Sunday, November 1, 2009: Righteous Praying

Righteous Praying
Matthew 6: 5 – 8.


I. Introduction.

In the hymnal rack in front of you, you will find a couple of cards. One card is labeled “Welcome.” This is the information card we want you to fill out if you are visiting with us today. Many people choose not to fill out this card and remain anonymous. But, we want to get to know you and share with you more information about out church. The other card is labeled “Prayer.” This is a way for you to submit your prayer requests to us.

Our church prays for all the requests that come to us. We have individuals who pray privately for each other and share their requests by email. We have a prayer room ministry. The prayer room is located on the Second Street side under the portico. People sign up for one hour per week, with the goal that we will have people praying for the needs of our church and community around the clock. And, we have a prayer service on Wednesday nights.

All told, this demonstrates that our church believes in prayer. Perhaps it would be better to say, we believe God answers prayer. The idea that God answers prayer is central to the Christian faith.

In the past twenty years, there have been numerous scientific studies conducted to prove the power of prayer. Three of these studies took place in 1988, 2002 and 2006. In 1988, patients undergoing heart by-pass surgeries were divided into two groups. One group was prayed for. The other group was not prayed for. The prayed for group recovered from the surgeries quicker. In 2002, cancer patients were divided into two groups. One group prayed for themselves. The other group did not. The group of people who prayed for themselves did not have better health results. However, the study revealed that these people were better able to cope with the effects of their disease.

The 2006 study focused on heart by-pass patients, but there was something different about this study. This study used the best scientific methods known to researchers. It is called a “double blind” study. This time, there were three groups of people. One group was told that they were being prayed for by a group of strangers. The second group was told that they MIGHT be prayed for by strangers, but were not prayed for. The third group was told that they MIGHT be prayed for by strangers, and were prayed for. Of the three groups, the group that knew they were being prayed for had the most post surgical complications. Some of the researchers interpreted the results as proof that prayer does not work.[1]

How many of you are going to stop praying now that a group of scientists has “proven” that prayer does not work?

I find all three of these studies questionable—even the first two that allegedly “prove” the efficacy of prayer. These studies are questionable, because God cannot be measured or observed by scientific method.


Read Matthew 6: 5 – 8.

In this passage, Jesus described three people praying…


II. 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 men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

The first person Jesus described was the hypocrite. A hypocrite is an actor, a person who puts on a mask in order to pretend to be something he is not. There are two types of spiritual hypocrites. First, there is the person who does spiritual things for outward show. He pretends to be spiritual on the outside so that other people will congratulate him, reward him or even vote for him. Second, there is the person who does spiritual things to make himself feel better about his own life. This hypocrite thinks that by acting spiritual he can cover over his own sinfulness and spiritual inadequacies.

Jesus was describing the first kind of hypocrite. Notice that Jesus said the hypocrites “love to pray.” If Jesus had just stopped right there. If Jesus had placed a period after the word pray. This would be a great compliment for any Christian, ancient or modern. Wouldn’t you love to be recognized as a person who loves to pray?

Jesus didn’t stop there. The hypocrite does not “love to pray.” The hypocrite loves to pray where other people can see him praying and hear the words of his prayers.

I think the key to interpreting this verse is found in the purpose clause. There is nothing wrong with praying in church or praying on the street corner. It is wrong to pray anywhere for the purpose of being seen by others. There is a place for public prayer in worship and even public prayer on a street corner or other public gatherings. There is no good reason to pray for the purpose of attracting attention to yourself.

Ultimately this is what it means when we use the phrase, “give glory to God,” or the phrase, “glorify God.” To glorify God is to give God the credit; to acknowledge that God is the one working in our lives; to acknowledge that the power within us is not from our own strength and abilities…it is the power of God. Attracting attention to ourselves takes attention away from God.

Jesus does not give us a definition of prayer in this passage—he will define it for us in chapter 7. In this context, all Jesus is concerned with is our attitude toward prayer. But, perhaps we need a definition…

I like to say that prayer is “depending on God.” People who need God are people who pray. The opposite of that is also true…People who pray are people who need God. How many times have you thought that you could handle certain situations in life on your own strength? When we think we are smart enough and strong enough, we neglect prayer. We think we can do it on our own strength.

When we act out of our own strength, abilities and intelligence, who gets the glory? I get the glory and the credit when I am the one who performs. A good example of this was last Wednesday night in game one of the World Series. Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cliff Lea was incredible. He pitched a complete nine inning game against the New York Yankees (The Evil Empire). He gave up only six hits, no walks and one unearned run. The Phillies won 6 – 1. After the game, everyone wanted to interview Cliff Lea. I watched him say the same thing in every interview: “I wasn’t nervous. Why should I be nervous? I am playing the same game I have played my entire life. I put in all the work and all the practice to get to where I am today. I’m doing what I always wanted to do.”

Baseball is not necessarily a spiritual activity. So, it’s probably a good thing that Cliff Lea put in all the work and practice to get to where he is. The way he pitched against the Yankees shows that he is very good at what he does. I would want him on my team. But, he took all the credit and the glory for what he accomplished.

This is not the way God wants Christians to live. Honestly, there is nothing we can do for ourselves. All human beings are sinners, and our sin separates us from God. We cannot resolve our sin problem and our separation from God. So, God sent his Son to die on the cross to provide us with the only solution. Therefore, we owe our spiritual lives to God and not to ourselves.
Of course, spiritual life is not all that God provides. God is the source of our physical lives as well. All of our strength comes from God. All of our financial resources comes from God. Even the breath that we breathe, comes from God. Without God, we could do nothing. Prayer is the way we acknowledge to God and ourselves that we owe everything to God.

The hypocrites do not love to acknowledge their dependence on God. The hypocrites love for other people to think they are spiritual people.


III. Verse 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.

The second person Jesus described was the person who prays with the right attitude. True prayer happens in a private, intimate encounter with God.

Again, allow me to emphasize that Jesus is not condemning the practice of prayer in public worship. We know this because of the way Jesus talks about rewards. Proper prayer seeks God’s rewards over the rewards of other human beings. Other people might reward us when we pray beautiful, spiritual, public prayers. God rewards us even when our prayers are secret prayers.

The most obvious reward God gives us is answered prayers. However, not all our prayers are answered the way we want them to be answered. I have always believed that God answers all prayers. Sometimes God says “Yes.” Sometimes God says “No.” Sometimes God says “Wait.”
When God answers our prayers with a “Yes,” there is an obvious reward…A new job, a healed body or a restored relationship.

When God answers our prayers with a “No” or a “Wait,” the reward is not so obvious. Yet, there is still a reward. The reward might not be what we had hoped for, but there is a reward. The reward in God’s “No” or God’s “Wait” is the reward of greater faith. Perseverance makes our faith grow stronger. Perseverance demonstrates that we do not have the strength to make it on our own and that our desires are not always the best thing for us. God knows what is best for us and shows us his ways are higher and better than our ways by answering “No” or “Wait” to some of our prayers.

The reward of faith can only come from a private prayer life. The reward of being applauded and congratulated by other people comes by praying for show. However, you can only have one of these rewards. You must choose which you prefer. If you pray for applause, that is the only reward you will receive. If you pray for increased faith, that’s the reward you will receive…But be prepared. You might not like the way God grants increased faith. Sometimes it comes through the answers “No” and “Wait.”


IV. Verse 7…And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

The third person Jesus described was the pagan. These were the men and women of Jesus’ day who worshipped false gods. Some of these gods were depicted by idols. Others were internal gods like the human spirit or human intellect.

People who prayed to false gods did not receive answers to their prayers. There is an obvious reason for that…False gods do not have the power to answer prayer. When their prayers went unanswered, the pagans had to develop reasons to explain what was going on. A simple explanation was that they were praying to the wrong gods. A more complicated but more popular answer was that they did not pray in the proper formula. So, the pagans developed complicated and repetitious formulas for their prayers. Their prayers were heavy on naming their gods and praising their gods for what they thought the gods had done in the past. Only after naming the gods and praising them could the pagans begin to list their petitions. They thought they could flatter the gods and thus coax them to answer prayers. If the prayers went unanswered, the pagans thought they must not have prayed properly, didn’t use the god’s preferred name or perhaps did not flatter the god enough.

Jesus tells us that prayer is not about flattering God or coaxing God to act on our behalf.


V. Verse 8…Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

God already knows what we need. God is already interested in your life—your spiritual life and your physical life. God wants to intervene in your life. You do not have to coax God into your life. He stands ready and willing to step in when you call.


VI. Conclusion.
Three times (verses 5, 6 and 7), Jesus said “When you pray.” Notice that Jesus did not say, “If you pray,” and he did not say, “I command you to pray.”

In Jesus’ view of the Christian life, prayer is such an important part of our lives that he assumes we already know we are supposed to pray. Not only do we know we are supposed to pray, but we are already practicing the discipline of prayer.

More than likely, it would be easy for me to make you feel guilty about how much you pray. You know you are supposed to pray, and you probably know you should pray more. But, I don’t think Jesus’ words are intended to make us feel guilty. Jesus’ words are intended to encourage us in our prayer life.

There is no exact formula for praying to God. God loves you so much that he sent his Son to provide you with forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation. God knows your deepest needs—spiritual and physical.

However, there is a proper attitude for prayer. Do not think of prayer as a way to show off your spiritual life. Think of prayer as a private and intimate conversation with your Heavenly Father, who loves you and wants to bless you physically and spiritually.

Since Jesus used the phrase “When you pray,” we should think of prayer as an important part of our spiritual lives. All Christians are expected to pray. But, we should not think of prayer as a duty or an obligation. This would make us “Prayer Pessimists.”

Jesus wants us to be “Prayer Optimists.” God loves us and wants to hear from us. Prayer is more of a privilege than an obligation. Prayer is more of an occupation than a duty.


[1] http://www.physicianscholar.org/print/id/117083