Praying Sincerely

November 20, 2011


Background Scripture: Matthew 6:1 – 18
Lesson Passage: Matthew 6:5 – 15

Why do people pray? How should we pray? How are prayers answered? Jesus addresses these questions by contrasting the actions of two groups with that of true disciples. The first group Jesus refers to are the hypocrites. The word hypocrite comes from a Greek word, hypokrites, which means actor. The word referred to the leading characters in ancient Greek plays. The most essential part of their costumes was the mask. The mask allowed single actors to play many different roles in the same play. The facial expression on the mask expressed the temperament of the actor to indicate whether he was happy, sad, scared, or otherwise. Whereas the Greek word was descriptive of an occupation designed to entertain an audience, the English word has a very negative connotation. In English the word refers to someone who assumes a counterfeit personality. The English word is used to refer to someone who presents himself differently than he truly is for the purpose of deceiving others rather than entertaining them. In a real sense, they also wear a mask. To charge someone as a hypocrite is a serious matter. Jesus referred to two groups as hypocrites: those who prayed publically for the purpose of being seen by others and those who publically displayed a facial expression to indicate to others that they were fasting. Jesus declared that both had received their reward. There was nothing further to be given to them since they had received the public attention they desired. The second group that Jesus referred to is the heathens. He described the heathens as having long public prayers that used empty and repetitive words. They believe that the length of their prayers has significance as far as whether God will hear them or not. Simply put, heathens are persons who do not know God. So people do pray for different reasons and how they pray is often based on the reason they pray. Hypocrites pray to be seen of men and heathens pray out of ignorance of God. Disciples of Christ—or Christians, more specifically—should not follow the example of either group. Christians should pray to be heard by God and not to be recognized by men. Note that Jesus does not suggest that public prayer is never in order. He is referring to the reason the prayer is being prayed not where it is being prayed. How should we pray? He gives the model for prayer in our lesson text. Prayer should acknowledge God for who He is by showing Him reverence and acknowledge us for who we are by asking Him to forgive us—for all have sinned against God. Our request for forgiveness should be based on our willingness to forgive others. This is a condition that Jesus placed in the Model Prayer. We should make our requests known to Him—not that we are informing Him of our needs for He already knows what we need before we ask. When we pray for the right reason and pray in the right way, then God will reward us openly for those prayers we have offered in secret.


Robert C. Hudson
November 10, 2011

Loving Unconditionally

November 13, 2011


Background Scripture: Matthew 5:38 – 48
Lesson Passage: Matthew 5:38 – 48

The children of God are called to walk in a way that reflects His character in us. We are asked to do a hard thing. To do this is to go against the very nature we were born with. This is why we must be born again so that we can become a new creation on the inside. The challenge for us is that the old nature is still there as well. We are commanded to crucify or put to death that old nature in us. This is the only way to allow the Spirit of God in us to have control of our will and guide our actions in a godly manner. Our old way of thinking, talking, and acting must all be given the death sentence in favor of God’s way. This is how we are to reach spiritual maturity. In the New Testament, spiritual maturity is called perfection. Although we do not expect to ever reach physical, mental, and emotional perfection as long as we live in these corruptible bodies, we are expected to move in that direction by crucifying the works of our flesh on a daily basis. To not do this is to remain babes in Christ. God does not want us to remain spiritual babies so He admonishes us to be perfect because He is perfect. In other words, God wants us to grow up spiritually. To this end Jesus offers the character of God as an example for us to follow.

In our lesson today, Jesus points out three ways we can begin the process of maturing spiritually. The first method Jesus presents in this passage is to resist evil by flowing with it rather than fighting against it. If someone strikes us physically, we are to offer ourselves as a target for them to continue. If someone decides to sue us and take away some of our possessions, we are to give even more than they have legally requested. If someone constrains us to go a distance, we are to go twice as far as they require. By now the flesh should be reacting to these statements. These are all difficult statements to accept because they all go against man’s nature. If there is any hope that we would do any of this, then we must put to death our old nature that will surely rebel against it. If we are to grow up spiritually, then we must die to self daily. The second method Jesus presents in this passage is to give willingly to those who ask whether as a gift or as a loan. This appears from the context to refer to the poor or needy as those who would be making the request. The third method Jesus presents is to treat our enemies even as we treat our friends. We are to love them, speak well of them, do good to them, and pray that God would bless them also. These are all things that we would readily do for our friends without them even requesting it. But here Jesus suggests that we should extend these same actions to include our enemies also. All of these behaviors are reflections of the divine personality of God. God allows His enemies to be blessed in this life along side His children. They receive the rain and sunshine just like everyone else. The difference will come in the Day of Judgment when God separates us. Saints are called to be like God and therefore we must reflect His personality. As we do this, we learn to love others unconditionally.


Robert C. Hudson
November 2, 2011