Day 5- Prayer
Since it is tax day here in the US,
I felt compelled to dig into the book of Matthew since
he was a tax collector. As I was flipping through
the book trying to figure out where to focus today,
I kept going back to the part of chapter 6 that talks
about prayer (verses 5-15). Since I’m working
on my quiet time with God, I’ve been really
writing up a lot of what I’m learning in the
Word, so it just seemed perfect to now look at the
application part of the Word- prayer.
I guess the first thing we need to address
is what is prayer exactly? If you Google search the
definition of prayer you will get all kinds of answers,
but they all boil down to one meaning- communication
with God. Prayer is basically talking to God. I know
that sounds basic but sometimes I think it’s
important to break things down to really think about
them because we often get caught up in the complexities
and forget the actual meaning.
The first thing Jesus points out to
us here is that when we pray, we should not be like
the people who love to pray just in front of other
people, to be seen by those around them. Their whole
reason for praying is to receive glory and honor from
the people around them. Jesus points out here that
when we pray it should be in private and directed
to God the Father. Prayer should be an intimate, personal
time with God. It’s not to say that we shouldn’t
or can’t pray in front of others because there
is great value in that, but the focus in these verses
is that we need to make sure we have our own private
time with God.
Jesus gives us a model prayer in verses
9-13 (The Lord’s Prayer), I’m sure you
may have heard it, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed
be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done…”
Obviously this is a wonderful prayer as Jesus has
given it to us as an example for how to pray, but
we need to be careful that we are not just mindlessly
reciting it as He warns against doing in verse 7,
“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions
as the heathen do. For they think that they will be
heard for their many words.” Jesus also points
out that God knows the things we need before we even
ask for them, so why try and hide these things from
God or worry about how it sounds in a prayer? Jesus
is telling us to talk with God, He wants the relationship
with us- isn’t that awesome?!
This model that Jesus has given us has
so much depth and meaning to it, but don’t let
that make you nervous about your prayers or the way
in which you need to pray. Just start talking, it
doesn’t have to be fancy, just honest and from
your heart to God. Be thankful to God for all He has
provided, and ask Him for your needs. In 1 Peter 5:7
it says, “Cast all your anxieties on Him, for
He cares for you.” God cares about what’s
going on in your life- big or small He wants you to
talk to Him about it. Start the dialogue today. He’s
waiting to hear from you.
Father God,
Thank You so much that You give us the Bible to guide
us through this life. It’s like a wonderful
road map getting us through this meandering journey
here on earth. Thank You for caring about everything
big or small, going on in our lives. Lord please guide
me through today, help me remember Your word and take
to heart all I read this morning. Help me to live
it out during the day today. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
