Part 1

Note

Here’s the article I mention near the end of this video 

In this article, we’re taking a deep dive into Jesus’ own teaching on prayer:

• what it is
• as important, what it isn’t
• how to do it

There Are as Many Paths to Prayer

As There Are People

If you’re at all familiar with A Clear Path to God, you’ll know that this online magazine has ONE aim only: to connect you directly to the Lord himself, both in your very joyful times and in your extremely painful and traumatic times.

And you’ll also likely know that in order to do this, I help my visitors discover how to pray with and from their heart.

Prayer of the heart, however, is NOT the only way to pray.

Rather, in my own and countless others’ opinions, it’s just the most effective and fruitful way to pray.

Why?

Because it always gets results.

It’s also the way Jesus himself taught in Matthew 6:6.

That said, there are as many paths to prayer as there are people.

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All prayer, you see, no matter what particular form it takes, is a consent to God’s presence.

Each of us expresses her consent to God’s presence in her own way.

And she might express that consent in several different ways in the course of a single day!

Jesus himself prayed in many different ways.

He prayed in the way He saw as appropriate for each occasion.

When He was in the company of other people, Jesus expressed His consent to the Father’s presence in a way that was very different from when He was alone with the Father. 

For example:

Matthew

Matthew 14:19, Matthew 19:13

Luke

Luke 22:32

John

John 17:9, John 17:20, John 17:1-25, John 14:16, John 11:22

When, however, Jesus wanted/needed silent time alone with the Father —which, because of their special relationship, would have been very often —Jesus prayed in the way He taught us in Matthew 6, going into His closet and closing the door.

For example, in the garden of Gethsemane:

And again in:

Matthew

Matthew 14:23, Matthew 26:36, Matthew 26:39, Matthew 26:42, Matthew 26:44

Mark

Mark 6:46, Mark 1:35, Mark 14:32, Mark 14:35, Mark 14:39

Luke

Luke 6:12, Luke 5:16, Luke 9:18, Luke 11:1

And in Luke 23:34, when dying on His cross of crucifixion

Four years ago, on a much-needed, private, guided retreat, I decided —no doubt with the usual nudge from the Holy Spirit —that I wanted to spend my retreat looking at the way Jesus prayed.

I thought this was an utterly intriguing topic.

My spiritual guide agreed wholeheartedly.

On my first guidance session during the retreat, she asked me how things were going.

I replied without hesitation by describing what had happened in my preparation to enter in the Lord’s presence. 

In my very first meditation on scripture using my imagination (a helpful way of preparing for heart prayer), as I began to imagine Jesus at prayer alone, I immediately saw Him yawn.

Jesus yawned.

That’s what I saw!

My guide responded immediately by noting that the Lord seemed to be inviting me to see Him as He really was when alone.

It was, she suggested, an invitation He’d extended to me to come up very close!

It was little wonder that Jesus had yawned.

In Mark 6:46 and Matthew 14:23, Jesus had just done the miracle of feeding the 5,000 people.

In addition, He had been had ministering to people’s deepest needs: teaching, healing, and delivering the demon-possessed ((Matthew 14:14, Mark 3:10) and Matthew 4: 23 -25).

In my imaginative meditation, I saw an exhausted Jesus.

I could readily identify with the Lord’s weariness.

I know from my frequent experience over 26 years of leading 7- or 8-person one-day retreats —combined with individual spiritual guidance —how tired you can get!

I could relate to this exhausted Jesus.

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The Matthew 6:6 Text in 2 Modern Versions

 

1. Here is the text in the J.B. PHILLIPS translation:

And then, when you pray, don’t be like the play-actors. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at street-corners so that people may see them at it. Believe me, they have had all the reward they are going to get.

But when you pray, go into your own room, shut your door and pray to your Father privately. Your Father who sees all private things will reward you. And when you pray don’t rattle off long prayers like the pagans who think they will be heard because they use so many words. Don’t be like them. After all, God, who is your Father, knows your needs before you ask him.

J.B. PHILLIPS NEW TESTAMENT (PHILLIPS)

 

 

2. Here is the same text in The Message translation:

⁵ “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for fifteen minutes of fame! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

⁶ “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

Jesus’ Teaching on How to Pray

Let’s now take a look at the specifics of Jesus’ teaching on how to pray.

‘…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’

Matthew 6:6 NIV © 1984

 

 

Point # 1:

All Forms of Prayer

Are a Consent to God’s Presence

All forms of prayer are a consent to God’s presence.

God is ALWAYS present to you.

So … you never have to wonder if He is.

In fact, you really can’t get away from God’s presence (Psalm 139)!

But here’s the thing:

God is SO close, SO present, to you and me, that in fact you and I can MISS Him.

If you don’t want to miss God, you have to make a deliberate, conscious decision to be present to Him. 

You have to deliberately intend, agree, consent to be present to Him.

This is critical.

When you stop to think about it, this is not at all surprising.

Isn’t this exactly how you and I approach any personal friend or relationship that we truly value?

We don’t accept the gift of friendship from a friend we value and then put on our headphones when we are conversing with her/him.

The other person would rightly end the conversation very quickly!

This is exactly what Jesus taught in Matthew 6:6 about our conversations (our prayer) with Him.

You and I need to know how to be present to God in our conversations with Him.

You need to have a way to take off those distracting headphones!

Unless you do, your inner mental, ever-running, ‘video screen’ of constant words and thoughts will get in the way of your being present/listening to God.

They will also get in the way of God’s ability to speak to you!

Once you can accept and acknowledge this, you’ll begin to see why Jesus himself found it necessary to make this point so clearly when teaching His disciples (and YOU are one of them!) how to pray.

 

Point # 2:

Who Exactly is Jesus Teaching?

In Matthew 5:1, you learn that Jesus’ teaching on prayer is addressed to His disciples.

This fact is important.

Jesus wasn’t merely talking to a medley crowd.

He was addressing His disciples.

What is a ‘disciple’?

A ‘disciple’ is ‘one who learns’.

Jesus was teaching those who wanted to learn from Him.

If you are a true disciple of Jesus, you, too, want to learn from Him.

So …He invites you also to learn from Him.

 

Point # 3:

Jesus Begins His Teaching by Deliberately Renouncing the Prevailing Understanding of God in His Day

Jesus begins His teaching by renouncing the prevalent concept of God at the time!

That is …

• He calls God ‘ABBA’, ‘DADDY’ e. a LOVING, WELCOMING FATHER who remains at all times right next to you, NOT at a distance from you

 

• loving and forgiving, NOT vindictive or punishing

 

• wrapping His arms around you even when you fall into sin, NOT isolating you when you fall into sin

 

• to be found INSIDE YOU and everywhere else, and AT ALL TIMES, NOT only in certain ‘holy’ places or at certain times

 

• to be HIMSELF DIRECTLY PRESENT AND AVAILABLE to you whenever you wish or need Him, NOT mediated only by people with sacred credentials

 

• To be the God of all love, and peace and joy, NOT the God of war and armies

 

—all of which stand in direct contradiction to the prevalent concept of God in His time!

 

Point # 4:

Jesus Defines for You Who Exactly it is

That You are Praying to When You Pray

In this way, Jesus makes sure that He defines for you who exactly it is that you are praying to when you pray.

He knows very well that nobody is going to make friends with someone they’re scared of!

He knows that when you are entering into unknown territory, you need to feel at ease, safe, treasured, RELAXED.

Jesus knows that God his father wants you to experience Him in the same way that He, Jesus, experienced his father i. e. as his Abba, his loving Papa, His Daddy.

Jesus longs for you to know that prayer is, in fact

• a loving welcome from your father
• a loving invitation to you to be present with your Abba

He knows that God wants you to be relaxed when you come to Him, NOT in awe, NOT afraid in any way.

He wants you to know that God is definitely NOT a policeman with a big stick out to ‘catch’ you or embarrass you or lay a guilt trip on you,  but is always waiting to hug you and love you as a father.

He wants you to know that He really longs to communicate with you, to really hear what we are telling/asking Him.

He wants you to know that your concerns and questions are His too.

These are the very first points about prayer that Jesus wants you to know.

 

Point # 5:

Then Jesus Explains What Prayer is Not

“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 have received their reward in full.

Matthew 6:5 NIV, my emphasis

                                                                   

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 6:7 – 8 NIV, my emphasis

                                                                  

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Matthew 6:25 NIV, my emphasis

                                                                   

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

Matthew 6:31 - 32 NIV, my emphasis

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow…Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:34 NIV, my emphasis

 

No one could make the point better!

 

 

 

 

 

Point # 6:

Then Jesus Explains What Prayer Actually is

Then Jesus explains what you actually need to do in order to connect closely with God when you pray.

1. Go into your room

       ‘Go…’

i.e. A deliberate action. Leave the place where you’ve just been and go to another place.

 

2. Close the door

i.e. Make a conscious intention not to be distracted

 

3. Don’t go babbling on

i.e. Shut down any external stimuli such as words

 

4. Set aside thinking

i.e. Shut down all internal stimuli such as thoughts

5. Do not worry
   i.e. make a conscious decision to let go of all anxiety and worry, to quiet your heart, your entire being, your whole person

Why?

Because God knows your needs before you ask!

 

6. Live in the present moment

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow…Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:34 NIV

(My emphasis)

 

7. Set your mind on God’s kingdom and everything else you need will follow

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6: 33 NIV

 

 

Read Part 2 of this article here

 

 

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