5 “And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by people. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6But as for you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.7 “And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
Matthew 6:5-8
The Well Off know prayer is the act of talking to their Daddy King.
Flowery Prayers
Like Daniel, the religious leaders would pray 3 times a day. Unlike Daniel, they would make sure they were at the busiest intersections to voice their loud, flowery prayers towards God. They loved the audience. This way everyone knows just how fully mature they were by the prayers they prayed.
Everyone else would be on the prayer defensive. “Well,” a common person would say, “I can’t pray like that guy; so why pray?”
Repetitive Prayers
Jesus moved on to the “babblers.” This is the person who thinks God hears the louder and more repetitive they get in their prayer.
“God answered my prayer when I said exactly this. Therefore, I will pray it every time so that God will hear me.”
God doesn’t need flowery prayers.
God doesn’t need repetitive prayers.
All he wants is his children talking to him.
Prayer
Prayer is coming to your Daddy King at his Throne to receive his Life.
You know what you need before your kids do…so you fill your pantry. You’ll fill the panty with fun stuff. Cookies, candy, brownies. You’ll fill the pantry with good stuff. Green beans, corn, bread.
God knows what you need before you do. Some ask, “Why pray if God knows.” Well, just like your kids and your pantry. When your kids go to the pantry and see it fully stocked, they grow in trust the pantry will continue to be stocked. God knowing what you need doesn’t mean you stop praying.
It means you recognize when you come to him, he is fully stocked in what you need.
Leaders are used to having all the answers. We need to realize God has more answers than we do. In the good times when things are smooth sailing, we need his answers. In the tough times when we don’t know the next step, we need his answers.
Prayer is recognizing we don’t have the answers, but God already has them. He wants you to come to him so that you’ll recognize his pantry is always fully stocked. The more you trust his pantry is fully stocked, the more you’ll come to seek your Daddy King.
Prayer: God, help me trust your pantry is always fully stocked with exactly what I need.
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