Lesson 7 - Matthew 6:5-19 - WHEN YOU PRAY
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in Matt. 5:17-22, 43-45, we continued our study of the Sermon on the Mount as Jesus declared that He, "did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulill" (v. 17). With this verse, Jesus, as the Word incarnate, established that, unlike the scribes and Pharisees, who had bent their interpretation of the Law to advance their own agendas, He alone was the fulfillment of the Law with the sole authority to interpret and reveal God's true meaning and application of OT Scripture. One of the underlying themes of this section was that sin involved much more than physical harm or actions, but included a person's inmost self, his or her personal thoughts and attitudes about others. Jesus declared that unrighteous attitudes were just as sinful as unrighteous acts and were subject to the same judgment. In a shocking statement, He commanded His hearers to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you' (v. 43). The word He used for "love" (Gk. agapaó) describes a resolute decision rather than a feeling. At its base, it means accepting God will in our lives and putting into practice. The main point of application was that we must recognize Jesus as the only true standard in Scripture, both OT and NT.
This week, in Matt. 6:5-19, as we continue our study of the Sermon on the Mount, we will hear Jesus' detailed instructions on how we should pray. Jesus connects to prayer the theme of the previous section where our private thoughts and attitudes are seen by God as far more important than our outward actions. In the context of prayer, Jesus' main theme was to instruct His disciples not to pray in a manner intended for the approval of man but to pray "in secret" for the approval of God alone, and the same principle applies to things like fasting to doing good works. This should be the chief motive behind all of our prayers and deeds. After giving instruction on how we should prepare ourselves to pray in vv. 5-8, Jesus provides us with a model prayer in vv. 9-13, which we all know as the "Lord's Prayer," then closes in vv. 14-18 with an explanation of the vital connection between our forgiveness of others and our relationship with God and finally, with instructions on fasting.
Read Matt 6:5-6 - PRAY TO YOUR FATHER WHO IS IN SECRET
5 "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
v. 5a: "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men." - In this verse, Jesus assumed that His disciples would pray, just as he assumed they would also give alms (i.e., giving) and fast. His main warning is against pretension-making a public spectacle-in their practice of worship. In those times, synagogues and street corners were places where people could display their 'righteousness' in front of an audience. Jesus was not condemning public prayer in and of itself, but condemning wrong motives behind it. Public prayer was a part of synagogue then and continues in churches today. So the issue is the heart of the person offering the prayer: If the praying person's motive is to attract human approval, his or her prayers will not receive God's approval.
v. 5b: "Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.'" - Here, Jesus doesn't threaten punishment for those who publicly pray with an improper motive. The consequence is that God will simply withhold the blessing they might have received for penitent and honest praying.
v. 6: "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you." - In Jesus day, the "inner room" would be a bedroom or storeroom where others typically weren't present. The KJV translates the term as 'closet'-where we get the expression 'prayer closet.' The thought behind this is that being completely cut off from other people enables the person (or even a small group of people) to completely focus all their attention on God and nothing else.
Read Matt. 6:7-15 - PRAY, THEN, IN THIS WAY
7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 9 "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 'Give us this day our daily bread. 12 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.']
v. 7: "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words." - What Jesus is criticizing here is mindless, mechanical repetition, not the earnest repetition that comes from a worshipful heart. Pagans used a long list of names for their multiplicity of gods and repeated the names over and over with hope that they would call the name of the one that would help them. There are Christian denominations that use prayer books in their services, which can be either good or bad depending on the heart of the person reading the prayer-whether they honestly mean to convey to God what they are reading.
v. 8: "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." - Jesus' disciples do not need to inform their all-knowing Father of their needs in prayer. He already knows what they are. So why pray? Jesus doesn't address that question here, but it's safe to say that we pray for the very same reasons that children talk to their parents: to share concerns, to have fellowship, to obtain help, and to express gratitude, among other reasons.
v. 9a: "Pray, then, in this way:" - The well-known prayer that Jesus recites to us-widely known as the Lord's prayer-contains six petitions and a doxology, and we will examine the purpose and content of each one. Scholars say that it was not Jesus' prayer in the sense that He prayed it, but it was His prayer in the sense that he taught it to His disciples and thus, to us.
v. 9b: "'Our Father" - This is the first petition and has three parts. The "Our" in the opening implies this prayer was originally intended for a group or corporate context, all the disciples in this case, but it is still a good model for our private prayers. The name "Father" indicates we are approaching God through a loving relationship as one of His children. And because of Jesus Christ, we can approach God as our "Father."
v. 9c: "who is in heaven," - We say this to recognize God's transcendence and sovereignty. And by saying this, we acknowledge that only He is in control and that we are subject to Him.
v. 9d: "Hallowed be Your name." - Before we ask God for anything, we should give Him worship and praise for who He is. We should acknowledge God's holiness-that we hold everything about Him in reverence and awe because of who He. By praying these simple words we affirm God's holiness and perfection.
v. 10a: "Your kingdom come." - This is the second petition: You ask God to reign over your life, the lives of your spouse, your children, your grandchildren, your church family, your pastors and church leaders, your close friends and associates, and your community, state, and nation.
v. 10b: Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven." - This is the third petition: We should bring all of our requests to God, subject to His divine Will. You should invite God to accomplish His will in every aspect of your life. You should ask God to accomplish His will in the life of every other person you are praying for. You should ask God to intervene for and guide those who are confronted with health , financial, or personal trials.
v. 11: "Give us this day our daily bread." - This is the fourth petition: You should humbly and thankfully ask God for your provisions for today, knowing you will come back to Him tomorrow. The "daily bread" is an expression that refers to all the necessities of life, not its luxuries. In Jesus' time, workers were generally paid daily, so their provision was day-by-day. This petition should also remind us that we live only one day at a time and are dependent on God to sustain us. God satisfies our needs in part by giving us the ability and the opportunity to earn a living. Ultimately, everything we have in life comes to us from God. This is a very important truth for us to embrace as Christians, since we now live in a world that glorifies self-sufficiency.
v. 12a: "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." - This is part 1 of the fifth petition: On a daily basis, we should confess our sins to God and ask for His forgiveness. Jesus uses the term "debts" (trespasses in other translations) because in Aramaic, word ho·ba was a common synonym for sin. We might even say that when God forgives confessed sin, He 'credits' our account.
v. 12b: "as we also have forgiven our debtors." - This is part 2 of the fifth petition: In return (notice this) for God's forgiveness, we should agree to forgive others who have sinned against us. But we need to understand that this does not mean that we must earn God's forgiveness by doing this. It is because our forgiveness of others reveals our own urgently felt need for forgiveness. The person who fails to forgive a brother's offense, fails to realize how much he needs forgiveness for himself.
v. 13a: "And do not lead us into temptation," - This is part 1 of the sixth petition: We should ask God to help us to avoid and resist any temptations that may come our way in the course of a day. The word used for "temptation" (Gk. peirasmos) literally means 'testing.' It refers not so much as enticements to commit evil but to trials that test one's character. Since God does not test anyone, (James 1:13-14), we might ask why we need to pray in this manner. Even though God is not the immediate cause of our testing, He will allow us to experience temptation from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Therefore, this petition is a request that He will lessen the influence of our testing and help us to keep from sinning. By praying this request, it confesses our human weaknesses and admits our dependence on Him for His help.
v. 13b: "but deliver us from evil." - This is part 2 of the sixth petition: We should ask God to protect and deliver us from evil and from attacks by the devil. The Greek grammar used in this phrase indicates deliverance from both evil people or things or from the evil one, the devil. This request represents the prayer of a person who earnestly and desperately desires to be kept from power of sin by the power of God. We should remember that God will not always deliver us from temptations caused by evil people and things but may allow us to suffer the consequences so that we will repent, however, He does deliver us from the evil one, the devil.
v. 13c: "[For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.']" - This is the doxology. In a sentence, it tell us that our prayers have no other foundation than God alone. You may find that it's in brackets or even omitted from your Bible translation. Because it doesn't appear in all the early manuscripts, scholars believe that a pious scribe added it later to give the prayer an ending. In any case, it is a very suitable ending to Jesus' model prayer.
Read Matt. 6:14-18 - IF YOU FORGIVE OTHERS
14 For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. 15 For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 16 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
vv. 14-16: "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. " - These two verses explain the rationale of the fifth petition-forgiving others. These verses do not mean that you will lose your salvation if you fail to forgive other people. The Bible makes it crystal clear that God pardons sin by His grace based on Christ's work on the cross alone, not on man's actions. (John 3:16; 1 John 2:2; 4:10). Even so, Jesus does teach that our relationship with God will be impaired if we fail to do so. Therefore, we need to know that an unforgiving spirit is a very serious sin that needs to be confessed to God. The bottom line is that God will not hear our prayers unless we show ourselves ready to grant forgiveness to others.
vv. 16-17: "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you." - Jesus assumed His disciples, who were Jews, would continue to fast, give alms, and pray. Among Jews, fasting was practiced as a spiritual exercise that indicated self-deprivation before God and typically accompanied confession of sin. Here, Jesus does not command us to fast but helps those who do to avoid the problems associated with it. First, when fasting, he tells them to clean themselves up and look presentable, rather than all down and out. Second, when they do fast, He warns them to do it quietly and secretly in a manner that does not draw any attention to themselves from others.
APPLICATION-When You Pray:
1. Jesus commands believers to pray as a spiritual discipline. Our prayer life is our most important day-to-day connection with God. Praying with spiritual discipline requires planning, organization, and dedication. If our prayer life is haphazard and disorganized, our prayers will reflect it and will not be nearly as effectual as they should be. Therefore, we all need to discipline ourselves and get organized. On prayer, Dr. David Jeremiah said: "Prayer is the way you defeat the devil, reach the lost, restore a backslider, strengthen the saints, send missionaries out, cure the sick, accomplish the impossible, and know the will of God."
2. A disciplined prayer life requires that we pray with a proper knowledge of God and His character. In our text today, as a starting place, Jesus gives us an excellent organizational model that's divided into six petitions: (1) an opening that recognizes and praises God for who He is; (2) a request that God will reign over your life, plus the lives of your family, friends, church, and nation, etc.; (3) a request that God's will will be accomplished in the lives of all those you pray for; (4) a request that God will provide your daily bread, for the necessities of life rather than the luxuries; (5) a confession of sin and request that God will forgive you, with the a pledge that you will forgive others who have sinned against you; and (6) a request that God will help you resist sinful temptations and protect you from attacks by the devil. You can add a closing that reaffirms who God is and thanks Him for His grace.
3. A disciplined prayer life requires believers to organize their time. You need to set aside dedicated times each day for prayer and discipline yourself to stick to whatever schedule works best for you. At these times, you should turn off TVs, smart phones, computers, music systems, or anything else that might distract you from focusing entirely on God. If you have many people, health concerns, financial concerns, organizations, coming events, etc., that you need to pray for, it might wise to prepare an outline and pray for different things at different times.
4. A disciplined prayer life can combine time in prayer with time in God's Word. If prayer is talking to God, meditating on God's Word is God talking to us. We will have a better prayer life if we hear God speak back to us through His Word. In John 15:7-8, Jesus said: "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples."
