Bible Lesson Series 2 (Part 1): Praying to God
This lesson is all about the Lord’s Prayer and praying to God. Prayer is very important when it comes to having a great relationship with God and growing spiritually as a Christian. It is a way to help other people going through spiritual warfare and even you and your family. Praying to God is one of the best ways to connect and communicate with God.
This lesson is coming from Matthew 6:5-8.
Matt. 6:5
5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues, where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth; that is all the reward they will ever get.
Sometimes people feel that it is necessary to show off and prove their holiness. When they are praying to God they want everyone to hear and see them. Anyone who is like this is not really showing their love for God to people. They are showing their love for themselves and their desire for the own success instead of trying to win souls for Christ.
This type of person wants people to adore and follow him. Sadly, he will receive his desire, but that is the ONLY reward he will get. God will not reward this type of prayer because it is not really seeking a conversation with God. It’s important that we know and remember why we pray. We should not follow the hypocrites – people who try to be something they’re not – because their one and only motive is to be seen by men.
Matt. 6:6
6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
When we are praying to God that is exactly what it should be, a prayer to God. It should not be a prayer to man to fool them into believing you are sincerely praying to God. I don’t believe there is anything wrong with praying in public or with other people, just as long as your motives are right and you are not seeking personal advancement. The Bible says:
19 “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”(Matthew 18:19-20)
As long as the group of people praying together are sincere and praying to God only, He will reward them and He will be in their presence.
If you are truly praying to help people and praying to talk to God then you should already be praying alone in private and not worried about trying to impress people.
A lot of times people who have just become – or may have been for a long time – Christians feel the need to prove to people that they have changed and are constantly seeking approval from people. It’s important to understand that the only one we need to be pleasing is God.
He supplies all of our needs, not other people. God’s light will shine through everyone who truly seeks a relationship with Him and are following His word. He will reward the sincere people by answering their prayers.
Matt. 6:7-8
7 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
Eloquence is not the reason God listens to prayers. He doesn’t care about how many words you can fit into a prayer or the way you speak when you pray. Prayers to God with that purpose are not honest. Repeating words over and over is not necessary.
God hears us the first time when we are genuine. Just because you speak a lot doesn’t mean it will be heard over someone with a shorter prayer. If that short prayer is an honest prayer, God will honor that over the one that just has empty words.
Most importantly, our prayers should not be to inform God or keep him posted about what we need and our struggles, because He already knows. Praying to God should be to worship Him. Worshipping God shows our love for Him and shows how much we trust Him to take care of us. We pray not because He needs to be informed but because He is pleased that we do so.
For part 2 of this lesson click here.
