Mat 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Mat 6:9 Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Mat 6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread,
Mat 6:12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
In everything that God has commanded us to do, there is a device in that command that reveals to us the state of our heart. For example, God told us to tithe not because he needs money, but because it reveals to us our hearts desires, either on God or on our possessions. Another example would be that God has commanded us to be honest because when we come to a situation where we could lie or be truthful, it reveals whether our heart is using the things around us for our own gain or whether we are using everything around us for Christ. The command to pray is the same way. Scripture says:
Mat 6:7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Mat 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
When we pray to God, we aren’t giving him new information. Prayer isn’t a device to let God know what we need. He is all-knowing. He already knows what we need. So why pray?
2Ch 7:14 "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
Prayer requires us to humble ourselves. Humbling ourselves isn’t becoming outwardly weak but spiritually strong because we are submitting to God’s authority. The way Jesus teaches his disciples to pray reflects this perfectly.
Mat 6:7 "And when you pray…"
The Greek word here is “whenever.” So whenever we pray, in our bedroom, in the car, at church, we are to pray like this.
Mat 6:9 Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Mat 6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
Christ says whenever you pray, it looks like this. Holy is your name, let your name, let your reputation, let your glory, let your renown, let everything you do and everything you're worth be here and not just known in heaven.
This is a God-centered prayer that has nothing to do with us. Christ is teaching exactly what it says in 2Ch 7:14, “humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways”.
Jesus is teaching that we need to turn away from ourselves and focus on God in all parts of life. Jesus teaches us to pray this way because this prayer reflects a heart that is humble before the lord, submitting to God’s will and glory.
The next part of the prayer looks and feels focused on us but in truth it isn’t at all.
Mat 6:11 "Give us this day our daily bread,"
Look at what Solomon writes in proverbs about this very same concept.
Pro 30:7 "Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die:
Pro 30:8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Pro 30:9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD? Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."
Solomon’s concern was the name and renown of the Lord on each end of the pendulum swing. Solomon is praying, "don’t give me too much or too little, but exactly what I need for you to be glorified in my life today." Do you see what a humble prayer this is? Solomon wants nothing to do with his wants, his desires, or his personal preferences, but only God’s way, God’s desire, God to be lifted high.
Mat 6:13 "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
This is still a humble prayer that is totally God focused when he says, “lead us not into temptation.” The statement here is simply, “help me. I can’t, you can. Cover me, lead me, and protect me with your ways." This is humbleness. This is submitting by conveying helplessness.
Jesus teaches his disciples to pray like this in Mat 6:7-13 and then prays like this in Mat 26:36-39. Look at the prayer of Jesus the night before his betrayal.
Mat 26:36 "Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, 'Sit here, while I go over there and pray.'
Mat 26:37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled."
Mat 26:38 Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me."
Mat 26:39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."
What better example is there than this? Christ is about to absorb the wrath of all of mankind’s sin on the cross and he says, “not as I will, but as you will.” This displayed humbleness of Christ should break our hearts and inspire us to be humble in our own life’s circumstances. Christ paid it all for us in his perfect display of humbleness before God.
Are we humbling ourselves in prayer, or are we just kind of doing life our own way and praying out of duty? Are we praying for something to be done in line with our will or are we submitting to the will and authority of God and asking him to be glorified by doing it his way? Are we praying that God would show us where we are not humble? Let us keep ourselves from heaping up empty phrases and submit to God by bringing ourselves low and exalting him.
Pray that God would be glorified by doing things his way and not your own way. Ask him to show you what he desires and ask him to give you what you need to carry it out with nothing more or nothing less. Humble yourself and pray according to his ways and not your own.
The next part of the prayer looks and feels focused on us but in truth it isn’t at all.
Mat 6:11 "Give us this day our daily bread,"
Look at what Solomon writes in proverbs about this very same concept.
Pro 30:7 "Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die:
Pro 30:8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Pro 30:9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD? Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."
Solomon’s concern was the name and renown of the Lord on each end of the pendulum swing. Solomon is praying, "don’t give me too much or too little, but exactly what I need for you to be glorified in my life today." Do you see what a humble prayer this is? Solomon wants nothing to do with his wants, his desires, or his personal preferences, but only God’s way, God’s desire, God to be lifted high.
Mat 6:13 "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
This is still a humble prayer that is totally God focused when he says, “lead us not into temptation.” The statement here is simply, “help me. I can’t, you can. Cover me, lead me, and protect me with your ways." This is humbleness. This is submitting by conveying helplessness.
Jesus teaches his disciples to pray like this in Mat 6:7-13 and then prays like this in Mat 26:36-39. Look at the prayer of Jesus the night before his betrayal.
Mat 26:36 "Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, 'Sit here, while I go over there and pray.'
Mat 26:37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled."
Mat 26:38 Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me."
Mat 26:39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."
What better example is there than this? Christ is about to absorb the wrath of all of mankind’s sin on the cross and he says, “not as I will, but as you will.” This displayed humbleness of Christ should break our hearts and inspire us to be humble in our own life’s circumstances. Christ paid it all for us in his perfect display of humbleness before God.
Are we humbling ourselves in prayer, or are we just kind of doing life our own way and praying out of duty? Are we praying for something to be done in line with our will or are we submitting to the will and authority of God and asking him to be glorified by doing it his way? Are we praying that God would show us where we are not humble? Let us keep ourselves from heaping up empty phrases and submit to God by bringing ourselves low and exalting him.
Pray that God would be glorified by doing things his way and not your own way. Ask him to show you what he desires and ask him to give you what you need to carry it out with nothing more or nothing less. Humble yourself and pray according to his ways and not your own.
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