05.19.08
Rejection of the Pharisaic practices of the law (Part 2)
- Rejection of the Pharisaic practices of the law
- Rejection of the Pharisaic practices of the law (Part 2)
- Rejection of the Pharisaic practices of the law (Part 3)
- Rejection of the Pharisaic practices of the law (Part 4)
- Rejection of the Pharisaic practices of the law (Part 5)
2 – Prayer (Matt. 6:5-15)
Just as the Pharisees made a public show of their giving, prayer was no different. The point of their prayers as recorded seem to be that of impressing people with their piety. Again, Jesus makes the point in verse 5 that they got exactly what they asked for (their reward) – the approval of people.
Now, I’d like to make a distinction here. This passage isn’t saying that these folks wandered out into the streets when it was time for prayer. I think it is making the point that they had no problem with being seen if it was time or there was a need to pray. The issue was they made the decision to pray where they would be seen, they pretended to have intercourse with God (yes, I chose that word on purpose – look it up if you were somehow taken aback by it). You see, prayer that is only offered in public is prayer that is only for a show. It should be intimate, familiar time with one that we need communion with apart from the world, apart from the hustle and bustle. That is where the issue was – that was not being done here.
Note that Jesus didn’t condemn prayer. He, instead, looked at what prayer had become and saw the perversion of it, becoming similar to pagan prayer practices (many of which continue today) that feel like repetition endears them to God. Jesus says to stop ‘babbling like pagans’ because God is not dependent on our endless repetition. Wow – how much freedom is wrapped up in that? (I can already hear the debates – what about persistence? The prayer for one that is lost and does not know Christ? Should I pray once and forget it (use our ‘easy’ button)? Or model prayer in earnest as Christ did in the garden of Gethsemane? We certainly want to know it all, and follow some formula for prayer success – and Christ takes us there now, but we have in turn potentially made this into exactly what Jesus spoke of : that prayer of recitation, of rote reliance, of ritual without any reality.)
Now we come to the model prayer. Some have called it the Lord’s prayer, personally it seems much more accurate to call this the Disciple’s prayer, since Jesus was teaching them how to pray (not teaching himself). I don’t for a minute believe this was a prayer that we should memorize and recite all the time. It seems to be areas that should occupy our time in communion with God.
First – prayer should involve worship (vs. 9). It magnifies God and involves worship of the object worthy of our praise: God the Father.
Second – prayer will occupy itself with the work God is engaged in (vs. 10). That means it’s not all about you! It is all about God and His work here with and among us.
Third – prayer addresses our daily needs (vs. 11). Here the believer shows their dependence on God and not the works of their own hands.
Fourth – prayer contains confession (vs. 12). This could be for the forgiveness of our sins, either known or unknown or both!
Fifth – prayer includes elements of protection and deliverance from the evil one (vs. 13). Keep in mind the world you and I live in is ruled by the prince of the air, not the Prince of Peace. Prayer should recognize the need for God to protect and deliver us from this reality as we live for Him.
Jesus finishes off this review of what prayer should be by setting the expectation that God wants us to be a forgiving people. If we have an unforgiving spirit then it becomes an impossibility for God to answer our prayers. And that may seem strange to you. How can we – who have been forgiven so much on so many levels – not forgive someone else and expect God to answer our cries for forgiveness? Take a few moments to reflect on Matthew 18:21-35.
