Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
(Matthew 6:1, ESV)
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
(Matthew 6:5-7, ESV)
1. God is the audience when I pray. Focus on , not , not .
2. Because God is in secret, and He knows what I need, the reward of private prayer is not , but a .
The Lord’s Prayer
9 Pray then like this:
3. Jesus did not give us the Lord’s Prayer to teach us a , but .
WHAT TO DO WHEN MY PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED
… a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities…
(2 Corinthians 12:7-10, ESV)
The purpose of pain is to deliver me from –.
The purpose of pain is to lead me back to .
The purpose of prayer is not results, but a relationship.
The purpose of prayer is .