THE LORD'S PRAYER (Part #1) - "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 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. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
Prayer is an essential, spiritual discipline of the Christian faith, yet many of us struggle with how to pray. In truth, the problem lies more in "why" we pray than "how" we pray, or even "what" we pray about. We fail to maintain the prayer life we should have and aspire to because we lack understanding, for what good is it to have knowledge without application? Of course, technique and skill evolve over time the more we exercise our freedom to pray, but we typically fail to exude a fervent prayer life because we lack wisdom. Wisdom affirms the role prayer plays in connecting our hearts to the heart of God. Like a child in the womb connected to its mother by an umbilical cord, our spiritual health and existence are dependent upon daily fellowship with God through prayer. Without it, we cannot survive. Therefore, if we are to live abundantly in Christ, we must address the elephant in the room that can make or break our journey of faith like no other. Jesus said to His disciples only moments before He was betrayed, "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mark 14:38). If we confess the name of Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we must be keenly aware that opportunity abounds for weeds of temptation to take root in our hearts and choke out the good work produced in us at salvation. "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (James 1:14-15). Therefore, we must be diligent to resist Satan's attempts to distract us from making prayer a spiritual discipline in our lives, because our flesh is quick to abandon our post in favor of more enticing desires.
Before we address Jesus' teaching in Matthew 6:5-8, we must take a moment and reflect upon our attitudes toward prayer and the fruit (or lack thereof) we are experiencing. Are we content with our prayer life? Does it even exist outside of great need or catastrophic moments? Charles Spurgeon offers incredible perspective that not only has stood the test of time (written 156 years ago), but echoes the heart of man and his struggle to find contentment in prayer. "There are so many persons who complain that they don't enjoy prayer. They don't neglect it, for they dare not; but they would neglect it if they could, because they don't find any pleasure in praying. And don't we all have to admit that sometimes when we pray, that it is very difficult work and seems to be almost drudgery? We spend the allotted time, but we rise from our knees unrefreshed, like a man who has laid on his bed but has not slept, so he hasn't really recovered his strength. When the time comes around again, conscience drives us to our knees, but there is not sweet fellowship with God. There is no crying out of our needs to him with the firm conviction that he will supply them. After having gone again through a certain round of customary utterances, we rise from our knees perhaps more troubled in conscience and more distressed in mind than we were before. There are many Christians, I think, who complain of this—that they pray not so much because it is a blessed thing that allows them to draw near to God, but because they must pray, because it is their duty, because they feel that if they did not, they would lose one of the sure evidences of being Christians" (Spurgeon, C.H., "True Prayer—True Power!" 1860).
The sheer accuracy and conviction of Spurgeon's words cannot be denied, especially considering how fast-paced and demanding our world has become on time management. Our attention is swayed in countless directions, and God is typically caught in the whirlwind of functional duties or squeezed out of our daily routine altogether. How can this be? Have we truly drifted so far off-course that the Spirit's conviction is but a faint voice in the distance? How can we expect to defend ourselves from spiritual warfare when quality time with the Lord is not prioritized with proper perspective, transforming duty into privilege and halfheartedness into complete abandon and surrender? Peter pleads with us, " Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world" (1 Peter 5:6-9). Prayer is the funnel through which we cast our anxieties, fears, trials, etc., at the foot of the cross, and it keeps our posture low in humility to avoid being attacked and destroyed by our enemy. Therefore, we have all the urgency we need to understand why prayer is such an integral part of our faith walk, and why ignoring the Spirit's conviction to maintain constant communication with God through prayer is so dangerous.
However, Jesus does not appear to focus on a non-exisistent prayer life in Matthew 6:5-8, but rather a hypocritical version despised by God. Those who posture and position themselves as righteous in the sight of man are regarded in Scripture as fools, because their motivation is rooted in selfish desires and fear of man. The Pharisees were called out by Jesus because they used prayer as a tool to exploit their personal agenda, cast a favorable light on their self-proclaimed righteousness, and masquerade themselves as pious, "for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God" (John 12:43). However, God's Word is clear: "The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe" (Proverbs 29:25). We cannot allow ourselves to be motivated by the world's expectations and definition of prayer, nor adore any deity as Supreme except the Lord Almighty. He alone is worthy of our adoration and praise, and only He can wash away our iniquity when we confess our sins and seek reconciliation with Him through repentance. The Lord declares, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (Revelation 22:13). When we acknowledge who we are as sinners and who God is as sovereign and holy, we quickly grasp the importance of preaching to our own hearts, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).
We simply cannot wear Christian masks and publicly portray a life of righteousness and servitude to Christ while secretly harboring lusts of the flesh and elevating their authority and influence over God Himself. Otherwise, we risk alienation and eternal judgment because of our pride and hypocrisy. "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’" (Matthew 7:21-23). That is not to say we must live a perfect life devoid of sin in order to enter the kingdom, but we cannot assume we understand the mind of God when our lives are devoid of studying His Word and fervent prayer. Prayer is the means by which we commune with God by releasing our thoughts, feelings and emotions, and allowing His Spirit to bring healing and wisdom to our weary souls—but it must be genuine. Jesus warns that empty phrases do nothing more than exploit our spiritual immaturity and quench the Spirit's fire. Therefore, we are wise to think before we speak and guard our tongues to ensure our words are bathed in obedience to Scripture and surrender to Christ. "When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent" (Proverbs 10:19).
Bottom-line, prayer is not easy. It takes time and effort to build consistency and an understanding of who God truly is to find joy and contentment, but we must shift our view of prayer from something we have to do, to something we get to do. It is nothing short of miraculous considering common man has 24/7/365 access to intimate fellowship with the Creator of the universe, and Jesus shed His blood and gave His life to provide that opportunity to those who are born-again. We tend to lose focus of how privileged we are, like a man who disrespects the immeasurable sacrifice military veterans or active duty make on our behalf to preserve our freedom. Therefore, revival must take place, and that begins with every follower of Christ prioritizing quality time with the Lord and shifting our perspective upward instead of inward. We simply cannot approach the throne of grace through prayer under the pretense of, "What's in it for me?" Fellowship with God is a privilege, not a duty we perform begrudgingly or with varying levels of disbelief. May we never forget that God not only hears our cries, but He has the power to meet our needs when we call upon His name and surrender our personal will for His own. We must stop placing expectations on God that He must answer our prayers as we see fit, otherwise He is not trustworthy. Friends, if we believe that lie the enemy has already won, because that is beginning of the end of our prayer life as we know it. No wonder many of us lack joy and enthusiasm when we pray! The Bible reminds us, "For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7b). Therefore, we cannot hide our heart's intentions from the Lord, but we can begin to allow His Spirit complete access to convict and heal us so we can be made whole again through the power of prayer.
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