Am I Praying The Right Way

 Matthew 6 and John 17

6 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

5 “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 streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 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. 7 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.

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10 Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

13 And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Communication is a vital thing in today’s world.  Communication is now what makes the world go round.  We have communication through technology such as email, instant messaging, social media, and cell phones.  There is always a way to communicate in today’s world.  Communication is vital for the health of any good company.  A company needs to communicate with their employees and visa versa.  In order for a company to grown and better serve their customer, they need to communicate with their customers and have a way for them to communicate back.  Communication is vital in any relationship.  Some marriages are even ruined or go through very dark times because of the simple fact of a failure to communicate.  Wars have been lost because of poor communication.

My friends, prayer is important.  We are at war and we need to be in constant communication with our Creator.

Whenever someone comes to me for spiritual counseling, one of the first questions I ask that individual is, “How is your prayer life?” 

The prayer life for a Christian is literally a life line and is crucial for the believer.  Sadly, many of us don’t take the time for prayer or we convince ourselves in some way that we “do it wrong.”  

A lot of times, that is the enemy talking to you.  The last place Satan wants any believer is to be in constant communication with the Lord.  That’s why Paul told us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that we are to “pray without ceasing.”  Paul understood that all strength, all confidence, all the trust and hope to carry on, comes from a life filled with prayer.

In Daniel chapter 6 we read how Daniel made sure to devote 3 times a day to nothing but prayer to God.  Do you realize that this was during a very dark time in Daniel’s life.  Daniel was hundreds of miles away from home.  He had been taken captive to a foreign land and was under constant threat.   Daniel did receive praise and trust from his employers, but Daniel understood that any blessing that he had came strictly from the Lord.  Daniel also understood that his safety and his obedience was in the hands of an Almighty God and not some political system, his friends, or even his “religious institution.”  Daniel went to be alone to pray.  Something that would later be echoed by our Savior.

So with all of that being said, we see that prayer is a necessity and something we cannot skip on in our lives.  So, let me ask, how is your prayer life?  Are you like Daniel and devote dedicated times during the day to pray or make sure that you pray each and every day?

How is your prayer life and what does it look like?

So, how do we know if we are praying the right way?  When I’m asked this question, I always point to Matthew 6 and John 17.  In Matthew 6, we have what is normally called, “The Model Prayer.”  I prefer to call it the “Pattern of Prayer.”   In John 17, we have Christ’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.  What better example of prayer to go by than by the Savior’s!

When we look at Matthew 6, many jump directly to verse 9, but please, let me challenge you and remind you not to do that.  Instead, let's look directly at the verses before that.

In Matthew 6:1-8, Jesus is telling us that we should not be like the Pharisees who were the modern religious leaders of the time.  He was using them as an example, but we still people behave in much the same way as the Pharisees did today.  What was the attitude of the Pharisees? Well, from reading verses 1-8, we see that the only thing the Pharisees really wanted was to be acknowledged by men.  They wanted to be getting the “pats on the back.”  They craved to have their egos stroked so instead of doing charitable deeds out of love for their fellow man, they would do them solely so they could get the recognition.  When they would pray, they would make sure that they would use flowery language, make sure they used the “big words”, and would make sure to repeat themselves loudly so others could “recognize” how holy they were.

The Pharisees were in it so all attention could be brought toward them.  They were selfish.

So, question number one to know if you are praying the right way and having a healthy prayer life, “Am I praying solely for myself and that I can feel good about myself or am I praying to a God I love and one who I’m truly seeking.”

Now we get to the “famous” part, the Lord’s prayer.  Jesus did not give us this prayer for us to memorize and recite a given number of times.  In fact, if He did that, He would be violating what He had previously warned about concerning vain repetitions. A prayer should not be in vain, but genuine, coming from the believers heart.  Not to just babble on.  In fact, Jesus gave us these words as a pattern so we won’t babble on and on. Jesus did not say, “Pray these words”, He said, “pray in this manner…”  In a paraphrase, He said, “Use this prayer as a pattern and not a substitute or a crutch.”

The purpose of prayer is to glorify God’s name and to ask for help to accomplish His will on earth.  This prayer begins with God’s interests, not ours; God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will.  We should not ask God for anything that will dishonor His name, delay His kingdom, or disturb His will on Earth.

Take note that this prayer does not contain any singular pronouns; they are all plural.  It begins with, “Our Father.”  When we pray, we must remember that we belong to a larger family.  We belong to the Bride.  We are the church.  Therefore, our minds should not be solely on us, but on others.

If we put God’s concerns first, then we can bring our own needs.  God is concerned about our needs and knows them even before we mention them as He mentioned in verse 8.  If this is the case then, why do we even pray?  We pray because number one, it is God’s appointed way to have our needs met.  To humble ourselves and ask.  God reminds us of this in James 4:1-3 by reminding us that we do not have, because we do not ask.  We do not humble ourselves before our Creator and ask the one who can, and wants, to give us our needs.

We can see another illustration of prayer in the title that we give God.  Father.  I know there have been many times in my life, my dad knew when I was in trouble when I didn’t even know he knew I was.  He could tell by my actions, my mannerisms, the way I acted, and the way people acted around me.  In some way shape or form, a father knows.  Parents seem to know.  Now, let me ask you this, I wonder how many of you out there do the same thing my dad did.  My dad wanted to make sure that I learned.  He was always there to help me, but he never pressured me because he understood that sometimes, God was wanting to act in a way to teach me a lesson.  Also, my dad wanted me to humble myself and come to him for help.  A lot of time, I was arrogant, and didn’t think I needed help and could do it all on my own.  It wasn’t until I failed and finally was in that humble spot that I could go to my father, and sure enough, he was there to help me and to guide me.

We have the same relationship, actually better, with God Our Father.  He loves us and He wants us to grow more and more in the likeness of His Son.  He knows us inside and out and He knows our stubborn natures.  That is why He exhorts us to pray without ceasing.  Prayer is a constant way to stay humble and to realize that we belong to a larger family that cares for us, loves us, and wants to see us have an abundant life.

Prayer prepares us for the proper use of the answer.  If we know our need, voice it to God, trusting Him for His provision, then we will make better use of the answer than if God forced it on us without our asking.

Sound familiar?  Isn’t that how we react to our earthly fathers at times?  That’s why a wise father will never give until asked.  They know what we need.  They will hint at it and practically beg us to ask them (just like God did in the books of Scripture.)  The onus is on us.

So, are you praying with a humble heart, fulling asking God for your needs as well as others.  Are you remembering that you are in a family?  Are you acknowledging Him. 

If you are, then you are praying in the right way.

Do you need flowery language?  No.  Do you need to have a theology degree and know the upteen names of God?  No.  

You simply have to humble yourself before the Father, trusting Him, and laying your heart out to Him.