{"id":1113,"date":"2016-08-30T02:31:13","date_gmt":"2016-08-30T02:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/takingeverythoughtcaptivetoobeychrist.wordpress.com\/?p=1113"},"modified":"2016-08-30T02:31:13","modified_gmt":"2016-08-30T02:31:13","slug":"prayer-as-communion-with-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/prayer-as-communion-with-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Prayer as Communion with God"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd 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. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And our Father who sees secret will reward you. 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.\u201d + Matthew 6v1-8<\/em><\/p>\n

Here Jesus gives us instructions on how to pray, and how not to pray. When our Lord gives us instructions, it is wise to listen and obey, and foolish to ignore. I would like to begin with two ways we are not to pray, and go from there.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. We are not to Pray Boastfully<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Jesus begins by telling us not to be like the hypocrites. They pray loudly and proudly in public. Their prayers are all for show and for personal glory, not the glory of God. They long for the approval of others in their prayers. Their prayers are not God-centered or genuine at all. They want others to see them praying and to praise them for how spiritual they are and how mature they must be. This type of prayer is vain, empty, and sinful. Even more so, this type of prayer shows a grave misunderstanding of our depravity, and a terribly low view of God. In other words, a person who prays like this has a fundamental misunderstanding of the gospel. Not only is it wrong to pray boastfully before God, but, in reality, we have absolutely nothing to boast of before God. Apart from Christ, sinful man stands before a holy God with nothing good to show of himself. And when we have been saved, we still have nothing to boast about before God or others. We are saved not by our own good works, or efforts, or our ability to choose God. We are saved by the sheer grace of God. We are saved entirely by Christ\u2019s life, death, and resurrection for us. It is only because of Christ alone, through grace alone, that we are saved. This is why Paul says, \u201cLet the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.\u201d Our only boast is in the cross.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. We are not to Pray with Empty Phrases<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Jesus then tells us not to heap up empty phrases when we pray. This means we are not to use fluffy, flowery, or showy words in prayer. Praying is not about saying the right amount or combination of churchy, spiritual sounding words. They are empty and meaningless. There is no magic formula of words in our prayers to God. Prayer is not so much about our words, as it is our hearts. Again, praying with big, fancy, religious words shows a misunderstanding of God. How? If we think we can fool God with our words, we fail to understand that God sees our hearts and minds and knows all. We may be able to fool other people with our exceptional vocabularies, but we cannot fool God.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      These prohibitions in prayer give us meaningful insight into the meaning of prayer. Since God knows what we need before we speak it, then why pray at all? One valid answer, that is present in this text, is that prayer is a means of communion with God. One way we know this is because Jesus tells us here to pray in secret. Since we are not to pray in order to show off to other people, and if we have nothing to boast about before God, and since God knows all we need before we pray, this must mean that our praying in secret to God is a way of having fellowship with God.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      If prayer is a means of communion with God, then why not pray boastfully? If we have nothing to boast about, then our boasting is lying. You cannot have true fellowship with God, or anyone for that matter, when we are dishonest with them. Communion with God comes through honesty with God.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      If prayer is a means of communion with God, then why not offer up fancy words? Often times, fancy words in prayer reveal a lack of depth in prayer. They are shallow and empty. You cannot have real communion with God if your speech is shallow.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      While avoiding this pitfall and praying rightly before God can be a vehicle of authentic fellowship with God, it is not avoiding the wrong things and walking in the right things that earns that communion. Ultimately, it is our union with Christ that provides these means of communion with God. Repeatedly in this passage Jesus refers to God as our Father. This is astounding. Let us not pass over this. How can this be? It is our union with Christ that makes God our Father; that allows us to have communion with him in prayer. Apart from Christ we can have no communion with God. Apart from Christ, God is not our Father; we are his enemies. But Christ, through the cross, has made God\u2019s enemies his friends. Not only that, but sons and daughters also. Because of Christ we have the privilege and ability to commune with God, our Father, in prayer.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      \u201cAnd 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. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[156,274,303,557,562,678,679,698,699,803,968,969,971,1354],"class_list":{"0":"post-1113","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-faith","7":"tag-as","8":"tag-christ","9":"tag-communion","10":"tag-god","11":"tag-gospel","12":"tag-jenkins","13":"tag-jesus","14":"tag-josh","15":"tag-joshua","16":"tag-matthew","17":"tag-pray","18":"tag-prayer","19":"tag-praying","20":"tag-with","21":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4516,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/covenantal-prayer\/","url_meta":{"origin":1113,"position":0},"title":"Covenantal Prayer","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"July 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Introduction This afternoon, we will be looking at a few sections of verses at a time, so we will read them as we come to them. This High Priestly Prayer of our Lord is not a rambling disconnected assortment of thoughts that randomly come to Jesus\u2019 mind as He prays.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/07\/David.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/07\/David.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/07\/David.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/07\/David.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/07\/David.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1216,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-means-of-sovereignty\/","url_meta":{"origin":1113,"position":1},"title":"The Means of Sovereignty","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"November 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cWhen he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, \u2018The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Gospel"","block_context":{"text":"Gospel","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/gospel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3690,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/bonhoeffer-on-the-psalter\/","url_meta":{"origin":1113,"position":2},"title":"Bonhoeffer on the Psalter","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"January 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Beginning this year,\u00a0my church will be singing a Psalm from the Psalter each week. I am very excited about this. The Psalter is the inspired hymnbook for God's people. Unfortunately many today have neglected this great resource for corporate worship, which we did as well for a while. But not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Review"","block_context":{"text":"Book Review","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/book-review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/01\/16933-004-cd5407ae.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":651,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-gospel-for-our-inconsistent-prayer-lives\/","url_meta":{"origin":1113,"position":3},"title":"The Gospel for Our Inconsistent Prayer Lives","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"January 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"For many Christians it seems that prayer is one of the most difficult disciplines to maintain. Often times, when things in our life are going well we tend to pray less, if at all. This is sin, and we know it. We know that we are to \"pray without ceasing\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"devil\"","block_context":{"text":"devil","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/tag\/devil\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2090,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/global-prayer-in-the-local-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":1113,"position":4},"title":"Global Prayer in the Local Church","author":"Joshua Mills","date":"June 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"We now live in a culture that is hostile to anyone claiming to know absolute truth. We often hear, \u201cif its true to you, then its true to you\u2026but its not true for me\u201d We are faced with this insanity on a daily. For Christians, it is scandalous to share\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/reecesrainbow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/prayer-for-the-media.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6659,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/prayer-and-praise\/","url_meta":{"origin":1113,"position":5},"title":"Prayer and Praise","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"August 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Click HERE for sermon audio Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him\u00a0sing praise.\u00a014\u00a0Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him,\u00a0anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.\u00a015\u00a0And the prayer of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/anointing-of-the-sick.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/685"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1113\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}