. Jesus urged His followers to persist in prayer. Matt 7:7-12 ““Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him. Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

In the Amplified Bible we get a better picture of the persistence that Jesus asks them to have. “Ask and keep on asking; seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking.” Then in vv 6-8 the Amp Bible reads, “For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened.”

Luke presented a bit more of Jesus’s teaching on prayer in his account of the LORD’s Prayer. In Luke 11:5-10 “He also said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

In Luke 18:1-7 “Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up. “There was a judge in a certain town who didn’t fear God or respect people. And a widow in that town kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ “For a while he was unwilling, but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or respect people, yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice, so that she doesn’t wear me out by her persistent coming.’ ” Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. Will not God grant justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay helping them?”

One of my favorite accounts from the ministry of Jesus is His interaction with the Syrophoenician woman in Matt 15:21-28 “When Jesus left there, he withdrew to the area of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came and kept crying out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon.” Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples approached him and urged him, “Send her away because she’s crying out after us.” He replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, help me!” He answered, “It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus replied to her, “Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.” And from that moment her daughter was healed.”

First Jesus ignored her. Then he likened her to a dog scrounging for scraps under the table, but finally He acknowledged her faith and granted her request. I don’t know about you, but I think I would have stopped when Jesus paid me no attention. And if not then, I definitely would have stopped when He called me a dog. Her desperation led to continued begging (praying) which led to the answer she sought.

Application: (How?) How will I apply this message to my life?

How desperate are you in your praying? If you were drowning I think that you would continue to cry for help until it came or until your drowned.

What are you bugging the LORD about in prayer? I rarely pray these days without bringing up the desire for Spiritual Awakening. I have been praying for years that God would let me experience a spontaneous outpouring of His Spirit upon America.