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 ID: 646964
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Matthew 6:5-8 (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.
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;
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Matthew 6:5-8(NKJV)
and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly
.
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.
8
“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Slide3
Sermon On The Mount:Lord, Teach Us To PrayMatthew 6:5-8Slide4
Lord, Teach Us To PrayWe continue our ongoing study of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)
Last week we began chapter 6 by looking at what Jesus taught on doing charitable deeds
Jesus warned not to do them to be seen by menSlide5
Lord, Teach Us To PrayObviously, our motivation for the things we do for others matters
We are not to do them to gain praise from men
When we do charitable deeds from a pure heart in secret, God will reward us openlySlide6
Lord, Teach Us To PrayTonight we continue on in our text as Christ continues to speak about things that are important to our living acceptable lives before Him
Jesus now begins to speak about prayer
This subject is well worth our time spent in study of itSlide7
Lord, Teach Us To Pray1. Why do we pray? (vs. 5-6)
Jesus begins by repeating some of the same characteristics that He gave for doing charitable deeds
“And when you pray…”
It’s not IF we pray but WHEN we pray
Prayer is to the spiritual as food is to the physicalSlide8
Lord, Teach Us To Pray1. Why do we pray? (vs. 5-6)
“…you shall not be like the hypocrites”
Hypocrite = actor
Proof of their acting was the fact that they “love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men”Slide9
Lord, Teach Us To Pray1. Why do we pray? (vs. 5-6)
They were doing it all for show
Isn’t that what actors do today?
Just as with our charitable deeds, our motives matter in our prayer life
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss…” (Js. 4:3)Slide10
Lord, Teach Us To Pray1. Why do we pray? (vs. 5-6)
Jesus tells us to go and pray in our room with the door shut
When we do such we prove that our only motive is to genuinely talk to our Father
It’s not for show, but rather to pour out our hearts to GodSlide11
Lord, Teach Us To Pray1. Why do we pray? (vs. 5-6)
This does not mean that we cannot pray in a public setting at all
However, we need to be careful that when we do pray in public, we are doing so for the right reason and not to merely be seen
God rewards those who come to HimSlide12
Lord, Teach Us To Pray2. Watch what you say (v. 7)
Jesus warns not to use vain repetitions as the heathens do
This does not mean that we cannot use repetitions, but rather vain ones
Remember Jesus taught persistency in prayer (Lk. 18:1-8)Slide13
Lord, Teach Us To Pray2. Watch what you say (v. 7)
These were men who were saying the same things over and over again for another reason
“For they think that they will be heard for their many words”
It’s as if they thought God would be impressed with themSlide14
Lord, Teach Us To Pray2. Watch what you say (v. 7)
What’s impressive to men is not always impressive to God
Remember that God sees beyond the action and into the heart, which contains the motives behind the action
Our words should be sincere and not said to impress menSlide15
Lord, Teach Us To Pray3. Don’t forget who He is (v. 8)
Jesus plainly teaches not to be like the hypocrites and heathens
That’s why it was so important to learn prayer from Christ and not others
On one occasion He was asked, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Lk. 11:1)Slide16
Lord, Teach Us To Pray3. Don’t forget who He is (v. 8)
We need to sometimes be reminded of who it is that we are praying to and the power He possesses
That’s what Jesus does here when He says, “For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him”Slide17
Lord, Teach Us To Pray3. Don’t forget who He is (v. 8)
There are some glaring truths that we learn from this statement that Jesus makes
We learn that God is all-knowing (omniscient)
We learn that God is concerned with us and notices us and our needsSlide18
Lord, Teach Us To Pray3. Don’t forget who He is (v. 8)
We learn that God does not need a detailed explanation of what we need or why we need it
We also learn that God wants us to communicate our needs to Him, even though He knows these things