This is the start of a multi-week series we are doing on Sunday monrings. These lessons are designed to be short for a reason. Students gather at 9 AM for the teach portion that lasts roughly 15 minutes. We then go to our Prayer Center where others are praying and we put into practice what we just talked about for 10 minutes. We then go back to our class room to debrief, discuss what we experienced and answer any questions the students have.

The Lesson

Matthew 6: Jesus is in the middle of teaching his disciples about the right way to do things and not to do things. He warns them not to be so flashy with their prayers and obnoxiously loud as to draw attention to themselves. He also warns them not to just repeat things over and over again to try to manipulate God into doing what they want. The term used here is better translated as “babble.” Worshipers of the demonic would do this. It comes off as a chant or the same simple prayer just repeated over and over again. Matthew says clearly, God knows what you need.

So how should we pray?

Over the next few weeks, we will break down how we pray and actively do these things as we learn. To understand how we pray, we will be looking at Matthew 6:9-13 for the next few weeks. This is often called “The Lord’s Prayer” or “The Disciple’s Prayer.” Some have taken it and felt like it was a specific prayer to pray regularly. While it’s certainly not a bad thing to do, it’s not what Jesus says.

READ MATTHEW 6:9 

“Pray then like this,” notice the word LIKE. This means this is an example of what we should do. It was never meant to be a precise prayer. Over the next few weeks, we will examine the structure of this prayer, discovering what each portion is and how we can pray it personally.

So let’s look at this first section.

“Our Father in heaven,” 

ASK: What is a father?

A father is someone who cares for us, protects us, and provides for us. Not just that, but he corrects us and guides us. Some struggle with the idea of a Father in Heaven because they impose the actions and mindsets of their physical fathers, present or not. No matter how good a father you may have, he does not compare to the fullness of our Heavenly Father. 

“Hallowed be your name…”

Ask: What does Hallowed mean?

Webster Dictionary: to make holy or set apart for holy use: to respect greatly :

When we first come to God, we need to first come in a fashion that respects two key aspects of God.

1. He is our Father in heaven, so a relationship with Him is established. One that says he cares about you. He will provide for you. But he will also guide us and correct us.
2. He is Holy and deserves our utmost respect

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So how do we this?

The first part should give us boldness, but also keep us humble. He is a good God who loves us dearly, and so we need to be intentional about coming to Him ready to hear what he has for us.  In prayer, we need to be intentional about listening to him, but not afraid to share our burdens with him.

The second part, showing Him respect and honor, comes most often not just in our speech, but in our posture.

ASK: Why do people close their eyes and bow their heads in prayer?

First off, we see this exemplified in the scriptures. For example, 1 Chronicles 29:20

“Then David said to all the assembly, “Bless the Lord your God.” And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the Lord and to the king.”

This is a common practice that is designed to show respect and honor. It signifies that we are aware of His authority and respect it. At the same time, it’s in relation to the very act of coming to God.

In Exodus 33, Moses speaks with God and asks to see His glory. God warns him that no man can see God’s face and live. So God covers his face as he passes by him, and when he uncovers Moses’ face, all he sees is God’s back.  When we close our eyes and bow our heads, we are saying, “God, show us your glory.” It’s a posture that says we are ready to hear from God and experience all he has for us.

At the same time, there is also the very practical portion. When we close our eyes and bow our heads, we are telling God that we are blocking out everything else and focusing on him directly. We are not paying attention to the people around us, nor causing a distraction for those around us, so that we can each encounter God personally.