The Exposition of Matthew 6:5-13

August 25, 2020

(Sermon on the Mount)

Questions to be answered in this study

1. What is the purpose of “The Lord’s Prayer?”
2. Are we still under any kind of law in the New Testament?
3. What is the most important thing about keeping the law of God?
4. What is the main point Jesus makes concerning prayer?
5. Why should we avoid long repetitious prayers in public?
6. What is the primary purpose of prayer?
7. What are the three main topics of the “Lord’s Prayer?”
8. What did Jesus mean “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil?” 

Introduction

Today, as we continue Matthew chapter 6, we reach a passage that is one of the best-known Scriptures in all the Bible. Many know this passage well, do not claim Christianity. We often refer to these verses as “The Lord’s Prayer” even though it is not the Lord’s prayer; it is the Lord’s example of how we are to pray. The “Lord’s prayer” was never intended to be a prayer to be repeated. It is only a guide to how we are to construct our prayers.

The context in which this prayer was given is essential to understanding it. All through the gospel of Matthew, Jesus is giving instructions on the kingdom of heaven and righteousness. The last couple of studies have centered on love and obedience. In chapter 5, Jesus explains that it requires perfect righteousness to enter the kingdom of heaven, which is beyond our ability; it is the righteousness of Jesus, who is perfectly righteous, imputed to us at the point of salvation. In chapter 6, He begins by teaching what it means to live a godly life. Jesus gives a summary of what He will be teaching in Matthew 6:1, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”

The emphasis Jesus has given all along is how we keep the law is more important than the law itself. It is the spirit of the law that Jesus emphasizes. You may be thinking: I don’t believe we are under the law in the New Testament. Aren’t we under grace instead? The answer is yes. We are under God’s grace. However, what Jesus has been relating is from the law of the ten commandments, which are carried over in the New Testament, except keeping the sabbath day. At the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension into heaven, the New Testament church began to worship on the first day of the week to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord.

According to the teaching of Jesus, our life on earth and how we live determines our rewards in heaven. All along, Jesus has been pointing out how the Pharisees had corrupted the law by depending on the Mishna instead of the inspired Word. In all, Jesus gives four examples in chapter 6 on how the Pharisees had corrupted the law of God through their giving, prayer, fasting, and wealth. In the last lesson, there were also four things concerning giving. The Pharisees had perverted all four of the examples. Last week’s study concerned the first example of giving. Today, we will see the example of prayer. The emphasis Jesus gives is the attitude of heart which is the general context of chapter 6.

Matthew 6:5-8, “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. 6But 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. 7But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”

Jesus is teaching that there is a wrong way and a proper way of praying. Notice how Jesus begins in verse 7. He says when you pray, not if you pray. That indicates consistent prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (KJV), we read, “Rejoice evermore. 17Pray without ceasing. 18In ever thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Prayer is to be a time of rejoicing and giving thanks. That is an important observation; However, the main point Jesus is making is the motive of prayer. Is it to impress others, or is it to reach the throne of God?

I’m sometimes amazed at the length of some public prayers and wonder why they are so long and why they sometimes contain meaningless repetition? Notice what Jesus says again in verse 7: “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” Jesus also says in verse 7 not to pray as the heathen does. So, to a Jewish audience on that day, “to pray like a heathen” meant to pray as an unbeliever, someone who didn’t even know God. The Greek word translated “meaningless repetition” in the Bible means “babbling” or “stammering;” 

somewhat like a bit of baby in its crib might do. Here is the truth: Quantity does not make up for quality. The prayer Jesus prayed in John chapter 17 was private, and it was only about 3 minutes long; this is just my opinion, but I believe that 15 seconds is plenty long for public prayer and 3 minutes is plenty long for private prayer for the average, simple person, which I think I am. It is not so important what we say to God. It is essential what He says to us.

We don’t impress God by our prayers; He owns the universe. The purpose of our prayers is to communicate with God to express our worship and our petitions. The Pharisees had put together a book of prayers, prayers that were used for each specific need. They had a variety of prayer books, Sabbath day prayer books, and special holy days prayer books, such as Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah. Here is the primary purpose of prayer, to have a meaningful conversation with God in our own words. Jesus tells us in v. eight that the Heavenly Father knows what we need before we ever pray a word. God is concerned with the frequency of our prayers and their quality, along with our attitude toward Him.

The more time we spend in prayer with God, the better things will go for us. It is of essence that we learn how not to pray before we learn how to pray. There are many verses about prayer from which to learn. Here are some of them:

• 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – Pray without ceasing.
• Romans 12:12 – Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
• 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – Rejoice evermore.   
• Philippians 4:6 – Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
• Ephesians 6:18 – Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
• Matthew 21:22 – And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
• Colossians 4:2 – Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
• Romans 8:26 – Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
• Jeremiah 33:3 – Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
• Matthew 7:7 – Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

The Lord’s Prayer is probably the most misused part of all scripture. Christians often use this prayer contrary to what Jesus intended. In the first place, it is not what is often referred to as the Lord’s Prayer; this was not a prayer that Jesus would pray. He did not need to be forgiven of sins. In the previous verses, Jesus has been teaching to avoid repetitious prayers, and yet Christians often do the opposite by repeating this model prayer over and over. Some might ask, why did Jesus give us this prayer if He did not want us to repeat it mindlessly? Here’s why: Every good conversation requires sensible structure and logic if it is to have purpose and meaning, planned and well-constructed. Jesus is giving us that blueprint in a model prayer.

Notice how Jesus starts in verse 9: “After this manner therefore pray ye:” He didn’t say “Repeat after me when you pray.” Instead, He shows us three main topics to include in our prayer: First, our relationship to God; second, our needs; third, our relationship to others, all these are God’s way of praying successfully.

We start our prayers with adoration and worship to God. Second, we express our present needs, and then third, we describe our relationship with others by our willingness to forgive them. In summary, our prayers should always include God, self, and others.

Each one of those three main topics has subtopics. First, in our relationship to the Father, our prayers are to be directed to Him.; “Our Father which art in heaven.” Second, we are to acknowledge who our heavenly Father is; He is Holy, “Hallowed be your name;” that expresses our adoration for our Father or our worship of Him. Third, we are to be eternal-minded by “Thy kingdom come it will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We are acknowledging that one day the kingdom will be set up on earth.

There are also some subtopics under the topic of our personal needs: First, we are instructed to lift our individual needs to God, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Bread is synonymous with all our needs. Second, there is a need to confess our sins, “Forgive us our debts,” which is our sins. Third, is our relationship to others: Jesus says in part b of verse 12, “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” or to forgive others their misdeeds toward us. We should begin by spending time confessing our sins to the Lord and seeking His forgiveness. We should also spend time resolving our anger and resentment toward others who have said or done harmful things to us. Jesus will come back to this topic in verses 14-15 in our subsequent study. So, we will wait until then for further comment.

Relating to our personal needs, Jesus says to pray for protection in our spiritual warfare with Satan. “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” God does not lead us into the temptation to sin. In the original Greek, Jesus meant, lead us away from the enemy’s temptations. Therefore, we should pray for His protection and deliverance when we find ourselves under Satan’s temptation. Satan is a real foe and enemy of believers who pose a real danger. We can expect attacks from Satan and the demons who follow him, and therefore, it is expedient to pray for God’s protection and deliverance. Prayer will help us to withstand those attacks.

Finally, we must be careful not to pray as the Pharisees or like those who have no relationship with God: Through Christ, who imputed His righteousness to our account, we can boldly approach God, taking full advantage of all the blessing He has promised us.

When we structure our prayer to include the three major areas Jesus gave us in His example as well as the subtopics, we can expect a prayer that gets God’s attention and brings results. The point is to use the outline Jesus gives and then fill it in with your worship and petitions from your heart. Our future life on this earth, as well as our heavenly rewards, depend to a great degree on our prayer life. When you pray according to the instructions given in the model prayer, expect results. God will be speaking back to you and taking action in your life.