When You Pray
Matthew 6 • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro
Intro
How is your Prayer Life?
Its the New Year and resolutions have been made..... to read more, sleep more, Bible reading, lose weight, stop an addictive habit, work out more, pray more......
Here is my resolution for our church...... That we are God-dependent... Prayer is the underlying power of dependency.
1. Individually we are committed to Pray
A failure to pray is a sign of anemic spiritual life - Mohler
2. Churchwide we are commited to pray!
Spurgeon.... If a church does not pray.... it is dead.
To start out this year we are going to Jesus himself and to his model prayer to his Disciples... the Lord’s Prayer Matthew 6
How is your prayer life?......My hope....it will be God-dependent.
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
1. Christians Pray
1. Christians Pray
When..... is the Greek word for WHEN.... not If..... So, our first point is clear from Jesus..... Christians Pray.
Prayer is at its simplest definition = Talking with God. Speaking and listening, conversing with God.
Prayer is our response back to God’s initiation of His Word to us (the Bible)..... we respond to him..... this is consistent throughout the Bible..... the Gospel message is the same..... we do not reach out on our own merit, but it is the Goodness, the Grace, the Love of God that has initiated the conversation, and we respond..... WE TALK TO GOD BECAUSE HE HAS SPOKEN TO US IN HIS WORD!
The Bible and Prayer are the two essential spiritual habits for Christians and our church......
When asked, “What is more important: Prayer or Reading the Bible?” I ask, “What is more important: Breathing in or Breathing out?” Illustration - Spurgeon
obstacles to prayer (they become as bad as “my dog ate my homework” to the teacher).
Don’t know what to say
Don’t know how to say something
I’m not good at it
It’s too hard
I don’t think God is listening
Time - I’m too busy for it
Life distractions
. I am not worthy enough to pray to God....If I was made to earn it I couldnt.
Model of Prayer - Jesus himself had ongoing prayer and conversation with God!
“Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16).
He prayed at His baptism (Luke 3:21–22);
before feeding the 5,000 (Luke 9:16)
and the 4,000 (Matthew 15:36);
and at the moment of His transfiguration (Luke 9:29).
Before Jesus chose His twelve disciples, He “spent the night praying to God” on a mountainside (Luke 6:12).
When he raised Lazarus - “Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me’” (John 11:41–42)
In Jerusalem the week of His arrest, Jesus predicted His soon-to-come death. As He spoke of His coming sacrifice, Jesus prayed a very short prayer: “Father, glorify your name!” (John 12:28). In response to Jesus’ prayer, a voice from heaven said, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
Spending a last few minutes with His disciples on the night of His arrest, Jesus prayed an extended prayer known today as His “high priestly prayer” (John 17)
Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane just before His arrest (Matthew 26:36–46).
Jesus even prayed from the cross, in the midst of His agony. (Matthew 27:46). (Luke 23:34). (Luke 23:46).
Christians Pray because it reveals the REALNESS of our trust and faith in God.....
Statistics show that Americans on the majority pray..... believers pray more silently and by themselves......
Only 2% choose to pray with someone else and only 2% choose to pray as a church family group… - Barna Prayer
that’s what Jesus has shown us.... modeled to us..... His relationship with God was REAL and so is ours!
It cannot be put into a spreadsheet...... box to check....... It comes down to the REALNESS of our relationship with God! It is a matter of the heart!
2. Prayer is a Heart Matter
2. Prayer is a Heart Matter
a. It is more than who sees you
a. It is more than who sees you
Prayer is both personal (as Jesus teaches here) and done in a group (Acts 2 and Acts 4)..... It is here that Jesus is pointing out the matter of your heart not the primary location of your prayers.
He is interested in the architecture of your heart and not only of the architecture above your prayers!
a. hypocrites - Public - Outward
a. hypocrites - Public - Outward
v. 2 and 5...... hypocrites were looking for moments to be seen praying..... that was their goal.... to be seen as religious......
They were doing the equivalent of showing up to HEB yesterday right before the cold weather hit! and stopping the check out line with a long 15 minutes prayer session...... to be seen.
These religious Jews..... most likely religious leader are taking the three times of Jewish prayer (morning, afternoon, night) and placing themselves at street corners or marketplaces......
b. in Secret - Private - Inward
b. in Secret - Private - Inward
v. 6 - go and have your conversation with your Father.... in the secret of your heart...... literally close the door behind you in the closet so that no one else can enter into that moment..... you and God have business to do!
Stats show that most of our prayers happen within ourselves.... silently. We think the words and say them to ourselves...... only 13% of people pray out loud..... Jesus isn’t instructing only secretly and silently.... There is much to learn in praying out-loud!
Jesus is talking about a special REAL relationship between you and the Father! You and him, that is what matters...... Public or private prayers..... out-loud or silent..... the meaning is the relationship with God the Father.
b. It is more than the words or phrases you use
b. It is more than the words or phrases you use
a. It isn’t mindless babble or vain repetition
a. It isn’t mindless babble or vain repetition
Think of the prophets of Baal with Elijah.... they prayed all morning for Baal to show up..... and he never did! “O Baal, answer us!”.... 1 Kings 18:21
Jesus prays here in 50 words.... 4 sentences..... and is done...... Simple is not sinful.
Quality not Quantity..... Going to the buffet is fun.... but a 5 star Michelin restaurant is a whole other world!
There are also no formulas or passwords to figure out to have God listen or access to him..... In 2021 Stefan Thomas became famous because he locked himself out of a drive containing over 200$ in bitcoin..... if he couldn’t figure out the password.... then he couldn’t access the bitcoins...... The reality for us is that Jesus has provided the access to God without a passsword, without a special formula of our own.... God worked, spoke through Jesus, saved us, gave us access to God as sons and daughters!
c. Christian Prayer is built on your Relationship with God
c. Christian Prayer is built on your Relationship with God
God Speaks - His Word
You talk -
God listens
God sees
God answers
God already knows
Going to the dentist..you have a tooth ache..... You know its a cavity.... know you need a filling.... so you sit down, tell the doctor what you need, how to fix it, and then get up and leave!...... NO you wouldn’t do that.... you would sit there and accept whatever the doctor prescribes, reccomends to fix your ailment..... because he has established that he is a good dentist, he knows what he is doing.... he listens to you, sees your needs, answers your needs, and already knows how to help you!
This morning...... How is your prayer life?...... I think we focus mostly on our portion of prayer..... but God is active in prayer more than what we see. He has spoken to us in His Word. He listens, he sees, He answers, and He already knows. Prayer is a response to God’s greatness..... His Greatness is on display when we pray!
Are you more of a religious hypocrite (look at me), a gentile (many words), or a son or daughter of the Father!
Are you breathing in and out (Praying and reading the Bible), or are you in need of an inhaler, ventilator.... or more intervention?
Conclusion
Conclusion
How is your prayer life? in 2022.....We need to be God-dependent in prayer
Respond to Jesus in Faith..... prayer is the mechanism for that (I can walk you through that).
Baptism as a response to God’s work in your life.
Join our church family..... you want to be more than the 2% that prays with others..... you want to be in a God-dependent church.
Pray..... in your seat, with your family, now, pray… a new commitment to prayer..... pray.