Tag Archives: Reward

A WALK THROUGH THE LORD’S PRAYER – 1a

Prayer, ,

I think that most nations or cultural groups within a nation have some overriding issue, characteristic, or consideration  that controls their lives or that occupies their attention. Take Israel in Jesus’ day, for example…

Israel was a religious nation, with their leaders being representatives of their religious system, but with pagan influences because of its occupation by Rome, a pagan nation. 

How did this play out in their daily lives? The temple and temple worship, together with its rituals and sacrifices, played a central role in the beliefs and behaviour of its leaders and which filtered down to the ordinary people. 

The Jews were traditionally God’s covenant people. They had a history of rebellion and disobedience to the covenant which bound them to the God who had rescued them from Egyptian slavery and had led and settled them in their own Promised Land. However, they failed to honour the terms of His covenant. 

After centuries of conflict between themselves and their God, their religion had become one of rule and ritual with little heart, exemplified by their rulers, the scribes and Pharisees. The people were expected to follow their leaders slavishly and, when they didn’t, they were “cancelled” in the eyes of their superiors. 

Jesus came to restore to them the reality of the God who loved them, who was a Father to them, and who wanted a relationship with them as His sons and daughters. He hated the hypocrisy of their leaders who taught one thing but did the opposite. He set out to correct their belief system by teaching and modelling the truth of a Father/Son relationship. 

Jesus’ first task was to teach His disciples about the way His kingdom would operate on earth. He had to dispel the false beliefs that had crept into the minds and lifestyles of His people through the control of their religious teachers and leaders.

Matthew’s version of “the Sermon on the Mount”, recorded in Matthew 5 to 7, is a sample of the way Jesus taught His disciples to live as God’s family under His rule. He had to correct “Halakah” –  the way to behave based on the Talmud which regulated the lives of the people. 

“In simple terms, the Talmud is the central and authoritative text of Rabbinic Judaism, a vast collection of Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, and lore that serves as a guide for Jewish life. It is composed of the Mishnah, a codification of oral laws, and the Gemara, which is a commentary and elaboration on the Mishnah and the rabbis’ discussions about it.” (Source: Google)

For the ordinary Jew, life had become burdensome and almost impossible to live under the religious system their leaders imposed on them.  

Jesus offered them His alternative, His yoke, …., a life of rest and freedom from suffocating rules by trusting Him and following His way….

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…in place of the heavy religious and heartless yoke of the Pharisees. 

How would Jesus, the Son of God, initiator and representative of a new covenant in which prayer was to be the centre of their experience of God, set the record straight? 

Through the mystery and miracle of prayer, personally interacting with their Heavenly Father, they would get to know Him. They would throw off the burdensome, man-made laws imposed on them. They would learn to partner with Him in the administration of His heavenly rule which Jesus had come to restore. 

The first step was to correct the wrong practices of Pharisees and pagans. 

The Pharisees loved to be noticed, their obedience to the law acknowledged and praised. They were the model for the ordinary people and revelled in the attention they received. 

So, Jesus warned…

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus used the terms ”Pharisees” and “hypocrites” interchangeably because that was what they were… play actors who wore masks to hide their true identity. 

“That’s not the way to receive your Father’s reward,” said Jesus. Man’s reward is empty and worthless… God always rewards those who pray with the right attitude and motive…

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, according to Jesus, God rewards the sincere prayer of His children, directed in faith to Him, obviously by answering us, but it’s much more than that…

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Fruit! Union with Jesus bears fruit. What kind of fruit? 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The character of Jesus produced by the Holy Spirit, becomes woven into our lives as we gaze at Him…

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 …which is exactly God’s purpose…

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, if we pray only to impress people, that’s all the reward we will get!

To be continued…

PRAYING GOD’S WAY – 21

Prayer,

THE “DO’S AND DON’TS” OF PRAYER

As much as there are do’s and don’ts on every level of life that help or hinder us, so too with prayer. Jesus made it clear to His disciples that do’s and don’ts are of great importance when we approach the Father. If we ignore the don’ts, we ignore the wrong attitudes that hinder our prayers. If we do the do’s, we enhance our prayer lives by praying God’s way.

The first ‘don’t’ is one we easily miss because we are dominated by our self-consciousness.

‭Matthew 6:5 NLT‬
[5] “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get….”

This ‘don’t’ is especially applicable when we pray in a group. We like the affirmation of those who admire our use of words. So, we plan our words while others are praying! Conversely, we listen to others pray and bemoan the fact that we can’t pray as ‘beautifully’ as someone else! All the while, we forget that prayer is about conversing with God, not speaking to people.

Our self-consciousness (and pride) are always there to intrude in what should be an intimate time with the Father. If recognition is our subconscious motive when we pray, our prayers may bounce off the ceiling. They don’t impress God.

The second ‘don’t’ is equally a trap into which we easily fall, closely tied to our desire to impress. Words!

‭Matthew 6:7 NLT‬
[7] “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again…“

Oh, how we babble! To babble means to mutter, repeating the same words or, often, in our case, giving God lengthy explanations, instructions, advice, and requests. We subconsciously treat God exactly as the ‘Gentiles’ treat their pagan gods, either hard of hearing or, worse, lacking in understanding, when we babble!

Jesus said that prayer is NOT about people or words. He gave us two ways to counteract our don’ts by changing our doing.

We can neutralise our self-awareness by praying in secret. Then our words won’t matter. Jesus specifically said that the Father ‘sees’, not ‘hears’, our secret prayers. We express our intention when we pray in secret. We want the Father, not people, to hear us so, we go aside and pray alone.

Babbling means that words spew out of our mouths like water from a fountain. God is not impressed by our carefully chosen and many words. He listens to the heart. He knows us. He knows our needs before we ask Him. He doesn’t need our words to explain or instruct.

That’s the reason for transparency when we pray because prayer is about intimacy, and intimacy and honesty go together.

God has given us a simple way to overcome our babbling. He told us just to say “Amen” to His promises.

‭2 Peter 1:4 NLT‬
[4] “And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

‭2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT‬
[20] “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”

A simple “Amen” to whatever promise God gives us in time of need will cut off the flow of babbling and quieten our hearts to have confidence in His intention.

Instead of babbling, let’s listen. God has a word of reassurance… that He knows and He has a plan in everything for our good and His glory.

Read these matchless words of James Montgomery (1818). Perhaps, we can catch a glimpse of the enormity of true prayer that needs not words but heart to reach the heart of God.

“Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.

Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near.

Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach
The Majesty on high.

Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
The Christian’s native air;
His watchword at the gates of death,
He enters heav’n with prayer

Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice
Returning from his ways,
While angels in their songs rejoice
And cry, “Behold! He prays!”

Nor prayer is made on earth alone
The Holy Spirit pleads,
And Jesus at the Father’s throne
For sinners intercedes.

O thou by whom we come to God,
The Life, the Truth, the Way,
The path of prayer thyself hast trod
Lord, teach us how to pray.”

Source: Musixmatch