Lewis Memorial UMC

Lewis Memorial
08-16-09
“P.R.A.Y. – 3”,
Matthew 6: 5-13 (NIV)
Rev. Eddie Bradfor

Several different factors are probably responsible for the way each of us pray. Most of us have had our praying style formed by a combination of what we have heard and what just feels right. I remember hearing my parents pray when I was very young. I can still remember hearing Rev. Rudy Baker pray in the church I grew up in at Powers Ferry UMC in Marietta. He was a strong, loud pray-er and I used to have one eye closed and the other one open so I could watch him as he prayed. I remember the passion he had as he spoke to God. It was like he had an attitude of gratitude in every word he spoke.

In my 43 years my prayer and how I pray has been formed through hearing others pray and by my own experiences. I believe that is true for all who pray. Jesus warned against how not to pray in our scripture reading in Matthew this morning. Praying only to be seen and heard so that we may be praised by others is not why we pray. But it is in hearing others pray and asking the Holy Spirit to guide us as we pray that our prayer life is and has been formed and shaped through the years.

Today we continue with our sermon series on prayer. Two weeks ago we looked at the letter P and how we are to praise God in our prayers. Last Sunday we looked at the R and thought about the results of our prayers. Today we consider the A in pray and the A stands for ATTITUDE. The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 2 how our overall attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus and if we do that then every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

If our every day attitude is even close to that of Jesus then we will have the right attitude when we go to the Lord in our prayers as well. Have you ever thought about your attitude when it comes to your prayer life? Does your prayer life portray an attitude that confesses Jesus as your Lord? Do you pray with an attitude of love and respect or do you simply drop off your list of requests and go on your way? You can live your life in an attitude of prayer so that your life portrays a living prayer.

What your attitude is like when you approach the throne of God in prayer can determine what you are about to lift up to God. Let me explain. The kind of mood you are in…....the kind of day that is ahead of you……. the kind of day you just had……. Do you have a defeatist attitude or an expectant attitude when you pray…? Hebrews 4:16 says that we are to approach the throne of grace with boldness so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need. Approach the throne of God with boldness and confidence and the results will lead to mercy and grace! Remembering this will help us with our attitude toward God in our prayers.

Jesus said that when we pray we should be in the right frame of mind, in the right setting, in the right attitude. He said we are to go into our room, close the door, and pray to God and this is both literal and figurative. There are times when we need to get away from everything and close out the world for awhile so we can not only talk to God, but also so we can listen to Him. We can do this a whole lot easier when we take away the distractions around us. I’ve told you before what grass cutting does for me - I can get away from everything and just pray. I go on a study leave twice a year to get away and just be with God. I go on prayer walks, I read the Bible, I study commentaries and prepare sermons, and I listen!

But I believe we can also do this in a different way even when we are driving, doing house work, sitting in the class room, or working in our jobs. The noise may be all around us, but we can still lift up silent prayers to our heavenly Father. It’s great to have a silent place and a specific time to pray, but it can be equally powerful to stay in that same attitude of prayer through out your day.

Look back with me at Matthew 6:7. Jesus is talking with a large crowd of people who have gathered around after He healed many people throughout Galilee. This is part of His sermon on the mount where he preached about the beatitudes and many other subjects such as murder, adultery, divorce, revenge, and how they are to love their enemies. Now He tells them how to pray. In Matt. 6:7 Jesus said, “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.” Hear it now from the CEV, “When you pray, don’t talk on and on as people do who do not know God. They think God likes to hear long prayers. Don’t be like them!” Or from The Message, “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?” This goes back to our attitudes. If we have an attitude of gratitude throughout our prayer then we won’t be babbling like pagans, putting on a show, or praying just to pray! Our prayer will be sincere and God will honor that and as Jesus said in verse 6 God will reward us with answered prayers.

Jesus wanted to make sure that His disciples and all of His followers knew how important prayer was so He went on to tell them how to pray. We call it the Lord’s Prayer today and church goers have been praying it for centuries. It is one of the most recognized prayers in the world.

We prayed it this morning, as we do every Sunday in the 11am traditional service, at the end of the Morning Prayer. Most every Christian church has this prayer in their worship services every Sunday. But are we in the right attitude when we pray it? We know its coming! We know how it’s introduced! We know it by heart! But is it more than a rehearsed, memorized prayer that you say once a week? Look at this prayer with me for a few moments in Matthew 6: 9-13……………

Do you acknowledge God as your heavenly Father and praise His holy name in your daily prayers? Do you pray that God’s will be done – and really mean it? Do you faithfully ask God to provide for you all that you need to be successful for Him? Do you ask God to forgive you of your sins every day and do you ask Him to give you the strength to forgive others?

That’s a mighty, powerful prayer! And if our attitudes are not focused on God when we go to Him in prayer then I wonder how powerful OUR prayer is. We are told in James 5 that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Part of the ingredients to being a righteous person is having an attitude that is like Christ Jesus. An attitude of gratitude and one that is focused on Almighty God.