Sermon on the Mount: 8th Blessing
MATTHEW 6:7-15
THOUGHTFUL CHRISTIAN PRAYER
Jesus brought His profound teaching on Christian prayer that is thoughtful by advising two area that are to be avoided. The first is hypocrisy and the second is vain, mechanical, and therefore meaningless words. The first is the way of the Pharisee and the second is the way of the pagan. Hypocrisy is the misuse of the purpose of prayer and the other is the misuse of the nature of prayer. One diverts prayer from the glory of God to the glory of self and the other degrades it from a real and personal approach to God toward a simple reciting of words.
The Lord is always calling His followers to something higher than the desires of those who are living around them. He focuses the attention of the Christian on greater righteousness because it is inward and Christian love is to be wider to include the love of enemies, and Christian prayer is to be sincere and thoughtful.
THE PAGAN WAY OF PRAYER
Jesus says we are not to heap up empty phrases or repetitive phrases that are vain. We note that He specifically mentions “vain” phases for we know that Jesus Himself used repetition and we saw in the garden of Gethsemane when he repeated the same words three times (Matthew 26:44). What he seems to be focused upon is the type of prayer where the mouth continues to move without the mind being engaged. In verse 8 Jesus says very simple that we are not to be like them.
He teaches that God is not ignorant and knows what you need before you ask. The essence of Christian prayer is telling God that which He already knows. Therefore Christians pray in order that they may seek Him and therefore exercise faith by being in communion with Him. This type of prayer is thoughtful and is opposed to the hypocrisy of Pharisee prayer which is self focused to be seen or heard by others only. Jesus begins His instruction on prayer with the words “Our Father” which is highly personal.
The first three petitions we are given in the Lord’s Prayer express our concern for God’s glory in relation to His name, His rule, and His will. The second half of the instructed Prayer changes from “your” to “our”, expressing our humble dependence on His grace.
He is strong and clear on the teaching of our seeking forgiveness for it is indispensable to the life and health of our soul. Here is a profound teaching that sin is like a debt that needs to find forgiveness and then be extended out to those who need forgiveness from us. When our sin is forgiven, God dismisses all charges against us and we are to do the same to those who have harmed us. Here our eyes are opened by the Lord to the great offense we have brought against the Father by our own sin and how hurts against us by others are so slight by comparison.
Next we are to ask that we not be led into temptation even though we know by James 1:13 that God does not tempt us, rather he tests us by permitting opportunities for us to be faced with evil. The same book, James 1:2 teaches that when these moments arrive we are to greet them with joy.
The model given by Jesus is real and distinct from either the Pharisees or the pagans (meaning non believers). It is given to express our daily dependence on our Father and is taught so that we will be “God centered” in our prayer life, not focused on being “man centered” or worldly things.
The tragic mistake of Pharisees and pagans, of the hypocrites and heathen, is found in their false image of God. The hypocrite thinks only of himself and the pagan thinks only of his world and believes God will make change for him by multiple reciting of vain or repeated words memorized.
Our prayers are to be sincere seeking the will of God to be done, not our own and are to remain thoughtful toward our Father, like the children we are.
