Pray Like Jesus
This sermon was first preached at St Andrew’s Wakefield 31 January 2005
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Matthew 6:1-6,16-21:
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
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. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This, then, is how you should 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 today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
16 “When you fast, do not look sombre as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
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The Lords Prayer
Setting the Scene
Pray like Jesus. Prayer is one of those subjects that we all know about but if we’re honest we are not really sure how we should pray. There are two types of problems that make us freeze in prayer, like a rabbit in headlights.
The first problem is this, we are not sure if we can pray as well as others, like the people in the drama we hear the big words of some people and we think we are going to say the wrong things, or sound stupid or run out of things to say.
The second problem is that we wonder if we are or even getting through to God with our best efforts in prayer.
Like the people in the drama we think we have to plead and persuade God.
I’d like to answer these two problems and say they are not problems God wants us to dwell on.
Instead, I would like to tell you a story…..
A Story….
Not-so-famous five people - Shelly, Bob, Helen, Trevor and Dave got lost on a mountain walk.
It’s getting dark, cold, and animal, bird noises echo around. The five are fearful and four of them decide to pray.Showy Shelly ‘Almighty God, thank you for this wonderful opportunity to spend extra time on this mountain beholding the beauty of your creation…’
Babbling Bob… ‘Oh Lord we’re in a mess, O Lord we don’t know what to do, O Lord…’
Honest Helen… ‘Finds a quiet place and sits and prays in silence.’
Trusting Trevor… ‘prays calmly and simply: ‘Lord we know you know everything, you are stronger than our greatest fears, help us to trust you now to get us out of here.’
Doubting Dave … doesn’t pray because, he said, ‘It won’t help.’
Do you want to know what happens..
Trevor takes out his mobile phone dials 999 and the emergency services send a helicopter to rescue them.
Doubting Dave: ‘I see no point in praying at all.’ What are his reasons? God’s not there or he’s not interested in me, He’s not good enough, and besides, life’s just hard, so he hase’t time,
Showy Shelly: (Ref: Matthew 6:5) She is seeking to impress others (you can meet her in some prayer meetings). She is thinking how good I am at praying. Perhaps her prayer was drawing attention to herself!
Honest Helen: (Ref: Matthew 6:6) She is praying in private, honestly, face to face with God in the confidence that he knows everything. Did her prayer bring a helicopter? Who knows? Did her prayer bring her closer to God… I think so.
Babbling Bob: (Ref: Matthew 6:7). He is thinking we have to plead in a particular way, thinking it will make God listen to us more. The point he was missing was his heavenly father knew his need before he prayed.
And what about Trusting Trevor? Well, he tried to keep it simple and direct, believed God loved them completely and was trustworthy. Then he was practical and became part of the answer also… he made a phone call.
A simple little story which I hope helps us to learn that prayer is not just about me asking about my family’s needs.
Prayer is about getting to know God a bit better each time we talk to Him. It is about developing that bond between father and child of God.
Developing that bond between Jesus and us, the adopted sons and daughters of God.
Each time we pray we are seeing more clearly that, God hears us, loves us and knows us completely.
Prayer for Jesus seemed to be such a natural thing, he always seemed to begin every day, every challenge, every encounter with prayer.
The second problem that I mentioned was whether we are getting through. In the drama, there was pleading, repetition, desperate prayers.
These fears cause us to freeze and it stops us ‘having a go’ in prayer.
And because we don’t ‘have a go’ at it we get all hung up in the ‘how to’ part, feeling inadequate for the task, embarrassed by the idea of talking to God, especially in front of someone (even if it is friend or family). Many of us simply don't speak it out.
We should never feel inadequate in prayer….
Cameron is just one year old and he is just starting out in learning to talk. He just wants to talk at the minute, sometimes he say ‘Da’ and that’s it.
His parents, don’t think any less of Cameron for his few stumbling words.
I remember my youngest, Ellie when she was about three, she would say ‘dad’ and I’d look up and she didn’t have anything else to say but ‘dad.’
She was at the limits of her vocabulary but she just wanted to talk. Cameron may make a few noises but he is really saying … ‘I just want to be with you, I want to be near you, I want to hear you…I love you. Mum and dad’
That three old Ellie, now a worship leader, used to sing a chorus ‘we have a father he’s gonna bless us all.’
She sang, ‘We have a Father we call him Bethany…’ The point is God doesn’t think any less of her because the words don’t come out right.
I am sure God was just thrilled she had a go at it. In having a go can you see that she was saying louder than any words ‘I just want to be with you, I want to be near you, I want to hear you…I love you ….God.’ I believe our heavenly father treasures our stumbling, stuttering prayers.
The point is He knows our needs before we pray (we don’t need to say the right words) and the main thing is to talk with God not for a showy display to those around us, but to get to know God personally.
Conclusion: To get to know God personally we begin by inviting him into our lives.
Today, this is the best possible response we can do today asking God. Inviting him into your life, asking God to bless you, forgive you and to walk on with him knowing that Jesus can be a friend above all others.
No one else can do this for you, each one of us must choose personally to invite Jesus Christ into our life.
Today could be the first day of the rest of your life. A life transformed by Jesus. A life of learning to pray, using the Lord’s prayer and adding our own prayers as we get to see God more clearly, follow him more nearly to love him more dearly, day by day by day.
"Cyrus Brown's Prayer" by Sam Walter Foss.
"The proper way for us to pray," said Deacon Samuel Keyes, "And the only proper attitude, is down upon your knees."
"No, I should say the way to pray," said Reverend Dr. Wise, "Is standing straight with outstretched arms, And rapt and upturned eyes."
"Oh, no, no, no!" said Elder Slow, "Such posture is too proud, we should pray with eyes fast closed, And head contritely bowed."
"It seems to me our hands should be austerely clasped in front. With both thumbs pointing to the ground,"saidd the Reverend Blunt.
"Last year I fell in Hodgkin's well head first," said Cyrus Brown. "With both my heels a-stickin' up and my head a-pointin' down;
"An' I made a prayer right then an' there...best prayer I ever said. The best'est prayer I ever prayed was standing on my head.
