Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20120829.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Matthew: Jesus As Israel's Messiah And His Kingdom
Part XI: Christ As Israel's Messiah By His Surpassing Righteousness
K. The Biblically Consistent Righteousness Of Christ's Subjects Regarding General Prayer
(Matthew 6:5-8, 14-15)
  1. Introduction
    1. When Jesus said that one's righteousness had to exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees if he were to be a part of the Kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20), He had to clarify to His Hebrew listeners how that could be, for the Pharisees adhered to the principle of Halacha, "concern for every jot and tittle of performance" regarding the Mosaic Law, Zondervan Pictorial Ency. of the Bible, volume Four, p. 748.
    2. Matthew 5:21-7:6 provides many illustrations of Jesus' point, with Matthew 6:5-8, 14-15 commenting on how His kingdom righteousness on the subject of prayer in general far surpassed that of the Pharisees:
  2. The Biblically Consistent Righteousness Of Christ's Subjects Regarding General Prayer.
    1. The artificial, externalistic righteousness of the Hebrew Scribes and Pharisees was clearly evident in the way they practiced their prayer life, so Jesus addressed it in Matthew 6:5-8, 14-15.
    2. First of all, Jesus directed that prayer should not be made to impress onlookers, Matthew 6:5-6:
      1. The religious leaders loved to attract public attention to their prayers, standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets to be noticed by men, Matthew 6:5a. Jesus asserted that the only reward they would gain would be the approval of these human witnesses, Matthew 6:5b.
      2. Opposite a public show, Jesus' disciples were to pray in secret, entering into their closet and shutting the door to pray to their Father in heaven, Matthew 6:6a. God would then openly reward such a party, Matthew 6:6b. [Note: This does not mean we should not pray in a public prayer meeting, but that we should not try to impress others when we pray, functioning in simplicity and humility.]
    3. Second, Jesus directed that prayer should not be made to try to manipulate God, Matthew 6:7-8:
      1. The Gentile world (ethnikos, Arndt & Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the N. T., 1967, p. 217) in Jesus' era would pray by "babbling" ( U. B. S. Greek N. T. , 1966, p. 18; battalogeo, Ibid., p. 137), or speaking without thinking as explained by polulogia (Ibid., U. B. S. Greek N. T.) that is translated "much speaking" (KJV) in the verse (Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 693), Matthew 6:7.
      2. Jesus countered such a practice, calling His disciples not to pray this way, for God is not impressed with much noise or many words, for even before we pray, He is fully aware of our needs for which we pray, Matthew 6:8. Indeed, Psalm 139:1-4 reveals the omniscience of God means He is thoroughly acquainted with our way of life and thinking to the point that before we even speak a word, He thoroughly knows all about it -- the vocabulary we will use, how we will speak, when, why, etc.!
      3. Thus, instead of thinking we can somehow manipulate God as the pagan world thinks it can manipulate its false gods, we must approach God in prayer as the Sovereign Lord, and simply pray from the heart!
    4. Third, Jesus directed prayer to be made in an attitude of graciousness toward others, Matthew 6:14-15:
      1. In the "Lord's Prayer" of Matthew 6:9-13 (that we will study in our next lesson in this series), Jesus had His disciples pray for their forgiveness based on their forgiving other people, Matthew 6:12.
      2. He explained this directive in Matthew 6:14-15, and we examine it as follows:
        1. If we forgive others their sins against us, God will forgive us our sins against Him, Matthew 6:14.
        2. However, if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us, for an unforgiving attitude is sin, and God refuses to hear the prayer of one who continues to sin, Matt. 6:15 with Psa. 66:18; 1 John 3:22.
        3. [Note: This does not mean we are to forgive all sins committed against us even if the wrongdoer does not repent, for John the Baptizer refused to baptize Israel's religious leaders with the baptism of repentance until they had demonstrated true repentance by a chang e in their lives as seen by their changed works, Matthew 3:5-8. What Jesus countered in Matthew 6:14-15 was an unforgiving attitude, for we must always be willing to forgive the truly repentant!]
Lesson: When we pray, may we not seek to impress others nor try to manipulate God or pray with an unforgiving attitude, but may we pray humbly before man and God, and with graciousness toward all.

Application: To please God in our prayer life, may we pray with true humility and graciousness.