The Secret Place: Matthew 6:5-15

The Secret Place
Matthew 6:5-15

INTRODUCTION:
“Prayer is the key to the morning and the bolt to the evening.”

“A day hemmed in prayer is less likely to come unraveled.”

Newsweek back in January 1992 had an article devoted to the subject of prayer. The author commented that opinion surveys, if you believe them, reveal that more people will pray in a given week than will go to work, exercise, or have intimate relations. 78% of all Americans pray at least once a week. 57% pray at least once a day. In fact, according to one survey, among the 13% of Americans who claim to be atheists… 20% of those pray! That’s called “hedging your bets!”

Here’s a question for you… Do you spend more time praying to God or more time reading the Bible? In other words, do you spend more time talking to God or more time listening to God? Many people have told me, “Oh, I pray all the time.” And I point out that talking to God without listening to God is not good for relationships.

Tonight is my annual lesson from the Sermon on the Mount. We look at the “Secret Place” - the “inner room” and prayer in this lesson…

The first person of whom the Bible says he prayed is Abraham in Genesis 20:7, 17. Abimelech had taken Sarah to be his wife and God appeared to Abimelech and told him to give Sarah back without touching her and God would allow Abraham to pray on Abimelech’s behalf. Abimelech did; and Abraham did. Prayer - talking to God - has long been a beloved practice by God’s children.

Jesus told His disciples in 5:20 that their righteousness needs to surpass the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. In this section of the sermon, Jesus will illustrate just what He means by that. Substantially, Jesus tells His disciples that they need to be righteous for God’s sake, not for their own self-promotion. In Numbers 20:1-12, Moses disobeyed God and brought himself glory instead of obeying God and bringing Him glory. Here, Jesus says His disciples need to seek to glorify God, not themselves.

CHRISTIANS PRAY DIFFERENLTY - 6:5-8:
“To pray” (ver. 5) is used 85 times in the NT, in Matthew 15 times. “Inner room” (ver. 6) is used only 4 times in the NT: here; 24:26; Luke 12:3, 24. The “inner room” (ver. 6) was a small room in the interior of the house, perhaps the only room with a key. It might be comparable to our pantry. “To blabber” (ver. 7) is only used here in the NT. It means to stammer or to use the same words over and over again. “Many words” is a single, compound word, used only here.

Verse 5 - This second, more extended, discussion of righteous acts is that of prayer. Jesus warns His disciples not to pray “like the hypocrites.” The pretenders chose to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that others would see them pray. Jews had set aside time to pray, everyday, three times, the 3rd hour (9 AM), 6th hour (noon), and 9th hour (3 PM) (Psa. 55:17; Ezra 9:5-6; Dan. 6:10; 9:21; Luke 1:10; Acts 3:1). It would be possible for a pretender of righteousness to schedule his daily activities so that the hour of prayer would happen when he was on the street corner so that he would pray publicly and be seen by men. There is nothing wrong with praying while standing as there are many postures of prayer mentioned in the Scriptures: prostrate, kneeling, sitting, and standing. There is nothing wrong with praying publicly as the church is commanded to do such (cf. Acts 1:24; 3:1; 4:24-30). There is nothing wrong with repeating oneself while praying sincerely for the same thing (Matt. 26:36-46; Luke 18:1). The issue in verse 5 is that the pretenders pray to be seen by men. Again, Jesus says they have received, in this life, all the reward they will receive.

Verse 6 - Instead, Jesus tells His disciples to go into their inner room, close the door, and pray in secret. The Father, who sees and rules from heaven, will see what is done and will reward His disciples in the way, manner, and extent which He knows is best.

Verse 7 - In contrast to pagans who believe they have to repeat themselves to be heard and / or to manipulate their gods to respond, Jesus tells His disciples not to “blabber” or to use “many words” (cf. the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18:26). The Father in heaven is not like pagan gods. Not only can He not be manipulated through speaking mantras, but He does not need to be manipulated. He knows what disciples need even before they ask.

Verse 8 - Related to the idea that God knows what we need before we ask Him (6:8), God told Israel through Isaiah (65:24) that He can answer prayer before it is prayed!

CHRISTIANS HAVE A PATTERN - 6:9-13:
“Let be holy” comes from the verb “to sanctify,” used 28 times in the NT, in Matthew at 6:9; 23:17, 19. “To forgive” (ver. 11) or “to release” is found 143 times in the NT, beginning at 3:15 where it is translated “permit” or “allow.” It is used 6 times in verses 12-15. “Debts” is found twice in the NT: Matt. 6:12; Rom. 4:4. “Debtors,” a related word to “debts,” is found 7 times in the NT, twice in Matthew (6:12; 18:24).

Therefore, in order to give His disciples an idea of what content their prayers should have, Jesus gives them an example, verses 9-13. This is not the “Lord's Prayer” as much as it is a model for His disciples to follow; but it is also only a pattern. It would violate His very words in verse 7 for this very prayer to be blabbered from rote memory, repeated without any thought or concern for its true content. Incidentally, one of my monthly series next year will be on the prayer life of Jesus.

Verse 9 - Israel was supposed to sanctify God’s name (Isa. 29:23; Ezek. 36:20-23). Indeed, one of the Ten Commandments warned Israel to respect God’s holy name (Exo. 20:7). Jesus desires God's name to be sanctified on earth (ver. 9). That happens when God, working through us, sees that His name is guarded as holy. Anything to which God’s name is attached should be respected as holy, including His name itself. That means His people, “Christ”-ians, and His church, church of “God in Christ,” should be kept holy. The Father is in heaven, and from there He can rule over the affairs of men, answering prayers for His disciples, even as He is unaffected by the changing of time or space.

Verse 10 - John the baptizer preached that the kingdom was imminent (3:2). Jesus also preached that the kingdom was imminent (4:17). Here, Jesus tells His disciples to pray that the kingdom will, in fact, arrive as John and Jesus preached and as God has been planning for millennia. Since the kingdom has been established on the Day of Pentecost (between 31 and 33 A. D.; Mark 9:1; Acts 2:32-35; Col. 1:13-14; Heb. 12:28; 1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6, 9), it would be appropriate now to pray that the kingdom will spread around the world and God’s reign would begin in the heart of each individual person. When the Son comes again, He will turn the kingdom over to the Father (1 Cor. 15:24-26). Christians should also pray for the Lord to return quickly (1 Cor. 16:22; Rev. 22:20).

Jesus tells His disciples to pray that God’s will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven. In order for that to be fulfilled, His disciples must obey God’s commands in every way possible, and teach those commands to others and they, in turn, must obey God’s commands. God’s will refers to the obedience He requires as well as the events in history He desired to transpire in order for Jesus’ work to be completed. Thus, Jesus gives the great commission in Matthew 28:19, telling His disciples to make disciples by baptizing them and teaching them to “observe all that I have commanded you.” That’s how God’s will is done on earth.

Verse 11 - God tried to teach Israel to depend on Him daily for their manna (Exo. 16:13-36). In Deuteronomy 8:3-4 (which was quoted by Jesus in Matt. 4:4), God says that He tested Israel to know what was in their heart, to teach them not to live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Disciples ought to remember that passage as they meditate on passages here, such as 6:11 and 6:33.

Verses 11-12 reflect Proverbs 30:7-9.

Jesus turns from praying for God’s name, kingdom, and will to man’s own needs. Now, Jesus tells His disciples to pray, in faith, that God will provide for their necessities each day. In the first century, common workers received their pay each day. In verses 25-34, Jesus will return to this theme of faith in the midst of physical needs. He emphasizes that His disciples should trust God to provide each day what is necessary for that day. The word translated “today” (ver. 11) might be understood as “necessary” or even “tomorrow.” The point is the same: Disciples are to pray for God to provide for their immediate needs, “today” if the prayer is uttered in the morning, or “tomorrow” if the prayer is an evening prayer. Either way, it is prayer for what is “necessary.”

Forgiveness is the theme of the next verse in the prayer (ver. 12). Here Jesus pictures obedience to God as a debt that man owes God. Failure to obey is failure to pay that debt, which is sin. So Jesus tells His disciples to pray that God will forgive that debt, that disobedience, and Jesus ties forgiveness of His disciples to their willingness to forgive others their debts, their lack of obedience. Jesus will return to the subject of forgiveness in verses 14-15. See also Jesus’ parable in Matthew 18:21-35.

Speaking of sin, verse 13 deals with the subject of temptation, a word which can also be translated “testing.” James will write in James 1:13 that God does not tempt anyone to sin, yet the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be temped (Matt. 4:1). God will not tempt man into sin. God led Jesus into the wilderness so He could be tempted by the devil, so Jesus could be fully qualified to be man’s high priest (Heb. 2:17-18; 4:15-17). But God will test man’s willingness to obey Him or obey Satan, as He did Abraham (Gen. 22:1). Jesus’ point, then, here is that disciples should pray that the Father will be with them through the temptation and guide them so they will be delivered from evil. “Evil” here can refer (as a neuter noun) to evil as an abstract (Luke 6:45; Rom. 12:9; 1 Thess. 5:22), but very real, concept, or (as a masculine noun) to “the” evil one, Satan (13:19, 38; Eph. 6:16; 1 John 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:19). Substantially, either option is the same, theologically.

CHRISTIANS FORGIVE - 6:14-15:
“Trespasses” (ver. 14) is one of the synonyms for sin. It is used 19 times in the NT, only in this context (6:14-15) in Matthew. It carries the idea of “missing the mark” (cf. Mark 11:25-26).

There is a popular addition to the Lord’s Prayer, “for Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever,” which does not have support in the oldest Greek manuscripts, but it was apparently added very early. Christian scribes apparently thought it was a good, biblical way to end this model prayer. There is nothing unbiblical about the sentiments in the addition. The thoughts are sustained in other places of the NT.

Finally, Jesus reemphasizes in verses 14-15 that our forgiveness from God is dependent on us forgiving others!

CONCLUSION:
God will not allow Satan to tempt us beyond what we are able to refuse (1 Cor. 10:13) if we, in contrast to Adam and Eve, will have the strength to listen to and obey God, as opposed to Satan.

The Lord knows how to deliver His followers (2 Pet. 2:9). Peter calls on Christians to resist the devil in 1 Peter 5:8-9. One tool in the “toolbox” of Christian strength is prayer.

Paul reinforces the need for us to forgive others in Colossians 3:13.