Prayer 101

Prayer 101
Matthew 6:5-15[1]
2-27-05

Intro

“Where do I begin?” Have you ever found yourself asking that question faced with a task so challenging you didn’t even know where to start?

A while back my car broke down on the way home from church. I managed to steer it out of the road. I tried to restart it several times to no avail. So I did what most of you would do. I got out of the car, lifted the hood, and looked at the engine. I don’t know why I did that because I didn’t know any more about the problem after looking under the hood than before. I felt totally frustrated because I had no idea how to solve the problem. I didn’t even know how to begin the task.

Later, my son-in-law, John, looked under that same hood at the same engine. He pointed out the problem, and in short time had it fixed. He even seemed to enjoy the process.

The point I’m making is this. A little knowledge about how to begin something can really help with the motivation. I knew a man who would go into major depression about this time every year because it was time for him to do his taxes. He had a successful business because he was a hard worker and had some technical skills. But he only had about a sixth grade education and doing his tax return was a daunting task for him. I don’t know why he didn’t just hire someone to do it for him but he did his own return each year. He dreaded that task because it required him to do something he knew very little about.

You can probably think of Can you think of an undertaking that affects you that way as well? Compare that to something you know and understand. In the corporate world I faced problems far more complicated than the engine problem I mentioned earlier. But I jumped right in and got the job done because somebody had taught me how to approach that situation. A little instruction can make a huge difference. And even if we have a lot to learn, just knowing where to begin can be a big help.

Jesus does that for us in our text this morning concerning the matter of prayer. I don’t know about you but I still feel like a kindergartner when it comes to prayer. I still feel I have so much to learn. But I don’t draw back from prayer because I at least know where to begin.

In Matthew 6 Jesus gives us the most fundamental and most important aspects of prayer. We all want our prayers to count. We want to pray effectively and these are the essential basics for that to happen. What we talk about this morning and next Sunday will be good preparation for our 50 Days of Consecration which begins in March.

“And when you pray...”—that is the way our text begins in Matthew 6:5. What should I do when I pray? What should I keep in mind? How should I begin and what should my attitude be? Jesus’ first point is:


I. Be Sincere!

Do not be like the hypocrites. They pray out of the wrong motive. They pray to be seen of men. They are missing the most essential dynamic of prayer—it is a conversation with God, no a show. The word Matthew uses for hypocrite was the word used in Classical Greek for actor, showman.[2] Don’t put on a show; just talk with God. Jesus had some very strong words for hypocrites. Here He tells us to not be like them. In Matthew 15 the Pharisees complained to Jesus because His disciples were not following the ceremonial washing of hands before the meal.