We are all familiar with the Lord’s prayer, as we have been taught this prayer since childhood. The prayer we have been trained to say comes from the gospels of Matthew 6:5-15 and Luke 11:1-4. This prayer has been labeled as the Lord’s prayer when in reality it is the Lord Jesus’ example of how to pray. It is His answer to His disciples when, (Luke 11:1), they asked Him to teach them how to pray. This is an example of prayer that can be spoken as written or, that can be deciphered so as to identify the pattern laid out before us.
The true Lord’s prayer, i. e., the prayer of the Lord Jesus to His Father, is in the gospel of John, chapter 17. In this chapter Jesus prays to the Father for Himself, for His disciples and for all believers, both present and future.
Before we begin our study, I’ll give you a brief overview of what was covered in the Discipleship 1 course on prayer.
Prayer is communication with God. It is speaking to Him and listening for His answer. It is not reading and repeating what someone else has written for you, but is communication with the Lord from your heart, your inner-most being.
When we read the Word of God we get one impression of what God is saying. When we study the word, a whole new world is opened to us. You will see this as we study these verses in Matthew and Luke.
Our study begins in Matthew 6:5-7 where we see Jesus telling His disciples how not to pray. In these verses, Jesus speaks of self-promoting prayer, and of hypocrites, (those pretending to be pious and holy, playacting; puts on an act; conceals his true motives under a cloak of make-believe. Mt. 6:5-7 "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 street that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 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; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 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."
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Mt. 6:6 – Jesus is exposing how the Pharasees would pray in public to be seen by men. It is not that praying in public is wrong, as you can see in 1 Tim. 2:1-6, one of the apostle Paul’s many public prayers; Jesus prays publicly in Jn. 11:41, 42; when blessing food; Jn. 6:11etc. These prayers give the impression that the person praying is in the habit of praying in private. We should first have an intimate relationship with our Father before praying in public. We shouldn’t pray to attract attention to ourselves. Jesus prayed in public, but His private prayer was more extensive…….all night prayer!
"your room" – closet; a private chamber. Private prayer in secret avoids ostentation and distraction. Satan has used men to misuse and distort this Scripture to intimate that any public display of love toward God is hypocritical. The Bible states in Psalm 134:2 and in 1 Timothy 2:8, that we should lift up our hands in the Sanctuary and bless the Lord. In 2 Samuel 6:14, David danced before the Lord. He also sent musicians and singers to praise the Lord before he went to battle.
Verse 7 – "vain repetitions" – babbling of words without a sincere heart desire to seek and do God’s will. The mere reciting of memorized prayers can be vain repetitions. As a child I would try to repeat the prayer as fast as I could…as though I were competing in a contest, with no thought of the words I that were coming from my mouth. Jesus contrasts these vain repetitions by teaching focused prayer (verses 9-13).
Verse 8 – God already knows what you need. When our need occurs to us, we have to lay our petition before Him. Psalm 38:9 "All my desire is before Thee." In asking, we show our total dependence on Him to supply all our "needs", not wants. He knows our needs better than we do.
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Before we go to verse 9 in Matthew, we will look at Luke 11:1 where we see the disciples asking Jesus to teach them how to pray. "Now it came to pass as He 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."
Verse 9, Matthew – The Lord says "pray in this manner." As I said before, this is a model for prayer. It can be said just as it is written but the intent is to teach us how to communicate with our Father personally; in our own words….the way we would speak with a friend. A friend can lose interest in what you have to say, or may look away disinterested, but Our Father hears and is interested in every word in your mind and on your lips.
"Our Father in heaven" – All prayer should begin with praise and adoration to God. We acknowledge that our Father lives in heaven where He rules the universe. He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. This signifies a new note of personal intimacy with our Father which originates with Jesus. Up until this time, God was only known as El Shaddai, which means God Almighty, the all sufficient God, more than enough. Everything we need is in El Shaddai. The name reveals His awesome power and might. Now we address Him as Father because of Jesus. (Gal 4:6, "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, Father!") (Abba meaning "daddy", a more intimate relationship than the formal name, "Father.")
This will be continued in lesson two of "The Lord’s Prayer".
1. Although this prayer is known as the “Lord’s Prayer”, where in the Bible is the Lord Jesus’ prayer to His Father actually recorded?
a) Matthew 12 b) Mark 11 c) John 17 d) Luke 11
2. The disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray in …..
a) Matthew 6 b) Mark 6 c) Luke 11 d) John 11
3. The first thing Jesus teaches is….
a) How not to pray b) Not to be like the hypocrites c) Not to be self-promoting in prayer d) All of the above
4. Before praying in public, we should……
a) Make sure we have everyone’s attention b) Only pray when blessing food c) Pray all night first d) First have an intimate relationship with our Father
5. You must pray in secret, in a closet to be effective in prayer.
a) True b) False
6. Public displays of love and affection toward God are found in…
a) 1 Timothy 2:8 b) Psalm 134:2 c) 2 Samuel 6:14 d) All of the above
7. Vain repetitions are….
a) Babbling of words b) Mere reciting of memorized prayers c) Having no desire to seek and do God’s will d) All of the above
8. Since God already knows what you need, asking shows…..
a) Our total dependence on God b) We can get what we want c) You have made a list for Him d) All of the above
9. When the Lord said “pray in this manner”, He meant for us to ….
a) Repeat these words exactly as written b) Communicate with our Father in our own words c) Consult our friends first d) Use many repetitions of the prayer
10. All prayer should begin with praise and adoration to God.
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