And When You Pray, Do Not Be Like the Hypocrites Do Not Be Like Them

Ask Me Lesson 15


Mat 6:5-13; 7:7; John 14:13-14; 16:23-24

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites … Do not be like them …

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

Matt 6:5, 8 ; John 14:13, 16:24

"Don’t pray when you feel like it.

Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it.

A man is powerful on his knees."

Corrie ten Boom

"You may as soon find a living man that does not breath,

as a living Christian that does not pray."

Matthew Henry

Introduction It was Jesus intentional purpose to call people into the kingdom of God – who pray.

I. Jesus of Nazareth and prayer (listen to him, obey him, watch him, emulate him)

A. WHEN did Jesus pray?

1. first thing in the morning

Mark 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

2. when he made time to be alone , in the evening

Matt 14:23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,

3. all night long

Luke 6:12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.

4. Often

Luke 5:16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

1 Thess 5:17 pray continually

“You never heard that a man began to backslide,

or that a sober man became a drunkard, through praying too much.

Did you ever hear of a person becoming unkind to his wife, ungenerous to the poor, negligent of public worship, or guilty of grievous sin,

through being too much in prayer? No; the case is the reverse.”

Charles Hadden Spurgeon

5. preparing for his greatest challenge

Luke 22:41-44

41 He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,

42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."

43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.

44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

B. WHY did Jesus pray?

1. because it moves God to action (does prayer change the way God acts? - YES!!)

“Though we cannot hope that our prayers will change God’s mind,

prevailing upon Him to act against His will,

we can be sure that prayer does change things—including our own hearts. Plus, it is one of the chief means by which God carries out His will in theworld.”
R.C. Sproul

Luke 11:9-10

9 So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

James 4:2 You want something but don't get it. …. You do not have, because you do not ask God

Ex 32:9-11; 14

9 I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people.
10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them.

Then I will make you into a great nation."

11 But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. "O LORD," he said, "why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?

14 Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

2 Chron 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:16 …The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

For further study : Gen. 18:22-33; 32:26; Dan 10:12; Amos 7:1-6; Acts 4:29-31; 10:31; 12:5-12

2. It is an expression of trust that delights the Father to answer

Matt 6:8 …for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Matt 7:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

"Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness." Martin Luther.

3. For the glory of the Father

John 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

Ps 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me. NKJV

4. For our joy

John 16:24 Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

John 17:13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.

C. HOW did Jesus teach us to pray?

1. Simply

Matt 6:7-8

7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

2. Persistently

Luke 11:5-8

8 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. NKJV

3. In His name

a. an affirmation of faith in our only means of access to the Father

Eph 2:3; 12

3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

Rom 5:1-2

1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

b. an acknowledgement of our obligations as His representative

2 Cor 5:20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors

1 Peter 2:5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

4. In Faith

Matt 21:21-22

21 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt ….

22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

a. the boundaries Mark 11:22 & 25

b. the key John 15:7-8

"If you want that splendid power in prayer, you must remain in loving, living, lasting, conscious, practical, abiding union with the Lord Jesus Christ."

Spurgeon

c. the warning James 1:5-8

“I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.”

Spurgeon

D. For Whom did Jesus teach us to pray?

1. Ourselves

2. Other believers

3. The World

Matt 5:44-45

44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.

E. For What did Jesus teach us to pray?

Matt 6:9-13

"'Our Father in heaven, (a term of intimacy and confidence)

hallowed be your name,

That God may be praised, exalted, and worshipped by me, the church, the world, and the world to come, forever

10 your kingdom come,

That His kingdom would advance in my life and in the world. That he would rule, first in my heart and mind

your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

That I would follow Him in obedience and accept with humble submission the path He lays before me

“We often must admit that we simply do not know what God’s will is. In such cases, we should ask him for deeper understanding and then pray for what seems best to us, giving reasons to the Lord why, in our present understanding of the situation, what we are praying for seems to be best. But it is always right to add, either explicitly or at least in the attitude of our heart, ‘Nevertheless, if I am wrong in asking this, and if this is not pleasing to you, then do as seems best in your sight,’ or, more simply, ‘If it is your will.’ Sometimes God will grant what we have asked. Sometimes he will give us deeper understanding or change our hearts so that we are led to ask something differently. Sometimes he will not grant our request at all but will simply indicate to us that we must submit to his will (see 2Cor. 12:9-10).”

Wayne Grudem

11 Give us today our daily bread.

We acknowledge our absolute dependence upon Him to meet our physical needs.

12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

We confess and repent of our sins, and in love and gratitude offer the same mercy to others

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'

We acknowledge our weakness in the spiritual battle and ask for His strength and protection

“Lead me somewhere other than where I am inclined by my sinful nature to go.”

“Deliver me from the power of my sinful nature, my godless culture and from Satan himself.”

Why is prayer important?

1. because there is a devil and because prayer is the God-appointed means of resisting him

2. because prayer is God’s way for us to obtain what we need from him

3. because the apostles, whom God gave as a pattern for us, considered prayer to be the most important business of their lives

4. because prayer occupied a very prominent place and played a very important part in the earthly life of our Lord

5. because prayer is the most important part of the present ministry of our Lord, since He is now interceding for us

6. because prayer is the means God has appointed for our receiving mercy and obtaining grace to help in time of need

7. because prayer is the means of obtaining the fullness of God’s joy

8. because prayer with thanksgiving is the means of obtaining freedom from anxiety, and the peace that passes understanding

9. because prayer is the method appointed for obtaining the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit

10. because prayer is the means by which we are to keep watchful and alert until Christ’s return

11. because prayer is used by God to promote our spiritual growth, bring power into our work, lead others to faith in Christ and bring all other blessings to Christ’s church.
R.A. Torrey, How To Pray; Westwood, N.J.; Revell, 1900; pp. 7-31

12. because talking to a Father who knows us completely, loves us unconditionally, and has promised to care for us eternally

should be to us on the spiritual level as breathing is on the physical.

R.A. Massey

TNBS Study Questions preparation for lesson 16

Read Isaiah 57:15; Proverbs 16:18-19; Matthew 5:1-3; Luke 14:7-11; 17:7-10; 18:9-14; 20:45-47

1. What does Jesus mean in Matthew 5: by “poor in spirit”?

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2. From Luke 18:9, what kind of people are the very opposite?

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3. Jesus saved his most disparaging remarks for those whom he knew to be hypocrites. Why?

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4. Why is pride sometimes difficult to discern?

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5. How might pride manifest itself in the wake of success? (Luke 18:11-12)

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6. How might pride manifest itself in the wake of suffering? (Mat 6:16)

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7. What does anger reveal when I or others don’t meet the standards I have set?

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8. Who is the judge, and what does it reveal when I am angry with those whose behaviors I disagree with?

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9. In Mat 23:6-7, Jesus denounces the Pharisees in regard to good seats at dinner and being called rabbi.

What made these things wrong?

______

10. From Matthew 18:1-6, what does Jesus mean by “humbles himself like this child”?

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11. When did the event of Luke 22:24-27 occur and why is that a significant warning to us?

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12. Why should embracing Matthew 11:30 be a deterrent to pride?

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13. Describe a characteristic of humility based on each of these verses?

Matthew 10:24 ______

Matthew 10:25 ______

Matthew 10:26-28 ______

John 15:5 ______

Matthew 18:15-17 ______

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