A GOOD vs BAD FATHER
Matthew 6:5-9
“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. 6 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. 7 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. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’” Matthew 6:5-9 ESV
“And when you pray.” Matthew 6:5 ESV
THE POSTURE
• Standing—Genesis 24:12-14 • Lifting up their hands—1 Timothy 2:8
• Sitting—Judges 20:26 • Kneeling—Mark 1:40
• Looking upward—John 17:1 • Bowing down—Exodus 34:8
• Placing their hands between their knees—1 Kings 18:42
• Beating their breasts—Luke 18:13 • Facing the Temple—Daniel 6:10
THE CIRCUMSTANCE
• Wearing sackcloth—Psalm 35:13 • Sitting in ashes—Job 1:20-21; 2:8
• Crying tears—Psalm 6:6 • Throwing dust on their heads—Joshua 7:6
• Tearing their garments—1 Kings 21:27 • Fasting—Deuteronomy 9:18
• Sighing—Psalm 6:4-6 • Groaning—Ezra 9:4-15
• Crying out loud—Hebrew 5:7 • Sweating blood—Luke 22:44
• Agonizing with broken hearts—Psalm 34:18
• Making a vow—Acts 18:18 • Making sacrifices—Psalm 20:1-3
• Singing Songs—Acts 16:25
THE PLACE
• In battle—2 Chronicles 13:14-15 • In a cave—1 Kings 19:9-10
• In a closet—Matthew 6:6 • In a garden—Matthew 26:36-44
• On a mountainside—Luke 6:12 • By a river—Acts 16:13
• By the sea—Acts 21:5-6 • In the street—Matthew 6:5
• In the temple—1 Kings 8:22-25 • In bed—Psalm 4:3-4
• In a home—Acts 9:39-40 • In the stomach of a fish—Jonah 2:1-10
• On a housetop—Acts 10:9 • In a prison—Acts 16:23-26
• In the wilderness—Luke 5:16 • On a cross—Luke 23:33-34
• Every place—1 Timothy 2:8
THE TIME
• Early in the morning—Mark 1:35 • Three times a day—Daniel 6:10
• In the evening—1 Kings 18:36 • Before meals—Matthew 14:19
• After meals—Deuteronomy 8:10 • Ninth hour (3 pm)—Acts 3:1
• Bedtime—Psalm 4:4 • Midnight—Acts 16:25
• Day and night—Luke 2:37; 18:7 • Often—Luke 5:33
• When they’re young—Jeremiah 3:4 • When they’re old—Daniel 9:2-19
• When they’re in trouble—2 Kings 19:3-4 • All day long—Psalm 86:3
• Always—Luke 18:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:17
“And when you pray.” Matthew 6:5 ESV
The Person of Prayer:
Prayer includes the person praying… (Us)
the Person being prayed to, and… (God)
the person(s) being prayed about… (Needs)
the person(s) being prayed with. (Church)
“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 ESV
“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. 2 Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.” Matthew 6:1-2 ESV
#1: The person of prayer is servant with a HEART SET on The Master.
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10 ESV
“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 ESV
“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:3-4 ESV
#2: The person of prayer finds reward from the Father in SECRET.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. Jeremiah 29:11-14 ESV
“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. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:” Matthew 6:7-9 ESV
#3: The person of prayer follows the PATTERN Jesus provides.
“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven…’” Matthew 6:9 ESV
#4: The person of prayer is addressing our HEAVENLY FATHER.
4.1: God is the Father of all in the aspect of creation.
Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Malachi 2:10 ESV
For “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’” Acts 17:28 ESV
4.2: Spiritually, unbelievers have another father.
“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44 ESV
By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:10 ESV
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1 ESV
4.3: Those redeemed by Jesus, have God as their spiritual Father.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. Ephesians 1:3-10 ESV
“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’” Matthew 6:9 ESV
#5: The person of prayer is proclaiming the HOLINESS OF GOD.
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Isaiah 6:1-5 ESV
The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:5-7 ESV