Coming under conviction for a sin, or coming under the sudden and undeniable impression that you should pray for someone or something does not mean you should drop everything and run around a corner or into a phone booth like Superman.
[This sermon is one of a series entitled "Sermon on the Mount, Concentrating on the Beatitudes," which is being preached on Sunday mornings by Pastor Tim Senter.]
When we opened the scriptures last week it was a decidedly negative event. It was not negative because scripture is negative. It was negative because it deals with sinful human hearts bent upon evil, even when they try to worship God in prayer. To say that Jesus would not understand a particular thing imputes ignorance upon God and attempts to strip Him of His omnipotence. God knows the wickedness in your heart (Lk 16:15).
When we studied these things, we found more here than just admonishment to a wicked heart which requires change to become more Christlike. We found that there is a command to not be hypocritical in our prayer, that we should truly be praying to and worshiping God in our prayers. The hypocrite, as we found him, would have people believe he was prayerfully worshiping, yet would be concerned with man’s perception of their prayers. The point is not where or how you pray, the actual focus is hypocritical prayer. Many have abused this passage to try to say we should not stand and pray, or publicly pray, or be visible or public even in our places of worship in prayer. Those claims miss the true meaning of this verse. The subject is not prayer; it is hypocrisy.
Many in our society desire to have nothing to do with God until their judgment. They want nothing to do with others who love Him either. They shun God in every possible way, including forcing their atheistic religion upon those around them. As this world spirals deeper into sin, the atheistic religion becomes ever more acceptable. Atheist efforts have resulted in convincing many people that religion is private, a personal matter, or a matter that is not supposed to be shared. We are supposed to keep our mouth shut, be faithful only in private, and not share our faith with anyone else. Christians are not supposed to have any influence upon our society, visibility in public places, and especially in our public prayer life. Christians are not supposed to pray as scripture says we ought, but as we are told to – or not at all. This, we are told, is what Matthew 6:5-6 teaches the Christian. Be mindful of the fact that those who thus interpret this scripture are doing so for their own devices. The people who incorrectly reference this scripture are ignorant of the rest of scripture and God as a whole. It amazes me how often we listen to unbelievers tell us how believers are supposed to worship.
A true interpretation of the meaning in these passages is far and away different from what the atheist would have you believe. The scripture at hand is not focused upon saving the world from our prayerful witness or worship. On the contrary, Matthew 6:5-6 deals with the Christian not the infidel; and the Christian is to ensure they are worshiping God – not man – when they pray. The scripture tells us not to listen to man’s desires, or be concerned with them, but instead be concerned only with honoring God and His desires in our prayers.
Today we look at the positive aspect of this encouragement to proper prayerful worship. Look at Matthew 6 and verse 6 please. Satan, that ole’ serpent, is wily and sly. He is as wicked as the day is long, and sneaky as a weasel on the hunt. He has been trying to quiet the witness of believers since creation. He first attacked through Cain who fell prey to jealousy and slew his brother Abel. Abel was slain for his righteous witness of worship to God. Today, believers are slain in other more subtle and conniving fashions. Consider this as we study our passage in Matthew 6.
When I was going through seminary, one of the hot button issues that concerned me was our military praying in the name of Jesus and not just “God.” Many would argue that offering a secular prayer so as not to offend people is acceptable. This way at least people hear your prayer. I asked them, “Who are we to be fearful of offending, God or man?” I thought it quite offensive that someone would want me to compromise my position with God for their own comfort. They would have me forsake my relationship with God for them. They must think themselves rather important to display such arrogance. A prayer given by, through, or for such arrogance would never be heard. That is nothing short of audacious. Surely, God will understand won’t He? He will understand all right. He will understand that you hold Him in such low regard that when confronted you give in to Satan’s minions over Him. I also offered an alternative – to explain why we would pray as we do as Christians – in Christ’s name. Living in South Carolina at the time, I wrote to Senator Lindsay Graham concerning this issue. What I told him was,
“John 14:13 Jesus is again talking to His disciples this time reassuring them, ’And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.’ We are to submit our requests in Jesus’ name. Jesus tells us we can even praise God the Father by praying in the name of Jesus Christ. John 14:14; 15:16 as well as 16:23&24 and other scriptures mandate that we call upon and pray in the name of Jesus Christ.”
I also provided a brief explanation of the oaths of enlistment and the officer’s oath of commission. Both of these oaths place the support and defense of our Constitution before anything else. Obedience to, support and defense of the Constitution is more important than following the orders of the President and the orders of officers in the armed forces. This means that our rights as citizens, bound by the Constitution are of more importance to the soldier than any command or directive given even by the President of the United States of America, the Commander in Chief himself.
On a related subject dealing with the First Amendment to the Constitution, I recently wrote a short article in the form of a letter to the editor of the Lander Journal in our town. You may see it if it is published. In that letter, I attempted to alert people to scrutinize what other people write concerning documents and especially in letters to the editor. I tried to inform people that they should be inquisitive and investigate what they read to learn more. People can read meanings into things that they want to be there. I took the time to exegete the First Amendment to the Constitution to exemplify the point. This is what I found:
Historically, the first 10 Amendments of our Constitution were taken from the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was generated for the people in response to concerns that the original Constitution might eventually permit a tyrannical central government to evolve… The purpose of the Bill of Rights was to specifically curtail governmental authority…
Contextually, we begin with the founding document that opens with “We the People…” The people themselves then give the individual articles the authority and position they have. Their personal freedom is being exercised as they choose their government, its construct, and the authority it is given. … we find the First Amendment stands for a personal freedom to exercise – not limit – religious belief. This is the first personal freedom referenced and it levies the first restriction on government. … It does not call for government activity, but a restriction thereof, or inactivity if you will. Historically, and contextually our study shows the Constitution denies governmental authority to curtail the freedom for any one to practice their religion, including the solicitation of others for conversion to a religion. This is clearly a “free exercise thereof” for any religion, …
Grammatically, we find the amendment is a single sentence. … Here we find the main theme of this sentence is that “Congress shall make no law.” … The key phrase of concern then is, “Congress shall make no law…” Those things that follow explain the restrictions inherent in the opening statement. They are individually connected within their phraseology, and literarily connected in the whole.”
Our founding fathers, as we learned when we studied the 15 periods of thankful and repentant prayers during our inception, were God fearing, Christ honoring and praying men. Denial of public prayer for worship to Christ would be offensive to them. Yet today we have organizations that would do just that – require laws to quiet the witness of believers in Christ and their public prayer life. Some even use these passages in Matthew 6:5-6 as proof texts for this purpose.
What do these texts tell us then? Are the secularists/atheists/humanists correct? Do these texts tell us to only pray in private or not? We should consider that, “Praying to God is done in your secret room.” Just as any worship, any faith, any real change that takes place in a person is from the heart, “prayer is from the heart.”
The biggest failure in expositing these two scriptures is in not recognizing the subject in verse five. Hypocrites pray to and for other men, but pretend to pray to God. That is the warning. If that is the case, then what are we as real true believers to do?
I. When you pray (Verse 6a)
This verse we should note, begins with a conjunction “but.” The word for “but,” “and,” or “now” is used much as our words are used in English. It normally connects what was before to what follows. “But” is used somewhat as the word “therefore” is used, but not in the same way. “Therefore” usually continues a thought by adding conditions or results. The words “but,” “and,” and “now” normally introduce new ideas but they should be correlated to the thought immediately before. This word adds related information with a little contrast to what came previously. What we are about to read then adds information to last week’s message about hypocrites and contrasts them with a real believer’s prayer.
We also find an imperative here in the word “enter.” This is a command that indicates we need to “enter.” The word has a softer connotation than just “go into.” It does not mean literally “to enter.” We would use this word if we said, “we should enter into an agreement” or “if you do that, you will enter into sin.” We would use this word to say, “If you pray as a hypocrite does on the street corner, you enter into prayer for man.” This word conveys a relationship between individuals in this verse. If we were to do a “Tim’s translation” on this first part of our verse it would be:
“But, when you should pray, enter into your inner room and shut the door…”
When – not if – you pray. We are supposed to pray. We pray wherever and whenever our heart leads us to pray. We may be regular in our prayers either in the morning, at noon, or in the evening, or at all three times. Whatever the case is, the scripture here communicates an expectation that you pray as it says, “when” you pray. Again, this is pointing to our discussion last week that the idea of prayer is not the issue. The concern last week was people are directing prayer at, and for the pleasure of people. What they should be doing is directing prayer at, and for the pleasure of God. Therefore, it was how and to whom we pray that is the issue at hand. The scripture assumes that you will pray and we can gather from the tenor of the previous verse, that it may be often – so often that it may happen in public at times.
Coming under conviction for a sin, or coming under the sudden and undeniable impression that you should pray for someone or something does not mean you should drop everything and run around a corner or into a phone booth like Superman. You stop right where you are and pray, but you pray because your heart tells you to. Phone booths normally have windows anyway so people will still know you are praying. You probably would not be best glorifying God if you stopped in the middle of a busy sidewalk, or amid the throng in a mall. Nevertheless, stopping, finding a bench or an out of the way niche to get with God is what you must do. It does not have to be conspicuous, or for that matter completely inconspicuous.
I have known people awakened by the Holy Spirit in the wee hours of the morning for prayer. There are specific testimonies concerning people being convicted to pray for others. When later asked about specific dates and times, there was confirmation of a trial the individual was undergoing and that those prayers were answered. People have been convicted to pray for names they did not know. Again, when they checked later, they found them to be names of actual people, and that those people had great need for prayerful support. There is a certain urgency then in some prayers that must be honored.
Confession is another issue that strikes many people, and it should strike every Christian. I know some who have realized how sinful their actions were just minutes ago and were so convicted they needed to seek God’s forgiveness and repent. I have felt the conviction to pray for people and for repentance at various times both in public places and in private during devotions or other prayer times.
People pray just before certain events. We are not discussing sports entertainment here. I have told many of the men here that I try to make it a point to pray before any shot I take while hunting. I want to be as quick and merciful as possible. Chris and I know a dear couple in Maryland that pray before they go anywhere. As soon as they get into the car, they bow to pray immediately. We pray before each meal thanking the Lord for the provision and that it would be given to our bodies for His service. We pray before official business meetings here, and we should pray before any major decisions we make in the world such as buying cars and homes. A Pastor friend was with his wife in a realtor’s office preparing to sign the paperwork to purchase a home. They sat right there in front of the realtor to pray before signing the paper and asked God to intervene if this is not His will for their lives. Immediately another realtor came into the office and announced an offer for the home that they could not beat. The Lord took away that home, and they moved on to another. All of these prayers are appropriate and many are public not private. We are to be instant in prayer (Rom 12:12).
We need to be praying people. That is your communication with and devotion to God. We are supposed to pray always, for all things submitting all things to Him. Some think that prayers to find things are menial, or material or that God has better things to do. However, the Lord asks us to seek His face for any reason. Being instant in prayer is just such a command. A friend of ours lost her wedding band. She searched high and low for it, and then bowed her head in prayer to ask the Lord to give it back to her. It was important and it showed her marriage relationship. This was a symbol of her devotion to her husband and it was vital that she have it with her. The Lord answered her prayer as she immediately recalled a place she had not yet looked. Prayer is important, and it is answered.
The question is, what form does this prayer take if it is in public, but it is in your inner room? How does this look if we are also supposed to make sure we are not hypocrites? These questions have plagued much of Christianity for a long time. We should try to answer them and put rest to some misinterpretations of these scriptures today. If verse 5 and 6 both have an expectation of prayer, and somewhat an urgency to prayers, and they do not necessarily condemn public prayer, just improper public prayer – what does this look like for the Christian? First, we look at the “inner room.”
II. Where you pray (Verse 6b)
This word we see translated, “closet” is found four times in our New Testament. We see it in the Mount of Olives where Christ tells us of the perilous times before His inevitable return (Matt 24:26). Jesus warns the disciples not to believe false teachers concerning some other messiah. We find it in Luke 12:3 where we receive testimony of God’s omni-presence. Man should not think he could keep secrets because the Lord sees all things, even those things we think are secret. Finally, in verse 24 Jesus tells the disciples that the birds have no place to secretly store away food, yet they are fed. All of these references indicate metaphorical uses, not literal places. There is no secret room where the Messiah will appear in the end times. There is no secret place where man can hide sin from God. There is no inner sanctum where birds store food for winter. What does that tell us about our fourth use of this word? This may mean that it too is likely metaphorical. The inner room in our verse may not be a literal place where we go to hide and pray to God. The inner room is something else.
If the verb “enter in” points to a metaphorical entry, and the noun “inner room” is most likely used metaphorically, then we must discover a metaphorical place to pray in secret. To make our study complete, we should note that the word translated “inner room” is used in the Septuagint to indicate literal locations such as private bedchambers. However, the use here following a discussion of public praying where that material act is not denounced based on location. Instead, the intent of the action is a concern. It points to the metaphoric use of the word. The only place you can be publicly, and yet enter into where you are expected to pray secretively is in your heart. We could speculate that you can pray sitting in your car at the shopping mall. We could say you can pray publicly at restaurants or even while working at your place of business. None of these actually correlate to the situation in verse five, where individuals are praying at regular times in the process of the day but for the wrong reasons. This scripture seems to be saying when you do pray, then, enter into prayer inside your own heart. We have made the point that you commune with and worship God in prayer. This is the inner room where you go to pray – in your heart in worship with God. God wants your heart, Jews needed to be circumcised in their heart, and we need to believe with our whole heart. Equally, we need to pray from the heart and enter into that quiet secret place where we can do that. This is true prayer from your heart to God. The scripture says “But thou” which is a singular and it is emphatic. You, individually; each and every one of you, when you pray do so in the most private place you have – in your heart, from your heart.
We should point out that if you do not pray, you have no real relationship with God. When we studied the reasons for prayer we discovered that they were: communication, confession (1 Jn 1:9 – sermon on this text here), obedience (Jas 5:16), salvation (Rom 10:9&13), and growth (Lk 11:9-13), to name a few. Prayer is essential for us to become more Christlike. Jesus prayed regularly and fervently, and not always in private. When He did pray, He prayed with conviction from His heart. Prayer is an essential part of the Christian life.
Getting alone with God involves shutting out the world and its distractions. I have heard of people who refuse to shut their eyes when they pray. True, you will not find a place in scripture where we are commanded to close our eyes to pray. However, if we put things into perspective, we often enjoy closing our eyes to better connect with things. Many enjoy the melodies of music and what you find frequently is that people close their eyes to eliminate any external distraction. We often close off other senses to focus, or even to get to sleep. That wayward drop of water from the leaky faucet is an example. We put the pillow over our head, put earplugs in, whatever it takes to drown out that noise. We are easily distracted, and closing down certain senses helps us focus. Closing your eyes removes one more distraction from our senses and opens up that much more of our mind to concentrate on God. Does this mean that a quiet dark room is best to pray in – many find that it is.
I know an individual who prays in his basement. He sets up a situation like a kid’s tent where he drapes a blanket over a chair and places a cushion on the floor. Many times his children would join him in his prayer tent. Getting alone to pray is a good way to develop a heart felt and focused relationship with the Lord, but it is not essential.
We mentioned last week that we find many differing descriptions of praying. Jesus is standing with His eyes open when He prays to the Father that He might glorify Him (Jn 17:1). In John 17:1, Jesus was praying before the most horrid event of His life. Although He would pray for deliverance requesting three times that the cup be taken away, nevertheless, this first prayer is for strength to accomplish the Father’s will and to glorify God the Father. Solomon and Jesus are both recorded specifically as kneeling to pray (1 Kgs 8:54, Lk 22:41). What man sees as one of the most penitent positions to pray in, which is face down, is where we find Jesus in Matthew 26:39 as He requests the Father take the cup from Him. If we look carefully at this passage, we may have reason to understand it is the emotional stress that causes this posture rather than a perfect penitence. If Jesus were only praying perfectly here while in deep distress over, yet resigned to His immediate future, why would He pray looking up into the heavens in John 17:1? It would seem that Jesus, as God would always pray properly; and He does as He prays differently on various occasions. King David writes about his prayers while lying in bed and even while awake late at night in Psalm 63:6. In all these cases, we find men wholly dedicated to their prayer, deep in concentration, and focused purely upon God.
Your prayer closet then is within yourself, in your heart, alone with you. I am sure we have all experienced a period of daydreaming in our day. We get lost sometimes in our thoughts and block everything out that is around us. We are alone with just our thoughts and nothing else. Sometimes it is a completely blank time. Other times it is full of imagination and creativity. In either case, nothing else exists in that world except our thoughts and us. This is your prayer closet where you shut the door and let no one else in. We are encouraged to go there specifically and to get lost in prayer with God. You should practice getting lost with God, not being distracted by external things, and wholly committing your heart and mind to God in prayer during every prayer you offer.
When to pray, and where to pray are definitely questionable subjects. Many differ in their opinions. However, we hope to have quieted some questions. To whom do we pray though? Is there any question in your mind to whom you should pray? Does it ever occur to you to pray to Mary or to an apostle, or even Moses or Joseph? Have you ever wondered if you might have warrant to do so? To whom do we pray?
III. To whom you pray (Verse 6c)
So as to quiet any confusion that anyone may have, the scriptures in no way indicate anything positive concerning prayer to anyone or anything other than God. One of the most glaring examples we have of someone seeking someone from the dead to pray to is Saul attempting to reach out to Samuel in 1 Samuel 28:6-19. The end result of the exchange between the dead priest Samuel and the living King Saul is that Saul has turned away from God and Samuel can and will do nothing for him. If God will not hear Saul, no one will. Therefore, it is to God and only God that Saul should pray. Since Saul heard nothing from God that he wanted to hear, and Saul did nothing God asked him to do when He did respond, Saul naturally turned to someone he thought would listen.
That sounds much like us today. If we do not get what we want from one person, we will keep searching until we do get what we want. We were supposed to have been broken of those deceptive tactics years ago as children. When Mom said no, we went to Dad. When Dad said no, we went to Mom. When they found out how we were trying to deceive them, we normally received something from both, and it was normally not what we wanted. What makes man think that God will act any differently when He is provoked and we attempt to deceive Him?
Ladies and gentlemen, the only descriptions of people praying to anyone or anything other than God in scripture result in chastisement or judgment. John, in Revelation attempted to prostrate himself before an angelic being and was corrected (Rev 22:8-9).
You should always consider prayer. You should pray instantly when prompted or provoked to in your heart. It does not have to be a dramatic or overly conspicuous thing. It needs to be heart felt, true, worshipful prayer. Pray.
You should pray in your heart when you pray. Praying in and from your heart; praying such that you are not concerned about who is around you; praying to bare your soul to God; praying in this quiet room within your own soul with nothing between you and the Father, lost with Him in prayer. That is where you belong when you pray.
Finally, these prayers must be to God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit and no one or nothing else. Every other thing is created and we are admonished that only sin filled and satanically controlled beings choose the created over the creator (Rom 1:18-25).
Pray. Pray instantly in conviction and in your heart’s quiet places, and pray to God and God alone. When you do this diligently, God will answer your prayers that are within His will and those answers will be visible, identifiable, and full of God’s grace and glory. When God answers prayer, He does so for His glory, to which you testify openly. Your reward is the answer that glorifies God. Your reward may simply be a much closer relationship with Him as you seek Him and walk more every day in His will. Tell all who will hear about the glorious answers to prayer you receive from Him. It glorifies Him, and it testifies of your reward for true, heartfelt, and properly directed prayer.
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