𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠 𝗨𝗣

• What are some of the things you do to see your most important relationships grow?

• How do you invest in your health or personal growth? Share at least one thing you do weekly in light of this.

• Who do you run to when you’re in need? How confident are you that this person would help you?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗

“𝘉𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯.” 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟲:𝟭

(Read also 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟲:𝟱–𝟭𝟱.)

As we practice spiritual disciplines, we not only strengthen our spiritual muscles and become more like Jesus, but more importantly, we grow in our relationship with God. Prayer is one of these and is an essential part of our daily rhythms of grace. When we pray, it is a two-way communication with our Father. It gives us the opportunity to speak to Him, it shows us how He listens intently and patiently, and it allows us to hear from Him, too. Today, let us look at what Jesus said about prayer in His Sermon on the Mount.

𝟭. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆, 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀.

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺, 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥.” 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟲:𝟱

Prayer is part of Jewish culture. But often, people miss the point and purpose of prayer. Some pray aloud in public spaces in order to be seen as obedient and righteous. Jesus gave a reminder that when we pray, we are to seek God our Father. It’s important for us to know who we’re praying to rather than prioritizing our agenda or how we look to others. In prayer, we humble ourselves before God, seeking His face and letting ourselves be aligned with His will. We can be confident that when we pray, our heavenly Father hears us (1 John 5:14). How did Jesus begin His prayer (Matthew 6:9)?

𝟮. 𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿.

“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮, 𝙜𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟲:𝟲

Jesus encouraged the crowds to go to their own rooms and pray in secret. This was not about being secretive in prayer or not letting anyone see them pray. But He was encouraging them to seek God and perhaps even to have a dedicated time and place for prayer. Jesus, throughout the Gospels, can be seen praying early in the morning or late at night to commune with the Father. Because prayer is important to us, we ought to make time for it and set a schedule so that we won’t neglect or forget to do it. Share about your personal time in prayer and instances when you pray with your church community.

𝟯. 𝗪𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸.

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺, 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘱 𝘶𝘱 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺 𝘱𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴. 𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘮.” 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟲:𝟳–𝟴

Jesus said that we ought not to heap up empty phrases or pray to our Father with many words hoping that we will be heard. He made clear that our Father knows what we need and what is in our hearts before we even pray. This doesn’t mean that we ought to not pray or not use words. We pray with confidence that God hears us and knows what we need when we approach Him and that He will answer us according to His will (1 John 5:14). How does knowing that God hears us change the way you pray?

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• Who do you pray to? How do you usually pray? What is one thing you can start doing to follow the principles Jesus taught about prayer?

• Do you have a set time and place to pray alone and with your church community? Make a commitment today and ask the Holy Spirit and a trusted friend to help you keep your commitment.

• Is there anyone in your life who needs to know God is our Father who hears us and knows our needs? How may you encourage this person with what we learned this week?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

• Thank God for the gift of salvation through the cross of Jesus Christ, which has adopted us into His family and given us the privilege to come to Him confidently and freely.

• Pray for the joy and the discipline as you commit to a specific time and place for prayer. Pray that as you pray in secret and with your church community, you will grow in your knowledge of and relationship with God.

• Ask God to help you lead others to Him. Pray that you may not just focus on your needs, but He would give you a heart for others as you seek and follow Him.