PRAY Pastor Robert Simmons September 18, 2016 Matthew 6:5-15 5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, [a] but deliver us from the evil one. [b] 14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. William James, the great American philosopher, once said, Many reasons have been given why we should not pray, while others are given why we should. But in all this very little is said of the reasons why we do pray. The reason why we pray is simply that we cannot help praying. William Barclay wrote that prayer is not an acquired art; it is an instinct. In times when life is too much for us, when we are strained beyond the breaking-point, when we are tempted beyond the power to resist when our minds are troubled, and our hearts are broken, then we pray. 1 Does that ring true to your experience? Although we would all agree that prayer is not always easy and there is a certain mystery that is involved with prayer, still we often can t help ourselves and we reach out to God and pray. It is certainly true of our secular culture today. While there are those who are doing their hardest to keep God out of the public square, there are those times when storms and floods and fires and killings devastate us and our nation, and in those moments we hear pleas for 1 Adapted from William Barclay, The Plain Man s Book of Prayers, p. 7. PRAY (#2 in the Series: Four-Letter Words Every Christian Should Know and Use ) 9.18.16 Page 1
prayer coming from all directions. The sad truth is that it often takes a tragedy to force us to our knees. I am lifting up four-letter words in the Bible that every Christian ought to know and frequently use. We have looked at hope and life and now today we consider pray. And our text for thinking about prayer comes from the lips of Jesus as contained in his great Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6:5-15. Let s examine these verses together. THE PRACTICE OF PRAYER. Several times in these short verses Jesus uses the phrase, when you pray. It really is not as much a command to pray as it is an acknowledgment by our Lord that all of his children will pray. It is as if Jesus is saying, Now, you will pray and when you do here are some important things to keep in mind that will make your prayers more effective. What exactly are we doing when we pray? What is prayer? I am a very simple man so here is my simple definition of prayer: prayer is human speech directed to God. Prayer is talking to God. Prayer is entering into a conversation with God in much the say way you have a conversation with a dear friend or family member. So here are three things that describe what we are doing when we pray: First, prayer is a response to God. God has taken the initiative and acted in love on our behalf and so we respond to what God has done. Think of it this way. If I send you an email or text saying let s get together for coffee sometime soon, I have taken the initiative to get together with you and your responsibility is to respond with an acceptance or refusal. God has already taken the initiative to reach out to us in his Son Jesus Christ and is waiting for our response. Prayer is responding to the prior initiative of God. Second, prayer is talking to God. I am to talk with God about everything in my life just like I would with a dearest and trusted friend. In prayer, we open our heart and life to God, willingly and freely. He already knows what is there so there is no need to try and hide anything. Third, prayer is also listening to God. What does God have to say to me in light of what I am telling him about myself and others in my life? This is why I need to be in the Bible because God speaks to us in his word. But there will also be moments when we gain flashes of insight, receive some wisdom, or guidance when we are still and quiet before God. THE PROBLEM OF PRAYER. Jesus then warns us about three very important and serious problems we will encounter when we pray. We will be tempted to pray in such a way that we draw attention to ourselves and away from God (6:5). And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street PRAY (#2 in the Series: Four-Letter Words Every Christian Should Know and Use ) 9.18.16 Page 2
corners to be seen by others. Let it be noted there is nothing wrong with praying in church or even praying on the street as others drive or walk by. Most of us probably pause and say grace before our meals in the restaurant and that can be a powerful witness to your faith. The problem we must guard against is praying so that others will see us praying or be impressed by our prayer. If that is our motive, our prayers become lifeless and the praise of others become our reward rather than an answer to our prayer. Guard your motive for praying. The second problem Jesus warns against is that we may think that our prayers depend on using special words and phrases or being a certain length (6:7). What really matters with prayer is honesty and sincerity. Period. There are no special words you must use and it isn t the length of your prayer that makes it work. The deciding factor for effective prayer is that your heart is in it. The third problem we must guard against is an unforgiving heart (6:14-15). Our prayers are blocked when we are not willing to forgive. God cannot forgive us our sins so long as we harbor the sin of refusing to forgive someone. Watch out for these very common problems when you pray. THE PLACE OF PRAYER (6:6). Now comes some very practical and helpful guidance from our Lord concerning prayer: When you pray, go into your room. It is helpful if you set aside a special place where you can retreat to pray. It could be your bedroom, your patio, the den or home office, your favorite walking trail, a picnic shelter at the local park, or some other place. Where is your favorite place to retreat for prayer? Do you have such a place? If you don t have a special place for your prayer time what would it take for you to establish such a place for prayer? Think about finding a place that will become your prayer room that you can enter and be shut off from the world for a few moments. THE PRIVACY OF PRAYER (6:6). And then Jesus goes on to tell us that our place of prayer should provide us with some privacy for praying. If you are like me, I prefer to pray out loud and not just silently. There are times and places for silent prayers, but when I spend time alone with God I like to speak out loud (and I sing a hymn or two). You want privacy for lots of reasons but two of the most important reasons are so you can pray about anything, even sensitive issues, without fear of someone listening or hearing. But also you want a place of privacy so you are away from distractions. One of the reasons we close our eyes to prayer is to help us to be blind to any distractions going on around us. But when you have a private place of prayer you can pray with your eyes upon (which is my favorite way to pray). THE PERSON OF PRAYER (6:6). When we pray, Jesus tells us to go into our room, close the door, and pray to our Father. In a very technical sense when PRAY (#2 in the Series: Four-Letter Words Every Christian Should Know and Use ) 9.18.16 Page 3
we pray we are to offer our prayer to God the Father, in the name or through the merits of Jesus Christ, the Son, by the power or aid of the Holy Spirit. But I often have people ask me if it is okay to address their prayers to God the Father, or Jesus, or even the Holy Spirit. And the answer yes, to all the above. It is correct and appropriate to pray to God our heavenly Father, or to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, or also to the Holy Spirit. There is one God: Father, Son, and Spirit and so each can be addressed and can be the focus of our prayers. THE POWER OF PRAYER (6:6). And then Jesus gives us a wonderful promise and reveals that prayer works and is powerful. Listen to these words: pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. That is a promise that God will hear your prayer and will answer it in the correct and proper way that honors him and is best for you. Do you believe God answers prayer? Has God answered some of your prayers? Don t let those prayers for which there seems to be no answer detour you from praying. We have Jesus own promise here that our Father will reward our prayers. Keep praying and refuse to give up! THE PATTERN FOR PRAYER (6:9-13). And then Jesus gives us a pattern for our prayers. There is nothing wrong with praying these very words, and we do every Sunday in our worship. I will often pray these words in my private devotions either to begin or end my prayer time. That is certainly one way to apply this pattern for prayer. But here is another way this pattern prayer should be used and is probably the really intended way for us to use it. It gives us a powerful outline for our prayers. How shall we pray? Consider adapting this pattern prayer as an outline for your personal prayers. Notice how this can be done: 1. We will want to pray for everything we need to properly hallow or honor God s name and person Our Father, in heaven, hallowed be your name. 2. We will want to pray for everything we need to accomplish God s will your kingdom come, your will be done. 3. We will want to pray for everything we may need to make it through each day give us this day our daily bread. 4. We will want to pray for everything we need to escape the trials and temptations from the Evil One lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. 5. We will want to pray for everything we need to bring God all the glory he rightfully deserves for yours PRAY (#2 in the Series: Four-Letter Words Every Christian Should Know and Use ) 9.18.16 Page 4
is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. 2 CONCLUSION. It was Alfred Lord Tennyson that once said, More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. I believe that and I hope you do too. Let s keep praying. Our world needs our prayers now more than ever. 2 Adapted from Kevin DeYoung, The Good News We Almost Forgot, p. 211-213. PRAY (#2 in the Series: Four-Letter Words Every Christian Should Know and Use ) 9.18.16 Page 5