With Jesus as our model, how do we pray? On a personal level, Matthew 26 shows us the spiritual depth of Jesus as he pulls away and quietly focuses on the task at hand. In Gethsemane, He wasn’t trying to impress others with his many words, lengthy public prayer, or extensive vocabulary. Whether others knew of his prayers also had no impact on both His need to pray and His desire to pray. Indeed, Jesus never modeled self-praise, self-promotion, or an interest in presenting himself as a “famous preacher/teacher.” Jesus modeled something we must learn…. how to be in fellowship with God while not seeking the adoration of men. In our daily lives, including our prayer times, we need to slow down and ONLY seek God for our direction and purpose.
In my prayers, am I hypocritical and judgmental of others when I should be focusing on God alone? Do I ever find myself “waxing eloquent” when I should have simplified my prayer and simply given praise to the Father for His daily grace and care? Matthew 6 models prayer as a communication of appreciation, obedience, and hunger for the Will of God. At the same time, it is a warning that the omniscient creator of the universe doesn’t require an impressive demonstration from us but only wants to see us reveal our hearts in hunger for His guidance.
Matthew 6: 5-7 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues (churches) and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 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. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” ***May we do more with God’s Word by allowing it to both teach and change our behavior!
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有耶稣作榜样，我们应该怎么祷告呢？马太福音26章说出耶稣灵命深度：祂离开群众，静静地专注於手中工作。在客西马尼园，祂不用繁复词彙、冗长公开的祷告 或富丽的词藻来喧哗取众。不论他人是否知道祂的祷告，都不影响祂祷告的需要及期望。事实上，耶稣从来不自我赞美，自我宣传，或有意显示祂是一个「出名的讲道家或老师」。我们必须学习耶稣的模范 …如何与神团契相交，而不求人的颂扬。在我们日常生活中，包括我们的祷告时间，我们需要慢下来，只求上帝的方向和目的。
当我祷告只应专注於上帝时，我是否假冒为善，或论断他人？ 当我应简短祷告，只是赞美天父祂每日的恩典及照顾时，我是否自觉「油滑高雅」？ 马太福音6章示范祷告：传达感恩、顺从、饥渴上帝的旨意。 同时，它警告我们无所不知的宇宙创造主不需要我们有感人的表演，只希望看到我们的心迫切祈求祂的指引。
马太福音 6: 5-7「你们祷告的时候，不可像那假冒为善的人，爱站在会堂里和十字路口上祷告，故意叫人看见。我实在告诉你们，他们已经得了他们的赏赐。 你祷告的时候，要进你的内屋，关上门，祷告你在暗中的父；你父在暗中察看，必然报答你。 你们祷告，不可像外邦人，用许多重复话，他们以为话多了必蒙垂听。」***愿我们多行 神的话，让它教导并改变我们的行为.