Not from Babble-on

Matthew 6:5-8 (The Lord’s Prayer, Pt. 1)

Mark 1:9-15 (Lent 1)

March 5, 2006

Today is the first Sunday of Lent.  We begin the Lenten story cycle with Jesus being baptized and then going into the desert to prepare for his earthly ministry as we heard from the Gospel of Mark.

Jesus tells us that the time has come, and that the kingdom of God is near. 

Let us pray…

(Preacher) "Our Father who art in heaven..."
"YES?" (voice off stage with booming bass and reverb)
"(pause) Umm…Our Father who art in heaven..."
"YES? WHAT DO YOU WANT, SCOTT?"
"Who is this?"
"WHO DO YOU THINK IT IS?
"Well, not too many people I know sound like this!"
"I SHOULD HOPE NOT"
"Come on now, who is this really?"
"THIS IS YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN, SCOTT."
"Right... come on now, who are you?"
"THIS IS GOD... DO YOU WANT ME TO PROVE IT?"
"No, no, no, that’s all right, I’ll take your word for it... but why have you started talking to me now? You’ve never done this before."
"BUT YOU CALLED ME."
"Called you? I was just praying."
"WELL, HERE I AM. WHY DID YOU CALL?"
"I didn’t mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayer for the day."
"GOOD, GO RIGHT ON."
"Hallowed be thy name..."
"WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY THAT?"
"By what?"
"BY ’HALLOWED BE THY NAME.’"
"It means... it means... I don’t know what it means. It’s just part of the prayer. What does it mean?"
"IT MEANS ’HONORED, HOLY, WONDERFUL.’"
"Thank you Lord. "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’"
"DO YOU REALLY MEAN THAT?
"Sure, why not?"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT?"
"Doing? Not much, I guess. I just think it would be great if you got control of everything down here, like you have up there."
"HAVE I GOT CONTROL OF YOU?"
"Well, I am the preacher here, I’m at the church 5 to 6 times a week, I teach and preach, I have Bible studies a couple times a week…"
"THAT’S NOT WHAT I ASKED YOU. WHAT ABOUT THOSE BAD HABITS OF YOURS THAT YOU KNOW ARE IN DIRECT CONFLICT WITH MY WILL IN YOUR LIFE?"
"But Lord, I’m just as good as most of the people in the church!"
"EXCUSE ME. I THOUGHT YOU WERE PRAYING FOR MY WILL TO BE DONE. IF THAT IS TO HAPPEN, IT WILL HAVE TO START WITH THE ONES WHO ARE PRAYING FOR IT. LIKE YOU, FOR EXAMPLE."
"Oh, all right... I guess I do have some hang-ups... now that you mention it. You could probably name several other problems."
"GOOD. NOW WE’RE GETTING SOMEWHERE. WE’LL WORK TOGETHER, YOU AND I. SOME TREMENDOUS VICTORIES CAN BE WON. I’M PROUD OF YOU."
"Look Lord, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does. These people watch the time here.  ’Give us this day our daily bread...’"
"YOU NEED TO CUT OUT THE BREAD. YOU’RE OVERWEIGHT AS IT IS."
"Hey, what is this, criticize me day?"
"PRAYING IS A DANGEROUS THING. YOU COULD WIND UP CHANGED YOU KNOW. THAT’S WHAT I’M TRYING TO GET ACROSS TO YOU. YOU CALLED ME, AND HERE I AM. IT’S TOO LATE TO STOP NOW... KEEP ON PRAYING. I’M INTERESTED IN THE NEXT PART OF YOUR PRAYER (PAUSE)... WELL, GO ON."
"I’m afraid."
"AFRAID? OF WHAT?"
"I know what you’ll say."
"TRY ME AND SEE."
"And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us..."
"WHAT ABOUT-----?"
"See, I knew it! I knew you would bring them up! Why, Lord, you know the lies that have been told about me, and they continue until this very day. I have lost friends because of them, not to mention what has been done to my reputation. I know it was wrong to swear to get even with them, but ..."
"FORGIVE THEM. THEN I WILL FORGIVE YOU. THEN THE HATE AND SIN WILL BE THEIR PROBLEM AND NOT YOURS. YOU WILL HAVE SETTLED THE MATTER IN YOUR HEART AND BEFORE MY THRONE."
(petulant) "But Lord, I can’t forgive them."
"THEN, I CAN’T FORGIVE YOU.
(pause) "Oh, you’re right. You always are. MORE than I want revenge on them, I want to be right with you. Alright, alright, I forgive them.
I want to walk the right road in life. I’m tired of always feeling miserable. Now that I think about it, no one can cause me to feel miserable without my permission.
But, please help me Lord, to let my actions do the talking in showing forgiveness. I am really going to need your help, your grace and your Spirit."
"THERE NOW! WONDERFUL! HOW DO YOU FEEL?"
"Hmmm. Well, not bad. Not bad at all. In fact, I feel pretty good! You know, I don’t think I’ll have to go to bed uptight tonight for the first time in a long time. May be I won’t be so tired from now on from not getting enough rest."
"YOU’RE NOT THROUGH WITH YOUR PRAYER. GO ON.
"Oh! Alright. ’And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"
"GOOD! GOOD! I’LL DO THAT. JUST DON’T PUT YOURSELF IN A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN BE TEMPTED."
"I don’t understand."
"SURE YOU DO. YOU HAVE DONE IT A LOT OF TIMES. YOU GET CAUGHT IN A BAD SITUATION. YOU GET INTO TROUBLE AND THEN YOU COME RUNNING TO ME, ’LORD, HELP ME OUT OF THIS MESS, AND I PROMISE YOU I’LL NEVER DO IT AGAIN.’ YOU REMEMBER SOME OF THOSE BARGAINS YOU TRIED TO MAKE WITH ME, DON’T YOU?
"Yes, and good grief, I’m ashamed, Lord, I really am."
"WHICH BARGAIN ARE YOU REMEMBERING?"
"Oh, come on, Lord... give me a break! I’m sorry, Lord. I really am."
"GO AHEAD AND FINISH YOUR PRAYER."
"For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and Glory, forever."
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BRING ME GLORY? WHAT WOULD REALLY MAKE ME HAPPY?"
"No, but I’d like to know. I want to please you. I can see what a real mess I’ve made out of my life. And I can see how great it would really be if I was truly one of your followers."
"YOU JUST ANSWERED MY QUESTION."
"I did?"
"YES. THE THING THAT WOULD REALLY BRING ME GLORY IS TO HAVE PEOPLE LIKE YOU TRULY LOVE ME. AND I SEE THAT HAPPENING BETWEEN US, NOW THAT SOME OF THOSE OLD SINFUL ATTITUDES ARE EXPOSED AND OUT OF THE WAY... WELL, THERE’S NO TELLING WHAT WE CAN DO TOGETHER."
"Lord, let’s see what we can make of me, OK?"
"YES, LET’S JUST SEE.
"Amen" (by Jeff Strite)

What you have just observed was an experience that many Christians would give anything to be part of – to have God speaking personally to them.

A powerful prayer life like that is an elusive goal for many who feel that they just don’t have the flowery language or verbal skills to pray like others they have heard. Many feel as if their prayers don’t make it through the ceiling.  So when they do pray, they are apologetic, intimidated and timid—or they don’t pray at all!

During this six weeks of Lent we will be examining the Lord’s Prayer, and how we can develop a more powerful and personal communication with God.

Now, you are probably wondering why I would want to take time to focus on this prayer that most people know by heart and can repeat without even thinking. That’s the problem.
The Bible tells us "to pray without ceasing," but the problem is that most of us "pray without thinking."

You see, most of us are familiar with the Lord’s Prayer, and some of us have attended churches where it was recited every Sunday since we were little. I grew up saying this prayer so much that it just became rote for me and like in the little skit I never thought God would really answer it. Because of this, I know I missed the mystery and magnitude of these profound words for many years.

Before we look at the content of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew chapter 6, let’s notice the context.  Today, we’ll look at how not to pray. 

Jesus says don’t pray for people to hear; pray in private. Listen to verse 5: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”

Notice that, first of all, Jesus assumes that we will pray: “and when you pray.”

The religious people had praying down pat as they prayed at the appointed times of 9:00 a.m. , noon , and 3:00 p.m. Notice that they “loved” to receive religious recognition. Jesus makes it clear that if we pray just to be seen by others we might receive their approval but the applause of heaven will not be forthcoming.

What is the opinion of fellow sinners’ worth if we never hear “well done, good and faithful servant” from the Savior?  You don’t need to be flowery and flamboyant for people to see.  Just talk to God.

When Lyndon Baines Johnson was President, he had several guests in for a meal at the family room of the White House. LBJ had given the honor of giving grace to journalist Bill Moyers (an ex-Baptist minister). As Moyers began to softly say grace, LBJ - who could not understand what was being said - interrupted Moyers "Speak up man." Without looking up and barely stopping in mid-sentence, Bill Moyers replied "I wasn’t addressing you, Mr. President."

We must also resist the urge to blabber and babble on when we pray. Notice verses 7-8: “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

Friends, prayer is not an effort to overcome God’s unwillingness to respond by wearying Him with our words. That’s exactly how the pagans prayed in 1 Kings 18:26 when Baal wasn’t answering them: “Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon . ‘O Baal, answer us!’ they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered…” This also happened in Acts 19:34 where we read that the pagans shouted in unison for two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.”

We, too have to be careful here, because even the religious people according to Matthew 23:14 made long prayers for “a pretense.”  Even today preachers have been known to begin preaching through their prayers.

I remember when I was young, my favorite time of worship was during the prayer.  The minister always had this long, pre-printed, big-worded, sermon-in-a-prayer thing going on.  It was a good three or four minutes.  I could never pray like that! But with our eyes closed and our heads bowed, it was a great time for a nap!

So, don’t think that you’re going to get away with anything.  I get straight to the point with words we understand.  And I listen for snoring!

So as an introduction to our Lord’s Prayer series we see how not to pray. 

Next week we will begin to focus on how to pray.

In the mean time, spend time alone with God in prayer every day.  The Upper Room is a simple way to do this, because there are simple prayers right in each day’s devotion for you.

The Purpose Driven Life is great for this, because each day’s devotion includes a way to draw closer to God through your prayer life, especially in this Lenten season.

As we prepare to share in the Lord’s Supper, let us say the Lord’s Prayer together.

But so we can think about the words that we are saying, let’s say the Ecumenical version which is on page 894 of our hymnal.