A Messiah Who Prays
Text: Matt. 6:5-13
Introduction
1. Illustration: Dr. R.G. Lee said, "If you trust in administration; you will get what administration can do. If you trust in hard work; you will get what hard work can do. If you trust in your sparkling personality; you will get what personality can do. If you trust in prayer; you get what God can do."
2. Martin Luther said, "as it is the duty of the cobbler to mend shoes, so it is the duty of the Christian to pray."
3. Prayer is the single most important spiritual discipline, and Jesus wanted to teach His disciples not only the importance of it but also how to pray.
4. He instructs His disciples about:
a. The motive of prayer
b. The substance of prayer
c. The model of prayer
5. Read Matt. 6:5-13
Proposition: Prayer is about developing a relationship of trust and dependence upon God.
Transition: First, Jesus teaches us about...
I. The Motive of Prayer (5-6)
A. When You Pray
1. The first thing that ought to jump off the page at us is that Jesus says, “When you pray..."
a. He doesn’t say "if you pray," but "When you pray..."
b. Prayer is not an option for the Christian, rather it is a necessity.
c. Just as necessary to our well being as food, water, and shelter.
d. In his book Prayer Partners, John Maxwell quotes John Wesley as saying, "Give me 100 preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergy or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up a kingdom of Heaven on earth. God does nothing but in answer to prayer" (p. 7).
e. The greatest ministry that any Christian can have is that of a prayer warrior!
2. Jesus continues by saying, “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."
a. Prayer was very important to the Jews in Jesus day. They prayed three times a day, but not necessarily at set times, although the ninth hour seemed to be a normal time.
b. Standing was the normal posture for prayer, but kneeling and sometimes prostrating themselves on the floor was also used (France, NICNT: Matthew, 238-239).
3. Just as with giving, Jesus concern here is with the intention of the heart, and he warns against hypocrisy.
a. What Jesus is condemning is acting all spiritual without being real.
b. Jesus forbids hypocrisy here, not sincere prayer in public or in religious services (Turner, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Matthew, 99).
c. The Bible does not condemn public prayer. On the contrary, we are all encouraged to gather together, and when we do we are to be actively involved.
d. 1 Corinthians 14:26 (NLT)
When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.
4. Instead, Jesus says, "But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.
a. What Jesus is referring to here was an inner room that was in a part of the house where no one could see you and you would not be distracted.
b. It was often referred to as a "storeroom" where a person’s most prized possessions were kept, and it is appropriate that "the treasure" of prayer was kept there too (Horton, CBL: Matthew, 107).
c. The place isn’t as important as separating oneself to God. In other words, it is giving God are full and undivided attention.
d. The point is being alone with God where no one else can hear.
e. John and Charles Wesley mother, who had a large number of children, used to pull her apron over her head to pray, and the children knew that if Mom had her apron pulled over her head to leave her alone.
5. Jesus tells us, "Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you."
a. This remarkable phrase reminds us that God is omnipresent (everywhere at all times), but that He is also invisible as compared to the hypocrites who seek to be seen (France, 239).
b. The issue here is motive. Pray in secret to you Father who sees everything.
B. From the Heart
1. Illustration: Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path."
2. When you pray, don’t try and impress those around you.
a. It won’t get your prayers answered any sooner.
b. It won’t make your prayers any more powerful.
c. It won’t impress upon anyone that you are a spiritual giant.
3. When you pray, speak from the heart.
a. The prayers that are the most powerful are those that come from the heart.
b. KJV prayers don’t impress God. (Contrary to the opinion of some, God does not speak Shakespearian English).
c. Prayer is nothing more or less than communicating with your Heavenly Father.
4. When you pray, be genuine.
a. God is more impressed with transparency than fluency.
b. Sometimes when we pray, I often wonder if God says "who in the world is this?"
c. God knows you better than you know yourself, so don’t try and be someone else when you pray.
Transition: Next, Jesus talks about...
II. The Substance of Prayer (7-8)
A. Don’t Babble
1. The issue in vv. 7-8 has to do with how God wants us to approach Him in prayer.
2. In v. 7, Jesus says, “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again."
a. The emphasis here is on people who do not know God as Father (France, 240).
b. Jesus critiques the prayers of "people of other religions" (lit. "Gentiles," or "pagans").
c. These prayers of the Gentiles evidently involved long-winded babbling in order to get the attention of a god, or the utterance of repeated magical incantations.
d. But Jesus reminded his disciples that their Father already knows what they need before they ask (Turner, 99).
3. Jesus tells us when we pray don’t babble like they do.
a. âáôôáëïãέùb: to utter senseless sounds or to speak indistinctly and incoherently (Louw and Nidda, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
b. What Jesus is getting at here is people who don’t have a trusting relationship with God, so when they do pray they try to impress God with their prayers.
c. They figure the more words they use the more their god is likely to hear them.
d. 1 Kings 18:26-29 (NLT)
So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made. About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!” So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response.
e. God is not telling us not to be persistent in prayer, but merely to be specific and get to the point.
4. Rather, Jesus says, "Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!"
a. This forces us to ask the question "if God already know what we need before we ask, why do we need to pray?"
b. Prayer is all about a relationship of trust which is a result of knowing God intimately.
c. We need to recognize that God is our Father and He wants us to show that we trust and depend upon Him to answer our prayers.
d. Again, the issue is that we don’t need to try and impress God. Get to the point and be specific with God.
B. Get To The Point
1. Illustration: When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart (John Brunyon).
2. When you pray, pray prayers that are honest and from the heart.
a. Often times I imagine the Father turning to Jesus and saying, "Son, do you have any idea what they talking about!"
b. God isn’t any more interested in many words than He is flowery words.
a. When you pray, get to the point and be specific.
b. Romans 4:17 (NKJV)
in the presence of Him whom he believed--God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
c. Don’t beat around the bush, tell God what you want.
d. If you need a miracle, ask for one.
e. If you need $100.00 don’t ask for a quarter.
f. Just ask, and get to the point!
g. John 14:14 (NLT)
Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
Transition: Then Jesus gives us...
III. The Model of Prayer (9-13)
A. Pray Like This
1. Jesus tells us, "Pray like this..."
a. This prayer has often been referred to as "The Lord’s Prayer," or "The Disciples Prayer," but would be more appropriately called "The Model Prayer."
b. Jesus was not telling his disciples to pray this prayer verbatim. He says "pray like this," not "pray this" (Turner, 99).
c. What Jesus is doing is giving us an example to follow and showing us what is important when we pray.
2. Notice how he begins, "Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy."
a. This kind of prayer puts God’s interest and those of the Kingdom ahead of our own.
b. This kind of prayer also makes the praise of God more important than our personal needs.
c. Jesus makes use of great family imagery here that indicates intimacy with God, but at the same time reminds us that God is not a pal or buddy with the reference "in heaven" (Turner, 100).
d. We must remember that although God loves us on an intimate and personal level, He is still "Lord, God, Almighty."
e. The NLT correctly interprets the phrase as "may your name be kept holy." We cannot make God’s name holy because it is already holy.
f. Consequently, this is a reference to people acknowledging God’s name as holy and thus giving God and His name the reverence He is due (France, 246).
3. The next thing Jesus says is, "May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."
a. The three "your" requests are (1) that God’s name be kept holy, (2) that His Kingdom would come, and (3) that His will would be done.
b. All three requests imply that certain aspects of God’s Kingdom are not yet (kingdom come, will be done).
c. This doesn’t refer only to the millennial reign of Christ, when He shall rule on earth for 1,000 years, but here and now so that people will turn over their hearts to the Lordship of Christ.
4. Then the focus shift from God to our personal needs. Jesus says, "Give us today the food we need..."
a. today = "pertaining to recurring on a daily basis - ’daily, on each day" (Louw and Nidda, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
b. We are to be concerned with day to day necessities rather than long-term luxuries (Tuner, 100).
c. Matthew 6:31-32 (NLT)
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs."
d. To trust God for our needs day by day involves trusting Him to meet our most basic necessities.
e. This is difficult in our society because we put so much emphasis on preparing for the future ahead of time (France, 248).
f. The question is, who do we trust? Ourselves or God?
5. Then Jesus says, "and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us."
a. The phrase "forgive us our sins" indicates that we have made the decision to turn from sin and toward God.
b. Those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ have received God’s pardon for sin and are saved from eternal hell.
c. And since, as we have seen, this prayer is given to believers, the sins referred to here are those incurred by Christians (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 1-7).
d. It shows that we still have faults that need to be dealt with on a daily basis.
e. Proverbs 28:13 (NLT)
People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.
6. Finally, Jesus says, "And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one."
a. God does not tempt anyone (James 1:13), but this prayer is asking God to protect us from temptation by the devil that is too much for us to handle.
b. 1 Cor. 10:13 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.
c. We all need all the help in dealing with temptation we can get.
B. Pray
1. Illustration: Prayer is surrender--surrender to the will of God and cooperation with that will. If I throw out a boathook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God (E. Stanley Jones, Liberating Ministry From The Success Syndrome, K Hughes, Tyndale, 1988, 73).
2. When you pray, always begin by glorifying and thanking God.
a. Prayer should not be seen as a grocery list given to God demanding that He satisfy our desires.
b. We can only come to him because of the blood of Jesus, and we need to see prayer as a privilege and not a right.
c. Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
d. Remember that grace is not something that we earn, and that we owe God everything and He owes us nothing.
3. When you pray, remember that you are praying to your Heavenly Father.
a. He knows you better than anyone, and wants what is best for you.
b. He knows what you need better than you do.
c. You can trust and rely on Him in all things.
4. When you pray, remember that God can and will meet all your needs.
a. Philippians 4:19 (NLT)
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
b. You don’t have any needs that our God is not able to meet.
c. There is nothing you can ask for that He is not able to supply.
d. He will meet all your needs according to HIS RICHES!
Conclusion
1. Prayer must always be honest and from the heart.
2. Prayer must always be specific and to the point.
3. Prayer must always begin by glorifying and thanking God.
4. Prayer is all about trusting God.
5. How is your prayer life?
a. Is it alive and thriving, or is it just barely hanging on?
b. Is prayer a preoccupation or a past-time?
c. Is prayer a part of your daily life, or is it something you do when you’re in trouble?
d. God is waiting to hear from you every day.
