WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.700 Let's go to the next verse 5 to verse 8 in this chapter together this evening. 00:00:03.700 --> 00:00:33.679 So Matthew 6 at verse 5. 00:00:33.700 --> 00:00:38.580 Do you struggle to pray or do you find it easy to pray? 00:00:39.460 --> 00:00:41.800 Maybe we go through both the experiences. 00:00:42.020 --> 00:00:43.820 Sometimes we find it easier to pray. 00:00:44.420 --> 00:00:48.140 And at other times, sometimes we find it a real struggle to pray. 00:00:49.060 --> 00:00:51.100 But would you ever go to someone and ask them, 00:00:51.680 --> 00:00:54.340 will you help me in my prayer life? 00:00:54.380 --> 00:00:56.280 Would you help me to pray? 00:00:56.400 --> 00:00:58.480 Or would you be too embarrassed and thinking, 00:00:58.600 --> 00:01:00.719 well, everybody should know how to pray. 00:01:00.719 --> 00:01:06.239 Well, listen to what it says in Luke chapter 11, verse 1 to 2. 00:01:07.039 --> 00:01:09.659 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place. 00:01:10.140 --> 00:01:12.819 And when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:17.980 Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples. 00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:21.379 And he said to them, when you pray, say, 00:01:21.900 --> 00:01:23.579 Father, hallowed be your name. 00:01:24.039 --> 00:01:25.400 Your kingdom come. 00:01:25.400 --> 00:01:30.240 And so it goes on as Jesus there teaches the Lord's Prayer. 00:01:30.340 --> 00:01:34.040 And it's what we see here in Matthew chapter 6 as well. 00:01:34.140 --> 00:01:38.560 But it's just how the disciples come to Jesus there we want to think of. 00:01:39.440 --> 00:01:45.160 Teach us to pray as John taught his disciples to pray. 00:01:45.240 --> 00:01:49.439 So there was a culture there of learning how to pray. 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:52.599 And Jesus taught them how to pray. 00:01:52.679 --> 00:01:56.739 And that's what we see in this chapter as well with the Lord's Prayer. 00:01:56.859 --> 00:01:59.659 We are always learning in the faith. 00:01:59.859 --> 00:02:03.200 And prayer is just part of that life of faith. 00:02:03.739 --> 00:02:07.060 And we learn how to pray as we're going on. 00:02:07.379 --> 00:02:09.919 We don't have the same prayer as when we were a child, 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:13.740 where we maybe repeated the same prayer every evening. 00:02:13.740 --> 00:02:19.900 We should come to the Lord with our prayer that's based on the Lord's Prayer. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:23.240 But we can pray in a different way every time we come. 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:26.719 And before we just come into this section on the Lord's Prayer, 00:02:26.760 --> 00:02:30.840 we want to see the setting of where Jesus is here with his people. 00:02:31.480 --> 00:02:36.120 This is the section in Matthew's Gospel known as the Sermon on the Mount. 00:02:36.120 --> 00:02:44.240 And when you go back to chapter 5, verse 1, it says there, 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:46.120 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain. 00:02:46.640 --> 00:02:49.980 And when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:54.020 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying. 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:57.460 And that's the beginning of this Sermon on the Mount. 00:02:57.599 --> 00:02:59.360 He taught them, saying. 00:02:59.420 --> 00:03:02.640 So there's a lot of teaching going on in this section. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:08.519 And it was really a teaching on what it meant to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus. 00:03:09.239 --> 00:03:12.799 And it covers so many aspects of our Christian life. 00:03:13.519 --> 00:03:18.519 And part of that is our prayer life, where he teaches to pray. 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:21.739 And prayer is not something we're not familiar with. 00:03:21.819 --> 00:03:25.779 It's not a shock to us that there's a challenge for us here to pray. 00:03:25.899 --> 00:03:28.619 But the question behind it is, do we pray? 00:03:28.620 --> 00:03:30.819 Do we pray as we should? 00:03:30.900 --> 00:03:34.520 And what can we learn from this section on the Lord's Prayer? 00:03:34.640 --> 00:03:40.259 And hopefully, over a period of time going forward, we'll look at the Lord's Prayer just bit by bit. 00:03:40.340 --> 00:03:45.740 But we want to look this evening at the start of this section, an introduction to prayer, 00:03:45.759 --> 00:03:48.640 where Jesus is saying this is how not to pray. 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:51.340 So he begins by saying this is how not to pray, 00:03:51.780 --> 00:03:55.879 before he then goes on to say this then is how you are to pray. 00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:58.819 Because we are dependent on prayer. 00:03:59.219 --> 00:04:00.280 We need prayer. 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:05.699 We need prayer individually, collectively, and for all things going on around us. 00:04:06.299 --> 00:04:07.879 So do we pray as we should? 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:12.919 Charles Spurgeon has a book entitled Only a Prayer Meeting. 00:04:13.639 --> 00:04:19.740 And in it he makes two remarks in the first chapter that are a challenge to us when it comes to prayer. 00:04:19.740 --> 00:04:26.000 He says, first, how could we expect a blessing if we are too idle to ask for it? 00:04:26.500 --> 00:04:29.439 So are we asking God for blessing? 00:04:30.060 --> 00:04:33.960 The second thing he says, how could we look for a Pentecost if we never met, 00:04:34.300 --> 00:04:38.620 with one accord and one place to wait upon the Lord? 00:04:39.060 --> 00:04:42.319 In other words, are we gathered together for prayer as well? 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:48.959 It's that our desire to be gathered together as they were on Pentecost when God poured out his Spirit. 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:53.879 They were gathered together in one accord, in one place, waiting upon the Lord. 00:04:53.939 --> 00:04:56.399 So it's good for us to pray individually, 00:04:56.480 --> 00:05:01.699 and it's good for us to come together and pray collectively as well. 00:05:01.699 --> 00:05:07.979 But it can be one of the things that we can struggle with and maybe are most anxious about, 00:05:08.099 --> 00:05:12.879 especially when it comes to being called upon to pray in public. 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:15.279 It's something that maybe leaves us afraid. 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:19.800 But this passage just helps us to see how we are to pray, 00:05:19.939 --> 00:05:25.500 who we are praying to and who we are not praying to as well. 00:05:25.500 --> 00:05:30.759 And these verses, verse 5 to verse 8, begins by saying, 00:05:30.899 --> 00:05:37.120 when you pray, and three times it uses that phrase, when you pray. 00:05:37.879 --> 00:05:39.779 That's the first thing we want to note about this. 00:05:39.899 --> 00:05:42.519 It says, when you pray. 00:05:43.220 --> 00:05:47.339 First glance, these words might not seem to be important. 00:05:48.139 --> 00:05:51.540 But as Jesus is teaching them here, 00:05:51.540 --> 00:05:56.280 He's teaching them, you are to pray, when you pray. 00:05:56.400 --> 00:05:59.560 He's not saying to them, when others pray, 00:06:00.100 --> 00:06:02.560 or when some of you pray. 00:06:03.140 --> 00:06:05.040 It's a collective teaching. 00:06:05.200 --> 00:06:07.600 He's saying to them all, when you pray. 00:06:08.660 --> 00:06:11.540 And so there's a challenge there for them from the start. 00:06:12.180 --> 00:06:14.420 The disciples, the Christians, 00:06:15.080 --> 00:06:18.620 is to make sure that they are a prayerful people, 00:06:18.620 --> 00:06:24.120 that they recognize that there is a dependence on God as we come in prayer, 00:06:24.680 --> 00:06:27.019 and that we are to come in faith, 00:06:27.100 --> 00:06:29.740 and that we are to come knowing who God is. 00:06:29.780 --> 00:06:32.959 So there's this behind it, when you pray. 00:06:34.139 --> 00:06:37.439 If you go to Psalm 5, it's a Psalm of David, 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:40.040 and David there is talking about prayer, 00:06:40.379 --> 00:06:43.920 and he's talking in it about his morning time of prayer. 00:06:44.579 --> 00:06:46.819 He commits his day to God in prayer, 00:06:46.819 --> 00:06:50.620 but he uses the phrase, and then he's waiting expectantly. 00:06:51.659 --> 00:06:54.060 And so it's not just that he prays, 00:06:54.339 --> 00:06:56.199 but he's waiting on the Lord, 00:06:56.300 --> 00:06:58.099 and waiting with expectation 00:06:58.099 --> 00:07:01.040 that the Lord will answer prayer, 00:07:01.139 --> 00:07:04.339 that the Lord will show him an answer to his prayer. 00:07:05.039 --> 00:07:07.219 And so when we think, are we praying as we ought, 00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:11.959 it's not just, are we coming and making that point of prayer, 00:07:11.959 --> 00:07:14.419 but how are we coming in prayer? 00:07:14.479 --> 00:07:16.839 Are we coming with a sense of faith, 00:07:17.339 --> 00:07:19.259 and a sense of expectation, 00:07:19.779 --> 00:07:23.439 and excitement of what God can do for us? 00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:27.919 We learn that from David in many of his prayers in the Psalms, 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:32.060 that he has a sense of that joy coming into the presence of God, 00:07:32.159 --> 00:07:35.799 that delight in worshipping as he comes in prayer, 00:07:35.800 --> 00:07:39.680 and bringing his requests to him in prayer. 00:07:39.900 --> 00:07:41.939 So when he prays, 00:07:42.220 --> 00:07:44.439 he is teaching us how to pray as well, 00:07:44.520 --> 00:07:47.500 to come with that sense of expectation. 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:51.020 And when we think of hear as well, 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:52.819 when you pray, 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:54.879 it also challenges to ask, 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:58.000 what's our motive in praying? 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:03.100 And it's interesting how in each of these three sections that we've read, 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:05.959 we've got three aspects of the Christian life, 00:08:06.019 --> 00:08:06.959 not just prayer, 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:08.759 but in the first part, 00:08:08.860 --> 00:08:09.839 verse 1 to 4, 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:11.879 you've got giving to the needy, 00:08:12.220 --> 00:08:14.040 and then in verse 16 to 18, 00:08:14.180 --> 00:08:15.019 you've got fasting. 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:17.259 And as you read through them, 00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:19.620 you see there's a lot of commonality in them, 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:21.759 there's a lot of things that are repeated in them. 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:23.300 How you are to fast, 00:08:23.740 --> 00:08:24.720 how you are to give, 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:26.160 how you are to pray, 00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:28.680 there's common factors in them. 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:33.720 There's the same words used about doing it in secret, 00:08:34.500 --> 00:08:36.279 not being like the hypocrites. 00:08:36.899 --> 00:08:39.600 It's a repeated theme in each of these three. 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:42.899 And so you also see that each of it ends, 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:44.820 that when you do it in secret, 00:08:44.940 --> 00:08:48.620 your father who is seasoned secret will reward you. 00:08:49.060 --> 00:08:50.740 So it's true for each of them, 00:08:51.139 --> 00:08:51.480 giving, 00:08:52.200 --> 00:08:52.540 prayer, 00:08:53.139 --> 00:08:53.860 and fasting. 00:08:53.860 --> 00:08:56.860 And so tonight isn't about saying, 00:08:57.620 --> 00:08:59.800 put your hands up if you're giving, 00:08:59.960 --> 00:09:01.840 put your hands up if you're praying, 00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:03.779 and put your hands up if you're fasting. 00:09:03.860 --> 00:09:06.399 It's not that kind of who's doing it, 00:09:06.779 --> 00:09:09.120 but we're learning here how we are doing it. 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:11.560 And we are doing all of these three things. 00:09:11.639 --> 00:09:13.519 We should be doing them in secret. 00:09:13.820 --> 00:09:15.200 Part of it should be in secret, 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:18.399 knowing that your father sees you in secret, 00:09:18.500 --> 00:09:19.659 and will reward you. 00:09:19.659 --> 00:09:25.039 So it's a sense of our own personal prayer life as well. 00:09:25.100 --> 00:09:28.079 And what motivates us in prayer? 00:09:28.199 --> 00:09:29.740 What motivates us in giving? 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:32.100 What motivates us in fasting? 00:09:32.459 --> 00:09:33.719 If we do fast, 00:09:33.799 --> 00:09:34.679 all of these things, 00:09:34.779 --> 00:09:36.799 what is our motivation? 00:09:38.179 --> 00:09:41.500 What kind of attitude are we coming with? 00:09:41.500 --> 00:09:46.559 Are we coming so that we might just satisfy our own conscience? 00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:51.700 Are we offering up a prayer just to make us feel better? 00:09:52.059 --> 00:09:52.279 Well, 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:53.299 I've done that. 00:09:54.340 --> 00:09:57.980 Are we praying because it's ticking the box for that day? 00:09:58.399 --> 00:09:59.679 I've prayed to God. 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:04.179 Are we praying because maybe it makes us feel better? 00:10:04.980 --> 00:10:08.779 A sense of relief that we've got our prayer time in. 00:10:08.779 --> 00:10:12.879 Or are we recognizing the motivation in prayer 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:14.839 is when you pray, 00:10:14.959 --> 00:10:17.659 you see who you are coming to. 00:10:17.839 --> 00:10:19.959 We see that as you go into the Lord's prayer. 00:10:20.259 --> 00:10:21.579 When he says in verse 9, 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:22.819 pray then like this, 00:10:23.319 --> 00:10:25.319 our father in heaven. 00:10:26.199 --> 00:10:27.699 This is where we are coming. 00:10:28.539 --> 00:10:30.519 It's not a tick box exercise. 00:10:30.740 --> 00:10:33.100 It's not just to appease our conscience. 00:10:33.100 --> 00:10:39.360 It's recognizing that we are coming to commune with the living God. 00:10:39.800 --> 00:10:42.659 That we are approaching God through his son, 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:44.240 Jesus Christ. 00:10:45.139 --> 00:10:47.680 That that is how we are to come. 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:50.580 Prayer is first and foremost a recognition 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:53.820 of a dependence on God. 00:10:54.560 --> 00:10:58.980 Acknowledging that he is able to do what we cannot do. 00:10:58.980 --> 00:11:03.180 So do we get the point of prayer? 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:07.680 Do we recognize who it is that we are coming to? 00:11:08.620 --> 00:11:15.500 A minister told about a time when he was reading a Bible story to his young daughter. 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:19.519 And it was from one of these picture story Bibles. 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:24.240 And the story is about King Nebuchadnezzar. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:28.840 So there was a picture of what they thought King Nebuchadnezzar looked like. 00:11:29.159 --> 00:11:30.720 And the story behind him. 00:11:31.620 --> 00:11:34.899 And as the father was reading the story to his daughter, 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:37.919 and he thought she was listening attentively, 00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:40.120 and then he started discussing it with her after. 00:11:40.699 --> 00:11:41.639 And she said, well, 00:11:42.319 --> 00:11:44.240 the king was a very mean man. 00:11:44.559 --> 00:11:46.840 So she was getting the gist of it. 00:11:47.299 --> 00:11:48.100 But then she said, 00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:49.279 but he had nice shoes. 00:11:50.220 --> 00:11:51.840 Because she'd looked at the picture, 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:54.399 and she'd seen the shoes that he was wearing in the picture. 00:11:54.500 --> 00:11:56.399 And that's what caught her attention. 00:11:57.559 --> 00:12:01.199 And the innocence of a child can be the way we come to God in prayer. 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:05.079 We recognize the majesty of God in some ways. 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:08.379 And yet we maybe start to think about our own conscience. 00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:10.179 Well, I'm glad I prayed. 00:12:10.659 --> 00:12:12.960 Or just not what's important. 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:16.159 Because we miss out on who God is. 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:19.899 And so when he's saying here three times he repeats, 00:12:20.539 --> 00:12:21.579 when you pray, 00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:25.219 it's important for us to realize it's something we are to do. 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:26.299 Not just of habit. 00:12:26.899 --> 00:12:28.219 Not just for our conscience. 00:12:28.220 --> 00:12:33.940 But to recognize who it is that we are praying to. 00:12:34.940 --> 00:12:35.840 And so that's how he begins. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:36.980 When you pray. 00:12:37.980 --> 00:12:40.160 But then in these next verses, 00:12:40.540 --> 00:12:43.480 he goes into how we are not to pray. 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:44.120 So it's quite interesting. 00:12:44.259 --> 00:12:45.120 He starts not just, 00:12:45.620 --> 00:12:46.840 this is how you are to pray, 00:12:46.920 --> 00:12:49.060 but this is how not to pray. 00:12:51.460 --> 00:12:54.580 Because remember what it said in the Gospel of Luke. 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:56.659 Teach us to pray. 00:12:56.659 --> 00:13:00.939 Just as John taught his disciples to pray. 00:13:01.839 --> 00:13:04.000 And so there was a lot of different people praying. 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:06.939 And they were praying in different ways. 00:13:07.839 --> 00:13:09.459 And what Jesus says first is, 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:12.299 well, this is how you are not to pray. 00:13:13.079 --> 00:13:16.240 And he's challenging where motives were wrong. 00:13:17.219 --> 00:13:21.579 And the first is that you are not to be like the hypocrites. 00:13:21.580 --> 00:13:23.940 It says there in the middle of verse 5. 00:13:24.460 --> 00:13:27.620 For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues 00:13:27.620 --> 00:13:28.660 and at the street corners, 00:13:28.940 --> 00:13:32.040 that they may be seen by others. 00:13:33.160 --> 00:13:36.300 So he's saying this is how not to pray. 00:13:37.379 --> 00:13:39.340 Have you ever felt like a hypocrite? 00:13:40.420 --> 00:13:43.620 I'm sure as we approach this theme of prayer, 00:13:44.060 --> 00:13:45.520 I can stand here and say, 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:47.000 well, I'm a bit of a hypocrite myself. 00:13:47.100 --> 00:13:48.680 I'm here telling you how to pray. 00:13:48.680 --> 00:13:50.200 I have to ask, how do I pray? 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:52.720 And you can feel a hypocrite. 00:13:52.820 --> 00:13:55.700 And there's many different ways we can feel a hypocrite. 00:13:56.180 --> 00:13:57.640 It's saying one thing, 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:01.340 but meaning or doing something very different. 00:14:02.600 --> 00:14:07.000 And how easy it is for that to creep into a life of prayer. 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:11.220 Do not be like the hypocrite, Jesus says here. 00:14:11.340 --> 00:14:13.080 What were they like? 00:14:14.200 --> 00:14:16.620 Why mention them in each of the sections 00:14:16.620 --> 00:14:19.420 when it comes to giving and fasting and praying? 00:14:19.419 --> 00:14:20.779 Don't be like the hypocrites. 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:24.519 Well, he's saying this is how important your Christian life is, 00:14:24.539 --> 00:14:26.319 that people are watching. 00:14:27.559 --> 00:14:29.279 But what the difference was with hypocrites, 00:14:29.439 --> 00:14:32.199 they were doing it to be seen. 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:35.179 Those who were praying in Jesus' day 00:14:35.179 --> 00:14:37.500 should have been approaching God, 00:14:37.719 --> 00:14:41.620 recognizing it was to God they were in coming. 00:14:41.620 --> 00:14:44.799 But instead, they're on the street corners, 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:45.980 they're in the synagogues, 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:48.799 that they may be seen by others. 00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:51.779 And these were very public places. 00:14:52.820 --> 00:14:54.759 The street corners and the synagogues, 00:14:54.960 --> 00:14:57.000 these were where people gathered. 00:14:57.980 --> 00:14:59.720 And so the hypocrites would be there, 00:14:59.980 --> 00:15:02.500 but they're there to get praise from man. 00:15:02.500 --> 00:15:05.779 But look at what Jesus says to them, 00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:07.399 that they may be seen by others. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:08.600 Truly I say to you, 00:15:08.659 --> 00:15:10.980 they have received their reward. 00:15:11.100 --> 00:15:12.700 There's no answer to their prayer. 00:15:13.860 --> 00:15:15.399 But they have received their reward 00:15:15.399 --> 00:15:18.759 just by if they get praise from those who are around them. 00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:21.700 And so they received the reward, 00:15:21.820 --> 00:15:24.039 that was their praise from man. 00:15:25.039 --> 00:15:27.419 There's no answer from God. 00:15:27.419 --> 00:15:32.599 And so, how do we approach God in prayer? 00:15:33.599 --> 00:15:35.839 Well, as Jesus goes on to say, 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:36.759 he says, 00:15:36.839 --> 00:15:37.759 when you pray, 00:15:38.360 --> 00:15:38.959 in verse 6, 00:15:39.059 --> 00:15:40.979 go into your room and shut the door 00:15:40.979 --> 00:15:44.699 and pray to your Father who is in secret. 00:15:45.979 --> 00:15:47.419 So we are to make sure that 00:15:47.419 --> 00:15:48.939 wherever we are coming, 00:15:49.459 --> 00:15:52.339 our focus is that we are praying to the Father. 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:54.779 Now does this just mean 00:15:54.779 --> 00:15:57.959 that we go into a quiet place? 00:15:58.139 --> 00:15:58.759 Well, yes, 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:03.079 there is that sense of taking time away. 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:06.819 But even if we are called to pray in public, 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:08.360 it's a reminder to us 00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:11.259 that we are coming into our own room 00:16:11.259 --> 00:16:12.720 where we are asked to pray. 00:16:12.819 --> 00:16:15.779 We are not standing wherever we are asked to pray 00:16:15.779 --> 00:16:18.980 to be praying to those around us. 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:23.860 To be trying to impress the people sitting beside us 00:16:23.860 --> 00:16:24.860 or in our hearing, 00:16:25.300 --> 00:16:26.800 that's not what it is about. 00:16:26.919 --> 00:16:29.139 We are approaching our Father 00:16:29.139 --> 00:16:31.240 who is in heaven. 00:16:32.779 --> 00:16:34.320 Somebody once put it like this, 00:16:34.379 --> 00:16:37.360 it's not wrong to be seen praying, 00:16:38.039 --> 00:16:41.980 but it is wrong to be praying to be seen. 00:16:43.259 --> 00:16:44.419 And that's the difference. 00:16:44.419 --> 00:16:47.179 It's not wrong to be seen praying 00:16:47.179 --> 00:16:49.019 because we have to ask people 00:16:49.019 --> 00:16:50.519 to publicly pray, 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:53.979 but it's wrong to be praying to be seen. 00:16:54.819 --> 00:16:56.439 Because if we're praying to be seen, 00:16:56.699 --> 00:16:59.839 we are not praying as we should to God. 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:02.799 And so as his disciples, 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:04.159 as his followers, 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:06.019 we are to pray, 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:08.139 and we are to pray in secret 00:17:08.139 --> 00:17:12.559 in that sense of it being between us and God. 00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:16.139 And one of the fears of public praying is, 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:18.539 what will others think? 00:17:19.559 --> 00:17:21.700 And maybe that's what puts people off coming 00:17:21.700 --> 00:17:23.019 to a prayer meeting. 00:17:23.259 --> 00:17:25.799 I'm afraid I'll be asked to pray. 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:28.200 But it's not to see it as about 00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:30.919 impressing others around us, 00:17:31.399 --> 00:17:33.119 but to see that you are leading 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:36.039 in that prayer for all around you 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:37.259 and that all around you 00:17:37.259 --> 00:17:38.720 shouldn't be listening, 00:17:39.179 --> 00:17:40.099 what's he saying, 00:17:40.099 --> 00:17:41.519 or how did he say it, 00:17:41.539 --> 00:17:43.459 or did he say that right or wrong, 00:17:44.419 --> 00:17:45.719 but praying with you. 00:17:46.679 --> 00:17:48.719 That we are praying together. 00:17:49.959 --> 00:17:52.480 Because our prayer is offered up to God 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:54.359 as we meet together. 00:17:54.359 --> 00:17:57.740 Like the book of the day of Pentecost, 00:17:57.879 --> 00:17:59.459 they were in one accord. 00:18:00.379 --> 00:18:01.379 There was a unity. 00:18:01.939 --> 00:18:02.359 There was a togetherness. 00:18:03.139 --> 00:18:05.099 There was a oneness in that. 00:18:05.159 --> 00:18:07.679 They were praying to God together. 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:11.460 So we come to meet God. 00:18:12.100 --> 00:18:14.920 We meet him collectively together, 00:18:15.080 --> 00:18:17.180 remembering we are praying to him. 00:18:17.600 --> 00:18:20.500 And we come to God in our own time as well. 00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:23.160 It's not about being seen by others. 00:18:23.259 --> 00:18:25.920 It's not about going through that process 00:18:25.920 --> 00:18:27.600 just to get it done, 00:18:28.120 --> 00:18:30.880 but to recognize we are not to be hypocrites, 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:33.640 but that we are to approach God 00:18:33.640 --> 00:18:37.340 who hears and will reward in secret. 00:18:38.820 --> 00:18:41.080 So don't be like the hypocrites. 00:18:44.260 --> 00:18:46.680 Then you also have in verse 7, 00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:48.940 And when you pray again, 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:52.420 Do not heap up empty phrases 00:18:52.420 --> 00:18:54.039 as the Gentiles do, 00:18:54.620 --> 00:18:56.580 for they think that they will be heard 00:18:56.580 --> 00:18:58.380 for their many words. 00:18:58.519 --> 00:18:59.660 Do not be like them, 00:19:00.180 --> 00:19:02.340 for your Father knows what you need 00:19:02.340 --> 00:19:04.180 before you ask. 00:19:05.060 --> 00:19:07.860 So there's great comfort in these words, 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:08.220 isn't there, 00:19:08.220 --> 00:19:09.980 when you think of what it says, 00:19:10.060 --> 00:19:12.279 your Father knows what you need 00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:13.920 before you ask. 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:17.220 He just wants you to come. 00:19:18.180 --> 00:19:20.519 So our prayers are not focused 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:23.320 on how long they are. 00:19:23.660 --> 00:19:25.800 He calls them here, 00:19:26.820 --> 00:19:29.420 Do not heap up empty phrases 00:19:29.420 --> 00:19:31.320 like the Gentiles do. 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:33.840 Another word that's used for them here 00:19:33.840 --> 00:19:35.240 is the babblers do. 00:19:35.340 --> 00:19:37.640 They're just babbling away to God. 00:19:37.700 --> 00:19:39.220 Just trying to fill in the time 00:19:39.220 --> 00:19:41.300 with the length of their prayers 00:19:41.299 --> 00:19:44.059 and the words that they are offering up. 00:19:44.899 --> 00:19:46.819 And so in Jesus' day, 00:19:46.899 --> 00:19:48.379 this was another problem. 00:19:48.460 --> 00:19:49.720 Not just that people were praying 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:50.559 to be seen, 00:19:51.039 --> 00:19:52.079 but that people were praying 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:55.039 just to go on and on and on. 00:19:55.639 --> 00:19:57.240 Thinking the greater the length 00:19:57.240 --> 00:19:58.519 their prayers were, 00:19:58.639 --> 00:20:02.139 the more likely God is to answer. 00:20:02.140 --> 00:20:06.180 And I guess we have that thought 00:20:06.180 --> 00:20:07.160 as well at times, 00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:09.400 that we feel we have to keep on 00:20:09.400 --> 00:20:11.500 going on and on and on in prayer. 00:20:11.580 --> 00:20:14.060 It's not the sense of the length of prayer. 00:20:14.900 --> 00:20:16.160 When it says elsewhere, 00:20:16.259 --> 00:20:16.380 you know, 00:20:16.420 --> 00:20:17.600 we are always to pray 00:20:17.600 --> 00:20:18.520 and not to give up. 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:19.680 It's not just to be 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:21.440 keeping on praying 00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:22.240 and praying and praying, 00:20:22.340 --> 00:20:24.800 but just to keep coming back to God, 00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:26.980 to keep coming back day by day, 00:20:27.620 --> 00:20:28.580 time by time, 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:29.940 recognizing we are just 00:20:29.940 --> 00:20:31.160 to keep coming to God 00:20:31.160 --> 00:20:32.000 and he hears 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:33.400 and is able to answer. 00:20:33.500 --> 00:20:34.019 So it's not about, 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:36.160 well, I must pray for 20 minutes. 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:38.259 I must pray for half an hour. 00:20:38.360 --> 00:20:38.740 Otherwise, 00:20:38.940 --> 00:20:40.420 it's not going to be good enough. 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:42.360 That's not what it's saying. 00:20:42.759 --> 00:20:43.519 That's not how we are 00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:45.140 to approach God at all. 00:20:45.840 --> 00:20:47.380 Martin Luther put it like this. 00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:47.799 He said, 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:49.860 the fewer the words, 00:20:49.980 --> 00:20:51.080 the better the prayer. 00:20:52.320 --> 00:20:53.460 To have prayed well 00:20:53.460 --> 00:20:55.000 is to have studied well. 00:20:56.100 --> 00:20:57.400 And so what he was saying there 00:20:57.400 --> 00:20:58.480 is to make sure 00:20:58.480 --> 00:20:59.960 that as we come to prayer, 00:21:00.060 --> 00:21:02.060 it's based on God's word. 00:21:03.280 --> 00:21:03.940 We can pray, 00:21:04.019 --> 00:21:04.360 and that's, 00:21:04.840 --> 00:21:05.120 you know, 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:06.600 when we say the Lord's Prayer, 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:08.060 we can often repeat it now 00:21:08.060 --> 00:21:10.200 because we hear it so often. 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:13.000 But even the Lord's Prayer itself, 00:21:13.100 --> 00:21:14.400 if you pray that prayer 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:15.900 and just think about it 00:21:15.900 --> 00:21:17.340 as you're going through it, 00:21:17.500 --> 00:21:18.500 how many words 00:21:18.500 --> 00:21:19.620 are in the Lord's Prayer? 00:21:19.860 --> 00:21:20.840 There's not that many. 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:23.019 And yet this is the answer 00:21:23.019 --> 00:21:23.640 to Jesus 00:21:23.640 --> 00:21:24.560 when he gets, 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:25.700 Jesus gives 00:21:25.700 --> 00:21:26.580 when he asks the question, 00:21:26.579 --> 00:21:27.819 teach us to pray. 00:21:28.500 --> 00:21:29.839 So it's not a long prayer. 00:21:30.939 --> 00:21:31.720 But as we see, 00:21:31.799 --> 00:21:32.559 as we go through it, 00:21:32.579 --> 00:21:34.399 it's going to say so much to us 00:21:34.399 --> 00:21:36.659 about how he taught to pray. 00:21:37.079 --> 00:21:38.399 So it's not the length. 00:21:39.579 --> 00:21:40.879 It's not the kind of words 00:21:40.879 --> 00:21:41.859 that we use. 00:21:42.859 --> 00:21:44.039 But that we just come 00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:46.339 and see that he knows our needs 00:21:46.339 --> 00:21:49.039 even before we ask. 00:21:50.139 --> 00:21:51.599 And it's not a great encouragement 00:21:51.599 --> 00:21:53.639 to us in our prayers. 00:21:54.740 --> 00:21:55.500 That our prayers, 00:21:55.500 --> 00:21:56.680 they don't have to be 00:21:56.680 --> 00:21:58.359 eloquently structured. 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:00.440 They don't have to have 00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:02.259 a particular set 00:22:02.259 --> 00:22:04.259 of words used. 00:22:05.460 --> 00:22:07.160 But that we just approach him 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:08.319 with the words 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:09.779 that he puts in our hearts. 00:22:10.460 --> 00:22:11.400 Knowing that even before 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:12.380 we speak them, 00:22:12.940 --> 00:22:13.700 they are known 00:22:13.700 --> 00:22:14.940 unto him. 00:22:16.599 --> 00:22:17.680 And so it's not about 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:19.000 comparing ourselves 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:20.279 to how others pray. 00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:21.359 It's not about 00:22:21.359 --> 00:22:22.799 looking at how long 00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:23.680 they prayed. 00:22:24.519 --> 00:22:25.379 But just coming 00:22:25.379 --> 00:22:26.879 with that genuineness. 00:22:27.619 --> 00:22:28.539 That dependence 00:22:28.539 --> 00:22:30.519 upon him. 00:22:31.819 --> 00:22:33.099 But it's not to say 00:22:33.099 --> 00:22:34.200 that we shouldn't learn 00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:34.960 to pray 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:36.759 as we're going on. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:38.359 And when we look 00:22:38.359 --> 00:22:40.079 at the Lord's Prayer itself, 00:22:40.639 --> 00:22:42.019 you see that it does 00:22:42.019 --> 00:22:44.259 have order to it. 00:22:44.839 --> 00:22:45.859 It does have 00:22:45.859 --> 00:22:47.859 structure to it. 00:22:47.859 --> 00:22:50.179 And so as we're praying 00:22:50.179 --> 00:22:51.059 and as we're learning 00:22:51.059 --> 00:22:52.279 as we go on, 00:22:52.399 --> 00:22:53.740 we realize that prayer 00:22:53.740 --> 00:22:54.859 is something that we are 00:22:54.859 --> 00:22:55.719 working on 00:22:55.719 --> 00:22:57.579 all the time. 00:22:58.619 --> 00:22:59.500 So it's not about 00:22:59.500 --> 00:23:00.519 empty phrases 00:23:00.519 --> 00:23:02.459 or being babblers, 00:23:02.859 --> 00:23:03.779 but just about 00:23:03.779 --> 00:23:04.379 coming 00:23:04.379 --> 00:23:05.459 to him. 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:07.799 And so that's how we are 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:08.859 to approach him. 00:23:10.539 --> 00:23:11.219 Expectantly. 00:23:11.939 --> 00:23:13.039 With a prayer 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:14.519 of faith. 00:23:15.559 --> 00:23:16.139 Many people 00:23:16.139 --> 00:23:16.700 would say 00:23:16.700 --> 00:23:17.980 in various 00:23:17.980 --> 00:23:18.960 church circles 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:19.420 nowadays 00:23:19.420 --> 00:23:21.099 that God 00:23:21.099 --> 00:23:22.440 doesn't hear our prayers 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:23.759 because our faith 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:25.639 isn't what it should be. 00:23:26.899 --> 00:23:27.700 But is it really 00:23:27.700 --> 00:23:28.379 based on 00:23:28.379 --> 00:23:29.519 how our faith 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:30.119 feels 00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:31.440 to ourselves? 00:23:32.700 --> 00:23:33.519 It's not. 00:23:33.619 --> 00:23:33.940 It's about 00:23:33.940 --> 00:23:34.799 who our faith 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:35.379 is in. 00:23:36.279 --> 00:23:37.039 And our faith 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:37.539 is in 00:23:37.539 --> 00:23:38.700 the Lord 00:23:38.700 --> 00:23:39.819 Jesus Christ. 00:23:39.819 --> 00:23:40.019 Christ. 00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:42.019 And we come 00:23:42.019 --> 00:23:43.319 through him 00:23:43.319 --> 00:23:44.259 to God. 00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:45.960 And he is the one 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:47.419 who is able to help us 00:23:47.419 --> 00:23:48.659 in our prayers. 00:23:48.779 --> 00:23:50.039 That even if all we have 00:23:50.039 --> 00:23:50.619 to pray 00:23:50.619 --> 00:23:52.419 is the Lord's prayer, 00:23:53.480 --> 00:23:54.639 it's the way 00:23:54.639 --> 00:23:55.679 we have been taught. 00:23:57.019 --> 00:23:58.079 And even just to use 00:23:58.079 --> 00:23:59.279 that as our prayer 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:00.619 is enough. 00:24:01.659 --> 00:24:02.579 Because that's how 00:24:02.579 --> 00:24:03.480 he taught us 00:24:03.480 --> 00:24:04.480 to pray. 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:06.139 But the more you 00:24:06.139 --> 00:24:06.700 pray it, 00:24:06.740 --> 00:24:07.700 the more you realize 00:24:07.700 --> 00:24:09.419 you can add on to it. 00:24:09.819 --> 00:24:11.139 The more you realize 00:24:11.139 --> 00:24:12.599 that it teaches us 00:24:12.599 --> 00:24:13.559 again and again 00:24:13.559 --> 00:24:14.759 how to pray 00:24:14.759 --> 00:24:16.000 more and more. 00:24:16.980 --> 00:24:17.480 But it's about 00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:19.059 having confidence. 00:24:20.019 --> 00:24:21.200 Confidence in God 00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:22.519 as we come 00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:23.379 to him. 00:24:24.839 --> 00:24:26.139 We are to come 00:24:26.139 --> 00:24:26.799 to him 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:27.480 with confidence. 00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:28.379 That's what Hebrews 00:24:28.379 --> 00:24:30.259 4 verse 16 00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:31.399 says for us. 00:24:31.980 --> 00:24:32.559 So that as we are 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:33.919 learning to pray, 00:24:34.339 --> 00:24:35.299 one of the things 00:24:35.299 --> 00:24:35.899 we are to have 00:24:35.899 --> 00:24:36.919 is that confidence 00:24:36.919 --> 00:24:37.919 to draw near 00:24:37.919 --> 00:24:39.379 to the throne of grace. 00:24:39.819 --> 00:24:41.000 That we may receive 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:41.980 mercy and find 00:24:41.980 --> 00:24:42.919 grace to help 00:24:42.919 --> 00:24:44.939 in time of need. 00:24:46.399 --> 00:24:47.000 And look at what 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:47.619 it says here, 00:24:47.679 --> 00:24:48.639 your father knows 00:24:48.639 --> 00:24:49.519 what you need 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:50.980 before you ask. 00:24:51.819 --> 00:24:52.980 So it's about having 00:24:52.980 --> 00:24:54.319 that confidence 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:55.139 to draw near 00:24:55.139 --> 00:24:56.359 the throne of grace. 00:24:57.039 --> 00:24:58.000 To recognize 00:24:58.000 --> 00:24:59.599 we're not going to be 00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:00.480 like the hypocrites. 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:01.220 We're not doing it 00:25:01.220 --> 00:25:01.819 to be seen. 00:25:02.220 --> 00:25:03.019 We're not doing it 00:25:03.019 --> 00:25:03.960 like the babblers 00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:04.859 who are going to come 00:25:04.859 --> 00:25:06.500 with many words. 00:25:06.500 --> 00:25:07.639 But that we are 00:25:07.639 --> 00:25:08.519 just to come 00:25:08.519 --> 00:25:10.000 with a dependence 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:11.579 on him. 00:25:13.219 --> 00:25:15.019 Jesus isn't condemning 00:25:15.019 --> 00:25:16.779 public prayer here. 00:25:16.859 --> 00:25:17.799 He's not condemning 00:25:17.799 --> 00:25:19.699 long prayers here. 00:25:20.359 --> 00:25:21.399 What he's doing 00:25:21.399 --> 00:25:22.339 is saying 00:25:22.339 --> 00:25:23.719 it's what the motivation 00:25:23.719 --> 00:25:25.179 is behind it. 00:25:26.439 --> 00:25:28.099 So when you pray, 00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:30.819 don't be like the hypocrites. 00:25:30.819 --> 00:25:32.639 When you pray, 00:25:33.079 --> 00:25:34.859 don't be like the Gentiles 00:25:34.859 --> 00:25:36.319 who use empty phrases 00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:37.819 or being heard 00:25:37.819 --> 00:25:38.939 by many words. 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:41.539 But when you pray, 00:25:42.359 --> 00:25:43.519 come seeing 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:45.599 it is to our Father 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:47.339 who art in heaven. 00:25:48.539 --> 00:25:49.579 And don't give up 00:25:49.579 --> 00:25:50.859 in praying. 00:25:51.579 --> 00:25:52.480 For we depend 00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:53.619 upon it 00:25:53.619 --> 00:25:55.039 for all things. 00:25:55.819 --> 00:25:56.779 And that's what we'll see 00:25:56.779 --> 00:25:57.879 as we go on into 00:25:57.879 --> 00:25:59.439 the Lord's prayer 00:25:59.440 --> 00:26:00.360 itself 00:26:00.360 --> 00:26:01.100 and go through 00:26:01.100 --> 00:26:02.900 the different sections 00:26:02.900 --> 00:26:03.580 of it. 00:26:04.200 --> 00:26:04.840 And we learn 00:26:04.840 --> 00:26:05.440 where he says 00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:06.320 pray then 00:26:06.320 --> 00:26:07.820 like this. 00:26:09.120 --> 00:26:10.220 Prayer is a great 00:26:10.220 --> 00:26:11.000 privilege. 00:26:11.980 --> 00:26:12.660 And what a delight 00:26:12.660 --> 00:26:13.620 it is to have 00:26:13.620 --> 00:26:14.900 that throne 00:26:14.900 --> 00:26:15.580 of grace 00:26:15.580 --> 00:26:16.500 to go to. 00:26:17.500 --> 00:26:17.980 And so then 00:26:17.980 --> 00:26:19.480 let us have confidence 00:26:19.480 --> 00:26:21.120 to draw near 00:26:21.120 --> 00:26:22.000 to that throne 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:22.620 of grace 00:26:22.620 --> 00:26:24.299 that we might find 00:26:24.299 --> 00:26:25.519 grace and mercy 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:26.900 to help 00:26:26.900 --> 00:26:27.980 in time 00:26:27.980 --> 00:26:28.799 of need. 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:30.320 Well let us come 00:26:30.320 --> 00:26:30.980 to God 00:26:30.980 --> 00:26:31.460 in prayer. 00:26:31.559 --> 00:26:32.120 Let us pray. 00:26:35.460 --> 00:26:36.700 Lord our gracious 00:26:36.700 --> 00:26:37.140 God, 00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:38.279 we do thank you 00:26:38.279 --> 00:26:39.320 that you 00:26:39.320 --> 00:26:40.620 have your people 00:26:40.620 --> 00:26:41.500 in the scriptures 00:26:41.500 --> 00:26:42.539 who ask the very 00:26:42.539 --> 00:26:43.180 question 00:26:43.180 --> 00:26:44.620 that we so often 00:26:44.620 --> 00:26:45.519 have ourselves. 00:26:45.720 --> 00:26:46.920 Teach us to pray. 00:26:47.620 --> 00:26:48.380 And we thank you 00:26:48.380 --> 00:26:49.420 that you answered it 00:26:49.420 --> 00:26:50.559 in such 00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:51.440 a beautiful 00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:52.039 and such 00:26:52.039 --> 00:26:53.080 a simple way. 00:26:53.759 --> 00:26:54.160 And yet 00:26:54.160 --> 00:26:54.840 with a depth 00:26:54.840 --> 00:26:55.460 to it 00:26:55.460 --> 00:26:55.920 that we can 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:57.019 hardly recognize. 00:26:57.019 --> 00:26:58.480 even we think 00:26:58.480 --> 00:26:59.119 of the words 00:26:59.119 --> 00:26:59.879 our Father 00:26:59.879 --> 00:27:00.940 who art in heaven. 00:27:01.619 --> 00:27:02.579 Even to appreciate 00:27:02.579 --> 00:27:03.500 who it is 00:27:03.500 --> 00:27:04.480 that we come to. 00:27:05.059 --> 00:27:05.720 What you are 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:06.740 to your people. 00:27:06.859 --> 00:27:07.400 What you give 00:27:07.400 --> 00:27:08.039 to us 00:27:08.039 --> 00:27:09.740 on a daily basis. 00:27:10.599 --> 00:27:11.139 And so Lord 00:27:11.139 --> 00:27:11.660 we pray 00:27:11.660 --> 00:27:12.279 that through 00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:13.460 the teaching 00:27:13.460 --> 00:27:14.579 around the Lord's 00:27:14.579 --> 00:27:14.779 pray 00:27:14.779 --> 00:27:15.220 that you would 00:27:15.220 --> 00:27:16.099 indeed teach us 00:27:16.099 --> 00:27:16.539 to pray. 00:27:16.619 --> 00:27:17.180 Not to be like 00:27:17.180 --> 00:27:17.980 the hypocrites 00:27:17.980 --> 00:27:18.980 who do it 00:27:18.980 --> 00:27:19.680 to be seen 00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:21.299 or the Gentiles 00:27:21.299 --> 00:27:21.900 who do it 00:27:21.900 --> 00:27:22.940 with empty 00:27:22.940 --> 00:27:23.539 phrases 00:27:23.539 --> 00:27:24.660 or many words 00:27:24.660 --> 00:27:25.080 that they would 00:27:25.080 --> 00:27:25.759 feel that they 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:26.420 would be heard 00:27:26.420 --> 00:27:27.180 in that way. 00:27:27.820 --> 00:27:28.259 But that we 00:27:28.259 --> 00:27:28.960 would recognize 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:29.680 that you already 00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:30.860 know every need 00:27:30.860 --> 00:27:32.140 that we have 00:27:32.140 --> 00:27:33.200 before we ask. 00:27:33.960 --> 00:27:34.680 Help us Lord 00:27:34.680 --> 00:27:35.160 that we would 00:27:35.160 --> 00:27:35.880 then have that 00:27:35.880 --> 00:27:36.500 confidence 00:27:36.500 --> 00:27:37.840 to draw near 00:27:37.840 --> 00:27:38.580 to the throne 00:27:38.580 --> 00:27:39.160 of grace. 00:27:39.299 --> 00:27:39.940 That place 00:27:39.940 --> 00:27:41.120 where prayer 00:27:41.120 --> 00:27:41.799 is made. 00:27:42.340 --> 00:27:42.700 Where it's 00:27:42.700 --> 00:27:43.720 offered up to you 00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:44.240 in and through 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:45.039 the name of your 00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:45.440 Son 00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:46.759 the Lord Jesus 00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:47.460 Christ. 00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:48.820 And so Lord 00:27:48.819 --> 00:27:50.319 hear our prayers. 00:27:50.519 --> 00:27:51.139 Unite us 00:27:51.139 --> 00:27:52.279 in prayer. 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:53.539 May we have 00:27:53.539 --> 00:27:54.659 that one accord 00:27:54.659 --> 00:27:55.460 that it speaks 00:27:55.460 --> 00:27:56.179 of in the book 00:27:56.179 --> 00:27:56.759 of Acts. 00:27:57.259 --> 00:27:58.099 And that unity 00:27:58.099 --> 00:27:59.159 and that purpose 00:27:59.159 --> 00:27:59.899 in prayer. 00:28:00.579 --> 00:28:01.179 That together 00:28:01.179 --> 00:28:01.859 we would offer 00:28:01.859 --> 00:28:03.379 up our prayers 00:28:03.379 --> 00:28:04.319 in the quietness 00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:05.240 of our hearts. 00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:06.419 And saying 00:28:06.419 --> 00:28:07.579 Amen Lord 00:28:07.579 --> 00:28:08.220 your will 00:28:08.220 --> 00:28:09.179 be done. 00:28:09.819 --> 00:28:10.439 So continue 00:28:10.439 --> 00:28:11.200 with us Lord 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:11.819 bless us 00:28:11.819 --> 00:28:12.899 go before us. 00:28:13.339 --> 00:28:14.059 We ask all 00:28:14.059 --> 00:28:14.559 in Jesus 00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:15.579 precious name. 00:28:16.059 --> 00:28:16.439 Amen. 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:19.399 00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:49.380 Thank you.