"How You Should Pray"

The pastor that was speaking at church this evening spoke about prayer, particularly the Lord's Prayer.  I, however, being the true heretic that I am, have read the rest of the chapter from which the Lord's Prayer comes.  With that in mind, hold on to your hats, folks.  It's gonna get rough today.  I'm about to tear apart your understanding of the Lord's Prayer.  Yeah, I'm going there.

Many people have this traditional prayer memorized, but in case someone is reading this without ever having actually heard it, here it is:

"This, then, is how you should pray:  'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'"  Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV)

An admirable and, some would say (though probably not me), beautiful prayer.  However, it is also probably one of the most misunderstood passages of scripture that is ever taught specifically because it is virtually ALWAYS taken out of context.  I'm sorry to tell you there is MUCH more to Matthew 6 than the Lord's Prayer.

I'll start with the part that really bugged me today:

"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors"  Matthew 6:12 (NIV)

Many people have taken this verse and become extremely upset by it.  How dare God require something from us in exchange for forgiveness!?!  From this thinking, people have gone into depths to create loopholes around any requirements for themselves.  Many, many people will tell you that this verse does not mean that God will only forgive us if we forgive others, but that we should forgive others out of gratitude because God has forgiven us.  In fact, this is how I have almost always been taught to interpret this verse.

Here's where things get interesting.  Very rarely, if ever, do people go on and read the verses immediately following the Lord's Prayer:

"For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."  Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)

I would say that's pretty straight out black and white right there.  "If you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."  Yeah.  Jesus just said that!  Kinda blows that whole gratitude thing out of the water, doesn't it?

Making sure you get the whole story goes farther than simply shattering one piece of people's interpretation.  It's always important to read the verses both after AND before what people read to you.  With that in mind:

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the street corners to be seen by others.  Truly I tell you, they have 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.  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."  Matthew 6:5-8  (NIV)

This passage is right before the Lord's Prayer, and I highly recommend reading it a couple of times before you go on.  There's a lot there.

Nowhere in that passage does Jesus say to stand or kneel in a circle or in a cathedral with a large group of other people and recite some specific words.  In fact, he does the exact opposite.  He says go into your room by yourself.  Also, he never says that there is anything special about the words in the Lord's Prayer.  He says "this, then, is how you should pray," but I don't believe he meant "use these words."  Immediately before, he tells you your words don't really matter!

What, then, did he mean when he said pray like this?

Look back at what he said before.  He said that you won't be heard because of your many words.  With that in mind, reread the Lord's Prayer, and you will find that THAT is what he was exemplifying.  He uses phrases that are short, quick, and to the point.  I wasn't there and am not an expert of the time, but I suspect that he used fairly casual terms in that prayer.

The current general understanding of the Lord's Prayer is that it should be spoken in those words in a large group because Jesus told us to.  That is wrong and goes against his entire purpose when he said "this, then, is how you should pray."  He specifically told us not to pray in front of a large group.  He specifically told us not to use fancy words.  Many churches still use the word trespasses in the prayer.  NOBODY TALKS LIKE THAT ANYMORE!!!

Prayer is simply talking with God.  When Jesus prayed, he used the term Abba which, as I'm sure somebody has probably told you, means Daddy.  Dwell on that word for a minute:

Daddy.

God is not some supreme being that sits on a giant throne and looks down from heaven with an air of superiority.  He is a loving, compassionate Daddy that just wants to hear about your day.  Prayer is not some formal thing that you should do in front of people with fancy words.  Prayer is privately talking to your Daddy about your life, your needs, your joys, and just generally how you feel!

"Pray continually."  1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV)

Continually.  Prayer is not something that you have to do at particular times, in particular settings, or for particular reasons.  Pray continually.  Pray always.  God can here you even if you don't speak out loud, so what reason to you have not to tell him everything throughout the day?

Essentially, the Lord's Prayer in its modern use is completely against everything that Jesus talked about just before.  It is an example of the simplicity of prayer.  Prayer is simply talking to your ever-loving Daddy.

Have you told Daddy how you feel today?







P.S.  In the spirit of making sure you get the whole story, Matthew 6:1-4 talks about giving to the needy and verse 16 starts talking about fasting and stuff.  I would highly recommend reading all of chapter 6.  It's filled with stuff people have completely forgotten about or flat out ignore.  Plus, never take someone's word for what's in the Bible.  It's the most misquoted book in history.