I just finished teaching a series on The Lord’s Prayer and want to spend the next few posts looking at what Jesus taught His disciples about prayer. Hope you will join me on this adventure. We will begin with …
How Not to Pray
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, was it because they had never prayed before and they didn’t know anything about prayer? Did they need to pray more or pray harder? If not, then why did they ask him to teach them about prayer since they had grown up with the prayers prayed in their Jewish homes.?
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples. Luke 11:1
“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. 6 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. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:5-8
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, was it because they had never prayed before and they didn’t know anything about prayer? Did they need to pray more or pray harder? If not, then why did they ask him to teach them about prayer since they had grown up with the prayers in their Jewish homes.?
I believe they had watched Jesus and heard Him pray. They had seen Him go to the mountain to be alone as He prayed. They noticed something different about His prayers and were curious. His prayers seem to be more personal and resulted in miracles. So naturally they wanted to know His secret. They wanted to be like Him so they wanted to know how to pray like Him.
Isn’t it interesting that the first thing He teaches them is, “how not to pray”? First, do not pray in public places to impress everyone with your piety and devotion. He is not talking here about genuine prayer in small groups or worship. But even in those times remember your prayers are not a competition or declaration of your designation as a prayer warrior. He is saying that when you pray to impress people, you must expect people to answer your prayers. Good Luck!
Secondly, you are not to babble like the pagans, repeating the same thing over and over as if God has set a standard of 144 times before He tunes in to your prayer. God does not have memory issues. He knows what you need before you utter a word.
I want to add a third from my own experience, God is not hard of hearing. He does not need hearing aids. My dear, sweet, saintly mother begged to differ at this point. I remember waking up in the morning to her prayers. She prayed for my unsaved father, my brothers, her friends, and me. The longer she prayed, the louder she got and when she reached my name, it seemed to me she was shouting! I lay in my bed wondering what kind of horrible creature I must be that she needed to raise the roof with her requests for my faithfulness to Jesus and protection from the enemy. Today I see it from a different perspective. She wasn’t shouting for God’s benefit but out of desperation that I stay true to Him and not face the sinful things she had faced in her life before she surrendered to Christ. I find myself looking at this sinful world and praying with the same intensity for my kids and grandkids. Although shouting in not necessary, I am groaning desperately in my spirit for the
Now we know how not to pray.
We do not pray to impress people.
We do not babble on and on, repeating the same thing over and over.
We do not need to shout at God.
Let’s see what Jesus says about how we are to pray in our next several posts.
Journey with Joyce 