Pray Then In This Way
LENT 2022 | DAY 6
Matthew 6 (NIV)
(Wee Yeun Ling, Zone 7 Leader, Small Group Ministry)
READ:
Matthew 6, focusing on verses 5-15
OBSERVE:
Matthew 6:8-9 (NASB)
“So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray, then, in this way….”
In these verses, Jesus paints for us a picture of what prayer is.
Prayer is Trust – trust in God and God alone.
Jesus teaches His disciples not to pray like the hypocrites who pray in public to be seen by men. Instead, Jesus teaches them to go into the inner room and pray to the Father who is in secret. He teaches me that “your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him”.
Prayer is Humility – a posture of humility before God my Father.
Jesus teaches us to pray to “our Father who art in Heaven”. In Matthew 18:1-4, Jesus teaches His disciples to become like children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, and to humble ourselves like a child.
Prayer is Forgiveness – learning to receive forgiveness from the Father and forgiving others.
After teaching His disciples the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus emphasised in verses 14-15 that if we forgive others for their transgressions, our Father will forgive us as well. However, if we do not forgive others, our Father will not forgive us.
APPLY:
As I pray, I ought to be emanating Trust, Humility and Forgiveness. If I am not growing spiritually in these qualities, my prayers to God, no matter how long, will be futile, just like the prayers of the hypocrites.
How then do I know that I am praying according to the will of God, and not like the hypocrites? God knows the state of my heart as I pray. As I ponder and reflect on these verses, I realise that my prayers are imperfect. But as I continue to pray, God can use my prayers to teach me as His child, and to mould my heart to become more like Christ’s.
I am particularly struck by how Jesus taught about the importance of forgiveness right after He taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer. I cannot experience the fullness of God’s forgiveness in my life if I do not learn to forgive others. As Easter draws closer, I am reminded that the Gospel is the story of God’s forgiveness for me. God, in forgiving me, sent His Son to die on the cross for my sins. As difficult as it may be to forgive others, the realisation of God’s love and forgiveness for me should make me feel blessed to be lavished with God’s forgiveness, and hence extend this forgiveness to others.
We all face challenges in forgiving others. When I am reluctant to forgive others, God’s word is a necessary reminder to me that forgiving others is a must. When I struggle with forgiveness, it reminds me that I need to grow in trust and humility – trust that God will help me to forgive others and humility that I, like my fellow man, have fallen short of God’s standards and am in need of His grace.
DO:
- Remember to pray with the qualities of trust, humility and forgiveness.
- If I struggle with forgiving others, I need to go to God in prayer to help me grow in trust and humility.
PRAY:
Thank you, Lord Jesus for teaching me how to pray and the importance of forgiving others. You have first forgiven me for my sins against God. When I struggle with forgiveness, help me to remember Your words to “pray then in this way”; to daily trust in Your will to change my heart to become more like Yours. Thank You for showing Your forgiveness through Your death on the cross. As I pray to You daily, may I grow in trust, humility and forgiveness. In Your precious name, Amen.
