Matthew 6:1-18 Why, How & What

Prayer How (vs. 5-8): Regularly: Not “if” but “when” (vs. 5, 6, & 7) The Christian life is about knowing God, i.e. it’s a relationship (John 17:3) Relationships of all kinds thrive on communication Secretly (vs. 6): this is to warn against hypocrisy, playing to an audience. It is not the only way to pray (cf. ch. 18:19 “if two of you on earth agree...” and Acts 1:14 & 15 120 pray together) It is the time alone with God that is the evidence of the reality of our prayer lives.

Naturally (vs. 7) Approach God reverently & humbly Also confidently & naturally We are children speaking with our Heavenly Father Believingly (vs. 8) The necessity & effectiveness of prayer is not set aside because of God’s wisdom & sovereignty We pray believing that His will is right, and so we invite him in to our circumstances to fulfill His agenda.

Prayer What (vs. 9-15): Verses 9 & 10 = Concerned with God Verses 11 - 13 = Concerned with need

Concern with God The worship of God (hallowed) = Who He is Different from Praise = Thanks for what He’s done The wise men (Ch. 2) worshiped Jesus before He’s done anything! He is worthy of our worship

Concern with God The work of God (Your kingdom come) This is the exchanged life His kingdom comes / My kingdom goes His Sovereignty and Lordship over mine

Concern with God The will of God (Your will be done) Natural progression from His work It takes faith in an all wise God to pray for His will and not ours in any situation Do not be arrogant in asking for your own will The Israelites moaned in the desert - “In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test. So he gave them what they asked for and sent a wasting disease upon them”, or as the KJV Version puts it, “he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul” (Ps. 106:14 & 15 from Num. 11:4-34) King Hezekiah (2 Kings 20 & 21) asked to live longer, God heard and gave him 15 more good years His son, Manasseh, took the throne at the age of 12!

Concern with Need Physical need (Give us today our daily bread) We ask in humility for what we need now We don’t ask for a future stockpile If we have more than enough that is OK but not our entitlement!

Concern with Need Spiritual need (Forgive us...as we have forgiven) This is a constant need The forgiveness depends on the offended NOT the offender Our repentance towards God must characterize our attitude towards others

Concern with Need Moral need (Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the Evil one) ‘When tempted, no one should say “God is tempting me”. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.…’ James 1:13 However, God is involved in delivering us from the tempter We need forgiveness for past sin. We also need deliverance from present evil temptation

Concern with Need This example of prayer is as much to do with others as it is ourselves “Our, Your, Us, We”

Fasting “When you fast...” - expected part of Christian life Three Scriptural functions of fasting:

Fasting An aid to humility: “I...humbled myself with fasting” Ps. 35:13 (David) Humility is part of Holiness, fasting is often used Food is often associated with pride (Deut. 8) Fasting is used by God to humble the proud Fasting can be corrective to pride Isaiah 58 is a chapter devoted to correct humility and fasting

Fasting An aid to prayer: “So we fasted and petitioned our God about this and he answered our prayer” - Ezra 8:23 Daniel & Jonah practice this (Jon. 3:5,10 Dan. 9:3–23) Jesus references this combination: “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” Matt 17:21

Fasting An aid to discpline: Food is often the area in scripture that causes the most trouble Eve; Esau; Children of Israel in the Wilderness Even Jesus was tempted 1st with food (Matt 4:3) Fulfilling the physical appetite is the Devil’s game We belong to God

Prayer & Fasting It’s not about the techniques It’s about the attitude God is the motivation It’s God’s pleasure we seek