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Matthew 6 – The Balanced Christian Life – Prayer (Part 2)

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Prayer is the most personal relationship that we can have with God:

I will be the first to admit how inadequate I feel preparing this study on prayer. I have never been satisfied with my prayer life so as I prepare I hope to benefit more from this study than anyone else. To the believer, prayer should be an intimate spiritual experience. When God created a man and a woman he gave them a free will so that He could enjoy their fellowship. Genesis 3:8 implies that on a regular basis God sought out Adam and Eve in the cool of the day; except that day instead of Adam and Eve approaching God with love and respect they hid themselves wrapped in fear knowing that they had disobeyed him.

So for the next four thousand years, except for a few Old Testament Saints, God could only be approached through a hierarchy of priest, religious exercises, and animal sacrifice. But “Hallelujah” God became flesh when Jesus came and shed his blood on the cross for our sins; opening the way to restore the relationship between God and Man as it was originally intended. But that relationship is not automatic like it was before Adam and Eve sinned. We have to exercise our will and allow that spark of spiritual life that began when we accepted Christ, consume us as we are being conformed to His image. So as new creatures in Christ Jesus, we need to be obedient to His Word, to learn how to worship, and to show love and devotion. God is no longer a distant God behind a vail, he has now become an intimate God (Romans 8:15 “Abba Father”) because we are His temple and should want to enjoy His presence. This relationship can be developed in our prayer life as we learn how to praise Him, realize He loves us, and through our devotion to Him submit to His will.

Our discussion about prayer starts with Matthew 6:5. It is interesting to see how similar verse 5 (prayer) is to verse 1 (giving of alms). Both verses warn us to avoid hypocrisy. “Throughout His ministry, Jesus vigorously exposed and denounced the hypocrisy of many who opposed Him, especially the Scribes and Pharisees. They paraded their charitable deeds, praying and fasting as a theatrical display to win the praise of people (Matthew 6:1-2, 5, 16)”[1] A characteristic of God that is the same in both the Old and New Testament is that He will not share his glory with any one. So when the Children of Israel went after other gods, the consequences were devastating because they became enslaved by the nations who followed those gods. We may not go after idols of wood and stone but we face the same danger and that is losing our relationship with Him as well as our freedom in Christ if we become self-centered and shut God out of our everyday lives both as individuals and as a nation. The principal is very simple, if we focus on ourselves or try to draw attention to ourselves we grieve the Holy Spirit, our praise becomes shallow, and our prayers are not heard.

Matthew 6:6 is similar to Matthew 6:4. Just as we are encouraged to keep our giving secret, most of our praying should be in the privacy of our prayer closet. Paul mentioned this in I Corinthians because the church was filled with exhibitionists. Our prayers should not focus attention to ourselves so that others will think we are spiritual; nor should they be as described in Matthew 6:7 “babbling like pagans” thinking this will impress God. There are times when it is necessary to gather with other believers for corporate prayer, or times for intercession for individuals or situations, but most of our prayers should be done in privacy.

You may ask yourself how can I increase time in my prayer closet or what is my prayer closet? There should be periodic times set aside for meditation and study where you shut out all distractions because this develops spiritual discipline, but you should not think that your prayer closet is always a dedicated place or time. You should feel the freedom that no matter where you are you have instant access and you can talk to the Father (Abba Father) like He is your daddy, or to the Lord like he is your brother (first born among many brethren), or to the Holy Spirit because he is your teacher and counselor. Remember the Holy Spirit dwells inside you and is ready to guide and teach you how to live a life that is pleasing to the Father.

This may not an exhaustive list but prayer consists of praise, submission, petition or intercession, confession, reconciliation, meditation, and deliverance. Just a personal note – You can spend a lot of time in your prayer closet by just removing the ear plugs, or turning off the television, or spending less time on Facebook, Twitter, or Texting.

In Matthew 6:8 if we truly believe that God created us and through the blood of Christ we have been reconciled to Him, then He is God and has known us from the time we were conceived. Therefore he knows everything we need today as well as our needs in the future and by faith we should believe He wants the very best for us. The question is; “If He knows everything then why pray”? The answer is that prayer is not a genie where you rub its stomach, make a wish, and you instantly get what you want. Prayer is an intimate spiritual relationship with our Heavenly Father where we get to know Him and through Christ the power of His resurrection. Also there are times where we don’t know our needs or we may think we do but as we spend time in meditation and study of His Word our true needs are revealed because our will becomes aligned with His.

Also some people believe that Matthew 6:8 is saying if God knows what we need before we ask, then is it a lack of faith if we ask more than once? The Bible says “the just shall live by faith” so as we grow spiritually our prayers are answered because they become prayers of faith. Besides an important thing to remember, God has three possible answers, YES, NO, & WAIT. The Lord said in the Scripture, “would an earthly father give his child a stone if he ask for bread, how much more then would your Heavenly Father give you what you need”. So obviously the Father is going to say YES if it something we need, and is good for us and is within His overall plan for our lives.

The Apostle Paul ask three times to be delivered from a “thorn in the flesh” and God said “No my grace is sufficient for you”. So in His wisdom did God say NO to Paul because there was something in Paul’s life, maybe, but remember Paul said he was being buffeted by Satan. When the Lord spoke to Ananias that he was to go and pray for Saul; (who became Paul) the Lord said that he would suffer many things so the thorn in the flesh may have been what Paul needed so that he would depend on God for strength. Also since Paul knew that the thorn was from Satan this may have been similar to what happen to Job, where Satan gave up and Job was victorious. So like Paul Satan may have given up when he realized that the thorn was not accomplishing its purpose. We also need to remember since we don’t know the entire plan of God, our requests may not be God’s best for us or may interfere with someone else (for example seeking a life’s partner). Then the answer could be WAIT because we are not ready to receive, or our will is not in alignment with His will, or the situation or people around us are not ready for us to receive an answer to our prayer.

The remainder of this study will cover verse by verse what most people call the Lord’s Prayer. Before we actually discuss the Lord’s Prayer I wish to share with you a thought about the prayer. Some Christians in which I include myself do not believe this is the Lord’s Prayer. Just before the Lord gave this prayer, the disciples ask Him to teach them how to pray. So the prayer is actually the disciple’s prayer because the Lord was responding to their request. There are things in this prayer that could not apply to the Lord; for example where we ask forgiveness of our sins or the ability to forgive others, the Lord is without sin and does not need to ask that his sins be forgiven. I believe the actual Lord’s Prayer is in John 17 that he prayed just before he went to the cross. That chapter will be an entire study at some future time.

Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be thine name (Praise). Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is heaven (Submission). Give us this day our daily bread (Petition or Intercession). Forgive us our debts (Confession), as we forgive our debtors (Reconciliation). And lead us not into temptation (Meditation): but deliver us from evil (Deliverance): For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, forever (Praise). Amen.

Praise “Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be thine name”. The disciple’s prayer shows that we should start our prayers with praise. To fully understand God and how you should approach Him, search the scriptures and see the descriptions of His holiness, glory, and majesty. Praising Him as we start our conversation with God puts us in the proper frame of mind and attitude that we should have towards Him. Also think of praise as a form of celebration; set your burdens aside and thank Him for the great life you have in Christ Jesus. Besides many of our situations are mole hills that we make into mountains because we are so self-absorbed. So praise can change that focus and completely change our prospective about Him and about our life.

Starting with praise, submission etc., etc. does not mean there is a list that we have to mark-off item by item when we pray. That could become like having a little prayer book that eventually is nothing but words that has no meaning. God knows our hearts and our needs before we say them and will respond if we sincerely ask and are prepared to submit to His will. But I have seen in so many cases especially in corporate prayer where the only content of the prayers are petitions of healing, salvation, and other problems and burdens, and not a word of praise or celebration that the God of the universe lives inside us. Realize we are the temple of God not some building of brick and stone. We need to understand what a unique relationship the church has with God that no one else has, so no matter how great a burden we bear or how dire our situation may be, our prayers (conversation and fellowship) should always start with praise.

Submission “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is heaven”. After praise then comes submission. He is God and it is extremely important that we realize He is ruler of heaven and earth. Even though we have the privilege of addressing him as “Abba Father” we should approach Him with fear, respect, and love, so that our prayers are in alignment with his plans and purposes. Submission prepares our hearts to accept His will as we present our petition(s) or if we are interceding for someone or some situation. Also without submission we could not pray in faith.

Petition “Give us this day our daily bread”. Asking for “our daily bread” is that literal? Hardly, because these words are telling us is that God is the source of everything. Three days without water or about thirty days without food and we die. As a Christian if you do not believe that God is the source of EVERYTHING, then at least thank Him for his mercy because your spirit will not die; but the tragedy is you will deny yourself the privilege of living in the power of His might because your spirit will remain that small spark of life when you first believed. Colossians 1:17 says that our Lord was the creator of all things and through Him all things continue therefore he is our source for everything. In Exodus 3:13&14 when Moses was at the burning bush he asked God if the people ask me “what is your name what will I tell them”? God’s response was tell them “I AM”. So asking for our daily bread is to acknowledge that he is the source for everything we need. Allowing this truth to take root deep in our spirit enables us to live by faith instead of living in frustration and defeat trying to meet our own needs.

Confession “Forgive us our debts”. Refusing to ask God to forgive our sins (I John 1:9) or refusing to forgive others will prevent our prayers from being answered. Think of the disciple’s prayer like a hinged gate with forgiveness being the hinges. If the hinges are clean and well-oiled they will smoothly serve their purpose of opening or closing the gate. Where an open gate gives us unobstructed access to God, and a closed gate protect us from the “evil-one”. But if the hinges are dirty and rusted, the gate is either stuck open or closed, in this case an open gate provides no protection from the “evil-one” and a closed gate denies us access to God. A good example is King David where God said “he is a man after my own heart”, yet David committed adultery and murder and tried to hide it for more than a year. The Psalms describes how David suffered spiritually, emotionally, and physically until he was confronted by Nathan the prophet and David fell on his face and cried out in repentance to God. Psalm 51 is one of the best examples of a prayer asking for forgiveness.

Reconciliation “as we forgive our debtors”. Refusing to forgive others whether they are believers or unbelievers, (reconciliation) will hinder our prayer life. Luke 18:9-14 is an example where reconciliation is needed especially if we think that we are better than others. The Pharisee and the tax collector approached the alter to pray, the Pharisee in his pride brags about how great he is and how he is so much better than the tax collector. The tax collector is justified because he is honest with God and himself. But the Pharisee because he grieved the Holy Spirit walks away empty. Naturally the prayers of the tax collector are heard and answered.

Another situation requiring reconciliation is where we have been offended or we have offended others. The situation in the previous paragraph is an act of omission in other words because of a lack of sensitivity to the Holy Spirit we may not be aware that we are carrying an offense or have offended someone. Matthew 5:23-24 tells you if you are offering a gift at the alter (prayer) and remember that a brother has something against you then leave your gift, reconcile with your brother then you can come back and present your gift with a clear conscience.

Galatians 5:13-15, says God has chosen us to be free but we should not use our freedom as an excuse to do what pleases our sinful selves (flesh), instead we should serve each other. The whole law is complete in this one command, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” If we continue hurting and tearing each other apart, be careful, or you will completely destroy each other.

Meditation “And lead us not into temptation”. James 1:13 says, “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. One of the responsibilities of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of sin. During our prayers we should periodically remove all distractions of our modern day lives and take spiritual inventory to make sure there is nothing that impedes our relationship with God. Also meditation can be or should be a part of corporate prayer so that we would not be a hindrance as we gather with other believers to pray. Joshua 7 describes an incident where the sin of one man resulted in a disastrous defeat of Israel and the death of thirty-six men right after a great victory at Jericho. A final note when it comes to meditation, most of the time spent with God in our prayer closet is not always talking to God but instead it is God talking to us and the Holy Spirit revealing the marvelous truth of His Word.

Deliverance “but deliver us from the evil.” When you first became a Christian you probably felt a huge burden fall away similar to what happen to Pilgrim in “Pilgrim Progress” as he stood before the cross. But we need to understand that salvation is just the beginning of our Christian life. At salvation our spirit became alive when the Holy Spirit came to live inside us. But then you might be confused and ask yourself why do I still have some of the same attitudes and desires I had before I became a Christian? The answer is you now have two natures. The new nature is your spirit which has come alive and you are saved from the penalty of sin which was proclaimed by God to be death in Genesis 2:17. But in Genesis 3:4 that spiritual nature died because Adam and Eve disobeyed and the only thing left in us was the spirit of disobedience (Satan).

As a believer, until you die physically, where you will spend eternity with God, you are now possessed by these two natures, the spiritual and the natural (flesh). So while here on earth, we will struggle with these natures and have to depend on God to overcome the power of sin in our lives. This is what we call, “continually be saved”. Romans 7 describes how the Apostle Paul struggled in the flesh and Romans 8:1 how he was delivered. Also the entire book of I John describes how we should live the Christian life, and in I John 2:13-14 there is a description of the three levels of maturity that we should seek to achieve

Praise and Conclusion “For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, forever Amen”. Our faith places ourselves in His hands, so no matter what the situation you should end your conversation praising God. Praise will bring you comfort if you were sharing a burden, or will bring you joy if you are sharing a victory, or a feeling of peace knowing that you are a son or daughter, that He loves you, and will meet all your needs.

In conclusion we should note that not all prayers contain all the elements described in the disciple’s prayer. There are prayers where our burdens are so heavy or our spiritual or physical needs so great, that God will understand if we immediately approach him regarding that situation. This will not be a problem if our day to day lives (not just our prayers) are full of praise, submission to His will, and we are at peace with everyone.

References for further study.

Matthew 18:21-35 – Forgiveness and Mercy

James 1:13 – Temptation

Matthew 5:37 – Be careful what we say.

Ephesians 4:32 – Kind and compassionate to one another

Mark 11:25 – Do not expect an answer to your prayers if you have something against another brother.

[1] Nelson’s Compact Bible Dictionary

Matthew Chapter 6 – The Balanced Christian Life – Alms (Part 1)

This study is divided into several topics as outlined in Matthew 6. I believe Matthew 6 covers areas that if we allow the Holy Spirit to develop them in our lives we will have a “Balanced Christian Life”. The topics are; giving of alms, prayer, forgiving each other, fasting, OUR Treasure, helping the poor, God Vs. riches, depending on God’s provision, seeking the Kingdom of God. 1. Giving of Alms. Matthew 6:1-4 covers the proper attitude we should have when we give something good to others. “Take heed that you do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise you will get no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Therefore when you do give alms do not sound a trumpet before you give, as the hypocrites do in the churches and the streets, that you may receive glory from men. For verily I say unto you, that is the only reward you will receive. But when you give alms do not let your left hand know what you right hand is doing. Instead give your alms in secret: and your Father who sees your secret giving shall reward you openly.” As believers our giving is usually in the form of tithes and offerings. I will not get into any discussion about tithing except to say that we are under grace. The fact that we had no hope of redemption, God demonstrated his grace towards us by sending our Lord Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. Since we have been purchased by the precious blood (1 Corinthians 7:23) of our Lord Jesus Christ, tithing should not be an issue. “You are bought with a price therefore do not become servants of men.” But if we do or do not tithe the proper attitude towards giving is in 2 Corinthians 9:7 which says; “for God loves a cheerful giver”. “Every man according to the purpose in his heart, let him not give grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver.” So being redeemed sinners under grace our giving should start with the tithe. But if a person cannot give willingly or cheerfully then they should keep their money. Don’t even think about accepting the challenge that God gave in Malachi 3:10 & 11 unless you are able to give willingly and cheerfully. “Bring all your tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house, and prove me now says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open to you the windows of heaven, and pour out a blessing to you where there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer (the world, the flesh, and the devil) for your sake, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts.”  The major topic in Matthew 6:1-4 is not what you give but how you give. It is interesting that this chapter starts with an area that is near and dear to most of us and that is giving our (our?) possessions. The verses describe the proper motive we should have and the motive is not looking for attention or something in return. There are other principals in this chapter that describe similar attitudes that we should allow the Holy Spirit to develop in our spiritual character. It is important that our lives are lived with a pure heart and not for the purpose of us becoming the focus of attention. Acts 5:1-11 is a fatal story about giving where Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit. “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, and kept back part of the price, his wife also privy to it, brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled you heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Since you were giving it freely, after it was sold was it not in your power to give part of the money you received? You did not lie before men but you lied before God. Ananias hearing these words fell down and gave up the ghost. When Sapphira his wife came in later, Peter said unto her, Tell me whether you sold the land for so much? And she said, Yes, for so much, how is it that you agreed with your husband to tempt the Spirit of the Lord. Then immediately she fell down at his feet, yielding up the ghost:” If you are giving to get (a return or attention and praise) verse 1 says you have already received your reward. If you tithe believing that God will make you prosperous, if you do or do not become prosperous your motive is wrong and there will be no further reward for you of your Father which is in heaven for either the tithe or the prosperity. What would you prefer; prosperity with the wrong attitude here on earth, or standing before our Lord at the Judgment Seat hearing these words, “Well done thy good and precious servant”? When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments they were divided into two parts; the first part was our relationship with God, the second part was our relationship with each other. The next topic in Chapter 6 is prayer. We know prayer is our direct communication with God and for our prayers to be effective we must have the proper attitude and relationship with him. The ten commandments implies that our relationship with God  must come first before our relationship with each other. (” Exodus 20:1-11 ‘You shall have no other gods before you:’ ‘You shall not make or worship any graven image or idol:’ ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain:’ ‘You shall keep the Sabbath of the Lord thy God and make it holy:’) (Exodus 20:12-17 ‘Honor your father and mother:’ ‘You shall not kill:’ ‘You shall not commit adultery:’ ‘You shall not steal:’ ‘You shall not bear false witness:’ ‘You shall not covet:’)  Is the Holy Spirit through Matthew saying that if our prayers are to be effective we must first have an attitude of being the Lord’s servant (1 Corinthians 7:22) which actually makes us a “freeman”, therefore we should make sure there is nothing in our lives that hinders our relationship with each other? “For you that is called in the Lord, being a servant, you become the Lord’s freeman: (freedom from the penalty of sin and through the power of the Holy Spirit you can become free of the power of sin) likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.” Consider that if we have the security of knowing we are a “freeman” then giving in accordance with Matthew 6:1-4 should become natural to us and the our hearts are prepared when we approach our Heavenly Father in prayer. Send me any comments or questions you have.

Reference verses for further study:
Matt 23:5 – Be careful to practice what you preach especially for people in leadership or make sure the Word is reflected in your life.

Col 3:23-24 – Give everything you have to live in accordance with the Word so that your life will be conformed according to His image.

Matt 11:24-25 – We must be very careful especially today because we have much more knowledge of God that when people were alive in the time of our Lord, and we have God’s written word in many different forms

Luke 18:10-14 –  The only reward you will have will be only your praise especially if you think that you are better than others.

Ecc 5:2 – Solomon says we should be careful of what we say and how we say it. The book of James has much to say how dangerous a tongue is when it is out of control.

I Kings 18:26-29 – A classis example of how we can think that move God through action, demonstrations, or much speaking. There are so many examples in the Word where simple words of faith move mountains.