Matthew 6:5-15
Verse 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”
If we want to learn to pray as God wants us to, there is no better person for that instruction than Jesus. During His Sermon on the Mount one of the things He taught on was prayer and so we are going to spend some time learning from Him how to have a good prayer life.
Notice Jesus starts out by pointing out how even hypocrites pray. Praying doesn’t make you a Christian or make you a better Christian, however a proper prayer life will shape you into a more fruitful and obedient Christian. He didn’t stop by saying not to be like them but explained where the hypocrites’ prayer life fell flat to the ears of the Lord. They weren’t praying because of their relationship with the Father or because they were wanting His attention, they were praying in ways which brought attention to themselves.
The hypocrites were known for standing on the corners or being in the Temple courtyard praying loudly and boastfully. They wanted others to see them as more righteous because they saw themselves as more righteous. Their prayers were not so much about wanting to communicate with God as they were about wanting to say something to those who saw them.
The issue with this is the sin of pride. When we start praying with the idea that God should listen to us more than others because we are better than they are, we are showing we don’t understand how bad our own sin is. Yes, God listens to the prayers of a righteous man but we have to remember He decides what that means. Being righteous in our own eyes isn’t the same as being righteous in His eyes. Our ways are not His.
With this in mind we must see the importance of humility when we come to God in prayer. Repentance can’t be real without our humbling ourselves and see the truth of who we are in light of who He is. We need to come to the throne of God understanding He is holier than we ever can be in this life and it is with that knowledge of Him we come humbly to make our requests known.
Making It Personal
How humble are your prayers? Does your prayer life reflect the humility Jesus called the people to? What prideful prayer habits do you need to change?
Making It Personal Kids
What do you think it means to be humble when you pray? Why isn’t it good to think you love Jesus more than anyone else? Why do you pray?
Closing Prayer
Father, we repent of not being humble in our prayers. Give us teachable spirits so we can pray the way You desire. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Comments