The Lord's Prayer Pt. 1
Prayer is one of the most important aspects of our Christian lives. It is the means of direct communication between God and ourselves. Through prayer we are able to give God honor, praise, and thanksgiving, lifting our spirits. We can tell God the burdens on our hearts and surrender those to Him, relieving ourselves of anxiety. Brothers and sisters in Christ can bring others’ needs before God, strengthening our care and empathy toward one another. We have the incredible privilege of confessing our sins directly to God, receiving instant forgiveness and restoration.
I have always known the importance of prayer, but until recently I found myself lacking in it. As I began to study the topic of prayer, I became enthralled by the many different facets of it - and yet, the beautiful simplicity of it.
The Theology on the Prairie newsletter will focus on prayer every 4th week. I hope with each newsletter you heart is stirred up and that you find a fresh new principle to add into your prayer practice.
As we dive in, I thought it would be appropriate to look at the famous prayer format given to us by Jesus in Matthew chapter 6.
First, let’s read the verses preceding the prayer:
Matthew 6:5-8 (NIV) “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Jesus starts us off with two instructions that get at the heart and motive of our prayers.
Do not pray to be seen by others, but instead pray privately.
At first, this might make us scratch our heads. What about all the public prayer during church services? Praying before meals in restaurants? Surely those can’t be bad things? You would be correct. In fact, most of Jesus’s ministry and many of his recorded prayers were public. Take for example Jesus’s feeding the 5,000. Matthew 14:19 (ESV) “Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing.”
When He raised Lazarus from the dead He publicly prayed, “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 (NIV)
Jesus tells us that our prayers should be undefiled by hypocrisy. We should not pray to change the way others perceive us - to seem holier or more spiritual. We should not pray to put on a show - drawing attention to ourselves and away from God. Jesus instructs us to make a practice of praying privately in our own homes. By doing so we will train ourselves to pray humbly, focusing our hearts on God and ultimately becoming more like Him.
Do not pray long, empty words.
Jesus instructs us not to “babble like pagans” or “heap up empty phrases” (ESV). The amount of words that we can ramble over and over does not impress God more or make Him more likely to hear us. In fact, He “knows what you need before you ask Him.” As we acknowledge the fact that God already knows what we need, we will learn to pray from our hearts and grow in the confidence that God hears our prayers.
Jesus, as you taught your disciples, teach me how to pray. Humble me outwardly and inwardly. Teach me to draw attention to You rather than myself. Help me to speak freely from the heart instead of using empty words and phrases. Thank you for always hearing me and knowing what I need. Let that create confidence to let my requests be made known to You. Amen.