Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / The Sermon On The Mount

Raising The Bar With Prayer12/09/07

Message: ‘Raising the Bar with prayer’ pt.1

Text: Matthew 6:7-15

Introduction: It’s reported that a preacher in Redrock, Alabama prayed this prayer: "Oh Lord, give Thy servant this mornin’ the eyes of the eagle and the wisdom of the owl; connect his soul with the gospel telephone in the central skies; ‘luminate his brow with the Sun of heaven; possess his mind with love for the people; turpentine his imagination, grease his lips with ‘possum oil, loosen his tongue with the sledge hammer of Thy power; ‘lectrify his brain with the lightnin’ of the word; put ‘petual motion on his arms; fill him plum full of the dynamite of Thy glory; ‘noint him all over with the kerosene oil of Thy salvation and SET HIM ON FIRE. Amen!" (Raymond Perkins)

That’s a little unusual to say the least. But it reveals how many feel prayer should be…extravagant and wordy. The Jewish teaches in Jesus’ day agreed. Here’s an example of the beginning of one of the prayers they taught others to pray.

·       "Blessed, praised, and glorified, exalted, and honored, magnified and lauded be the name of the Holy One."

Lots of adjectives bunched together…a little over the top. Remember, Jesus is correcting the wrong teachings of the religious leaders and here he extends his rebuff to include everyone else because we all have abused the gift of prayer as well.

 

Transition: Open your Bibles to Matthew 6:7 (pg. 741 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you) It’s here we’ll find that we raise the bar of spiritual expectations and actions in our lives by prayer.

I. Matthew 6:7-8         How NOT to Pray.

Read: Matthew 6:7-8

Two thoughts we need to examine here. First, what does Jesus mean by ‘babbling’ in prayer and second, if our Heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask…why ask?

First: verse 7 has been translated several different yet effective ways.

·       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. (ESV)

·       But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. (KJV)

·       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. (NASB)

·       And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. (NIV)

Jesus contrasts prayer to the Father with the prayer done by the Gentiles/pagan anyone not Jewish.

Here’s a brief overview before we look at it a bit more closely.

·       ‘like pagans’ relates to the fact that pagans/Gentiles everyone not Jewish don’t worship the One True and Ever Living God.

·       ‘keep on babbling’ /heap up empty words / use vain, meaningless repetition relates to a lack of real content and heart in prayer.

·       ‘they will be heard because of their many words’ relates to or at least suggest rituals and magical incantations.

Let’s look at this a bit more personally.

Sometimes when we pray we’re in a hurry to get it over. We want  God will bless our day so we’ll feel good that we prayed, only we want to do it a quickly as possible because we have a lot to do. We pray, but our minds are really someplace else.

ILL: Someone once said ‘Often we pray with our minds on hold and our mouths on automatic.’

We pray the same thing each morning…it’s hand’s free prayer…but it’s often heart-less and mind-less prayer as well. It’s going through the motions, it’s like your listening to someone speak but you really are hearing what they have to say because you are thinking about what your response to them will be.

·       This isn’t prayer that communicates personally, effectively and powerfully with the One True and Ever Living God.

·       Don’t rush through your prayer time.

Other times we pray, constantly repeating phrases, or bringing up the same thing over and over again in our prayer. Perhaps we think God will be forced, if only out of boredom, to answer us.

This is where Protestants have a problem with praying ‘Hail Mary’s’ and ‘Our Fathers’ over and over again. It’s the same with praying the Rosary…a number of different prayers constantly repeated as you go around the beads on a necklace.

Sidebar: However, not all repetition in prayer is wrong or condemned here…only vain or useless repetition. Turn to Psalm 136

Read: Psalm 136

·       Repetition is used here to express deep love for God and for his work in our lives.

·       Repetition is used here to make a point about the vastness of God’s love.

Don’t confuse persistence with meaningless repetition. Jesus prayed three times in the Garden…but notice, his heart and mind, not some routine, lead his prayer. When you pray, say what you mean.

Finally, there are other times we think if our prayers are long enough we will look more spiritual to those around us. This often happens in public/corporate prayer forums.

ILL: A little boy was afraid of the dentist. So his father decided to set the example and have his teeth examined, too. The dentist looked inside the father’s mouth and said, "Oh, there’s a tooth there that has to be pulled." The father asked, "How much will it cost?" The dentist answered, "We charge $35 a tooth." Then the father asked, "How long will it take to pull the tooth?" The dentist answered, "About a minute." The father protested, "I get paid by the hour and when I think of paying $35 for a minute’s work, that is a terribly high hourly wage." "Well," the dentist said, "I can pull the tooth more slowly if you like." (Steve Shepherd)

Sometimes we think that we get more for our money the slower we do something. Or perhaps the longer we pray, we think the more spiritual we’ll look.  This is what the Jewish religious leaders taught about prayer.

·       "Whoever is long in prayer is heard."

·       "Whenever the righteous make their prayer long, their prayer is heard."

Sidebar: Again not all long prayers are condemned. Jesus prayed all night…often. Sometimes when our need is great or our love especially deep, we need to express that…and it might take a few more words than usual…it’s OK.

Normally, however, especially in public/corporate prayer…we would be wise to listen to the words of King Solomon.

Read: Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 ‘Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.’

The second important thought we need to examine is ‘If God already knows what we need, why pray? A couple of ideas.

As a parent you know what your children need, do you just give it to them without any personal interaction? Probably not.

One of God’s greatest desires is to have unbroken fellowship with us, his children.

·       If he just gave us what we needed, without us ever asking, that would not encourage fellowship w/ God or engage our heart to reach out to God’s heart.

·       If God just gave us what we needed without us ever asking, then we wouldn’t know it was from him…would we?

    And we wouldn’t give him thanks which is

    right and good to do.

·       If God just gave us what we needed without us ever asking, then we wouldn’t learn about being dependant upon God or his willingness to provide for us.

Here’s the bottom line….because God knows, is powerful and wants to provide all our needs, we don’t have to worry or be anxious…and we don’t have to be repetitive or long winded in our prayers to get God’s attention or to try to manipulate him to grant our requests. It’s a matter of our heart…it always is.

Read: Isaiah 29:13a ‘The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’

Transition: Jesus corrects an abuse of prayer by telling us how not to pray. But he doesn’t leave us with a negative exhortation…He now tells us how to pray.

II. Matthew 6:9-15     How to Pray…

                                                       The Pattern

Read: Matthew 6:9-15

ILL: A teacher went into her classroom about 15 mins before class was supposed to start and caught a bunch of boys huddled, on their knees in the corner of the room. She asked them what they were doing and one of them said ‘We are shooting craps’ She replied, ‘That’s all right. I was afraid you were praying.’ (J. David Hoke)

Prayer is powerful and people know it, but many won’t admit it. And perhaps the most powerful prayer is the one I just read. But only when it comes from a heart that is focused on God.

A few thoughts about this wonderful prayer.

·       ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ is perhaps one of the best know passages in all the Bible…even those outside the church can recognize it, if not recite it themselves.

·       Although called ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ it’s better named ‘The Disciple’s Prayer’ because it’s not an actual prayer of Jesus but rather a pattern for prayer. We are to pray in this way, with these concerns.

·       The Lord’s Prayer should not be recited thoughtlessly or it fits into the kind of prayer Jesus just spoke about. 

·       The Lord’s Prayer is a ‘family’ prayer in that the emphasis is never on ‘I’ or ‘Me’ but always on ‘Our’ and ‘Us’. It’s a prayer that reminds us of our connection to one another and our need to pray regularly for one another…In Christ we are family…forever!

·       19^th century pastor and author E.M. Bounds, who wrote extensively on prayer, said ‘Prayer honors God; it dishonors self’

·       The Lord’s Prayer is all about God.

Our Father who art in Heaven, hollowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

(You) give us this day our daily bread.

(You forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.

(You) lead us not into temptation but (You) deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever.

I know the (you)’s aren’t there but they are understood in the Greek…that makes the whole prayer about and to God. We, you and I, are never the Subject of any part of the Lord’s Prayer. That means we should spend more time praying for and about God rather than for and about ourselves. Rather humbling isn’t it?

Wouldn’t it be great if we could pray this way? Follow the pattern Jesus set before us? What power would be revealed from God when we pray with his best interests rather than our own.

I have been thinking about this a lot this past week and I want to make the Lord’s Prayer and the pattern Jesus set for prayer as easy to understand as possible. So, I want to give you the opportunity to peek into my private worship time. I want you to imagine that you’re standing at the half-open door to my back room where I spend time in personal worship each morning.

Listen in…get comfortable…but not too comfortable because perhaps some of what you hear will have played itself out, in  similar was, in your own personal time with God.

 [Web Servant's Note: RC are the initials of the man who read the part of God during the service.]

PB: "Our Father who art in heaven..."

RC: Yes?"

PB: "(pause)Our Father who art in heaven..."

RC: "Yes? What do you want Bob"

PB: "Who is this?"

RC: "Who do you think it is?

PB: "Well, not too many people I know sound like this!"

RC: "I should  hope not"

PB: "Come on now, who is this really? Wes… where are you?"

RC: “Not Wes, although he’s a good man. This is your Father in heaven, Bob."

PB: "Right... come on, who are you?"

RC: "This is God... Do you want me to prove it?"

 

PB: "No, no, no, that’s all right, I’ll take your word for it... but why have started talking to me now? It’s not like you’ve done this before."

RC: "But you called me."

PB: "Called you? I was just praying."

RC: "Well, here I am, why did you call?"

PB: "I didn’t mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayer for the day."

RC: "Good, go ahead."

PB: "Hallowed be your name..."

RC: "What did you mean by that?"

PB: "By what?"

RC: "By ‘Hallowed be your name.’"

PB: "It means... it means... I don’t know what it means. It’s just part of the prayer. What does it mean?"

RC: "It means Honor, holy, wonderful.’"

PB: "Thank you Lord. "thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’"

RC: "Do you really mean that?

PB: "Sure, why not?"

RC: "What are you doing about it?"

PB: "Doing? Not much, I guess. I just think it would be great if you got control of everything down here, like you have up there."

RC: "Have I got control of you?"

PB: "Well, I am the pastor at CBC, I go to church a couple of times a week, I visit people, I lead Bible studies and I serve on the worship team."

RC: "That’s not what I asked you. What about those bad habits of yours that you know are in direct conflict with my will in your life?"

PB: "But Lord, I’m just as good as most of

the people in the church!"

RC: "Excuse me. I thought you were praying for my will to be done. If that’s to happen, it will have to start with the ones who are praying for it. Like you, for example.."

PB: "Oh, all right... I guess I do have some hang-ups... now that you mention it. You could probably name several other problems."

RC: "Good. Now we’re getting somewhere. We’ll work together, you and I.  Some tremendous victories can be won! I am proud of you."

PB: "Look Lord, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does. ‘Give us this day our daily bread...’"

RC: "You need to cut out the bread, especially when it’s part of those cheese steak hoagies. You’re overweight as it is."

PB: "Hey, didn’t you say you gave us all things to enjoy? Does that exclude cheese steak hoagies? And besides what is this, criticize me day?"

RC: "Yes, I did say that…but you enjoy them a bit too much. Besides, I want you to know that praying is a dangerous thing. You could wind up changed you know. That’s what I’m trying to get across to you. You called me and here I am. It’s too late to stop now…keep on praying. I’m interested in the next part of your prayer. (pause)…Well, go on."

 

PB: "I’m afraid."

 

RC: "Afraid of what?"

 

PB: "I know what you’ll say."

 

RC: "Try me and see."

 

PB: "And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgiven those who have trespassed against us."

 

RC: "What about…?"

 

PB: "See, I knew it! I knew you would bring him up! Why, Lord, you know he said some very bad things to me and they weren’t even true. He is out to get me I just know it. I know it was wrong to attack him to get even, but ..."

RC: "Forgive him. Then I will forgive you. Then the hate and the sin will be his problem and not yours. You will have settled the matter in your heart and before my throne.."

 

PB: "But Lord, you don’t understand, I just can’t forgive him."

 

RC” “Then I can’t forgive you.”

 

PB: (pause)"Oh, you’re right. You always are. More than I want revenge on him, I want to be right with you. Alright, alright, I forgive him. I want to journey on the path that leads to you. I’m tired of always feeling miserable. So, please help me Lord, to let my actions do the talking in showing forgiveness. I am really going to need your help, your grace and your Spirit."

 

RC: "There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?"

 

PB: "Hmmm. Well, not bad. Not bad at all. In fact, I feel pretty good! You know, I don’t think I’ll have to go to bed uptight tonight for the first time in a long time. Maybe I won’t be so tired from now on because I’m not getting enough rest."

 

RC: "You’re not through with your prayer. Go on.

 

PB: "Oh! Alright. ’And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"

 

RC: "Good! Good! I’ll do that. Just don’t put yourself in a place where you can be tempted."

 

PB: "I don’t think I understand."

 

RC: "Sure you do. You’ve done it a lot of times. You get caught in a bad situation, you get in trouble and then you come running to me, ‘Lord, help me out of this mess, and I promise you’ll I’ll never do it again.’ You remember some of those bargains you tried to make with me, don’t you?”

 

PB: "Yes, …I do, and  I’m so ashamed, Lord, I really am."

 

RC: "Which bargain are you remembering?"

 

PB: "Oh, come on, Lord... give me a break! I’m sorry, Lord. I really am."

 

RC: "Go ahead and finish your prayer."

 

PB: "For yours is the Kingdom, and the Power, and Glory, forever and ever."

 

RC: "Do you know what would bring we glory? What would really bring me great delight?"

 

PB: "No, but I’d like to know. I want to please you. I can see what a real mess I’ve made out of my life. And I can see how great it would really be if I was truly one of your disciples."

 

RC: "You just answered my question."

 

PB: "I did?"

 

RC: "Yes! The thing that would really bring me glory is to have people like you truly love me. And I see that happening between us, now that some of those old sinful attitudes are exposed and out of the way… Well, there’s no telling what we can do together."

PB: "Lord, let’s see what we can make of me, OK?"

 

RC: "Yes, let’s just see Bob.”

 

PB: "Amen"
                       (taken and adapted from Jeff Strite)

While completely a fictitious event, isn’t that what we all want…an actual conversation with God himself? Don’t we wish that we could speak to God that clearly, that personally, that real, in our prayers?

A personal, effective,  and powerful prayer life is elusive for many Christians because they feel they don’t have the right words or they don’t speak well. So when they do pray they’re often apologetic, intimidated and timid.

Prayer is part of worship and worship was never meant to make us feel apologetic, intimidated or timid. God’s Word says

Read: Ephesians 3:12 ‘In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.’

Read: Hebrews 4:16 ‘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.’

Yet, many feel as if their prayers don’t make it through the ceiling. So they don’t pray often. Or with faith.

ILL: William Carey once said ‘Prayer is my real business! Cobbling shoes is a sideline; it just helps to pay expenses.’

Christian, prayer is your business and God wants you to have a growing and prosperous business. He wants you to have a personal, effective and powerful prayer life. And you can, when you learn to pray as Jesus taught.

We will spend a few weeks examining how to do this as we look at the pattern Jesus set for us in the Lord’s Prayer.

We raise the bar of spiritual expectations and actions in our lives by prayer.