The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:9-15 (day five)

Minister of Missions and Evangelism

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:9-15 (day four)

It is stunning to see the God of the universe inviting us to participate in life with him. He invites us to join in the activities of heaven, to look past the curtain and participate in holy, wonderful things – most of all, prayer.

Sometimes we forget how incredible this invitation is because we have learned to talk to God like a friend – which we should – but may we never forget what an incredible privilege God is extending to us when he invites us to pray.

He invites us to join with the heavenly host proclaiming him as holy. He invites us to speak heavenly realities into earthly places. He invites us to come to him with our every need. He invites us to come to him seeking mercy. He invites us to find our refuge in him when evil surrounds us.

God is inviting you to participate in the things of heaven. Take him up on it.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:9-15 (day three)

“Your kingdom come.”

What does it mean to long for God’s kingdom to come on earth? The next two phrases of the prayer lay it out: it means that earth, also, would be a place in perfect harmony with God’s will. Jesus’s words themselves are in perfect harmony with the Old Testament prophets who longed for the day when the knowledge of the glory of the Lord would fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. God pronounced his creation good. To pray this way is to yearn for the day that you will see that goodness in all its fullness.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:9-15 (day two) 

But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. Vs. 15

Jesus spoke about his relationship with God the father quite often. Do you remember the language he used? He would often speak of a complete unity, a oneness. He also prayed that we would be one. His desire was that we would be marked by love; known by that gracious, kind, and forgiving nature. Our church-wide theme this year is ‘Love Your Neighbor,’ and in the coming months we will find different ways to demonstrate this command. You may be living your life in obedience to scripture, but holding a bitterness toward someone. As a result, you may feel an emptiness to your prayer life. You may feel there is a hollowness to your faith. Restoring relationships is a full-time calling, and you have received it. Don’t let a broken friendship, bitterness toward family, or past transgressions muddy your ultimate relationship with Jesus.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18 (day seven)

But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father. Vs 6

Go pray. There is intentionality in the “Go.” Jesus both taught and demonstrated the importance going off to pray. By going and getting away, it removes the temptation of it becoming a showcase of our righteousness, but it also removes the distractions that might interrupt our connection with the Father.

When you were a teenager, do you remember taking a phone call from a friend and going as far away as possible so others couldn’t hear? In today’s age, that is a little easier with cellular phones, but some of y’all reading this had to get really creative with those calls. You didn’t want to showcase your call for the whole house to hear, nor did you want anyone interrupting that call. When was the last time you made that type of effort to connect with the Father in prayer? How often are there distractions around us that interrupt our time with Him? If Jesus, who is One with the Father, made intentional effort to connect with Him, how much more effort should we be putting forth?

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:1–8, 16–18 (day six) 

Notice what Jesus doesn’t say in his prescription for overcoming spiritual fraud.  He doesn’t prescribe waiting until your heart is in the right place or ensuring the right feelings precede the right behaviors.

Can you imagine if we only did the right thing when we felt like it?

Jesus’ prescription for overcoming spiritual fraud is to go home, embrace spiritual integrity, be honest with God, and practice your spiritual disciplines in private whether you feel like it or not. It is there, in your private spiritual pursuits, that you may discover God reshaping a heart into one that is wholly his.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:1–8, 16–18 (day five) Anyone else notice the possible contradiction in the preaching of Jesus?  Just a few verses before, He says, “Let your light shine before men.” And yet in our Re:verse text, He says, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them.” Why would He seemingly be saying two different things?  One is commanded and the other is prohibited.

If we look more closely, we realize that Jesus is confronting the sinful tendency of the human heart. He is calling out two particular sins- cowardice (in the earlier passage- that would keep our light from shining) and vanity (in this week’s text- that would cause us to want to be seen and get recognition). So, how do you know which is which?  What is the litmus?  I believe the telling issue is the Glory of God. We must answer the question that comes from both passages, “Who gets the glory?”  Is it God or man?  Our heart’s desire should always be that by what we do and where we do it, that God, not man, be glorified. This discerning ability demands constant communication and engagement with the Lord- a vibrant personal relationship with Him. Perhaps a worthy resolution for the new year.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18 (day four)

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8)

Pious actions can have impure motives. When we pray, fast, and give with the hopes of creating the right social reputation for ourselves, Jesus says we’ll get what we’re after – but we’ll still be missing out. We’ll be so busy looking at our admirers that we won’t see God. But when we do these things as Jesus instructs us too – with anonymity, humility, and sincerity, in the secret place we share with him alone – then we shall see God. Outward appearance matters much less to us after we’ve had an encounter with the God who created humility.

This is what we celebrate at Christmas – the fact that God came down, condescended into human form, humbly taking the form of a child so that we might see him, know him, and be reconciled to him. When we allow our piety to make us prideful, we’ve missed the point.

Let’s pray Psalm 139 this week, “Search me, O God, and know my heart…” that he may continue to create a pure and humble heart in us, just like the heart of Jesus.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:1–8, 16–18 (day three)

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them.”

How would you like to be seen by others? That very image is exactly what you will want to announce about yourself – both in direct ways (trumpet blast) and in nuanced ways (gloomy face). “I am devout.” “I am generous.” “I am disciplined.” These are good things. And you want good things. But good things are hard to find and learn and practice. So you’ll settle for people thinking you want good things. Who hasn’t experienced this? We’re all Pharisees now. It’s not merely that living this way is a bad look. It’s that living this way isn’t devoted or generous or spiritually disciplined at all. There are some things so intimate that the only place to keep them without destroying them is between you and God.