Good morning. It's great to be with you again.
Let me just get myself set up. Let's pray and
let's ask God for help as we dig into his word
now. Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you that
you are a good God, that you are a loving God,
a caring God. But Father, it's hard coming up
here not to feel like a hypocrite. Father, I
pray that you would help us to repent of our
hypocrisy, help us to change, and we pray that
Jesus' words would grip our hearts. And we ask
this in his name. Amen. We're in our new home.
We've been there for a few months now, which
used to be Trevor and Sue's home. We kicked them
out. And Trevor and Sue generously left us a
bunch of things, but one thing they left us with
was their old security system. And it's very
cool. The cameras connect to your smartphone.
And so you can record what you see on the cameras.
You can see it in real time. So when I'm out
at the shops, I can go, oh, there's the burglar
breaking into our house. Good. You can hear things.
So it's got a microphone. It's even got an alarm
you can set off when the burglar does break in.
And you can even talk through the camera when
the mailman's dropping off the package, you know,
oh, no, a little more to the right, thanks. And
you can tell them where to put it. It was so
good, I decided that I would buy an extra camera
and put it in our house. But part of the fun
I had with that was I didn't tell our kids that
I was doing it. And so I put the camera in the
house and put it up somewhere and then all of
a sudden I started catching them doing things.
Hey, you know, what are you doing on your screen?
You weren't meant to, you know, why did you take
that cookie? How do you know, Dad? Oh, I have
my ways, you know. So it was quite good, you
know. Now they know. Sadly, I don't have that
power anymore. But I want you to imagine that
you installed cameras at your place just like
that. And not just at your place. Imagine you
installed cameras like that in your workplace,
in your car, maybe even in your mind. That's
real high -tech AI, isn't it? But they're not
there to catch criminals or naughty kids, but
to record and observe your prayer life. What
do you think we'd see behind closed doors about
your prayer life? How healthy would your prayer
life really be? Now, it's so important we examine
the health of our prayer lives. Prayer is the
engine room of the Christian life. It strengthens
our joy, our faith, our peace. It helps us become
more other person centred. We become more loving
as we pray for other people. And it's a window
into where our hearts are really at with God.
Are we aligned with his will? Are our hearts
desiring what he desires? I love it the way the
Scottish pastor Robert Machain puts it. He says,
What a man is on his knees before God, that he
is and nothing more. Or as we said last week,
as we'll say this week and we'll say next week,
the big thing Jesus is teaching in these passages
is who you are in secret is who you really are.
Who you are in secret is who you really are.
So what does a rich, healthy, authentic prayer
life look like behind closed doors? Well, if
you're a Christian, Jesus wants you to know from
these verses. And if you're here today and you're
not yet a Christian, I hope you're going to see
today how wonderful it is to have a deep, rich
and authentic prayer life with God as your father.
So what's it look like? Three things we're going
to see today. Number one, don't pray to the crowd.
Don't pray to the crowd. Don't pray to be seen
by other people. Number two, don't pray to coerce
God. Don't pray to force God's hand. That's not
why we pray. And number three, pray alone to
your father. Pray alone to your father. Commune
with God. Enjoy him in prayer. So let's start
with the first one. Don't pray to the crowd.
if you've got a bible there have it open and
come with me to chapter 6 verses 5 and 6. jesus
says 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 others
truly i tell you they've received their reward
in full but when you pray Go into your room,
close the door and pray to your father who is
unseen. Then your father who sees what is done
in secret will reward you. Now, you might remember
that hypocrites in this culture are people who
are mask wearers. They're those who put on a
show just to look good. They're not seeking the
reward of faith. They're not seeking that deeper
intimacy and joy with their Heavenly Father.
The reward they seek is the admiration of others.
They want that spotlight to be shone down on
them, don't they? And so for them, that's what
prayer is about. They want others to say, oh,
they're so mature, aren't they? Look at how deep
they pray. Wow, they must be really strong Christians.
Now, such charades, such acting is fake, isn't
it? And it leaves people spiritually hollow when
they act like that. And so Jesus warns us not
to put on a mask when it comes to praying. But
it's an easy trap for any of us to fall into,
isn't it? There's been times where I've been
sitting in prayer time in a Bible study or a
prayer meeting or praying in church even. And
I find myself counting the mmms and amens. I
think that was a good one. That line you just
dropped. A lot of people went mmm. Amen, brother.
And then I drop a line and there's no reaction.
oh that must have been a bad one you know and
and it's so easy to get caught up in thinking
what is everyone thinking of me trying to impress
him i mean let alone if the bishop's there crumbs
we had him in the prayer group the other day
when i was down in the conf you know and i had
to catch brendan stop caring about what glenn
thinks you should be focused on who you're really
talking to your father in heaven See, prayer
is too precious. It's too important to be prostituted
by masking. D .A. Carson, in his commentary on
the Sermon on the Mount, gives some great questions
to test and expose where our heart's at when
we're praying. He says, do I pray more frequently
and more fervently when alone with God than I
do in public? Do I love the secret place of prayer?
Is my public praying simply the overflow of my
private praying? And I want to add my own. Does
your language change when you pray in public
versus when you're in private? It's funny, I've
seen a few times. Even in myself, where suddenly
it's easy to drop Christianese and big theological
jargon. Oh, sovereign Lord, mighty creator of
the, you know, and it's like getting big and
potentate of time. And, you know, because it's
trying to look as impressive as possible, isn't
it? How would you answer those questions? Is
your prayer life real and rich? Or is it a show?
Well, that's not the only wrong way to pray.
We don't pray to the crowd. But secondly, we
don't pray to coerce God. We don't pray to coerce
God, to force his hand. Look with me at verses
seven and eight. And when you pray, do not keep
on babbling like pagans, for they think they'll
be heard because of their many words. Do not
be like them, for your father knows what you
need. before you ask him now the way the folk
that folk outside god's kingdom in jesus day
would pray was to try and twist god's arm if
i babble enough times heap up lots of empty phrases
you know and they didn't think it was empty they're
going i'm going to say god's name enough times
or say the right incantations and that will get
my god to Give me what I want. You know, they're
not praying to get God. They're not praying to
enjoy intimacy with him. They're praying to get
something out of God. And so they think God's
like a genie. If I just say the right things,
the right, you know, I wish, then I'll get what
I want. They think I'll get God's attention that
way if I have the right formula. I've just got
to stroke his ego. I've just got to say the magic
words. But there's some way I can get it out
of him. And we see it today, don't we? That kind
of name it and claim it movement. Or maybe when
people do bartering prayer. You know, God, if
I do this for you, then I need you to do this
for me. Now, what happens when we think of God
in all these sorts of ways? We're viewing God
as stingy. As Scrooge -like. We're relating to
him as if he was heartless and merely mechanical.
We're relating to him like a time zone claw machine.
My kids love going to time zone. I don't. It's
very oversensory. But they love it. And they
love going to those claw machines. And, you know,
they scan the card. And what happens with the
claw machine? Goes down and you grab the thing
and you think, I've won! And then it drops and
you're like, oh. And you have to try it again
and again and again. And you have to just get
it just right. And then you actually get the
prize, don't you? It's very disheartening watching
all my money disappear as the prizes don't come.
And the machine's heartless. It doesn't care.
It doesn't care about my bank account. It feels
like the machine's actually working against me
at times. And so you just try again and try again
and try again. But if you can get that secret
sauce of getting it the right way, you're a winner.
Now, it's so easy to think of God like that and
to pray to God like that, isn't it? What about
you when you're alone praying? Maybe you barter
with God. God, you know. If I get less angry
this week and give a bit of money to the church,
well, I need you to come through for me. Amen.
Or maybe the tone and flavour of your prayer
might be, Lord, my will be done. Hey, maybe you
don't ever explicitly say it, but you say, in
essence, my will be done in the way that you
pray. Those sort of prayers, they're pagan, aren't
they? You can only pray your will be done, or
as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane,
not my will, but yours be done, when you trust
that God is a generous father who knows what
you need better than you do. Who, if we were
omniscient, if we knew everything, we'd do exactly
what he was doing. Do you believe God is like
that? A great way to test is to pull out the
camera footage. Audit your prayers. How am I
going with my prayers? Am I approaching God,
trying to twist his arm, getting him to do my
will? Is that my flavour of prayer? Do I think
prayer is about me getting stuff out of God?
Or am I rejoicing in knowing him and asking him
for what I need? Are you praying like Jesus or
like a pagan? So they're the two things that
we shouldn't do. We don't pray to the crowd.
We don't pray to coerce God. So how then should
we pray? You might have picked it up already.
Pray alone to your Father. Pray alone to your
Father. That's the key to rich and effective
prayer. Pray to God as Father. Have a look in
verse six with me. But when you pray, go into
your room, close the door and pray to your father
who is unseen. Then your father who sees what
is done in secret will reward you. Or there in
verse eight, do not be like them for your father
knows what you need before you ask him. So pray
in secret, just you and God, no show, real intimacy.
Pray to your father who knows your needs before
you do. He's wise, he's caring. It's seeing God
in that way. And then in verse 9 to 13, we have
the Lord's Prayer, which is a template. It's
a template that's trying to give us a structure,
a skeleton to how we pray. It's not just meant
to be sort of like an incantation. That would
be to pray like the pagans, wouldn't it? It's
there to give us a skeleton that we can put meat
on the bones of. And we address God as our Father
in heaven. He's our because we come to him in
the same way Jesus does. Why? Because Jesus died
on the cross and gave us access to God. And we
pray our because we're part of a new family now.
Christians are our family. So we're not just
praying for ourself. We're not praying because
our performance is good. We're praying because
we come to God. There's a lot in that one little
word our, isn't there? We haven't even got to
the rest of the prayer. Father, he's loving.
He cares for us. He gives good gifts to his children.
And he's in heaven. He's holy. He's awesome.
He's all powerful. That's just the address. And
then we pray for our father's agenda. We go,
that's the first thing we pray for. We're aligning
our hearts with God's heart. We want to make
sure that we're praying about what matters to
him. Hallowed be your name. God, glorify your
name. Help people see how great you are. Your
kingdom come. Please, Father, rescue many people.
May your kingdom expand and help us to be ready
for when your kingdom comes in its fullness.
And your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Heaven is living in a world where people do what
God says. Please help me to reflect that. And
then we pray for our needs. Because he's a caring
father. He cares about what we need. We depend
on him. And so we pray for our daily bread, for
provision, with an eye to the fact that we have
a heavenly Sabbath and heavenly rest that we
look forward to. We pray for forgiveness because
we're sinners who need grace. And we also are
sinners who need to show grace to others. And
we pray that God would spiritually protect us.
That he would deliver us from Satan's lies and
from temptation. It's all about real relationship,
isn't it? Authenticity. Confidence in what Jesus
has done for us. Humility, not overestimating
how good I am or overestimating what I think
is best. It's praying to God as Father. My daughter,
Grace, does this thing sometimes. It's nice when
she does it. She comes and asks me for something.
Dad, can I have a banana? Can I have a pancake?
Whatever it might be. And when I say yes, lately
she's been doing this thing where she goes, thank
you, Daddy, I really appreciate you. And I'm
like, heart melt, you know? And then if I say
no, she's been going, OK, Daddy, it's not a problem.
You know, it's nice. Now, if I could just work
out how to get the other kids to do that and
how I could get her to do that all the time.
But it's... No. Not yet. But it's so cute. And
I love it because she's approaching me as a caring
father. Because he's showing thankfulness, confidence
and trust. Now, when we pray to our heavenly
father, and he's infinitely better than I am
as a father, do we take that approach with him?
Now, here's a great test for where your heart's
at. Do you see God as a good, loving and caring
father who can do far more than you can ask or
imagine? Well, you might be sitting here going,
well, Brendan, that's fair. That's cool. But
how do I even know God is like that? You can.
Look at the cross. The cross shows me that there
are better riches in knowing my father than in
having human recognition or approval. Because
what do I get at the cross? I get God's approval.
I get access to God. Jesus died for those things.
He didn't die so that other people think more
highly of me. So clearly that's more worthwhile.
It's to die for. That's what Jesus thinks. But
secondly, the cross shows that my father knows
what I need before I do. He dealt with my sin
before I even thought it was a big problem. And
he gave his own son so that my sins would be
forgiven. He is far more caring and gracious
than I could ever imagine. And the cross and
the resurrection of Jesus are the amen to the
Lord's prayer. How do I know God will answer
the Lord's prayer when I pray it? Because the
cross shows me he will. At the cross, Jesus glorifies
God's name. At the cross, God's kingdom is coming.
At the cross, God's will is done and he's changing
people so that they want to do his will. At the
cross, he provides. I mean, you could just go
through the whole lot, couldn't you? And you
can link it each to the cross. So let me ask,
what might it look like to pray this? I mean,
that's the template. What might it look like
to pray this in action, to put some flesh on
those bones? Well, maybe you've been praying
for years about an issue in your life. You know,
you're praying in that needs bit about some health
issue, financial issue, work issue, marriage
issue, maybe fertility. I don't know what it
might be for you. Everyone's got different issues,
don't we? And you pray lots. And nothing changes.
And you're tempted to not pray anymore. What's
the point? Am I just talking to the ceiling?
Nothing ever seems to change. And then you remember
what Jesus has done for you. And you remember
what sort of father you have in heaven. And you
believe that God will answer your prayer in one
of two ways. Do you know that God only answers
prayer in one of two ways? It's not yes, no or
wait. That's what I was taught in Sunday school.
He answers it in either yes or better. Because
he's a good father. He'll either answer your
prayer with yes or he'll do something better
than you can imagine. We might not see what that
is, this side of heaven. But if we were omniscient,
we would see that it is better. It changes how
you pray about those things that just never seem
to change. Or when you're praying, your prayer
life might feel dry and tired and haggard. What
do you do? You start your prayers by remembering
that God is a good father. Spend some time reflecting
on the good father you have. and that will drive
you move you to pray or maybe you don't want
to pray because oh you should have seen the week
i've had you know i've done all these things
and i just feel like the worst possible christian
why would i talk to god i kind of want to run
away from him right now well if you're coming
to god as father You remember that you're praying
not on the basis of your performance, but on
the basis of Jesus' death for you. And he's a
good father. He forgives. He loves you. He's
not going to cast you off. God's anger was poured
out onto Jesus so that it would never be poured
out to you. He drank the cup of God's wrath down
to the very dregs. There is nothing left for
you to drink. Do you know what? If you believe
God is a good father, you'll pray even though
no one else will see it. Because you believe
it's worth it. So is your prayer life shaped
around knowing God as father? That's the key.
Do you pray alone to your father? All right,
well, let's wrap up. We started by asking, how
is your prayer life? How is your prayer life
behind closed doors? It's very easy to do it
in Bible study and look like it's all gravy.
But how is it behind closed doors? And we saw
that this is important because as we've seen
in this section of Matthew, there's one key thing.
Who you are in secret is who you really are.
So what does your prayer life look in secret?
This is a very confronting passage. I was challenged
by it this week. I hope you are too. Who are
you in secret? Because I reckon there's three
types of prayers that will be sitting here today
where you're at at the moment. There's the prayerless,
there's the pagan, and there's the paternal.
And, oh, it's not even lined up with the X's
and the tick, but there you go. That makes me
sad. I like good aesthetics. Anyway. Yeah, oh,
good. So prayerless. Are you prayerless in secret?
What do you do if that's you? Maybe you're prayerless
in secret because you're not a Christian. Please
come and chat to us. We'd love to talk to you
about Jesus and how good it is to know God as
Father. But maybe you're here and you're a Christian
and... You just, prayer is a struggle for you
right now. How do you get back to that place
where prayer is sweet, where you savour it? Well,
go back to the gospel. Go back to who Jesus is,
what he's done for you. Go back to how you have
a relationship with your father because of Jesus.
That will enrich your praying. And try and make
it routine. One of the ways to get more into
prayer is to pray. Pray. And look, I get it.
Routines, it's hard. You know, things go up and
down. You have good days and bad days. On the
bad days, remember that you come because of Jesus'
blood. And on the good days, remember you come
because of Jesus' blood and that will enrich
your praying. Get praying again. If you're those
who are struggling with pagan prayer, if you're
coming to God trying to make him do your will,
I'd encourage you to start thinking higher thoughts
of God. I'd recommend go read Mark's gospel.
Just go back to Mark's gospel and see again,
what is God like? Or any of the gospel. I just
like Mark because it's short and I have a short
attention span. But read Mark's gospel. Or, you
know what, read this. This is J .I. Packer's
book, Knowing God. It's an absolute classic.
He's got a whole section about God as Father,
which is just incredible. Can I recommend, grab
a copy, download a copy, whatever you do with
copies, and read this book. But if you're the
person who is praying to God paternally, You
savour the times you have with your father. Keep
doing that. Keep going. And when you fail, remember
his immense grace. Just keep enjoying it. So
which of these three is it for you? What would
the cameras pick up in your life? Yeah, let me
ask a different question. Can you imagine if
we were all that third one? What do you think
would happen to our church if we all prayed to
God as Father and enjoyed it and loved it and
craved it? What do you think would happen? I
reckon God would honour those prayers. I reckon
we'd see our hearts transformed in an even more
radical way. I reckon we'd see people having
a deeper joy and assurance of their salvation.
A greater unity and love that we'd forgive and
be gracious and generous to one another. I think
we'd hate our sin more and worship would become
a richer delight for us, wouldn't it? See, revivals
are built on praying like that. So let's love
the secret place of prayer with our Father. What
could be more appropriate than, let's pray now.
Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are a
wonderful Father who gives us far more than we
can ask or imagine. And we pray, Father, help
us to see the riches and the blessings and the
absolute delight it is to come to you as our
Father in heaven. Please align our hearts with
your heart. Help us to see our dependence upon
you and make us a people who absolutely love
being with you in that secret place of prayer.
And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.