Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven… Pray, then, in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
may Your name be revered as holy.
May Your kingdom come.
May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.
Matthew 6:1, 9-13
In His teaching (the Sermon on the Mount) Jesus warns against practicing righteousness before others in order to be seen by them. This implicitly reveals the importance about practicing righteousness. How do we—or ought we—practice righteousness? Thankfully, according to Jesus’ teaching, He reveals three importance spiritual disciplines that make up “practicing righteousness.” These are almsgiving, fasting, and prayer.
In the past, I was made aware of an off-handed comment made by someone who professed Christ as their Lord. They had mentioned the “pointlessness” of prayer. The reasoning behind it was based in the idea that if our Father already knows what we need, why ask Him? Clearly, they had not considered to read Luke 11:5-11 where Jesus follows up His teaching on prayer with emphasizing the importance in persisting in prayer. Needless to say this was, and still is, poor theological work. It is also a gross misunderstanding of the text and neglects the teachings of Jesus and inspired Scriptures that fill up our New Testament.
Prayer is life for the believer. It acts as oxygen to our souls. It must be practiced. But how? This is the big question. Unfortunately, eloquence and lengthiness of prayer have crept into the Christian subconsciousness for what is to be considered a “good prayer.” Thus, if we fear our eloquence or if we do not have much to say, we become discouraged to pray. This is a crafty way in which Satan has attempted to stymie the power of the Church and its advancement against the powers of darkness. But this is where the beauty of the Lord’s Prayer comes to be realized.
The Lord’s Prayer is a simple prayer given to us by Jesus that, when practiced regularly, forms our lives and gives power to our prayers. For in this prayer, we find the basis of all prayer. There is acknowledgement of God and His character, there is a sense of belonging, there is participation in what He is doing, there is provision and forgiveness, and there is deliverance. Each word is packed full of wonder. Each phrase is bursting with unending streams of life. This prayer ought to be cherished as a gift, not seen as a religious obligation. It clearly was a gift for the disciples.
There is a book called the Didache, or teaching, which consisted of the collection of teachings of the twelve apostles. It is the earliest known “manual” for Christian doctrine and practice outside the New Testament, being traced to the late 1st-early 2nd century. In it, one finds echoes of Jesus’ teachings that were preserved and taught by the disciples. There is a section on prayer. It reads:
“Neither are you to pray as the hypocrites, but as the Lord commanded in His gospel, ‘Pray in this way: Our Father who is in heaven, may Your name be holy, may Your kingdom come, may Your will be done as in heaven, so also upon earth; give to us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debt as also we forgive our debtors, and do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one, because Yours is the power and the glory forever.’ Pray in this way three times each day.”
The Didache, 8.2-3
Clearly, the disciples cherished the words given to them by their Lord. They recognized the magnitude and beauty of the instruction given to them by Jesus their Master. They practiced it often and taught others to practice it often—three times a day. If done out of religious obligation, these words may succumb to the empty phrases that the Gentiles heap up in order to be heard by their gods. But when practiced in hopes of learning from our Lord—receiving from Him—this prayer becomes the practice that begins and ends our day, while offering a refreshing reset in the middle of it. This practice awakens our senses. It postures us humbly in Christ. It prompts us to remain in His love. Life flourishes here.
Paul tells us to pray unceasingly.1 This is more a means of awareness than it is a challenge to talk all day long. Prayer awakens us to His Presence and His Presence awakens us to pray. Practicing the Lord’s Prayer refines this sense of awareness. It opens our eyes and ears to see and hear what God is doing and speaking in every moment of every day. In observing this prayer together throughout this season, would we cherish these words as a gift and come to discover the beauty, power, and life found within them. I pray that our eyes would be trained to remain fixed on Him and our hearts to remain steadily in His love, resulting in faithfulness, peace, and love. I pray that the abundance of life found in Christ would be realized in our lives, our church, and our city as we faithfully practice righteousness before God alone. For He is our reward!
1 Thessalonians 5:17