The Sermon on the Mount is among the best known of all the teachings of Christ. It was given on a small hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee. As He spoke, Christ touched on a great variety of subjects. Many times He sought to correct attitudes or behaviors which are very common today. In this section from verse 1 to verse 16 He spoke against drawing attention to ourselves by the things we do and gave us the wonderful words of what we call the Lord's Prayer. Actually it was given to the disciples as a sample prayer. In verse 2 He warned against giving from a wrong motive - the praise of men. If we read the words carefully, we will see that He was commending giving to those in need. In verse 3 He said emphatically "when you give" not "if you give". He obviously meant that giving in this way is what the Father wants us to do, but not if we do it simply for the praise of men. Then in verse 6 He commented on our motives in praying. In effect He said, "Let your praying be simple and sincere, a personal communication between yourself and God." The question is really - to whom are we praying? Are we doing it just so that others might hear how well or how often we pray or are we recognizing that the one to whom we are praying is God the Father Himself? There is no greater privilege than the privilege of prayer. We bring God into our situation if our prayers are requests for His help either for ourselves or for others. We are saying we are helpless without His aid and are seeking His wisdom and power on our behalf. When we take time to praise God for His goodness we are recognizing His love, His goodness, and His faithfulness. We need to be careful to see that our praying is balanced - not merely requests, but also thanking Him for what He has done. Then Christ gave a sample prayer, a model, a guide for our praying. It begins by reminding us that we are dealing with a loving Father. It is a family prayer, not one to be repeated over and over without much thought. It covers our daily needs, the possibility of temptation, and our desire for God's glory. What a wonderful "sample" way to pray. |
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