Matthew 6:9 “Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.'”

As you know by now, my idea of prayer is not some ritualistic equation to be said in a certain order. With that said, the Lord's prayer is a wonderfully beautiful and fulfilling prayer and always soothes me when I pray it. Looking at the prayer, I don't think that Jesus was saying that this was how every prayer was to be formed (as much as some certain pastors would like to teach). So here is what I think. Take it or leave it as you want, do your own research on this passage, but this is my opinion.

“Our father in heaven”
This is a reminder for us about whom we are praying to. I think that it also obliquely references the entire history of God with His children to recall His mighty miracles past and present – the splitting of the Red Sea, the downfall of Jericho, Elijah's alter, Daniel's salvation, Christ's coming and miracles, the rending of the temple shroud, the persecution and yet spread of Christianity, Paul's continued life despite several attempted killings, etc. This is a short list of all the miracles and mighty signs and wonders He has given us down through the years even down to today.

Matthew 23:9 “...for you have one Father, who is in heaven.”
Psalm 22:4 “In you our fathers trusted;they trusted, and you delivered them.”
Matthew 5:48 “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Luke 6:36 “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”
John 6:40 “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'”
Psalm 89:26 “He shall cry to me, 'You are my Father,my God, and the Rock of my salvation.'”
Hebrews 12:7 “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?”
John 16:27 “for the Father himself loves you...”
1 John 3:1 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”
1 Corinthians 8:6 “yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”
Ephesians 4:4-6 “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Luke 11:13 “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

“Hallowed be your name”
Literally this means “Your name is Holy, may it be always treated with reverence” This helps to place us before the King of Kings, the Creator of the World, the Saviour of our souls, and most importantly our loving, merciful, just Father and friend of all friends. We need to remember to whom we are talking to, not to scare us or anything but to remind us of His love for us and His bounty and resources that He has at his disposal just for us!

Philippians 4:20 “To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Matthew 6: 7-8 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

What is it about prayer that bothers people? Everyone wants a set equation, a recipe for what makes a good prayer. Most people have ended up following the same idea that other cultures had about prayer, and that is that the more times you say something, the louder it is, the more noise, the more effective. This is manifestly not true. In the biblical examples of prayer, it is always a solitary thing. When Elijah prayed for God to consume the sacrifice, Unlike the prophets of Baal, Elijah prayed quietly, without ritual or noises or drums or cutting himself or anything. (1 Kings 18) Jesus would go off by himself to pray, Daniel placed himself before his window three times a day, Jeremiah was in prison and chained, but still prayed, Joseph was the same, even Hannah, mother of Samuel went and prayed earnestly in the temple. But why am I picking names, its only every person in the Bible who followed the Creator who learned to commune with God privately.

Prayer is more than just repeating phrases and words. Its more than just praising God's name and magnifying his puissance and omnipotence and going on and on and on about God's qualities. He does not need to be reminded of who He is...but sometimes we need to remind ourselves. We continue to pray for something and we repeatedly pray for it. Sometimes its effective because God wants us to persevere, but a lot of times, it just becomes empty repetition. We just end up with some incantation thinking that when we get the right mixture, God will positively answer us like Aladdin's Genie, giving us what we want when we want it. How arrogant we are when we do this! Sadly we do this without even thinking about it! We all do this. You do it, I do it, the choir leader does it. We all need to ground ourself in Christ further. Prayer is a conversation between us and God – or more correctly, between God and I, or God and you. Its a chat between the best of friends, its a talk between a child and Father. Its getting our will aligned and changed to God's will. It is drinking from the well of eternal life. It is partaking in the crucification of Christ, it is partaking of the blessing of His resurrection. Its all this and more!

So what about unanswered prayer – or answered prays for that matter? He knows before we ask what we need, why then do we ask? He wants us to ask Him! I remember when my family was out Christmas shopping. One of my younger brother's decided he really liked this one item at the store. We knew he liked it, and so Mom and Dad had gotten one for him. He, not really thinking about it decided that no one would possible get it for him, so he bought one for himself. Imagine his chagrin when he found a couple weeks later that if he had waited he would have gotten one! God knows what we want or need, and we will get it in His time, not ours. Sometimes the best thing is that we not get what we ask for or think we need. Unanswered prayers are often times more of a grace and mercy for us than answered prayers.

How then do we pray? In all earnestness, in all humility and acceptance of God's will, knowledge, power, and love for us. We pray centered in the love of God, convinced and convicted of His position in our lives. With God with us, who else do we need?

Savior, again to thy dear name we raise
with one accord our parting hymn of praise;
guard thou the lips from sin, the hearts from shame,
that in this house have called upon thy name.

Matthew 6:6 “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you”

Solitude and silence, stillness and calmness, and mostly, a lack of distractions is what should be sought in a place to pray. A closet, where no one can see me; my room, where I can look as foolish as I want and not care. A place where the outside world does not intrude and there are no distractions in the form of what people will think of me, or worries about what I will buy for supper, or will I offend this person if I don't stop what I am doing and talk to them. My relationship, our relationship with Christ is extremely personal. It involves no one else and thus should not be dependent on others in any way shape or form for anything.

Praying in public is all well and good, and for some people it is necessary. I remind you to persevere in your prayers for pastors and elders and those in authority. To truly spend time with God, though, requires yourself and He with no interference. Would you go out for a special dinner with a close friend, or a spouse and take with you everyone in the house or neighborhood to listen to you two talk about private matters? No! This is the same with God and you. Spend the time alone with Him, not seeking the approval of anyone else, not where you can be judged on the qualities of your prayer or the rhetoric or the grammer, but instead remember that God knows the meanings of your heart and the words don't matter as much because He already knows.

I particularly like the way the King James/New King James versions translate the verse. They read “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” This basically states that your prayers will be answered in the same way that you seek God. You seek Him, not caring about the distractions or thoughts of others, and He answers in a way that shows them that you have something there that they don't. God rewards not in secret but with a magnanimous hand, allowing all the glory to come to Him.

Seek God earnestly. Seek Him devotedly. Seek His will constantly. Mostly learn to listen. You can't learn to listen for His still, small voice in the rush of traffic or the bustle of work. You can't learn to listen in a crowded café with the latest best selling novel. You can't learn to listen with your music blaring or your cell-phone ringing, or your computer chattering at you. You can only learn to listen in the quiet places of your life.

Matthew 6:5 "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”

Some people love to show off how “spiritual” they are. They teach Sunday School, they lead praise and worship, they volunteer for every mission trip, they pray long prayers, they even berate others for not following closely enough to the teachings of God. In short, they are legalistic attention-getters who use various church activities and events to remind everyone else about how “holy” they are. Often times a true believer will do the same things, but for different reasons. These believers will pray long prayers because once they start, they can't seem to find a way to stop – they just have to share everything with the Saviour! (Those who have experienced part of their life with a “significant other” will completely understand this.) God is not a trophy deity that one can show-off to make one's self look better to others. Proverbs 26:12 states “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” People who show off their righteousness and uprightness have none."

The very first commandment out of the ten is “Do not have any other god's before me” (Exodus 20:3) and the person who parades their personal, legalistic “holiness” around to be admired as put themselves prostrate before the alter of public opinion. This is their primary deity and this is their reward, that others think them close to God. Do not, my friends, do not fall into this trap! It is so very easy to let the opinion of other people start to matter, especially when it comes to your relationship with Christ. Once you start to care about their opinions of you, you feel that you need to keep up the “act” so as not to disappoint them - and it really does become an act. People start expecting it from you and you start to give them the show; it started innocently enough but like all other sins or faults, it only ends disastrously.

This is one very important reason that you must pray for your pastors, your elders, your teachers, and your leaders. It is quite difficult for them to undergo this constant pressure, this constant scrutiny in their lives. I know that I too have felt it, even from this weekly devotional. I am no more and no less than all of you – a sinner graced by God and redeemed by Christ Jesus. I have my faults and failures like you. Do not put me on a pedestal please, but rather pray for me that I might be continuously pushed towards Christ and not allow anything to distract me from Him. People in spiritual leadership are always walking the line between truly leading and teaching and showing off. How much is too much, how little is enough? Yet do not let the fact that it primarily affects those in leadership positions lower your own guard against it! You are in just as much danger as pastors, just without the extra pressure.

We all need to beware of the pride in ourselves, the opinions of others, and the pressures that they may bring. Where are we in relation to the Lord. This is what we must ask ourselves constantly. What can we do to help get us off the streets, showing off our self righteousness? What can we do to avoid this trap to our pursuit of the Christ-centered life? Remember this: our foundation is Christ, naught but Jesus' blood and righteousness.

As Paul exhorts us in 2 Corinthians 13:5a, we must examine ourselves, to see whether we are in the faith. Test ourselves and see where we are lacking.