Title: Pray in Secret / Matthew 6:5-8
For Jews, the three major acts of religious life, that is, a godly and righteous life, are almsgiving, prayer, and fasting.
I thought about salvation last time, and today I want to think about prayer.
Prayer is the most important factor in determining the success or failure of our religious life.
That is why Jewish rabbis highly value the importance of prayer.
<Those who pray are greater than those who do good deeds>
“A man who prays in his house is like a wall that is stronger than steel.”
Prayer is the glory to God and the greatest weapon for you.
It was our Lord Jesus who knew the importance of prayer better than anyone else.
Jesus taught us the importance of prayer by setting the example of the prayer of His own hands.
When our Lord began his own public life, he prepared it through prayer.
Even when he started his daily work, he started by praying at dawn rather than in the dark.
Even when he did great things, he prepared them through prayer.
Before he took up the cross, he prepared with all his heart in prayer until his sweat turned into drops of blood.
Therefore, we Christians should follow the example of the Lord and lead a life of prayer.
But there is one problem here.
When we pray, we ask, 'With what kind of heart and with what attitude will we pray?'
Our Lord clearly teaches this question through the text of the text.
“And when you pray, do not be like hypocrites.
They love to stand in the synagogues and at the entrances of the main streets to pray to be seen by men.
Truly I say to you, they have already received their reward.
When you pray, go into your closet, close the door, and pray to your Father who is in secret.
Your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not babble like the Gentiles, for they think that they will hear you when they speak a lot. Therefore, do not follow them.
God your Father knows what you need before asking.>
The better it is, the better it should be preserved. The more beautiful it is, the better it should be nurtured.
The more valuable it is, the better it should be managed.
When a good thing deteriorates, it cannot do so much harm to a person.
When something beautiful changes, it can't be that ugly.
The most beautiful of all flowers are lilies and roses.
When it blooms in full bloom and reveals its shape, it is so beautiful that it takes away the human spirit.
It is also fragrant.
But what if these flowers wither? You can't see with your eyes open.
It can't be that ugly. The smell is also disgusting. I can't stand the smell, not the smell.
The same goes for prayer. There is nothing more beautiful than praying.
Also, prayer is a precious, powerful force in our religious life, and an instrument of love.
But if this goes wrong and becomes corrupted, it can't be that ugly.
It can't be that dangerous. Therefore, we must pray with a true attitude and with a true purpose.
In fact, the Jews had a good tradition of prayer. And I had a passion for prayer. However, as I have been praying for a long time, I have developed an implicit wrong custom.
This tendency is common not only for Jews, but also for those who are zealous in prayer.
Prayers tend to be formal. Everything in the world has its own form.
And when the form blends well with the content, things go smoothly.
Worship also has basic etiquette. Attire for regular worship must be a formal suit.
You must always wear a tie.
Likewise, prayer must have its own form.
Especially because prayer is an offering to God.
May I kneel as a token of my reverent offering of my heart.
Or we can pray with repentance, weeping, and struggling.
You will receive grace and be moved so that even your hands can pray.
However, if you pray for such a long time, a certain style will be formed without you even realizing it.
So, those who have prayed on their knees for a long time will not be able to pray well unless they kneel.
Also, sitting in a chair and praying doesn't seem reverent for some reason,
Sometimes I think that God is not going to answer my prayers well.
Also, those who prayed aloud think that if they prayed quietly, it would not be as if they were praying.
So I think it is gracious to pray while shouting.
And what about the children's teachers?
When we pray, we usually pray with our hands closed and our eyes closed.
However, it is clear that these formats are not absolute.
Don't insist on this format as being absolute.
The condition of our hearts when we pray is more important.
What form of prayer we seek is to make prayer more reverent,
It is to give well without being tempted by the world.
Therefore, the attitude of the mind is important, not the form itself.
Ideally, you should pray in the posture you do best with basic courtesy.
In fact, people change their behavior depending on the situation.
When you are full, everything is relaxed. It all comes down to grace.
She feeds her husband well when he asks for it, and buys him well when he asks for it.
But what about when you're hungry? You lose your patience.
So it's faster and a little rougher. Feed me, I scream.
I'm almost dying of hunger, but in a relaxed voice, "Madam, I'm hungry. I'd appreciate it if you could give me some food."
Does anyone say this?
Also, when you are sick or when you fail, you are more thirsty for prayer.
So I pray passionately. “Lord!” they shout.
Prayer should be flexible according to the circumstances,
If you insist on only one frame, you will be praying in the wrong format.
Therefore, it should not be strange that the other person prays differently than you do.
Everyone's style and situation are different.
How seriously am I praying for myself in my relationship with God?
You should pay more attention to that point.
Among the Jews, it was customary to make long prayers.
This trend is not limited to Jews.
Some people think that long prayers are necessary to be reverent.
Of course, private prayer is less time constrained.
However, the representative prayer during public worship should be less than 5 minutes as much as possible to help worship.
If the prayer is long, the pastor who leads the worship becomes anxious.
Also, public representative prayer and private prayer are different in nature.
Please do not pray privately, as this prayer is representative of all congregations.
Words should be used as politely as possible.
And the representative prayer is a prayer for worship.
Some people pray about politics, economy, and culture in general, but this is not right.
We need to pray so that we can worship God properly.
Pray that he will lead us to open our hearts and worship God properly,
Pray that we may receive the word given through the servant of the Lord today as the word of God
You will have to pray for a heart like the soil.
Also, the great things that the church is facing are happening in God's will.
If you pray for it to be carried out correctly, it will be a great prayer of worship.
Prolonging prayer, in itself, should not be considered a measure of piety.
Of course, it is a beautiful thing to dedicate a lot of time to God and pray sincerely.
However, this should not be self-defeating. It should not be regarded as righteous.
Because I prayed a lot, God will especially hear my prayers.
I mean, you shouldn't think like that.
So, what kind of posture is the right prayer?
In verse 6 and below, our Lord is speaking specifically.
First, when you pray, it tells you to go into your closet and go into your closet.
Don't think that you have to have a special place to pray.
Your house, your closet is enough. Do you have to go to a mountain to pray, and to go to a prayer center to pray?
Of course, when you pray for a short period of time for a special purpose, you can go to a mountain or go to a prayer center.
But it is not advisable to pray while living there.
The person who goes to the prayer center is not in a situation similar to our ordinary ones.
Whether they are in the midst of a serious illness or have failed, there are many people in special circumstances.
Our daily prayers are different from ours. The message is also different.
It's easy to become biased towards one-sided eating.
When praying, do not think about going out too much, and do what you can do on a daily basis at home.
The Lord tells us to pray in the closet.
Second, close the door and pray.
This means that when you pray, do not gossip and do it.
It means to pray quietly without others knowing.
It also means to pray intensively without being disturbed by others.
It is best to have a quiet room as much as possible when visiting.
And if possible, unplug the phone cord.
If there is an urgent matter, it is advisable to call in advance to ask for your understanding.
When the phone rings while praying, you don't know how much it interferes with your prayers.
We need to remove all obstacles to prayer and create an environment for perfect prayer.
Third, pray to your Father who is in secret.
The object we pray to is our Heavenly Father.
It's not about praying to people.
Therefore, we must pray with a sincere heart, a pure heart, and a believing heart.
People can be deceived. But God cannot be deceived.
He knows everything about us.
You will have to meet God secretly and secretly and pray sincerely.
Fourth, do not testify like a Gentile.
Testimonials are words spoken without meaning.
When prayer is mastered, there are times when it comes out one after another without meaning.
I pray without making a single mistake in any one person.
It's like casting a spell.
It is said that if you work as a math teacher for a long time, you solve problems while thinking differently.
This is not proper prayer.
You should always pray with a new heart, with the first attitude, contemplating the will.
If the freshness is lost, there is no vitality in prayer.
Fifth, we must pray in faith with the assurance that God hears our prayers.
<Therefore, do not imitate them. what you need before asking
God your Father knows.>
God knows everything about us.
You know exactly what we really need.
Would you not see the one who made the eyes?
Won't the one who made the ear listen?
Let's pray with confidence. Our Lord has clearly promised.
<Therefore I say to you that whatever you pray,
Believe that what you ask for has been received. Then it will be for you.>
Dear saints,
God wants us to meet quietly.
He wants us to discuss all of our problems together.
He wants us to fully believe and report all our problems to God.
Let's pray.