Thank you very much, Mike.
As the service leader steps up to open the service, the congregation suppress a smile of satisfaction.
! This guy is one of the good ones.
!
He balances reverence for God with impressive words and turns a phrase.
Compassion for the needy oozes out of his every word as he entreats God's favour.
The service leader knows he is good.
He's talented and he's just better than other people at doing this.
Plus, he loves serving God in this way.
He loves the chance to flex his vocabulary and to inspire others to pray like he does.
This is where God wants him to be.
Up front and using his gift.
Anywhere else and his talent would be wasted.
And if you had been at church that particular morning,
you might agree that that guy's prayer sounded really good.
And you might have even added your amen at the end of it.
But did you notice any red flags?
We are going to be asking ourselves this morning,
what kind of prayer pleases God?
What kind of prayer makes God smile?
And I'm going to suggest today that the kind of prayer which pleases God
is prayer which remembers who God is and who we are in Christ.
We are in Matthew's Gospel.
We are in a section known as the Sermon on the Mount,
which runs from chapter 5 through to the end of chapter 7.
And in the Sermon on the Mount,
in this particular section that we're looking at,
in this bit from verse 1 to verse 18 of chapter 6,
Jesus is calling out the sham worship that he sees all around him.
And he warns his followers not to practice their righteousness in front of others.
So they're kind of outward means of worshipping God.
So they're giving, they're praying, and they're fasting.
They're not to make a big show of these things so that people would give them the glory.
Instead, Jesus wants them to be giving God the glory as they do these things.
So this week in our passage this morning,
Jesus is calling out prayer which doesn't please God.
And he's teaching his followers how they can pray in a way which truly pleases the Father.
But as we begin to think about prayer this morning,
we must remember that prayer is not about bringing things to God's attention.
It's not about making him aware of certain needs.
When we pray, we are saying things to God that he already knows.
Prayer is not essential for God,
but it is essential for us because it reminds us that God is God and we are not.
So this is our structure this morning.
We are going to be remembering three things about who God is,
and we're going to be thinking about remembering two things about who we are.
And these are particularly important things for us to be remembering
as we come to God in prayer.
So first of all,
remembering who God is.
So the first thing that we must remember about who God is,
is that he is all seeing.
So I hope you've still got your Bibles open,
but if you look back at verse five and six again,
it says this,
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.
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.
What Jesus is doing here is that he is calling out the hypocrites
who love to be seen while they pray.
When they prayed in the synagogue,
everyone would have been there,
and everyone would have been there to witness them do it.
Like the service leader in my made-up story,
they loved the attention of praying in public.
But the street corner is maybe a bit of a less obvious place to find someone praying.
Why might they have wanted to pray on the street corner?
Well, in Jesus' day,
the Jews had set times of the day,
which they would set aside for prayer.
So, nine in the morning,
midday,
three in the afternoon,
and in the evening as well.
And if these folks timed it just right,
as they were walking along through the streets,
they would arrive in the busiest places
with the maximum attention
when the clock struck
and it was time for prayer.
Praying on the street corner,
if you think about the corner,
it means that folk could see you
and hear you from two different streets,
all the way up two different streets.
This was all for maximum attention.
Jesus tells his followers,
and that includes us today,
if we are following him,
that when we pray,
we should pray in secret,
but remembering that God is all-seeing.
God sees our unseen prayers,
and he rewards them.
He pays no attention to the prayer
which was uttered to get the attention of men.
Instead, kingdom people
should move from the street corners
into their houses
and into their room
and shut the door behind them.
The Greek word used for room,
the translation of the Greek word,
it literally means storeroom.
A windowless inner room,
probably with a locked door.
Jesus says,
your prayer should be so unseen
that not even your family in the house notice.
When we pray quietly,
so sometimes we pray in our heads
or we whisper our prayers to God,
when we pray,
do we believe that God sees
those unseen prayers?
They look really weak to the world.
What is whispering in a locked room
really doing?
Well, do we believe that God sees
our unseen prayers?
Can we trust that our prayers
whispered in the storeroom
are being declared aloud
in the courts of heaven?
I think there's some wisdom
in this teaching from Jesus as well
about drawing away from the busyness
into a quiet room,
closing the door behind us.
I think this is an exceedingly
helpful thing for us to do.
When we pray,
are we letting distractions
compete for our attention?
Or are we seeking out quiet spaces
in our day to pray to our God?
How often does our phone join us
in our prayer times?
And I think husbands and wives,
you can maybe facilitate this
for one another as well.
Maybe you could say,
why don't I entertain the kids
for 20 minutes
while you take a moment
in the storeroom?
God is pleased
when we earnestly seek him out
and put our distractions
to one side.
When I used to work
for an engineering firm,
there were moments
in the office
when I needed to take
a time out
and talk to God
about a stressful situation
that I was facing.
So I would take refuge
in the loo.
That was where I would go.
I would lock myself
in the cubicle
and pour my heart out to God
with no distractions.
Nobody in my team
knew any better.
They just thought
I was off to the loo.
But I could take
great confidence
that my all-seeing God
was taking notice
and he knew exactly
what my needs were.
Now, it's important
to note here
when Jesus is talking
about secret prayer,
he's not condemning
corporate prayer.
He's not telling Mike off
for praying in public
like he did.
Jesus' prayer template
that we find
in this passage,
we know it's
the Lord's Prayer,
it's a corporate prayer.
I wonder if you notice that.
It's full of plural words
like our and us and we.
Jesus is not condemning
corporate prayer here.
When we gather
as God's people
like we do
on a Sunday at church,
we pray together.
And when we pray together,
so either here
in the service
or at pizza and prayer
or in our growth groups,
we must keep an eye
on our heart posture.
Is there even a sniff
of trying to impress
other Christians
when we pray out loud
with each other in public?
The second thing
that we must remember
about God
is that he is all-knowing.
So we're going to look
at verses 7 and 8 again.
And when you pray,
do not keep on babbling
like pagans,
for they think
they will be heard
because of their many words.
Do not be like them,
for your Father knows
what you need
before you ask him.
Jesus says,
don't be impressed
by the way
that the Gentiles pray.
using many words.
He says that such prayer
is babbling,
nothingness,
empty.
And God is not hard
of hearing.
We do not need
to use big words.
We don't need
to use loud words
for him to hear us.
He is not impressed
by overly wordy prayers.
God's grasp
of the human language
is much better
than our own.
Jesus prayed
the repentant tax collector
who simply prayed,
Lord,
have mercy
on me,
a sinner.
Jesus praised
such a prayer.
don't pray like this.
Don't babble.
I used AI
to tell me
what all the
really big words
in the Bible are
just very quickly.
And then I got it
to write me a prayer
using all those words.
Great if you can,
great if it helps you
to really
come before the Lord,
but I would
recommend you,
he doesn't need
to hear all these
big words
to hear you.
We don't need
to use,
pray prayers
like this.
We don't need
to pray prayers
like this
because God
already knows
what we need
before we ask.
We read that
in the passage.
Isn't that amazing?
God already knows
what we need
before we ask.
And if God
already knows
what we need,
then we don't need
to use big words
to get his attention.
We don't need
to repeat our prayers
again and again
in case he didn't
hear us the first time.
When we pray,
we should remember
that he is
all-knowing.
God,
you are aware
of this
specific need.
We lift it
before you now
and we ask
that you would
provide
in your
perfect timing.
So we must
remember that
God is all-seeing.
We must remember
that God is all-knowing.
And the third thing
that we must remember
about God
when we come
to pray to him
is that he is
holy.
This then
is how you
should pray.
Our Father
in heaven,
hallowed
be your name.
Jesus'
prayer template
doesn't begin
with specific requests.
I wonder if you
noticed that
when he says
to his followers,
this is how
you should pray.
The first thing
he does
is he casts
the eyes
of his disciples
all the way up
as high as
they can go.
He wants them
to focus
and remember
the holiness
of God.
When we pray,
we must remember
that God
is holy.
He is cloaked
in unapproachable
light.
He is white
hot and radiant.
He is
perfectly pure.
However,
because he is
holy,
it means that
he can't
tolerate sin
in his presence.
We cannot
approach God
without Christ
because we're
absolutely
clarted with sin.
Sin has
affected us
radically.
deeply.
It has
affected us
deeply,
all the way
down to the
atomic level.
And if we
were to
approach God
as we are,
his holy
presence would
burn us
up.
If you think
about the sun
for a minute,
I learned some
fun facts about
the sun this
week.
I knew this
fact before I
looked it up,
but it is so
hot that if you
were to approach
it,
you would
vaporize
before you
got anywhere
near the
surface.
If you got
one million
miles from
the surface
of the sun,
you would
melt and
vaporize.
One million
miles away.
Because we
are by nature
dirty sinners.
We cannot
draw near to
our holy
God.
And this
is really
bad news.
It is
completely
impossible
for us
to enjoy
the embrace
of our
heavenly
father
without
some
sort of
intervention.
But the
good news
of the
gospel is
that Jesus
has performed
a holiness
switch.
That's what I'm
calling it this
morning, a
holiness
switch.
And he did
this when he
went to the
cross.
When Jesus
went to the
cross,
God cloaked
him in
all of our
unholiness,
in all of
our dirty
rags of
sin,
Jesus was
cloaked in
that.
And he
suffered the
death penalty
for it.
That was the
first half of
the switch.
Then,
when we
trust in the
sufficiency of
his death
for our sin,
remarkably,
we are
cloaked in
his holiness.
That's the
second half of
the holiness
switch.
Though we
continue to
struggle with
sin in this
life, God
sees Jesus'
holiness
covering us.
And because of
this, we get
to call the
God who
rules over
creation and
shines like the
sun, we get
to call him
our heavenly
father and
enjoy his
embrace.
When we
pray, we
should remember
that God is
holy and
magnify him
for the
holiness switch
that he has
performed through
his son,
Jesus.
Remembering the
holy and
saving nature
of God is
radically
reorientating
for us because
it reminds us
that he is
God and we
are not.
remembering
his holy and
saving nature
keeps us from
praying self-interested
prayers.
It keeps us from
half-hearted
prayers, but it
fills them with
worship instead.
So,
that's three
things that we
should remember
about who God
is when we
come to him
to pray.
But what
are two
things that we
can remember
about ourselves
when we
approach God
in prayer?
Well, the
first one is
related to the
one that we've
just looked at
and it is the
fact that we
are forgiven.
Did you notice
how much
emphasis Jesus
places on
forgiveness in
this model
prayer?
Jesus tells his
followers in
verse 12 to
seek God's
forgiveness for
our sin.
sin.
And we just
saw that when
we trust in
the Lord Jesus
and his death
for our sins
on the cross,
we are forgiven
and we are
cloaked in his
holiness once
and for all.
Jesus has
cancelled the
debts of our
sin on the
cross.
And Jesus
wants us to
have a posture
of repentance
as we remain
in this world.
So,
throughout the
rest of our
lives, Jesus
wants us to
be repentant
people.
We are not
yet freed from
the presence of
sin.
We will still
sin.
But Jesus
wants us to
come quickly to
him every time
we do and
ask for his
forgiveness.
And we know
that he will.
But I wonder
if you were
paying attention
to the passage,
you might say,
not quite so
simple, Craig.
Isn't Jesus
saying that our
forgiveness is
conditional
on us
forgiving other
people?
I wonder if you
noticed that in
verses 14 and
15.
For if you
forgive other
people when
they sin against
you, your
heavenly Father
will also forgive
you.
But if you do
not forgive others
their sins,
your Father will
not forgive your
sins.
Hmm.
What is that
talking about?
Jesus is
turning his
disciples'
attention to
the people who
have wronged
them and the
people who will
wrong them.
People have
sinned against
us and people
will sin against
us in our
lives.
And how we
think about these
people is
important to
God.
God's forgiveness
is for those
who have
recognized the
lengths that
Jesus has
gone to to
absorb the
cost of our
sins.
God's forgiveness
is for those who
choose, in
response to what
Jesus has done,
to freely forgive
others,
absorbing the
cost of their
sins.
us, remembering
that before the
cross, we are
just as sinful as
the people who
have wronged us.
If we are
unprepared to
forgive others,
then have we
truly grasped
the cross?
Forgiving people
who have wronged
us is really,
really difficult,
especially if
they've really,
really hurt us.
forgiveness.
Forgiving others
is a form of
voluntary suffering.
It involves
absorbing the
cost of the
sin that's been
committed against
us, absorbing
the pain of it,
and not seeking
to make the
perpetrator pay
for it, not
seeking to
cancel them from
our lives.
We mustn't let
bitterness brew
in our hearts.
We mustn't let
unforgiveness
remain in our
hearts unresolved.
Forgiving others
who have wronged
us is really
difficult, but it
honors God because
it mirrors what
Jesus has done
for us,
absorbing the
pain that we
inflicted on him
for our sins.
And I appreciate
this is a difficult
area for us.
It's a sensitive
topic, and I
have breezed
through it.
We could spend a
whole sermon
series thinking
about forgiveness.
But I found
Tim Keller's
book,
Forgive,
quite helpful in
this area, and I
know others that
have found it
really helpful as
well.
And I'd
recommend you
grabbing it.
It's got some
really, really
helpful things to
say about how
we can forgive
others.
But as a
church family, we
can help one
another with
this.
We can share
the things with
each other that
we find hard to
give.
We can tell each
other the stories
from our past that
we really, really
struggle with.
And we can pray
for each other and
carry these things
in prayer for one
another.
When we pray, it
is good for us to
remember that God
has forgiven us,
and it is good for
us to bring our
hurts to him, and
to ask him to help
us to forgive those
who have sinned
against us.
The second thing
that we can
remember about
ourselves when we
come to pray is
that we are
needy.
We are needy.
If you were here
last week, you
might remember that
we spent some time
thinking about
needy people, who
needy, the needy
people are that
Jesus is talking
about, and how
we can give to
help them.
But as we look at
verses 11 to 13
now, so the kind
of second half of
the prayer, I think
Jesus is suggesting
that we are needy
people.
Now, we depend on
God to provide
everything that we
need to survive,
everything.
And I wonder how
often we take his
providence for
granted.
The daily bread that
Jesus is encouraging
us to ask him for
is anything and
everything that we
need to survive.
It's not just
bread.
When we pray, it is
good for us to
remember our specific
needs and to thank
God that he is
pleased to supply us
with these things.
things.
I wonder how often
you take your breath
for granted.
The Bible tells us
that God holds our
breath in his hands.
We are dependent on a
process that God has
programmed into our
brains, which allows
us to breathe
automatically.
If we were to take
responsibility for our
breathing, we would
forget pretty quickly
and we would die.
How often do you take
your food for granted?
Yes, we can go and
buy food in the shops
to sustain us.
We could even plant
our own vegetables, but
you don't cause them
to grow.
All the elements of
our Sunday roast, they
only grow because God
causes them to grow.
How often do we take
God's protection for
granted?
Verse 13 speaks about
our spiritual neediness.
Even as Christians, we
still need God's help.
Jesus tells us that we
should pray to God and
ask him for his help to
resist sin and to
deliver us from the
schemes of the evil one.
When we pray, it is
important for us to
remember that we have an
enemy who wishes to
derail us and make us
curse God.
And we must ask for
God's help to resist
temptations to sin.
And we must ask for his
armor which protects our
heart and our soul and
our mind and our bodies.
When we pray, it is good
for us to remember that
Jesus was victorious over
Satan on the cross and
emptied him of his power.
Yes, God allows us to be
tested.
He allows temptations to
come our way.
But because Jesus has
won, Satan is on a
leash and time is
ticking before he is
banished forever.
When we pray, it is good
for us to remember our
physical and our
spiritual neediness
before him.
And we must ask God
for sustenance and
spiritual protection as
we live through these
lives on earth, waiting
for Jesus to return as
our all-conquering king.
We're now going to pray
and I've scripted this
prayer, just taking some
of the things that we've
been thinking about, some
of the things that God
wants us to remember as
we pray.
But please join me as I
pray these words.
Our Heavenly Father, we
glorify your name
because you are our
holy God.
We remember today that
you are all-seeing,
you are all-knowing,
and you are holy.
You know what we need
and you hear our
whispered prayers.
We magnify you because
you were pleased to send
your son Jesus to suffer
on the cross for our
sins.
Thank you that Jesus has
performed a holiness
switch, taking our gross
sins upon himself at the
cross and giving us his
holiness.
Help us to trust in his
sacrifice for our sins and
the sufficiency of it.
Thank you that we can now
stand before you,
completely forgiven and
completely perfect in your
eyes.
We can draw near to you
through Jesus.
And we can bring our
requests before you.
Lord, we remember today
that we are needy people.
You know our greatest
needs.
God, we need you.
And we ask that you would
please sustain us with what
we need this week.
Please protect us from the
evil one and his
temptations.
Thank you that we can look
forward to the day when
Jesus will return to reign
as the king and rid us
forever of the influence
of sin.
Thank you for your precious
word and please impress on
our hearts the things that
you want us to remember
today from this passage and
put them into practice.
We ask all this in Jesus'
wonderful and holy name.
Amen.