Scripture: Matthew 6:5-15 (NRSV)
“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that 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.
“Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day 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. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
The Word in Context
This teaching about prayer is taking from Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount.” His ministry had begun in Galilee, shortly after he had learned of the arrest of John the Baptist. Jesus made his home in Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee, and the presumed site of the “Sermon on the Mount” next to–or at least near–the Sea of Galilee.
The “Sermon on the Mount” is the first of five great discourses. It begins with the beatitudes, and then follows Jesus’ teaching on salt and light, the law and the prophets, and teaching about the law. Jesus’ teaching on prayer is part of a section that the Harper Collins Study Bible calls “The Piety That God Rewards.”
We have come to call it the “Lord’s Prayer,” but it is really the “Disciples’ Prayer.” There is another version of this prayer in Luke 11:1-4.
Reflection Questions
- What is your discipline of prayer? Where is your “hidden place” for prayer?
- How do you avoid hypocrisy in your life of prayer and faith?
- What debts (or sins or trepasses) do you most need to have forgiven? What debts (or sins or trespasses) do you need to forgive others?
Prayer
Lord, teach us not to heap up empty phrases but genuinely to pray in a way that brings us closer to you. Amen.
Tags: Jesus, Lord's Prayer, Prayer, Sermon on the Mount
