THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
I love homemade bread. A dear lady in our church knows this and regularly brings me a loaf of delicious bread she makes from a starter mix that has been in her family for over one hundred years. She even slices the bread before she delivers it. How awesome is that?
As much as I enjoy her homemade bread, it’s a luxurious treat, not a necessity. But bread—or rather, food in general—is something we all need daily. Many of us don’t give a second thought about where our next meal will come from. What we need is always readily available. That’s not true of everybody, however. It certainly wasn’t true in the first century. The average man worked for a daily wage, which essentially covered his family’s expenses for that day only. If he missed a day of work, he might miss feeding his family.
We all have things we need, but where do we look for those needs? God knows we have physical needs, and in His Model Prayer, Jesus encouraged us to go to God with those needs.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
Matthew 6:11
Give us today our daily bread.
Isaiah 38:1-3
1 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” 2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
This is our fourth session from the Model Prayer, and we’re just now getting to the part where most people start: praying for ourselves! This does not mean praying for ourselves is not important, because Jesus wants us to come to Him with our needs. But to get in the right frame of mind to come to God with our own needs, we focus our prayers first on honoring Him, seeking His kingdom, and desiring His will.
Jesus urged us to pray for ourselves: “Give us today our daily bread.” Daily bread clearly refers to food, but it can also represent myriad other needs we face every day. We obviously need more than bread in life, but our daily need for food naturally symbolizes our need to look to God and depend on Him for all He provides—physically, financially, emotionally, and spiritually. Whatever we need, we can pray about it. God uses our needs in life to train us in prayer. Our emptiness drives us to the One who can fill us.
As some have said, we are to look to God to “meet our need and not our greed,” but how can we know the difference? Sometimes we may not immediately recognize the difference between a genuine need and a pursuit of self-interest. Even if we unintentionally pray amiss, our heavenly Father can gently correct us. For this reason, it is best to pray about everything and let God determine the results of our prayers, as well as the motives of the heart. As we mature spiritually, we will grow more attuned to our own intentions in prayer and sense when we are praying for things God never intended us to pursue. A key factor toward that end is to present our needs in light of what we’ve already learned from the Model Prayer in Matthew 6:
- Seek the honor of God. “Hallowed be your name” (v. 9). Will what I’m asking for bring honor and glory to Christ?
- Seek the kingdom of God. “Your kingdom come” (v. 10a). Am I asking from a position of living under His lordship?
- Seek the will of God. “Your will be done” (v. 10b). Am I placing God’s will before my own?
We turn to King Hezekiah, who reigned over Judah in the early part of the 7th century BC, as an example of praying for ourselves. When the prophet Isaiah broke the news to the dying king that he only had a short time to live, Hezekiah immediately turned to God in prayer. Hezekiah wanted to live.
God never promised to prolong our lives indefinitely. God doesn’t always give more years of life on earth, but as we will see, God gave King Hezekiah fifteen more years. No matter how much time we are given, we all know we will leave this earthly life someday. But God does promise to meet our daily needs. He will give us what we need for today.
Isaiah 38:4-6
4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.
Surely Hezekiah’s faith soared and he was filled with praise when Isaiah came back and reported God’s answer to his prayer. We rejoice when we hear such reports, but we may wonder why God doesn’t always answer our prayers for healing.
God does not always reveal the big picture to us or let us know why He answers the way He does, but He seemed to do that with Hezekiah. Hezekiah neither asked for fifteen more years of life nor for Jerusalem to be protected from attack but God’s response included both. God’s answer took into account not only the needs of Hezekiah but also the people he led.
God may not reveal to us the reasons for His answers, but that’s where faith and trust come in. God always answers out of His love and His gracious plan for our lives; He answers in light of the big picture, which we cannot see. Incredible things happen to our faith when we pour our hearts into prayer and then witness the occurrence of the very thing we prayed for.
When we pray, God will hear us, and we will experience answers to our prayers. Of course, we don’t always see immediate responses to prayer. Some of our prayers were only answered after the one who prayed them died. Sometimes we pray for years with no apparent answers, but we know God is at work. Jesus instructed us to pray for our daily needs; if we don’t allow God to work in our prayers, we are missing one of the greatest opportunities He has given to us. Keep praying! God hears and He does answer.
Isaiah 38:15-17
15 But what can I say? He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this. I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul. 16 Lord, by such things people live; and my spirit finds life in them too. You restored me to health and let me live. 17 Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.
It doesn’t require much spiritual depth to rejoice when things are going well, but the person who can praise God in the midst of difficulties is a role model for us all. Hezekiah stands out as a hero of the faith because he walked with God, prayed, and praised God through his suffering.
When we feel emotionally empty or defeated by circumstances, bitterness can creep over us and leave us angry or hopeless. When my neighbor’s wife left him suddenly, I promised I would pray for him. He responded, “I gave up on prayer a long time ago.” He clearly was bitter. Hezekiah didn’t let his unpleasant circumstances push him away from God; instead, he turned to God.
Hezekiah not only sought God through his illness, he praised God! Hezekiah acknowledged it was for his own good he was able to experience such a bitter reaction to his illness, for only then was he able to see God’s deliverance. I often hear praise reports like this. For instance, a man in my congregation had a sudden spike in his blood sugar, leading his doctor to treat him for diabetes. In the process of treating his diabetes, the medical team discovered something far more life-threatening. Fortunately, since the doctors made the diagnosis early and were able to treat him immediately, he recovered in just a few months.
Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread—not because we are full, but because we are so frequently hungry. Our emptiness on any level can drive us to despair or lead us to prayer. But we can always turn to God, trusting Him and even praising Him before we receive the answer.
LIVE IT OUT
We have daily needs and God wants us to seek Him in prayer so He can meet those needs. How will these truths affect how you pray?
Choose one of the following applications:
- List your requests. Make a list of your needs—both daily and long-term. Pray through that list and trust God to answer.
- Evaluate your requests. In light of God’s honor, will, and kingdom, evaluate your list of prayer requests to the questions on page 99. As needed, modify what you’re asking or how you’re asking to ensure your requests honor Christ.
- Share God’s answers. Share with someone the specific ways God has answered your prayers.
Whether it’s our physical needs like food, or our emotional, spiritual, or relational needs, God provides. We are to take our needs to Him on a daily basis and trust Him to provide what is best for us.
Hope to see you on Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
Teacher's Notes:
Teacher's Notes:
Click Here to Watch
Video: Cinderella Man – “Not everybody gets a second chance.” “This time around, I know what I’m fighting for.”
Prayer is far more than bringing our needs and requests to God, but that is where we often begin – and frequently end. Jesus gave us a different example: Bring your request - after we have focused on who God is, honored His name, and sought His Lordship and will – now we are in the right mindset to ask Him for our daily needs.
Matthew 6:11
Give us today our daily bread.
What does it mean to pray for our daily bread?
The first petition in the Model Prayer is directed at human need. We generally read it as our need for daily sustenance, that is, our physical needs, but by extension it really applies to much more.
1. Physical & Financial Provision: The first, and most obvious, meaning of this request is that God would sustain us physically. Jesus was perhaps alluding to God's provision of manna, which was given every day in the desert. We recognize God as our provider and rely on Him to meet our daily needs. This does not mean that we expect God to literally rain down manna on us but that we understand He is the one who makes our work fruitful, sometimes even meeting physical needs in miraculous ways. Shortly after instructing His followers how to pray, Jesus talked to them about anxiety. He said, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? . . . But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:25, 33). Note that in the Lord’s Prayer, we pray that God’s kingdom come before we ask for daily bread.
2. Practical, Emotional, and Relational Needs: Requesting daily bread is not only about physical and financial provision. It can also refer to asking God to provide for our less tangible needs. In Matthew 7:7-11 Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Good parents provide not only what their children need for physical life, but also for practical, emotional, and relational needs. God is the giver of good gifts (James 1:17). "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).
3. Daily Dependence: God has already met our greatest spiritual need, that of forgiveness and restoration, through Christ. But He does not stop there. Jesus calls Himself the "Bread of Life" (John 6:35). "In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind" (John 1:4). Jesus says He came to bring us abundant life (John 10:10). Not only are we saved for eternity, but we also experience a restored relationship with God now. We seek Him daily, and He renews us day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). The branch is continually nourished by the Vine (John 15:5).
When we ask God for our daily bread, we are humbly acknowledging Him as the sole giver of all we need. We are living day by day, one step at a time. We are exercising simple faith in Him to provide just what we need, when we need it – for every area of life.
Jesus intended for His disciples’ prayer lives to make a marked difference to them. He carefully instructed us to tell our Father what we need when we pray. In a prayer shaped by submission to Him, we’re invited to ask God for the resources we need so we can serve Him as kingdom citizens. We don’t come with a list of items to nourish our self-indulgence. Instead, we bring to God what we think we’ll need to accomplish kingdom tasks. When Jesus taught them to ask our Father for bread, He led them to trust God to supply what they would need for the day.
Asking our Father to give us what we need each day can be difficult. Some of us prefer to get what we need all by ourselves. Asking God to provide for us can be a serious challenge. We overcome that challenge when we understand we cannot provide on our own everything we need. We’re wise when we daily ask God to provide what we need. The Lord encourages us to trust Him to provide what we need to carry out His kingdom plan for our lives. Each day should find us asking God to give the material and spiritual resources necessary to serve Him.
In this lesson, we are encouraged to take our needs to the Lord and trust Him to answer. We will see an example of this by considering a time in the life of King Hezekiah in which he prayed for healing in the face of a life-threatening illness.
Isaiah 38:1-6
In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.
Why should we pray when God already knows our needs?
First, here are two reasons we don't pray:
1. We don't pray to impress God. We're not heard for our "much-speaking." You don't have to use poetic language or be an amateur Shakespeare. If an earthly child can speak to an earthly father, you can speak to your Heavenly Father. We're told to cry out to Him as our "Abba" Father — literally translated, "Daddy." (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6). We're not praying to impress Him.
2. We don't pray to inform God. You can't tell God anything He doesn't know.
So, if we don't pray to impress or inform God, why then do we pray?
We Pray to Invite God
It's very important to understand this: we are inviting God into our lives when we pray.
When we pray, we experience —
- Fellowship. We become "workers together with Him" (2 Corinthians 6:1). When we pray, God gives us the joy and privilege of administrating His kingdom, His affairs — working together with Him. He could do it without us. We could not do it without Him. But what a glory that God allows us the privilege of doing it with Him!
- Development. When we pray, God is growing us. Have you ever prayed and didn't receive immediately what you asked for? What did you do? You kept on praying, but you also began to search your heart and life to see if something was hindering God's answer. Many times there is. God uses prayer to grow us.
- Dependency. God never wants us to live lives independent of Him. If God just did everything for us and we never had to pray, soon we would begin to take things for granted. We would cease to depend upon God.
Prayer Binds Us to God: That's why we tell God what He already knows. He knows what we have need of before we ask, but we're definitely, specifically, unqualifiedly told to pray and to ask — not to impress or inform God, but to invite God, so that we might have that fellowship with Him, so that we might grow, and we would learn to depend upon Him.
But we are to present our needs in light of what we’ve already learned from the Model Prayer: to honor God’s name, to seek His lordship of our lives, and to seek His will and not ours.
Points:
1. God is able to address needs in every area of our lives.
2. God provides for us day by day.
3. Even faithful believers can expect to face struggles, trials, and difficulties that come from living in a fallen world.
4. In difficult times, the first place to go – not the last resort – is to the Lord in prayer. We need to live so faithfully that we need not fear standing before the Lord.
When has God answered your prayer in a way that was evident it was from the Lord?
Surely Hezekiah’s faith soared and he was filled with praise when Isaiah came back and reported God’s answer to his prayer. We rejoice when we hear such reports, but we may wonder why God doesn’t always answer our prayers for healing.
God may not reveal to us the reasons for His answers, but that’s where faith and trust come in. God always answers out of His love and His gracious plan for our lives; He answers in light of the big picture, which we cannot see.
Incredible things happen to our faith when we pour our hearts into prayer and then witness the occurrence of the very thing we prayed for.
Points:
1. The Lord God is faithful to His promises; count on them.
2. The Lord has a fresh word for us in our hour of need; be attentive to it.
3. The Lord knows our pain and knows just what we need; trust Him.
4. The Lord answers our prayers according to His will and in a way that moves toward the fulfillment of His greater purpose; submit to Him.
5. We may not always understand why God responds as He does, but what He does will be right; be sure of that.
6. The Lord is our deliverer and defender in times of trial; claim Him.
We turn to King Hezekiah, who reigned over Judah in the early part of the 7th century BC, as an example of praying for ourselves. When the prophet Isaiah broke the news to the dying king that he only had a short time to live, Hezekiah immediately turned to God in prayer. Hezekiah wanted to live. God never promised to prolong our lives indefinitely. God doesn’t always give more years of life on earth, but as we will see, God gave King Hezekiah fifteen more years. No matter how much time we are given, we all know we will leave this earthly life someday. But God does promise to meet our daily needs. He will give us what we need for today.
[Isaiah 38:1] King Hezekiah had a personal need and took it to the Lord in prayer, a helpful example for us. Hezekiah ruled as king over Judah during a time of national peril. Assyria, a large and growing empire that attempted to overtake Judah, posed a dangerous threat. (See Isa. 36–37.) In the context of that threatening situation, another crisis loomed like an ominous shadow over Hezekiah’s life—a personal health crisis. The prophet Isaiah reported that Hezekiah had a terminal illness and gave him no hope he would recover. By telling Hezekiah to get his house in order, Isaiah meant he should give attention to making royal, personal, and spiritual preparations before he died. Death would soon come his way; he didn’t need to delay his preparation for it.
[Verses 2-3] Pay close attention to Hezekiah’s response to the bad news. He didn’t ask Isaiah to plead with God for him. Neither did he explode in uncontrollable anger out of a sense that God had mistreated him. Instead, he turned to the Lord in prayer. By facing the wall, he tuned out other voices. Hezekiah only wanted to talk with the Lord. As he prayed, he confirmed the value of God’s hand in his life. He asked the Lord to remember the way he had lived. His prayer reflected his sincere humility, and his tears underscored his inconsolable sorrow. Hezekiah had given no consideration to the possibility his life might end sooner than he anticipated. As he came to terms with death, instinctively he turned to the Lord in prayer.
[Verse 4] Not long after Hezekiah prayed, God gave him an answer. Earlier that day, Isaiah had given Hezekiah the bad news about his terminal illness. Then Isaiah left the king’s residence and made his way through the courtyard. That’s when God told him to go back to Hezekiah with His answer to the king’s prayer. (See 2 Kings 20:4-6.) The Lord’s response says something about His grace in response to our requests. Also, it validates the truth about the Lord’s desire for us. He wants us to enjoy an intimate relationship with Him. He’s not eager to keep His distance from His people. Neither does God turn a deaf ear when we bring our needs to Him. God’s response to Hezekiah’s prayer points to His attentiveness as well as His compassion toward us. He listens when we pray, and He intends to answer when we bring our requests to Him.
[Verse 5] Isaiah faithfully returned to the king’s residence. He assured Hezekiah the Lord had been listening to the king’s prayer and had seen the sincerity in his tears. In response to what the Lord had heard and seen, He poured out His grace. Hezekiah could not have twisted God’s arm to force Him to respond in such a gracious manner. God responded wisely and compassionately in keeping with His will for His kingdom. Observe that Hezekiah didn’t ask the Lord to heal him. In fact, he didn’t ask the Lord to do anything for him. When he prayed, he only poured out his heart to God, grieving over the report about his terminal disease. The Lord listened lovingly and responded graciously. He promised Hezekiah fifteen more years of life. Given the bad news Isaiah had delivered at first, the promise of extended life must have been welcomed as a surprise blessing. The Lord had responded in a fashion that exceeded what Hezekiah could have ever imagined.
[Verse 6] The Lord went on to give Hezekiah another promise. God promised He would deliver Jerusalem from danger. The Assyrian king had begun to take steps to invade Jerusalem, and only God could rescue the city from the terrible disaster that awaited His people. According to Isaiah 36–37, the Lord provided the miracle His people needed. In a powerful demonstration of His sovereign power, God kept His promise and rescued Jerusalem from destruction. God’s promise about Jerusalem demonstrated how He planned to lavish His grace on Hezekiah. Without God’s intervention, Jerusalem would have been doomed. Hezekiah’s fate would have been just as tragic.
The Lord’s response to Hezekiah’s need sheds light on the wisdom of the apostle John’s instruction to believers. He urged us to bring our requests to God and assured us God will listen and respond graciously in keeping with His will for us. (See 1 John 5:14-15.) Growing Christians take John’s assurance to heart. We know God might not answer our prayer for healing in the same way He responded to Hezekiah. However, we rest in the assurance that God listens to us, and He will be gracious to us when He answers us. At the same time, His response will be given according to His kingdom plan.
Isaiah 38:15-17
But what can I say? He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done this. I will walk humbly all my years because of this anguish of my soul. Lord, by such things people live; and my spirit finds life in them too. You restored me to health and let me live. Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In Your love You kept me from the pit of destruction; You have put all my sins behind Your back.
When has answered prayer changed your perspective toward life?
- When we take our needs to the Lord in prayer, we can count on Him to pay attention. His answers do much more than simply meet our needs. They also help us to grow stronger in our walk with Him.
- After the Lord graciously restored his life to him for fifteen more years, he gained a grateful perspective on what had been given to him. Life was a gift from God. Each day was nothing less than a blessing he didn’t deserve. His renewed perspective on life caused Hezekiah to slow down and savor the days given to him.
- Jimmy Braddock said that, “Not everybody gets a second chance.” “This time around, I know what I’m fighting for.” “What’s that, Jimmy?” “MILK”
- Jimmy had learned a great lesson in the importance of God’s daily bread.
Points:
1. Some of life’s most difficult moments can teach us about the love, mercy, and grace of God.
2. God acts according to His word, which gives us life and hope.
3. In His gracious love, the Lord has delivered us from death and frees us to live from the perspective of praise to Him.
[Verse 15] When we take our needs to the Lord in prayer, we can count on Him to pay attention. His answers do much more than simply meet our needs. They also help us to grow stronger in our walk with Him. After Hezekiah learned the Lord would extend his life, he wrote a poem about the dramatic episode. (See Isa. 38:10-20.) He captured in words what went on in his heart at the news he would die soon. The news prompted him to go to the Lord. After the Lord graciously restored his life to him for fifteen more years, he gained a grateful perspective on what had been given to him. Life was a gift from God. Each day was nothing less than a blessing he didn’t deserve. His renewed perspective on life caused Hezekiah to slow down and savor the days given to him. In his reflection, he remembered the bitterness within him as he dealt with the news of his certain death. Hezekiah wasn’t ready to die, but he couldn’t stop death.
(I many times reflect on the feelings and emotions I experienced when I lost my job.)
[Verse 16] That’s when Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and began to pray. He talked to the Lord who had given him life and would be responsible for taking it away. He pointed to a significant blessing he had been given—a new attitude about life. Because of what had happened to him, Hezekiah saw himself handling differently the ups and downs that came each day. Instead of dreading or ignoring the challenges life brought, now he could face the challenges ahead because he had been given a fresh start on life itself. Living took on a different meaning. It meant more than simply existing each day. His attitude changed because God listened when he prayed.
Hezekiah’s near-death experience also rendered another blessing in his life. He had a renewed sense of gratitude to God. He directed his attention to the Lord and acknowledged the miracle He had performed. Only the Lord could be given credit for the miraculous recovery. When he gave God the glory for his life, he acknowledged that his prayer had been answered. He also testified that God had done something more. He had given Hezekiah a heart full of appreciation for His remarkable grace.
[Verse 17] Almost dying had rendered some changes that had reshaped Hezekiah. His testimony centered on what God had done with the bitterness in his heart. When he found out he would be dying soon, remorse seemed to have consumed him. The Lord used the bitterness to bring about a positive spiritual change in his life. Thus, he saw the painful experience as something God allowed him to experience with a purpose in mind. Through the experience, he could begin to see God’s hand at work in him. In response, Hezekiah gave credit to the Lord and His faithful love for what had happened to him. Instead of facing destruction because of his sinfulness, Hezekiah enjoyed forgiveness. The image of the Lord tossing sins behind His back captured the wonder of His grace in forgiving sins completely. God’s work in healing Hezekiah had strengthened him spiritually too.
Hezekiah became very sick. Isaiah told him to set things in order and prepare to die (2 Kings 20:1). But Hezekiah prayed, beseeching God to be merciful and to remember all the good he had done. Before Isaiah had even left the king’s house, God told Isaiah to tell Hezekiah that his prayer had been heard and that his life would be extended fifteen years. Isaiah applied a poultice, and Hezekiah was healed (2 Kings 20:5–7).
However, soon after his healing, Hezekiah made a serious mistake. The Babylonians sent a gift to Hezekiah, for they had heard Hezekiah had been sick. In foolish pride, Hezekiah showed the Babylonians all of his treasures, all the silver and gold, and everything in his arsenal. There was nothing Hezekiah did not parade in front of them. Isaiah rebuked Hezekiah for this act and prophesied that all the king had shown the Babylonians would one day be taken to Babylon—along with Hezekiah’s own descendants.
During the years following his illness, Hezekiah fathered the heir to Judah’s throne, Manasseh, who would turn out to be the evilest king ever to reign in Judah (2 Kings 18—20; 2 Chronicles 29—32; Isaiah 36—39). Tradition has it that Manasseh is the one who murdered Hezekiah’s friend, Isaiah.
Hezekiah’s life is, for the most part, a model of faithfulness and trust in the Lord. His faith was more than superficial, as his bold reforms show. Hezekiah’s trust in the Lord was rewarded with answered prayer, successful endeavors, and miraculous victory over his enemies. When faced with an impossible situation, surrounded by the dreadful and determined Assyrian army, Hezekiah did exactly the right thing—he prayed. And God answered.
1-5 When Isaiah went to Hezekiah, who was extremely ill, and told him of his impending death, Hezekiah immediately turned to God. God responded to his prayer, allowing Hezekiah to live another 15 years. In response to fervent prayer, God may change the course of our lives too. Never hesitate to ask God for radical changes if you will honor Him with those changes.
1-6 According to 2 Chronicles 32:24-26, Hezekiah had a problem with pride even after this double miracle of healing and deliverance. Eventually he and his subjects humbled themselves, so God’s judgment was put of for several more generations.
LIVE IT OUT
You and I have lived out the lessons from this session several times. We faced a dire need. Filled with despair or deep emotion, we prayed for God’s intervention. He heard our prayers and responded. We learned something more about ourselves and God during the process. Again, God does not always give us what we want, but as we grow in our faith, we discover He knows what is best. With that in mind, however, perhaps you are in a situation where you need to pray and ask for His deliverance once again.
What need are you facing today that you need to take to the Lord in prayer? Don’t hesitate. Do it now!
“Prayer is so easy, I spend an hour and a half every morning praying.”
- Said no one ever!
Here’s the reality, we all struggle with praying. Instead of addressing why we struggle at praying we create rituals and chants that actually don’t make sense. We start to pray stupid things like, “God give us traveling mercies.” What is a traveling mercy? Or, “God please bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies and thy bodies to your service.” First of all, who talks like that? Also, there is no way your Big Mac, large fries, and milkshake is going to be blessed by God. If you want God to bless your food go get a salad :).
The reason that we revert to empty prayers and repeating words is because we have missed the point of prayer. What if prayer was never about asking God for anything? What if prayer had more to do with dependence and relationship then request?
In Matthew 6 the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray. Much to their surprise Jesus says something mind blowing in v. 8 “For your Father knows what you need before you ask.” Wait, what? Did Jesus really just say that? If God already knows why pray? It’s the same reason that my kids ask me for things. I already know that they want things and need things I want them to ask because I want them to depend on me. It is precisely in their dependence that trust and love is formed.
In this passage Jesus gives the disciples two pitfalls that keep us from prayer and then He gives the solution to having a vibrant prayer life.
1. Pitfall one: The greatest barrier to prayer is your ego. Notice in verses 1–5 he exhorts them not to pray to be seen. The reason he says this is because this is a temptation for all of us. We all want to be known and we all want to be seen. This is why we heap up empty words in our prayers. We want people to think we are smart and we know what we are talking about. So, we say things like soteriology (the doctrine of salvation) or eschatology (theology dealing with end times) instead of simply talking like we normally do. Jesus warns us not to pray like this because praying like this isn’t talking to God. Praying to be seen is about you and your ego and it will keep you from experiencing God.
2. Pitfall two: The other barrier to prayer is our insecurity. You and I want to be fully known and fully loved. When we realize we are already fully known and fully loved by God it frees us up to simply be with Him. Again, notice what Jesus says to the disciples in verse 7. “Don’t heap up empty words thinking you will be heard.” The reason the Gentiles talked like this is because they thought they needed to match up to the “religious elite” in order for God to respect or hear them. If you think you have to earn the affections of God you have already lost. Listen, God already fully loves you and fully knows you because Jesus died instead of you. He demonstrated His love for you by dying in your place. Trying to earn the affections of God is called religion and this only leads to despair. Understanding that you already have the affections of God because of the Gospel gives you amazing confidence to pray.
The key to a vibrant prayer life: The key to having a vibrant prayer life is knowing and trusting that God already knows what you need. If you believe this it actually frees you up to ask Him for anything. It frees you up to know and trust that He loves you and simply want to be in relationship with you. In the same way, my kids don’t obey me because they want to earn my love and affection, they obey me because they already have it. When you and I begin to understand that prayer is more about abiding in a deep relationship with the God of the universe than asking for things we begin to fall in love. Love is the key to prayer. When you love someone and trust them you open up to them.
Instead of trying to force yourself into a prayer closet (which no one actually does) try to fall in love with Jesus. When you do, prayer will follow.
Let me end with a quick story about what happens when you trust and depend on Jesus. After the story you will see a few resources that will help further your engagement in understanding prayer.
George Mueller: George Müller was a Christian evangelist and the director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England.
George Mueller believed so much in prayer he didn’t even tell people what he needed. One morning he had 300 orphans without any breakfast — without any bread or milk — and they said, “What do we do? We don’t have anything.” He said, “Set the tables, and let’s pray.” So, they set the tables with 300 plates, with 300 cups and with 300 forks, and they all sat down (all the orphans) and George Mueller stood up and thanked God for the provision that wasn’t there. Right at that moment the baker knocked on the door. He said, “Last night we overcooked — I have 300 servings of bread here and I thought about you, so I wanted to bring it. Do you need it?” He said “I felt like the Lord put you on my heart.” Almost at just the same time the local milk delivery truck broke down right in front of their orphanage and the milk man came in and said, “This is going to spoil; it’s going to go bad. Could you use it if I donate it to you?”
