“Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door and pray to your Father who sees in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words. Don’t be like them because your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him.”  Matthew 6:5-8 CSB

We are spending some time this week talking about the importance of prayer. Jesus begins telling them how to pray by telling them the things they should not do when they pray. They should not pray just to be seen by others and they should not pray to hear themselves talk or babble on.

We need to understand that our relationship with Jesus should be the same as any other close relationship we have. We should be devoted to Him wholeheartedly. We should never be ashamed of our relationship with Him. We should maintain that close relationship with constant communication. When we are in a close relationship with someone we want to please them, we don’t want to cause them grief.

Prayer was considered important enough that Jesus not only warned His disciples of what they should not do when they pray, but He provided them with a model prayer. This model prayer is in the verses that follow todays scripture passage. In this model prayer, Jesus instructs them to begin by acknowledging the holiness of God and honoring His name (verse 10). In verse 11, He instructs them to ask for those things that are needed, such as daily bread. In verse 12 He instructs them to ask for forgiveness. You may want to note that this is after we have offered forgiveness to others. He ends this model prayer in verse 13 by instructing us to pray for God’s protection against the devil in saying, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Our pastor gave us the acronym of ACTS to remember to pray beginning with adoration and praise, then confess our sins and ask for forgiveness, followed with thanksgiving for all God has provided, and finally our supplication or our needs and requests.

We have all been in relationships with someone who we never hear from unless they need something. They are not there for us to share in our joys or our sorrows, it’s all about them. Our prayer life should never be about going to God with only what we need. We should praise Him and give Him thanksgiving as well.

In this model prayer, Jesus instructed His disciples to begin by acknowledging who they were talking to. We need to realize that we are talking to the Almighty God. In the song Way Maker by Leeland, God is described as the way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, Light in the darkness. The chorus says, even when I don’t see it, you’re working. Even when I don’t feel it, you’re working. Acknowledging that we understand the power of God also shows that we have faith that He can do all that we ask. We acknowledge that His will, will be done. It is important that we align ourselves with God’s will and we will talk about this later in the week.

When we ask God to give us our daily bread, we acknowledge that we trust Him to supply all that we need. Paul wrote to the Philippians in Philippians 4:19, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

In Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus tells His disciples that if they want forgiveness, they must forgive others. In the model prayer (verse 12), Jesus reminds His disciples to ask forgiveness. Romans 3:23 tells us that we have all sinned. Whether it is a sin of omission or a sin of commission, we sin on a daily basis. Sometimes we may sin and not even realize it. We should always ask God for forgiveness.

We should always be mindful that the devil is out there seeking to destroy us. John 10:10 tells us that the thief or the devil seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. We must pray daily for God’s protection against the devil’s schemes.

God has in His control the entire universe and everything in it, but He gives humans the freedom to choose. He deeply desires a relationship with you, but He leaves that choice up to you. If you haven’t made that choice yet or you have made that choice, but are struggling, turn to Him today. Call out to Him, talk to Him as you would a close friend. Ask for His protection and His guidance. He won’t let you down.

Have a great day!