Matthew 6:7-8

Matthew 6:7-8

And while praying, you should not speak incoherently as the Gentiles do, for they think that in their use of many words they will be listened to and receive a response.  Therefore, you should not be like them.  For your Father knows that which you have a need before you ask Him.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Let’s get one thing straight.  Jesus is not bashing long prayers here.  Jesus is bashing wordy prayers here.  The advice that Jesus is giving to us is that when we pray we should get to the point.  We can have a long prayer if we have many point of prayer.  But we do not need to belabor the prayer.  God knows what we want.  We should be able to pray concisely and then move along while trusting God!  We do not need to impress God with our ability to use fancy words and complicated sentences.  Jesus teaches us to pray concisely from the heart, not impressively from the brain.

Do you pray more from the heart or from the brain?  Why do you do what you do?

Second Thought:

This begs the question, why do some people who pray feel the need to use impressive words and complicated expressions?  The answer to this question really lies in the theological work that we did yesterday.  God already knows our needs, so we don’t need to explain them to Him.  Therefore, human beings who pray complicated prayers with impressive words are usually trying to impress the people around them.  People who pray these kinds of prayers are looking for the praise of others and the rush of feeling one’s social rank surge upward.  Jesus teaches us to not do this so that we don’t even put ourselves in a position to feel this temptation.  This is why this particular teaching is not against long prayers, just wordy ones.  There is no temptation that comes through having a long list of prayers.  In fact, usually this just draws complaints from those who are listening.  But when our prayers flourish with eloquence we open ourselves up wide to the temptation of receive praise from others.  We pray to communicate with God, not draw praise from the people around us.

Why do human beings like the praise of others?  What does it say about humanity that we can even turn communication with God into a time for human self-interest?

Third Thought:

Isn’t it cool to think that God knows our need before we can even ask?  Which means that in most cases God has been able to perceive our need before we even ask.  This means that God has already been working to solve our need before we can even ask about it!  That’s how loving and compassionate God is.  He knows our needs so well that He can put the solution into motion before we are even able to recognize the need that we have.

How do you feel right now about God’s ability to care for you?  Why might this passage truly speak to why we call God our Father?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 6:9-11