A Praying Community (Part 1)
For Meditation (Corey Widmer)
We’re now in the third main section of the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus addresses several religious practices: Giving, Praying, Fasting. You could say that Jesus is calling us to a “counter-cultural spirituality,” one that is different from the religious worlds around us. Last week we looked at his teaching on giving, and the next two Sundays we’ll look at his teaching in praying.
Just as in the previous section, Jesus assumes that his followers will be those who pray (“when you pray…”). But in verses 5-8, he exhorts his followers to pray differently than the common ways that prayer was practiced among the religious people of Jesus’ time. First, he instructs us to not pray for show, because God sees (v.5-6). It was very common in the ancient world for people to pray publicly and even to pray in a way that drew attention to themselves. While this is not as common today, we all can probably think of examples where it was clear that someone is praying for other people to hear and be impressed or instructed by their words. But Jesus says, don’t be a hypocritical religious performer! Instead, go into the supply room and pray in secret. As we cultivate a private, secret prayer life with God, we become those who live a life of dependency on the Father.
Second, Jesus tells us to not pray with many words, for God knows what we need (v.7-8). It was very common then, and still is today, for people to pray long winded prayers with many words in hopes that their petitions will be heard by God and answered. But Jesus says this is unnecessary, and treats God like an employer rather than the Father that he is. We do not need to impress God with our words or try to gain access to him through our sincerity and fervency. Through Jesus the Son, we have all the access we ever need, and therefore our prayers can be simple and few.
In both these ways, Jesus is setting us up for his most famous teaching on prayer, what we often call “The Lord’s Prayer.” But for now, Jesus says we can relax and be content with the simple and beautiful relationship we have to God the Father, praying prayers that are simple, frequent and focused on God rather than getting attention for ourselves.
As you prepare for worship this week, consider the following:
While modern Western people rarely stop in the middle of public to pray 3 times a day like they did in the ancient world, there are many ways people may draw attention to themselves in the act of prayer. What are some examples of this that you have witnessed or that you have done yourself?
When was a time you were tempted to use many words in prayer to convince God that you really needed something? Or a time when you were disincentivized to pray because you felt like you didn’t have the “right" words? How does Jesus’ teaching here encourage you?
Some people have said that the fact that God knows what we need before we ask him (v.8) de-motivates us to pray. What do you think? How might this truth actually motivate us to want to pray more?
Matthew 6:5–8
“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. 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. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”