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Prayer 2021 - April 16 - What Jesus Said About Prayer
Scripture For Today: Mark 14:32
One of the first principles Jesus emphasized to His disciples (and to us) was “Do not pray to be seen my men.” In Matthew 6:5, He said, “when you pray, do not pray like the hypocrites do…”
Now, I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be labeled by Jesus as “praying like a hypocrite.” Amen?
Jesus went on to explain how the hypocrites in His day prayed. He said they loved to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, so they could be seen by men. But Jesus told us how WE should be praying as well. He said, “But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to the Father which is in secret. And your Father which sees you in secret will reward you openly.” Praise God! Amen!
Now, that does not mean that ALL of our praying should be done privately. For instance, we can see the early Apostles praying as a group. We see them praying when people were gathered together again and again in the Book of Acts.
What Jesus is trying to get across to us is simply this: There is a possibility in public praying, when people are gathered together to pray as a group. In those situations, we may, without thinking, pray like a hypocrite, only praying to be seen by men.
I remember one church I went to, they would go around the room, pew to pew, down the row, and everyone would take turns praying out loud. If it got to you and you did not want to pray, there would be that awkward silence and, “with everyone’s head bowed and eyes closed” – you could see some eye brows start to “lift up” a little bit to see who was holding up the procession… amen! That was a sort of “peer pressure” to have you conform to the group standard of “taking your turn to pray publicly.” And for those that did cave into that pressure, I’m sure they qualified for this verse – as a hypocrite.
Jesus was trying to get us to understand that praying like that is only to get the accolades of men. And when we do pray like that, that is all the reward and all the answer and all the praise we are going to get – from men. God is not going to answer most prayers that are prayed just for peer pressure or to be seen by men. Amen!
Certainly, Jesus DID NOT SAY, “never pray in public.” He also did not say, “never pray in a group setting.” If Jesus would have said that, that means HE violated His own rules because He prayed with His own Apostles. No, the thought He is simply making is one of MOTIVE. Do not pray to be seen praying by other people. If that is your only motivation – you are wasting your time and their time – and God’s time. Amen!
You need to build your prayer life in your private time with the Lord. I used an example about a professional golfer before. When he makes that tournament winning difficult shot under pressure, everyone calls it a “miracle shot.” But he practiced that same shot hundreds, if not thousands of times, all alone, perhaps for years.
Getting your prayers answered works the same way. It starts with your alone time with God. If you do not perfect your prayer life in your alone time, then when pray publicly, you will not obtain the results you want because you have never perfected your prayer life. That means you are praying like a hypocrite.
“Oh, let me pray for you…” and then you ramble on, quoting the two or three scriptures that you have memorized…and tell the person “Go in peace, amen!” And all the while, Jesus is looking down, pointing you out to everyone around the Throne Room in Heaven, saying, “Look at the hypocrite!”
Yeah, don’t be THAT GUY! Amen!
Let’s Pray!
Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, “How to Start a Christian Podcast.” It will bless you – go and download it today.
You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2
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By Pastor Robert Thibodeau
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Scripture For Today: Mark 14:32
One of the first principles Jesus emphasized to His disciples (and to us) was “Do not pray to be seen my men.” In Matthew 6:5, He said, “when you pray, do not pray like the hypocrites do…”
Now, I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be labeled by Jesus as “praying like a hypocrite.” Amen?
Jesus went on to explain how the hypocrites in His day prayed. He said they loved to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, so they could be seen by men. But Jesus told us how WE should be praying as well. He said, “But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to the Father which is in secret. And your Father which sees you in secret will reward you openly.” Praise God! Amen!
Now, that does not mean that ALL of our praying should be done privately. For instance, we can see the early Apostles praying as a group. We see them praying when people were gathered together again and again in the Book of Acts.
What Jesus is trying to get across to us is simply this: There is a possibility in public praying, when people are gathered together to pray as a group. In those situations, we may, without thinking, pray like a hypocrite, only praying to be seen by men.
I remember one church I went to, they would go around the room, pew to pew, down the row, and everyone would take turns praying out loud. If it got to you and you did not want to pray, there would be that awkward silence and, “with everyone’s head bowed and eyes closed” – you could see some eye brows start to “lift up” a little bit to see who was holding up the procession… amen! That was a sort of “peer pressure” to have you conform to the group standard of “taking your turn to pray publicly.” And for those that did cave into that pressure, I’m sure they qualified for this verse – as a hypocrite.
Jesus was trying to get us to understand that praying like that is only to get the accolades of men. And when we do pray like that, that is all the reward and all the answer and all the praise we are going to get – from men. God is not going to answer most prayers that are prayed just for peer pressure or to be seen by men. Amen!
Certainly, Jesus DID NOT SAY, “never pray in public.” He also did not say, “never pray in a group setting.” If Jesus would have said that, that means HE violated His own rules because He prayed with His own Apostles. No, the thought He is simply making is one of MOTIVE. Do not pray to be seen praying by other people. If that is your only motivation – you are wasting your time and their time – and God’s time. Amen!
You need to build your prayer life in your private time with the Lord. I used an example about a professional golfer before. When he makes that tournament winning difficult shot under pressure, everyone calls it a “miracle shot.” But he practiced that same shot hundreds, if not thousands of times, all alone, perhaps for years.
Getting your prayers answered works the same way. It starts with your alone time with God. If you do not perfect your prayer life in your alone time, then when pray publicly, you will not obtain the results you want because you have never perfected your prayer life. That means you are praying like a hypocrite.
“Oh, let me pray for you…” and then you ramble on, quoting the two or three scriptures that you have memorized…and tell the person “Go in peace, amen!” And all the while, Jesus is looking down, pointing you out to everyone around the Throne Room in Heaven, saying, “Look at the hypocrite!”
Yeah, don’t be THAT GUY! Amen!
Let’s Pray!
Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, “How to Start a Christian Podcast.” It will bless you – go and download it today.
You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2