Piety and Prayer

Matthew 6:1–18 NLT

1 “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2 When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. 3 But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. 5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. 7 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! 9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today the food we need, 12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13 And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. 14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. 16 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Self Applause

Jesus tells us that when we practice our acts of piety (giving to the needy, praying, fasting, etc…) we are not to be looking for self applause. Yet, too often people do these acts to say “Look at me.” Jesus highlights over and over again that the reward we see from the applause of others, and ourselves, will be our only reward. HE encourages us to desire the applause from God for what we do… Our greatest reward is the reward our Heavenly Father will give us!

This is kind of interesting if you compare what Jesus says in this passages about our acts of piety and what Jesus has already said...

Matthew 5:16 NLT

16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

In the passages we read this morning, Jesus says to do things secretly and not in ways that others know what you are doing. But, in chapter 5, and earlier in the sermon, Jesus says we are salt and light and we do good deed publicly...

What on earth is Jesus saying? This is really confusing!! Are we supposed to do things that others see? Are we supposed to do things secretly?

The answer lies in who is doing the applauding...

Piety and prayer for God's glory - NOT OUR OWN...

It's not for show!! In all that Jesus has said, he has said that God should be the one glorified by what we do… We are not the ones who get applauded - God is!

This is why I have a personal problem with church trophies, accolades, awards, certificates etc...

Too many times we use these to say, "Hey look at me/our church We're great at Bible quizzing, or basketball, or missions giving etc..." All the while we should be saying, "LOOK AT GOD! PRAISE GOD!!!"

Thoughts About Prayer

Prayer is not just about and with words. Prayer is an exercise that includes our mind, emotions, and even physical body (as it includes our actions and personal response to our own prayers).

Often, prayer is for us and OUR relationship with God, but it affects the world around us.

Brief thoughts on the Lord's Prayer

The Lord's Prayer is a scaffold for prayer, not necessarily the structure...

It helps with the structure of prayer. And, for many it could be a good structure. However, I do believe there is a warning in believing that this is the ONLY WAY we should pray. There is also danger in believing that if we pray this prayer, or pray this way, God will give us WHATEVER we pray out.

WRONG! Prayer is hardly about you… It is about your conversation with your Heavenly Father!

Our Father = Daddy!!

We have a relationship with the Creator who LOVES US as dearly loved children! This is a family relationship! Not a business, master/slave, relationship. The relationship we can have with God through Jesus Christ allows us to call God DADDY!!

1 John 3:1 NLT

1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.

Revere God's Holiness

Don't invoke God's blessing into something God shouldn't / wouldn’t bless.

Ask for GOD'S will to be done

This re- centers us around God's reign. That ultimately, it is God's will/plan/desire that we want done. This also causes us to pause and allow ourselves to be redirected according to God's plan.

Give us what we need for today

Daily bread. This reminds me of manna in the desert - there was just enough for everyday. This phrase asks God to give us the bare necessities for each day. But, coupled with God's holiness and God's desires to be done, this phrase also calls us to be mindful not only of our own needs, but also of the needs of others.

Sometimes, when we truly pray, we hear God encourage us to do our part to answer our prayers (with the power he makes available to us).

Forgive us so we can forgive others

Jesus is NOT saying that our forgiveness from God is dependent upon our ability to forgive others.

But, he is saying that if we have TRULY accepted forgiveness from God we would be willing to forgive others.

Jesus does not say this is easy or that it comes naturally. It's not easy, it's not natural - that is why we have to pray for the ability to do this...

Matthew 6:14 NLT

14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.

Lead us not into temptation and deliver us

We prefer NOT to have to go through temptation/testing. So, we pray we can avoid that.

But, if God desires us to be tempted/tested, then we pray we are delivered from the snares, traps, lies of the evil one...

1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT

13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

Remember, The Lord's Prayer is a scaffold for prayer, not necessarily the structure

Lukewarm Prayer

But, many of us have a lukewarm prayer life...

We can have conversations with the King of Kings, the Creator of the Universe and we can call him DADDY and yet we often ignore this!!!

We're lukewarm... lukewarm in a lot of our piety, but prayer especially doesn't have to be!

WAR ROOM...

Lukewarm coffee

Kittens vs lions meme

Kids praying the alphabet

Romans 8:26–27 NLT

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

Let’s Take Prayer and Piety Seriously

Take some time and do some prayer battle...