Matthew 6: Prayer Guide

May 4, 2021 in Today's Prayer by TGV

Matthew 6: Prayer Guide/ 40-BSG-6B, (Matthew 6:)/ Theme: LORD, Teach us to Pray/ Hymn: Burdens Are Lifted at Calvary (SDAH 476)


 

Key Text: “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6, NKJV)

Opening Remarks: The disciples asked- “Teach us how to pray,” not teach us how to Preach, or Heal, or Sing! Not that those things are wrong, but what we really need first and foremost is communing with God through Prayer. The Scriptures admonish us to “Pray without Ceasing.” This does not mean that we are to spend all of our time on our knees in formal prayer. It does mean that we must live and serve our Lord in the atmosphere of prayer. Prayer is the channel of communication between our souls and God. God speaks to us through His Word; we respond to Him through our prayers, and He always listens to us. We cannot weary or burden Him by our frequent heart to heart communications.

Beloved, we live in end times. The world is full of problems – and it will get worse! Our only hope is Jesus! These are serious times: the world in turmoil: endless wars, financial instability, pandemic (Covid 19), hatred, killing, persecutions, etc. It is as if the prophecy of Daniel 12 has come alive: “And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time” (Dan 12:1). This chapter, calls for every believer to earnest seek the LORD in prayer.  We must learn the power of prayer. We must plead with the LORD, like the disciples of old, saying, “LORD, Teach Us To Pray.”

Values to Build On: Giving (alms, charitable deeds); Prayer (private/ public/ corporate); Worship; Fasting; Money (Lay up your treasures in Heaven); Choosing God (You cannot serve God and material things, Mt 6:24); Trusting God (seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, Mt 6:33).

Sins to Avoid/ Confess: Hypocrisy; Prayer/ worship/ giving motivated by praise; Lust for material things while serving God; Constantly worrying about tomorrow: failure to live ‘one day at a time,” trusting God (Mt 6:34); Failure to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Something to Thank God For: Opportunity to give to God generously and unselfishly; Opportunity to commune with God through Prayer -(addressing God directly); Opportunity to give to the poor/ the needy; God’s surpassing knowledge (He knows our needs even before we ask, Isa. 65:24); God provides our daily bread; God forgives us our debts –(sin, trespasses, iniquity); God is able to deliver us from the evil one; God is coming soon with great power and glory to take us into His Kingdom! (Mt 6:13; 24:30, 31)

People to Pray For: 1. Hypocrites (Scribes, Pharisees, Teachers of the law) to be converted/ 2. All Believers (as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven) to have the right attitudes when comes to prayer and giving/ 3. All Believers to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, (Mt 6:33).

Issues to Pray For: 1. The Lord’s Prayer (God’s kingdom; God’s will; daily Bread; Forgiveness; Deliverance)/ 2. Victory over Temptation — (testing or enticement to do wrong)/ 3. Stealing — (wrongfully taking the property of another; theft)/ 4. Hypocrisy — (behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe)/ 5. Resistance to Satan and evil.

Today’s Promise: “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” (1 John 3:22, NKJV) “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14, NKJV) “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24, NKJV)

Note: Scroll down to Section (40-BSG-6Z) for a ‘Closing Prayer.’ May the Lord Bless You!


 

40-BSG-6Z: CLOSING PRAYER.

Closing Prayer/ Matthew 6, (40-BSG-6Z)/ Is there a prayer for me to pray/echo in this chapter?  Yes.

Prayer: “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6:9–13, NKJV)

 

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