Lessons in Prayer Part I

Lessons in Prayer Part I

Jesus gave us instructions regarding prayer. Let's explore what He says.

Matthew 6

1. Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

Strong's Number: 1654 Transliterated: eleemosune Phonetic: el-eh-ay-mos-oo'-nay Text: from 1656; compassionateness, i.e. (as exercised towards the poor) beneficence, or (concretely) a benefaction: --alms(-deeds).en.

alms ( ämz) pl.n. 1. Money or goods given as charity to the poor. [Middle English almes from Old English ælmesse from Late Latin ele¶mosyna from Greek ele¶mosun¶ from ele¶m½n pitiful from eleos pity]

2.Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have theirreward.

3. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

4.That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

What is Jesus saying here when He says do not sound a trumpet before them?

There are a lot of people going around doing good deeds but they are not doing it from the right motivation. They are doing it to be seen of men. They are doing it because they want people to approve of their good deeds, pat them on the back. Yet, their hearts are wrong. That's why He calls them hypocrites.

5. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

hy·poc·ri·sy ( h¹-p¼k“r¹-s¶) n. pl. hy·poc·ri·sies 1. The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness. American Heritage Dictionary

6. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

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

What are vain repetitions? They are mantras or canned prayers. What's that? Saying the same thing over and over without any thought or feeling as to what you are saying. You just say it, your heart is not in it. You can say it enough until you get yourself into an altered state. That however, is not going to get your prayers answered.

8. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye

ask him.

It says here that Father God know what we need before we ask. Yet we are told to ask.

2. Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

3. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. James 4:2-3

We are to ask for what we need. But James says here we may be asking amiss, and when we do we will not receive the answer to our prayer because our motives are wrong. When what we ask for aligns with God's plans for our lives and His Kingdom purposes then we will have the answers to our prayers.

30. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32. (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

God knows what we need more than we do.

9. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

hal·lowed ( h²l“½d) adj. 1. Sanctified; consecrated: a hallowed cemetery. 2. Highly venerated; sacrosanct: our hallowed war heroes.

hal·low ( h²l“½) v. tr. hal·lowed hal·low·ing hal·lows 1. To make or set apart as holy. 2. To respect or honor greatly; revere. [Middle English halwen from Old English h³lgian;See kailo- in Indo-European Roots.]

Our Father. First we must ask ourselves have we made Jesus the Lord of our lives? What does that mean? That means we fully embrace and fully pursue Jesus and the Kingdom of God. We have repented of our sins and we accept the price that Jesus has paid on the cross for the redemption of our sins through His precious blood that was shed for us. We have made a willful choice to follow Him and His ways. To pursue His plan and purpose for our lives. We develop a relationship with Him through prayer and communication with Him. When we have done this God is our Father, otherwise He is not.

Which are in heaven. Where is heaven? It's God's home address in the Kingdom of God.

Hallowed be thy name. Jesus tells us we are to respect and honor Father God. He's not our buddy. He is Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and Earth. He is worthy of our adoration. When we come to Him in prayer we start by honoring Him.

We thank Him, we praise Him. We express how mighty and awesome He is. We can express the characteristics of God we have encountered. “You are Holy, mighty, awesome, all-powerful, loving, merciful, beautiful, faithful, trustworthy, true, gracious...” The list is endless of the attributes of our Father.

10. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

The Kingdom of God come. What is the Kingdom of God?

17. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Romans 14:17

There are lots of scripture expounding on the Kingdom of God. It is a good topic to search out. Suffice it to say, in the Kingdom of God there is no lack, there is no sickness and disease, people are not crippled. They are not tormented by demons or events. There is no hatred, only love, joy and peace, holiness.

In earth? Not just the earth geographically, but our earth. We were created out of the dust of the earth.

7. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7

We've already stated: heaven is where God dwells. The kingdom of God dwells within US.

The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

21. Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Luke 17: 20-21

11. Give us this day our daily bread.

GIVE: To allot as a portion or share.

Give is a verb. It's an action word. It's not begging. It's a request. “Give it to me.” I was meditating on this little verse of scripture and light bulbs began to go off in me. Think about the times in your life when you would use the phrase, “give it to me”. Why would you say that? It sounds like a command. It would be when I had right to what I was asking for. For instance, someone took something that belonged to you or maybe someone owed you for some work you did. Give me my shirt. Give me my paycheck. Here in verse 11 Jesus is telling us to say to the Father, Give us our daily bread. Give me what I need for today Father. Bread just doesn't refer to food. It refers to provision. Whatever that means in your circumstances. Father, give me the money I need to pay the light bill today. Father, give me favor at my job today. Father give me peace in my home today. Get the idea?