Saturday, February 20, 2010

Jesus, Teach Us to Pray

In this study on prayer, we have seen God's Role in Prayer. God created prayer. It begins with Him. He is speaking to us all the time. He is our heavenly parent; He is the Father we go to when we have needs. We pray directly to God the Father to seek His help and provision. 


Second, we have discovered the Holy Spirit's Role in Prayer. The Holy Spirit dwells within in us and guides us in prayer. He helps us in our weakness, intercedes for us. He is our comforter, counselor, and the one who convicts us of sin. 

Now we we will examine Jesus' Role in Prayer as our Teacher.  "It came to pass, as He [Jesus] was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples (Luke 11:1 NKJV).”


Before Jesus gave them the Lord's Prayer, He taught the disciples how to pray (Matthew 6:5-7). 


First, Jesus started His lesson on prayer by rebuking phonies. He said don’t pray showy sermons like hypocrites do in public so they can impress others (Matt. 6:5). “‘When you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! . . . ’” (Matt. 6:5 MSG)?


What a relief that we don’t have to pray in a showy way or be intimidated by those who do. God doesn’t want to hear long speeches either. He simply wants to carry on a conversation with us.

In one of Jesus’ prayers He showed us the kind of person to whom His Father will reveal things. “‘O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike’” (Matt. 11:25 nlt). To put it more bluntly, “‘You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people” (Matt. 11:25b MSG).

Our Father reveals Himself and listens to ordinary Christians who have childlike faith. Be assured that you can truly be yourself with the Lord and talk to Him the way you ordinarily do in everyday conversations. Who is the one friend you can easily talk to and be yourself? Think of the Lord as that friend, relax and talk to Him in the same way.

Certainly, we need to pray in a respectful manner, not cursing, joking, or acting foolish and silly. But if you have difficulty expressing yourself or have a hard time making yourself understood, be assured the Lord desires to hear you and knows you so well you don’t have to keep explaining yourself to Him. You don’t have to be afraid or freeze up as you may do around someone who is critical of the way you talk and doesn’t understand you.

Ask the Lord to free you from your fears and hang-ups about talking to Him, for He desires to spend time with you. He welcomes our prayers when we feel helpless, in great need, and can’t seem to say what we want to say.

The moment you feel He’s not listening, thank Him for hearing you out. The Spirit of God will reassure you of His presence.

Second, Jesus said we can pray by ourselves behind closed doors with the assurance that our Father who sees us praying in secret hears our every word (Matt. 6:6). He cares about our most personal requests that we feel we can’t share with others. He will reward our closet prayers by answering them out in the open. What hope!

Here’s what the Lord wants us to do when we pray alone, “‘Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.’” (Matt. 6:6 MSG)

Third, Jesus said we can pray briefly with the assurance that He hears and answers. We don’t have to “heap up empty phrases” thinking we’ll be heard because of our “many words” (Matt. 6:7 ESV). We don’t have to pray over and over again about the same thing. How encouraging!

Short prayers are powerful. So when we begin to feel guilty that we’re not praying long or hard enough, let us remind ourselves that the Lord hears and responds to our brief requests.

“Moreover, we don’t have to learn special prayer techniques that will gain us more favor with God. “‘The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply” (Matt. 6:7-9a MSG).