Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:5-8)

Matthew 6:5–8 (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.

Introduction

These are the first words that Jesus spoke regarding prayer.

He immediately goes after hypocritical prayer.

It is sad to think that sin can even follow us into our devotions and the presence of God.

We again see a warning against performing religious activities to be seen of men. 5

Standing on the street corners to pray.

There was a specific reason why they wanted to stand on the corners to pray.

Multiple authors agree that this was supposed to communicate a person’s inability to wait until they reached the synagogue.

They would stop on the street corners to pray .

When they did reach the synagogue, they would make a habit out of standing in a conspicuous place to pray.

One biographer that was following a famous Christian noted that the man was prone to fall to his knees at random in the halls of his home, church, or in public.

The biographer noted that this man must be way more spiritual than all other Christians.

This behavior indicates nothing of the sort.

Those that prayed conspicuously in the synagogue, would also make a habit out of praying to the congregation.

Praying to the congregation rather than to the Lord, is something that regularly happens today.

As we saw last week, the people who pray to be seen of men have their reward.

Jesus describes a better approach to prayer for His disciples.

The importance of solitude. 6

Christ is not here prescribing the place where but the spirit in which we ought to pray.

This by no means, is a prohibition for public prayer.

Jesus is aiming for the motivation of our prayer.

It is true, though, that silence and solitude provide a unique offering to our prayers

In solitude and and secrecy we find communion with God.

We are to be alone that we may more fully and thrillingly feel that we are with God.

Our religion has to do with the unseen, the solemn, the profound, the remote.

these are not to be fully felt hastily. they are like the mountains that grow on us as we gaze, like a fair scene that we must be alone in, rightly to feel.

They must be allowed to saturate the soul.

The eye must be slowly accustomed to the light.

The longer we remain in the presence of God, the more clearly we will see Him.

The longer we remain in a time of solitude and silence, the more we will be free to focus on HIm.

In those moments of communion, God will accomplish several things.

That communion will have an intellectual element in which we try to rise to perception of the high truths of God.

A meditative gaze on Him, will also have a petitionary element in which we ask for the communication of His grace according to our needs.

That leads us to verse 7, which gives us permission for sincerity. 7

Jesus references the repetitive prayers of the heathens.

A strict definition of a “heathen” was anyone who wasn’t Jewish.

The hope was that with enough repetition, the heathen would break through to the uncaring deities that they believed in.

Our God is not like that.

We need to speak to Him with a sincerity and rawness that comes with the comfort of speaking to a friend.

We are not to be like them in prayer, because our God is not like their Gods. 8

We come to Him in faith.

Is He in control?

Does He love us?

Does He have a plan for us?

Does He know what we need before we even ask Him?

We will be more convinced of these things when we spend time in communion with Him.

If He already knows, does this mean we don’t have to pray?

No, but it further defines the motivation of the disciple’s prayer.

It is not to make men think we are spiritual.

It is not to convince God.

Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, it is being willing to accept His will in our lives.

Thy will be done...

This is not empty verbiage.

It should be genuine acceptance of God’s will.

Prayer then expresses our desire or our concerns about what God’s will means for us.

Prayer is about our relationship with God, not about what we can get from Him.

Do you pray for the right reason?

Do you pray to be seen?

In a restaurant?

With your family?

At church?

Do you pray in silence and solitude?

Do you pray with sincerity?

Do you pray to God for help?