Matthew 6:5-8 "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. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches on prayer. Jesus exposes the prayer practices of the religious leaders. He said that their prayers were all about getting the recognition and attention of others when they prayed. He contrasts their approach to what God desires. Prayer is not about public display of faith; it is about a conversation with God. It is about a relationship....a conversation....between you and God. So Jesus encourages His followers to go someplace private. Get out of the "stir" of life long enough to shut out the shouts of the world. Opt for a close and intimate conversation with your heavenly Father. Jesus also cautions His followers on the "babbling" prayers of the religious leaders. In Jesus' day, they actually believed that the more words you used in conversing with the gods, the more you would be heard. It was almost like some formula or collection of words that would somehow stir up the attention of the divine. Jesus contrasts their approach to what God desires. He told His followers that they did not need to string together a lot of fancy words in order to get God's attention or to inform God on what He already knows anyway.
The whole approach of the religious leaders to prayer was all about a practice. Jesus encourages His disciples toward prayer that is all about an intimate relationship between you and a Heavenly Father who loves you like crazy and wants to spend time with you. When you love someone and they love you, you spend time together and you share life. You don't spend a lot of time thinking about whether other people see your conversation and you certainly don't use certain words because you believe that the one you love wants you to speak a multitude of words in order to impress them. Sometimes you don't even talk at all...you just take a walk on the beach together or sit on the back porch in your rocking chairs and hold hands. No multitude of impressive words is necessary. This is not some formal game or show....it is a close and very personal kind of relationship.
The same can be said of your time with God. Do you not pray because your relationship with God is not really about a relationship but religion? Do you only pray when you are around others? Or do you not pray because your words don't come out like the preacher's prayers on Sunday mornings? God is not impressed with preacher's prayers! God loves it when you simply open your heart to Him. Sometimes your most intimate moments with your heavenly Father won't be with words at all but in the silence. Sometimes the most meaningful moments with God will be with those awkward, clumsy words that spill out of your soul "unscripted"....words that reveal the honest, genuine place you are in at that particular time. We have made conversation with God far more about religion than relationship.
Start today....just open your heart in conversation with God. He wants to share life with you! Prayer (Okay...so today....the preacher doesn't offer the prayer.....just you and God. Share your heart....listen for His gentle whisper in the quiet places of your soul..... Shut down the world long enough to open your soul to a conversation with the One who loves you like crazy!)
Thanks to Pastor Jerry Sweat
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