Prayer

Prayer is one of the most wonderful things we have been given to us. Many have misunderstood it, been intimidated by it and to not enjoy the time with the Father. This term Father is one that we need to understand it uniqueness especially in context of who Jesus is talking to. Over and over again Jesus is saying to these folks that they are to talk with their Father. This is not a term that was associated in the same way in the Old Testament. Yes, God was the Father to Israel and Israel was His children, but the relationship was very different.

Prayer is one of the most misunderstood things we have contained within the word of God. Prayer is a gift for you and I to have, it builds our relationship with the Lord. Often because of our misunderstanding of prayer we miss out on the blessing that it offers. I also want to remind you that as we enter this text we are continuing the theme of living out our righteousness. We have moved to a place of living a life of worship. As we looked at last week giving, that is worshiping the Lord. It is laying everything at His feet trusting that His will be done. I love the topic of prayer. This is an aspect of my Christian life that has grown over the years, especially as I am learning I have no control over anything. Life happens, good and bad, no matter how hard I try there is nothing I can do to fix it, change it, or stop it from happening. But God can do all those things. He is also able to carry me through every situation impossible as they may seem.

Prayer is often not something many are intimidated by because they for get it is just a conversation with the Lord. It is just that, talking with God as you would your Father. With that let me read to you again verse 5:

(NKJV)

5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Jesus says to the crowd, “…when you pray...” I want us to see this first as we get started. This is an assumed activity just as we read last week:

(NKJV)

2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

When you do this thing, there is not an if you pray or if you give, it is when you give, when you pray. Prayer should be a natural part of our walk with God:

(NKJV)

17 pray without ceasing,

It is that simple, pray without ceasing. Prayer should not just happen it should be happening without ceasing. I want to stop here and change directions for just a moment. Before we go any further on how we are to pray I want to spend some time on what Jesus explains as how not to pray. Jesus says again do not be like the hypocrites. To remind you the hypocrite or the actor was seen as the person who lived double or fake lives. the actor themselves was just known to be a fake person. They lived one live and at work or on the stage they were a different person. This word is very important for us to understand. As we clarify this We need to understand what we mean when we say, “…that person is a hypocrite...”

Here Jesus has just referred to God as Father in these last few chapters as many times as we find as a whole in the Old Testament. I cannot imagine how they reacted to this as Jesus is making all this very personal and about the relationship and not about the action. As we now approach prayer, I want to remind us of how marvelous it is and how special it is. Yet in all that how precious it is for s to be a part of as we draw closer to the Lord.

Prayer is often not something many are intimidated by because they forget it is just a conversation with the Lord. It is just that, talking with God as you would your Father. With that let me read to you again verse 5:

Prayer is a gift for you and I to have, it builds our relationship with the Lord. Often because of our misunderstanding of prayer we miss out on the blessing that it offers. So often we are so afraid to come to the Lord, we fear to even ask God for help of His blessing yet we see in scripture that these saints wanted nothing less than all God had for them. James says this to us:

(NKJV)

Jesus also warned about the danger of hypocrisy (, , ), the sin of using religion to cover up sin. A hypocrite is not a person who falls short of his high ideals, or who occasionally sins, because all of us experience these failures. A hypocrite deliberately uses religion to cover up his sins and promote his own gains. [Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 25). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.]

(NKJV)

5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

Jesus says to the crowd, “…when you pray...” I want us to see this first as we get started. This is an assumed activity just as we read last week:

We often thing of a hypocrite as one who just does wrong when they have standers set in place for their lives. This does not make them a hypocrite it makes them human. It is not until they try and act as if it is ok for them do work or go against their standards but no one else can. This is why so many people look to Christians as hypocrites, they do not fully understand what it means to be a hypocrite. Of course we as Christians are going to make mistakes. We all are imperfect, Christian and non-Christian. It is foolish to think you are going to walk into a perfect church, they will not exist until Jesus returns. So what jesus is saying to us, do not live a life that is saying be humble, be righteous and not fake. Then in the next breath do actions that are not humble, or righteous but are fake. This was the life of those Jesus is talking about.

We have not because we do not ask. Are you seeking God for all things or are we in fear that if we ask we will seem selfish. I think of the book of Acts and they often came to the Lord in prayer seeing a refreshing a new filling of the Lord. We need to come to the Lord, this is our conection to Him, we have not because we do not sit with Him. It is when we are with Him that our entire midset is changed. As He shows us at times things we may not understood or moves us to places we would not expect. Yet all this happens as we approach Him as our Father.

(NKJV)

2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

I love the topic of prayer I especially love that the disciples did as well:

I image this was a common occurrence as it still is today for people today. I remember being in the Tel-Aviv Airport a few years ago. As Erin and I were in a cafe, we looked and saw an Orthodox Jew standing on the second or third floor at the railing for all to see. He was praying His normal daily prayers, but for all to see. I could not help but to think of this verse as Jesus says they have received their reward. Let me help us as we try to think this trough for today. Prayer is so often used to show off all we know. It is a real shame actually as people come to prayer groups and turn from who they are to some over spiritual person. They begin to use it as an opportunity to pray in a way that shows their spirituality. They use words that the you just do not use in normal conversation. It is as if they go from hillbilly to King James version as they close there eyes. Guys this s fake. It is not needed. I get it we do not want to seem dumb when we pray. But we are looking at it all wrong, who are we praying too God or those who are in the room around us.

When you do this thing, there is not an if you pray or if you give, it is when you give, when you pray. Prayer should be a natural part of our walk with God:

(NKJV)

1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

(NKJV)

The other danger is when we begin to

17 pray without ceasing,

The disciples come to Jesus and ask, “how do we pray…” We do not see them asking, how do we heal, how do we preach, but we see this, “How do we pray.” I find this interesting because they had prayers that they would pray as Jews. But this question is very different then, “what do we say.” It is more of an attitude of how do we pray and talk to the Father as you do.

It is that simple, pray without ceasing. Prayer should not just happen it should be happening without ceasing. I want to stop here and change directions for just a moment. Before we go any further on how we are to pray I want to spend some time on what Jesus explains as how not to pray. Jesus says again do not be like the hypocrites. To remind you the hypocrite or the actor was seen as the person who lived double or fake lives. the actor themselves was just known to be a fake person. They lived one live and at work or on the stage they were a different person. This word is very important for us to understand. As we clarify this, we need to understand what we mean when we say, “…that person is a hypocrite...”

They saw the hypocrites praying and heard Jesus say this in :

Jesus also warned about the danger of hypocrisy:

(NKJV)

5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’

the sin of using religion to cover up sin. A hypocrite is not a person who falls short of his high ideals, or who occasionally sins, because all of us experience these failures. A hypocrite deliberately uses religion to cover up his sins and promote his own gains.[1]

We often thing of a hypocrite as one who just does wrong when they have standers set in place for their lives. This does not make them a hypocrite it makes them human. It is not until they try and act as if it is ok for them do work or go against their standards but no one else can. This is why so many people look to Christians as hypocrites, they do not fully understand what it means to be a hypocrite. Of course, we as Christians are going to make mistakes. We all are imperfect, Christian and non-Christian. It is foolish to think you are going to walk into a perfect church, they will not exist until Jesus returns. So what jesus is saying to us, do not live a life that is saying be humble, be righteous and not fake. Then in the next breath do actions that are not humble, or righteous but are fake. This was the life of those Jesus is talking about.

Jesus says do not be like this. These phylacteries that Jesus is referring to were things that were being built up to look spiritual. They had and still have these boxes that are put on their foreheads and leather straps that wrap around their arms. They have the 10 Commandments inside them. They enlarge boarders of their garments are tassels that hang from an undershirt that they were to wear. These had all been take out of proportion and been used in ways that were not God honoring.

Jesus do not be like this. The disciples are asking Jesus in how we pray like you do. We want to have that same relationship you have. They saw all the fakeness and I imagine as they were growing in the Lord their eyes were opening more and more to the fakeness and deadness that it was contained in. So let our question be the same as it was for the disciples, Lord how are we to pray in a way that builds our relationship and is not fake.

I image this was a common occurrence as it still is today for people today. I remember being in the Tel-Aviv Airport a few years ago. As Erin and I were in a cafe, we looked and saw an Orthodox Jew standing on the second or third floor at the railing for all to see. He was praying His normal daily prayers, but for all to see. I could not help but to think of this verse as Jesus says they have received their reward. Let me help us as we try to think this trough for today. Prayer is so often used to show off all we know. It is a real shame actually as people come to prayer groups and turn from who they are to some over spiritual person. They begin to use it as an opportunity to pray in a way that shows their spirituality. They use words that the you just do not use in normal conversation. It is as if they go from hillbilly to King James version as they close their eyes. Guys this s fake. It is not needed. I get it we do not want to seem dumb when we pray. But we are looking at it all wrong, who are we praying to God or those who are in the room around us.

You have those who want to make these long drawn out prayers in public, let me just be clear for a moment, when everyone’s eyes are closed and you are praying for over five minutes, the people with your now sleeping. The public prayer should be a short version, we do not need all the history, God knows what is going on, if we are praying to him be polite to Him and us. I know you may be thinking but I am praying my heart out, that may be true, but in a public setting is different. You need to see the longer we go on and on we lose the effectiveness of the public prayer. Do not make it a time to tell stories in your prayer, give history, just get to the point.

(NKJV)

5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

The other danger is when we begin to pray is to preach a sermon. In fact I am very cousious of this. I do all I can to not use it as a time to repeat important points, or to pray the points I missed. That is not what prayer is, it is for us to God not for us to man. There is a big difference, and we need to see this. We need to be praying to God and not to man.

We also do not use prayer to gossip. A times people can use this to talk about people and say it was just a prayer. That is not true you are using it to gossip. If you have information that others do not, then that information does not need to be in a public prayer.

Jesus says to the crowd, “…when you pray...” I want us to see this first as we get started. This is an assumed activity just as we read last week:

We then go on and read:

(NKJV)

2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

(NKJV)

6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

When you do this thing, there is not an if you pray or if you give, it is when you give, when you pray. Prayer should be a natural part of our walk with God:

(NKJV)

I want to be clear this is not condoning public prayer. It is condoning prayer that is for self and not for God. If you do not have a private prayer life, then you should not have a public one either. We see that the early church prayed together publicly often, here is an example:

(NKJV)

17 pray without ceasing,

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. 13 And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

It is that simple, pray without ceasing. Prayer should not just happen at meal time or at church, it should be happening without ceasing. I want to stop here and change directions for just a moment. Before we go any further on how we are to pray I want to spend some time on what Jesus says about how not to pray.

It is not about the prayer groups it is about the production that comes with it. Also as we read this prayer room we read understand it to have such a wonderful meaning. It seems this is a room already filled with riches:

Jesus says again do not be like the hypocrites. To remind you the hypocrite or the actor was seen as the person who lived double or fake lives. The actor themselves was just known to be a fake person. They lived one life at work and one the stage; they were always different people. This word is very important for us to understand. As we clarify this, we need to understand what we mean when we say, “…that person is a hypocrite...”

R. V. G. Tasker points out that the Greek word for the ‘room’ into which we are to withdraw to pray (tameion) ‘was used for the store-room where treasures might be kept’. The implication may be, then, that ‘there are treasures already awaiting’ us when we pray.2 Certainly the hidden rewards of prayer are too many to enumerate.[2]

A hypocrite is not a person who falls short of his high ideals, or who occasionally sins, because all of us experience these failures. A hypocrite deliberately uses religion to cover up his sins and promote his own gains.[1]

How I want all the treasures I can find from our Lord. I want to be filled with His greatness. IT just seems so often we are not willing to enter into that place. I think we forget what prayer really is. It is a time of fellowship with God. IT is a time that is specific for you and I to come to the Lrod eltting Him work in us. It is not a time where we come to God and tell Him how it is. IT is not a time wree we use it to tell God of all our problems, He already knows. It is a time for us to remember who we are talking to and to be reminded of His awesome power and greatness. It is a time of worship that I think we so often miss out on.

We often think of a hypocrite as one who just does wrong when they have standers set in place for their lives. This does not make them a hypocrite it makes them human. It is not until they try and act as if it is ok for them do to go against their standards but no one else can. This is why so many people look to Christians as hypocrites, they do not fully understand what it means to be a hypocrite.

How I love to just talk with the Lord, and how I love it when everything is falling apart and I run out of words, He then just hears my heart. I wish I could explain this to you better. But all I can say is that when I am quiet, He is able to finally speak to me.

Of course, we as Christians are going to make mistakes. We all are imperfect, Christian and non-Christian. It is foolish to think you are going to walk into a perfect church, they will not exist until Jesus returns. So, what Jesus is saying to us, do not live a life that is saying be humble, be righteous and not fake. Then in the next breath do actions that are not humble, or righteous but are fake. This was the life of those Jesus is talking about.

It is funny in my house for some reason everyone wants to talk at the same time. We all want to tell our stories and we all want everyone to listen but we want them to be told now. What ends up happening is no one can hear anything it is a loud mess. So often this is how we come to God, we start talking and talking, and never stop to listen. Remember, He already knows, we do not need to go to Him with all the details. It is ok to talk with the Lord, but remember prayer is not about us telling Him how to fix things it is about us getting in line with God so He can fix us to endure the things of this world.

I remember being in the Tel-Aviv Airport a few years ago. As Erin and I were in a cafe, we looked and saw an Orthodox Jew standing on the second or third floor at the railing for all to see. He was praying His normal daily prayers, but for all to see. I could not help but to think of this verse as Jesus says they have received their reward. As people looked to him and thought what a good man he is praying, that was his reward.

(NKJV)

Let me help us as we try to think this trough for today. Prayer is so often used to show off all we know. It is a real shame actually as people come to prayer groups and turn from who they are to some over spiritual person. They begin to use it as an opportunity to pray in a way that shows their spirituality. They use words that the you just do not use in normal conversation. It is as if they go from hillbilly to King James version as they close their eyes. Guys this is fake, and it is not needed. I get it we do not want to seem dumb when we pray in front of others. The issues is we are looking at it all wrong; who are we praying to God or those who are in the room around us?

You have those who want to make these long drawn out prayers in public, let me just be clear for a moment, when everyone’s eyes are closed and you are praying for over five minutes, the people with your now sleeping. The public prayer should be a short version, we do not need all the history, God knows what is going on, if we are praying to him be polite to Him and us. I know you may be thinking but I am praying my heart out, that may be true, but in a public setting is different. You need to see the longer we go on and on we lose the effectiveness of the public prayer meeting. Do not make it a time to tell stories in your prayer, give history, just get to the point.

7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Vein repetitions is another misunderstood concept of prayer. This is not saying to us that we should only pray about a situation one time. It is referring to the practiced spiritual religious prayers of the people. There are detonations that have memorize prayers that they recite and when you hear them it sounds like some scary chanting going on. It is not real, it is not from the heart, it is a chant. In fact many have turned this prayer by Jesus into one of these chants. They take what He said not to do and do just that. I have been at funerals where people read the prayer that Jesus gives and suddenly like on que everyone just starts to recite it. It is like a trained prayer not a prayer from the heart.

The other danger is when we begin to pray we think it is time to preach a sermon. In fact, I am very cautious of this. I do all I can to not use it as a time to repeat important points, or to pray the points I missed. That is not what prayer is, it is for us to God not for us to man. There is a big difference, and we need to see this. We need to be praying to God and not to man.

Jesus prayed prayers more than once:

We also do not use prayer to gossip. A times people can use this to talk about people and say it was just a prayer. That is not true you are using it to gossip. If you have information that others do not, then that information does not need to be in a public prayer.

(NKJV)

We then go on and read:

(NKJV)

36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” 39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” 40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

We also see that Paul did the same:

6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

(NKJV)

I want to be clear this is not condoning public prayer, it is condoning prayer that is for self and not for God. Just make sure you have a private prayer life and that your public prayer life is not bigger than your private prayer life. We see that the early church prayed together publicly often, here is one example:

(NKJV)

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. 13 And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

These were genuine prayers that were given and not just a repeated rehearsed prayer. Next I want to look at verse 8:

(NKJV)

It is not about the prayer groups it is about the production that comes with it. Jesus mentions to us to go into our prayer room, we read understand it to have such a wonderful meaning. It seems this is a room is a room that is set up as a storage room, one that already filled with riches:

R. V. G. Tasker points out that the Greek word for the ‘room’ into which we are to withdraw to pray (tameion) ‘was used for the store-room where treasures might be kept’. The implication may be, then, that ‘there are treasures already awaiting’ us when we pray.2 Certainly the hidden rewards of prayer are too many to enumerate.[2]

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

I think we forget what prayer really is, it is a time of fellowship with God. It is a time that is specific for you and I to come to the lord letting Him work in us. It is not a time where we come to God and tell Him how He needs to change. It is not a time in which we use it to tell God of all our problems, we are reminded that He already knows. It is a time for us to remember who we are talking to and to be reminded of His awesome power and greatness. It is a time of worship that I think we so often miss out on.

We are told not to be like those who pray super spiritual and fake. Please do not think you need to have some great powerful words in order to be heard by God. He knows what you need and loves you enough to stop everything to hear you. There are those we may hear pray and it should so spiritual and so powerful. It is no more powerful than a prayer coming from a five-year-old who is genuinely seeking God. It is not about the words, or the way it is prayed it is about the heart. We hear people praying supper loud and animated and we think that is powerful. Or the dynamics builder who speaks real quiet, and then comes in powerful like a wonderfully orchestrated symphony.

People hear that and think that person has such great emotion in their prayer it must be spiritual. No, a prayer is just a conversation. How do you talk to your friends, your parents, with honor and love or with loud weird voices and words? We should be praying like we would pray to our perfect Father whom we love. It should be honorable, but real, and a conversation not an elaborate event.

How I love to just talk with the Lord and how I love it when everything is falling apart and I run out of words, He then just hears my heart. I wish I could explain this to you better. But all I can say is that when I am quiet, that when He speaks, I am finally able to hear.

It is funny in my house, for some reason everyone wants to talk at the same time. We all want to tell our stories and we all want everyone to listen, but no one wants to wait their turn. What ends up happening is no one can hear anything as it is such a loud mess. So often this is how we come to God, we start talking and talking, and never stop to listen. Remember, He already knows, we do not need to go to Him with all the details. It is ok to talk with the Lord, but remember prayer is not about us telling Him how to fix things it is about us getting in line with God so He can fix us to endure the things of this world.

Next, I want to ask why do we pray of God already knows. What is the point of it? This is a question that comes from not fully understanding what prayer is. Remember prayer is not for us to inform God, He already knows. It is for God to inform us. God needs us to come to Him and sit with Him so He can work in us. He needs us to let Him speak to us as we desire to learn from Him. We do not go to God to get stuff, but we do to God to be redirected. I will also say, God wants to give, He is merciful and gracious, He wants to overflow in us. Prayer is the gate that opens that for us. If we never come to Him seeking His wisdom, His way we will never receive the fullness from God. He wants us to open that door, He wants us to have the open heart to be ready to receive His Spirit. He wants us to be open for His will and not our own. Why do we pray even though He already knows the needs and the answers, it is because it is about us and not Him? He wants to teach us how to live in His will and not our own.

I also want to remind you that prayer is not a bargaining tool. God I pray you would give me this and I will give you that. This is not how God works. He does not need to barged with us. He needs us to surrender to Him.

(NKJV)

7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

There is a story of a young boy who wants a bike, so he prays for it. He does not get his bike but keeps faithfully praying. After a while he begins to now pray, “Lord if you will give me this bike I will help my neighbors with yard work, I will go to the store for them since they cannot drive. Lord please give me a new bike. He prays and prays this and nothing. Then he gets angry Lord you said you would give to me if I ask, Lord you are not giving, I am asking. Finally, he had enough and takes his moms Mary statue and hides it under his bed and says to God, “If you ever want to see your mom again you better get me that bike.”

Vein repetitions is another misunderstood concept of prayer. This is not saying to us that we should only pray about a situation one time. It is referring to the practiced spiritual religious prayers. There are denominations that have memorized prayers that they recite and when you hear them it sounds like some scary chanting going on. It is not real, it is not from the heart, it is a chant. In fact, many have turned this prayer by Jesus into one of those chants. They take what He said not to do and do just that. I have been at funerals where people read the prayer that Jesus gives and suddenly like on que everyone just starts to recite it. It is like a trained prayer and it has nothing to do with what is going on in the heart.

That is not what prayer is, it is not forcing God’s hand, nor is it bargaining with Him. But so often we try this to get our way. Prayer is about His way not our way.

So often we do not hear from the Lord because we are not talking with the Lord. James says this:

Let’s go back to this idea of can we pray or seek God about something more than one time. Well we know Jesus did:

(NKJV)

2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” 39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” 40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

We also see that Paul did as well:

Again, it is about what He wants to do in us. We do not have because we are not seeking the Lord. God wants to bless us fully, do not fear the blessing of the Lord. I know God wants to give, are we willing to open the door so we can receive. Are we willing to humbly come to Him and receive all He has for us.

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Prayer is a beautiful thing for us all. It changes things. That thing that needs to be changed is us. Let God change you as you seek Him in prayer. Let God come fill you with His blessings as we open the door to the room of prayer were the storage of great things already are for us. Prayer is about having a relationship with the Lord; it is about letting God work in us in a mighty way as we humbly come to Him. It is a gift that I want all of us to have parts of. I want you all to have all God wants for us. I want you to grow as you enter His presence and seek God’s will leaving your will behind.

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 25). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

These were genuine prayers that were given and not just a repeated rehearsed prayer. Next, I want to look at verse 8:

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8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

[2] R. V. G. Tasker The Gospel according to St Matthew by R. V. G. Tasker (Tyndale New Testament Commentary; IVP, 1961) 2 P. 73. Stott, J. R. W., & Stott, J. R. W. (1985). The message of the Sermon on the mount (): Christian counter-culture (p. 134). Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Do not be like who? Those spiritual people that we talked about in . Those people that do things to be seen by men and not by the Lord. Jesus does not want us to think we need to have some great powerful words in order to be heard by God. He knows what you need and loves you enough to stop everything to hear you.

There are those we may hear pray and it may sound so spiritual and so powerful. It is no more powerful than a prayer coming from a five-year-old who is genuinely seeking God. It is not about the words, or the way it is prayed it is about the heart. God would rather hear from us in purity then to never hear from us. Even if we do nto know what to say we read the Spirit steps in:

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26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

If I could help us as we pray let me remind you that is should be natural and what is normal. It does not need to be some big elaborate thought out conversation. It just needs to be to the Lord. We hear people praying supper loud and animated and we think that is powerful. Or the dynamics builder who speaks real quiet, and then comes in powerful like a wonderfully orchestrated symphony.

People hear that and think that person has such great emotion in their prayer it must be spiritual. No, a prayer is just a conversation. How do you talk to your friends, your parents, with honor and love or with loud weird voices and words? We should be praying like we would pray to our perfect Father whom we love. It should be honorable, but real, and a conversation not an elaborate event.

Next, I want to ask why we pray if God already knows what we are going to say and what His answer is going to be and what will happen in the days to come? What is the point of it? This is a question that comes from not fully understanding what prayer is. Remember prayer is not for us to inform God, He already knows. It is for God to inform us. God wants us to come to Him and sit with Him so He can work in us. He wants us to let Him speak to us as we desire to learn from Him. We do not go to God to get stuff, but we do to God to be redirected.

I will also say, God wants to give, He is merciful and gracious, He wants to overflow in us. Prayer is that gate that opens that for us. If we never come to Him seeking His wisdom, His way we will never receive the fullness from God. He wants us to open that door, He wants us to have the open heart to be ready to receive His Spirit. He wants us to be open for His will and not our own.

Why do we pray even though He already knows the needs and the answers, it is because it is about us and not Him? He wants to teach us how to live in His will and not our own.

I also want to remind you that prayer is not a bargaining tool. God, I pray you would give me this and I will give you that. This is not how God works. He does not need us to bargen with Him, He needs us to surrender to Him.

There is a story of a young boy who wants a bike, so he prays for it. He does not get his bike but keeps faithfully praying. After a while he begins to now pray, “Lord if you will give me this bike I will help my neighbors with yard work, I will go to the store for them since they cannot drive. Lord please give me a new bike. He prays and prays this and nothing. Then he gets angry Lord you said you would give to me if I ask, Lord you are not giving, I am asking. Finally, he had enough and takes his moms Mary statue and hides it under his bed and says to God, “If you ever want to see your mom again you better get me that bike.”

That is not what prayer is, it is not forcing God’s hand, nor is it bargaining with Him. But so often we try this to get our way. Prayer is about His way not our way.

So often we do not hear from the Lord because we are not talking with the Lord. James says this:

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2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Again, it is about what He wants to do in us. We do not have because we are not seeking the Lord. At times we do not hear from Him because we are seeking our own will and not His. We forget in His perfect sovereignty God wants to bless us fully, do not fear the blessing of the Lord. I know God wants to give, we just need to come to Him and be willing to open the door so we can receive.

Prayer is a beautiful thing for us all. It changes things. That thing that needs to be changed is us. Let God change you as you seek Him in prayer. Let God come fill you with His blessings as we open the door to the room of prayer were the storage of great things already are for us. Prayer is about having a relationship with the Lord; it is about letting God work in us in a mighty way as we humbly come to Him. It is a gift that I want all of us to be a part of. I want you all to have all God wants for you. I want you to grow as you enter His presence and seek God’s will leaving your will behind.

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 25). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[2] R. V. G. Tasker The Gospel according to St Matthew by R. V. G. Tasker (Tyndale New Testament Commentary; IVP, 1961) 2 P. 73. Stott, J. R. W., & Stott, J. R. W. (1985). The message of the Sermon on the mount (): Christian counter-culture (p. 134). Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.