01.13. The Sermon on the Mount (21)
"The Sermon on the Mount" (21)
Praying (Matthew 6:5-15) In Matthew 6:1-18 the Lord Jesus speaks about the practical righteousness of His people. Practical righteousness is the correct behaviour of the disciples of Jesus in the daily life of faith. The Lord Jesus first of all mentions the giving of alms (Matthew 6:2-4), which shows our attitude towards people in need. He then speaks about prayer (Matthew 6:5-15), which reveals our relationship to God. Finally He mentions fasting (Matthew 6:16-18), which concerns everybody personally. In each of these areas danger is lurking. It does not come from outside but from within, from our fallen nature. It is the danger of hypocrisy, and it is against this the Lord Jesus is warning us.
Hypocritical Prayers
"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward" (Matthew 6:5).
Prayer has been called "the breathing of the soul." Through prayer we may thank God, our Father, for His kindness and His blessings (Colossians 1:12). By it we may bring Him our requests and sorrows (Php 4:6; 1 Peter 5:7), and may also pray with supplication for ourselves, for all saints, and even for all men (Ephesians 6:18; 1 Timothy 2:1). Our total dependence on God, and at the same time our fellowship with Him, is manifested in our prayers. Prayer is therefore as important for our life of faith as breathing is for the body. But prayer can become a mere religious exercise or show. This danger arises especially in public prayer-in the family circle, but especially in the assembly. A child once said to his father: "You always pray in a different manner when we have visitors!" Some prayers in the gatherings-uttered in a sanctimonious tone or a gushing flood of words-raise the question if they are not rather directed to those present than to God. The Lord refers to such dangers when He speaks to His disciples about the hypocrites who loved to pray publicly in order to be seen of men and to be admired for their piety. The Jews of that time had the habit of praying at certain fixed times of the day (Acts 3:1). This generally took place in the temple or in the synagogue but if this was not possible they were allowed to pray just wherever they might be. The Lord Jesus is probably primarily referring to this. Yet His words do not mean that He judged every public prayer as hypocrisy. Various references in the New Testament show that the Lord Jesus Himself prayed in public (Matthew 14:19; Matthew 15:36). It was the practice of the first Christians to pray in public too (Acts 12:5; Acts 20:36; Acts 27:35; 1 Timothy 2:8). The Lord Jesus therefore does not refer to the place but to our inward attitude and the motive for prayer. For God knows our hearts through and through. "For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, Thou knowest it altogether" (Psalms 139:4). Knowing that we cannot pretend anything before God we should not try to do so with our listeners either. They will, however, always be able to say a hearty "amen" to a simple, heartfelt prayer.
"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and, when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly" (Matthew 6:6). Let us repeat that the Lord Jesus does not want to judge public prayer as such. He does not only approve of secret prayer. He rather contrasts the danger of hypocrisy in public prayer with the prayer where there are no witnesses. In the privacy of our closet we are alone with our Father where we may pray straight from our hearts. We are aware that even our hidden thoughts, our needs and sorrows, are known to Him. Now we should show the same sincerity in public prayer, though we won’t be able to utter in public all that we utter in our closet. This difference between private and public prayer is at times overlooked or misunderstood. But sincerity and simplicity should characterise both.
Prayer in Abundance of Words
"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him" (Matthew 6:7-8).
If the Lord had to accuse the Jews of hypocrisy, He had to judge the heathen nations for their vain repetitions and much speaking in prayer (see 1 Kings 18:26-29). Beyond that He also warns His disciples of senseless prayers. He knew beforehand what would develop in Christianity. The vain repetition of "pre-formulated" prayers is not only known in heathen religions but is also practised in Christian churches.
This, however, does not mean that we are not allowed to repeat certain requests in our prayers which are a real burden on our hearts. We have to make a distinction between vain repetition of constantly repeated "formulas," and the intensive fervent prayer of a believer who in his trouble constantly repeats his request. Did not the Lord Jesus Himself present the parable of the widow to His disciples, that they ought always to pray, and not to faint? He then explicitly said: "shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them?" (Luke 18:1-8; Acts 12:5; Romans 12:12; Ephesians 6:18).
"Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." That our Father knows what we have need of is one side; the other side is that He wants us to constantly realise our own weakness and dependence on Him, and wants to maintain us in the enjoyment of communion with Him. Nothing helps the furtherance of this more than personal, confidential prayer. The "Lord’s Prayer"
"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread: And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (KJV adds: "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen"). After warning His disciples against hypocritical and vain prayer the Lord Jesus tells them how they ought to pray. According to Luke 11:2-4 He answered their request, "Lord, teach us to pray," similarly, but with a slightly different wording and in a shorter form. Although it is a prayer out of the mouth of the Son of God and is therefore perfect, these differences ought to be a warning not to make a "fixed form of prayer" out of it. And yet the so-called "Lord’s Prayer" has become the most repeated prayer in Christendom. The Catholic Church uses the wording of Luke 11:1-54 and the Protestant Church the one of Matthew 6:1-34! As many Greek manuscripts of the New Testament show the copyists soon added a doxology to give it a worthy end ("For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen").
We must not forget at what time the Lord Jesus said this to His disciples. Messiah had come but the law of Sinai was still valid. The remnant of Israel was expecting the kingdom, but Christ had not yet fulfilled His work of redemption on the cross and the Holy Spirit had not yet come down. It was during this time the Lord Jesus taught His disciples to pray. The prayer therefore answers their situation at that time. It is true that the Lord’s Supper and Baptism were also instituted during His life on earth, but there is an enormous difference between these two institutions and the "Lord’s Prayer." The former are in relation to His work of redemption which is not even mentioned in the "Lord’s Prayer." As Christians we are now allowed to pray to God, our Father in Christ, by the power and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6:18; Jude 1:20). By the Spirit we have boldness to let our requests be made known unto God by prayer and supplication (Php 4:6). In Matthew 6:1-34 the disciples did not yet know this privilege. The most important teaching of the "Lord’s Prayer" for us today is in its structure. In the first three requests God, the Father, is the centre (compare with Matthew 5:16, Matthew 5:45, Matthew 5:48): His Name, His kingdom and His will are in the foreground. Only after this do the four requests follow which are related to our needs: our food, our debts, our temptations, our deliverance. Often our prayers are so different to this! How little thought we give to the honour and glory of our Lord and our God, and how much we think about our needs! Let us give more importance to bringing Him honour and worship in our personal as well as in our collective prayers. The Spirit of Forgiveness
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15). In these verses the Lord Jesus refers to the fifth request of the "Lord’s Prayer." The Father in heaven in His governmental ways with His children cannot suffer a heart which is not ready to forgive. What difficulty we often have in wholeheartedly forgiving others’ trespasses (which we might exaggerate or even imagine). And yet this might make us feel very miserable. But even more our Father in heaven cannot forgive His children if they are not ready to forgive men their trespasses.
What a wonderful and perfect forgiveness we once received, as sinners, from God! Did we confess to Him all our trespasses upon our conversion? That is impossible. And yet God has forgiven all our sins in Christ for ever, because He saw our hearts and our sincere repentance. This perfect and eternal forgiveness by God (see Hebrews 10:17-18) is later presented by Paul to the Ephesians as an example for them to follow in their walk with one another: "be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32). Here the Lord Jesus could not speak of this divine, eternal forgiveness, because He had not yet accomplished His work. But He exhorts His disciples-and therefore us too-to always be ready to forgive, so that our Father in heaven can also forgive us, in order to restore our practical fellowship with Him.