Book The Essentials of
Effective Prayer
Week 2, Day 2, pages
18-19
Scripture: Matthew 6:5-8
From what you read in this
passage, did Jesus expect His followers to pray? Explain your answer.
Yes, He didn't say
"if you pray" but "when you pray."
What else did you learn from
marking the references to praying? What
two things are we not to do when praying?
- We are not to pray so we may be seen by men.
- We are not to pray meaningless prayers of repetition.
I found a gem of a
word/Word study in answer to this question.
The word reward used in v5 is
different from the word reward used in
v6.
misthos (3408), a noun, used in verse 5 when
describing the rewards of the hypocrite's prayer
- Used of the fruit naturally resulting from toils and endeavors, both as rewards and/or punishment.
- Primarily used to mean wages or dues paid for work.
- Then it can be used generally as a reward received in this life, like wages for work done (and sometimes in the life to come).
apodidōmi (591), a verb, used in verse 6 when
describing the reward for praying in secret
- Of one's own accord, to give one something,
- To bestow a gift
[Please
note that apodidōmi (591) had quite a
number of definitions, but for clarity's sake, I used the ones above.]
My comments:
So when we
pray to be seen by men or pray meaningless words to get what we want, we will
get the reward of our efforts; but when we pray secretly in the will of God, He
will bless us with His mercy (not giving us what we do deserve) and His gifts.
This
picture reminds me of abiding; the secret place is that graft where we are
connected to Christ's life.
His gifts
are the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and
self-control. The spiritual fruit will
be obvious or open, as this verse notes (King James version). The reward/apodidomi
of abiding in secret prayer (communion with God around His Son) is the fruit of
a Godly life.
Was Jesus forbidding public
prayer? Explain your answer.
I don't see that here
at all. I'm not sure why this question
is placed here. Does anyone know
why? Has this verse been used by some
religious thinkers to ban public prayer?
What do you think Jesus
meant by "meaningless repetition"?
Meaningless repetition
Battalogeō (945)
To repeat
the same things over and over, to use many idle words, to babble, prate. Some
suppose the word derived from... Battus, an author of tedious and wordy poems.
Gentile or
heathen
Ethnikos (1481)
- suited to the manners or language of foreigners, strange, foreign
- in the NT savouring of the nature of pagans, alien to the worship of the true God, heathenish
Will be
heard
Eisakouō (1522)
have request granted
My
comments:
- Praying from the heart would be the opposite of meaningless repetition.
- A person prays like the Gentile/heathen when she prays with many words for the sole/soul purpose of having her request granted rather than praying that God's will be done and His kingdom come on earth (in her heart and life).
How can we identify and
avoid meaningless repetition in our prayers today?
Don't practice
it. :-)
Continue to abide.
Thank You, Lord, that
when I pray, I am not seeking to be rewarded for my "toil" like when
I work for wages for a distant employer.
Rather, I am praying secretly through abiding in One Who knows me and
still loves me, knowing that You will bless me by rooting me deeper into the
Vine Whose Life will be my exceeding great reward (Genesis 15:1).
Linda
Moderator
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