Praying Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated (Matthew 6 Explained)

Want a closer walk with God? Start with your prayer life—using these 7 simple steps from the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6. You can draw near to God—when you learn how to pray like Jesus taught us to pray in the model prayer.

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00:00 How to Pray to God (Your Guide to Real Prayer)
01:36 “Lord, Teach Us to Pray”
04:44 Lessons from the Model Prayer
05:06 1. Pray to God Directly
07:06 2. Praise God and Treat Him with Reverence
09:06 3. Seek the Kingdom of God—and God’s Will
11:40 4. “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”
13:57 5. Ask Forgiveness | Be Willing to Forgive
16:05 6. Ask God for Spiritual Protection
18:30 7. Honor God Again to End Your Prayer

#followjesus #prayertime #matthew633

For someone new to prayer, it can be hard to know how to start or what to say. And if we’re honest, even those of us who are more experienced can sometimes struggle.
But there is good news. Because the One Person throughout human history who’s had the closest and most intimate relationship with God offers to teach us how to pray. And if we’ll listen to Him, the door to a deeper and more personal relationship with God through prayer opens wide.
How do you start a prayer? What do you say? What should you ask about?
All of those are good questions. And if you’re beginning to ask those questions, God is delighted that you want to know.
In fact, Jesus’ own disciples also asked to know. Let’s read about it in Luke 11:1.
Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
So He taught them and, because His answer to their question was recorded for us, that means Jesus’ instruction to them can become His instruction to us, as well. And there’s no greater teacher of prayer than Jesus Christ Himself.
“When you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward” (Matthew 6:5).
He’s not saying that public prayer under some circumstances is bad. The Bible has multiple examples of public prayers, including some from Jesus Himself. He is saying here, though, that we must guard against seeing our prayers as a means of impressing others. Instead, our regular, daily prayers are meant to be private, between ourselves and God.
“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6).
Note, Jesus suggests finding a private place for your routine and regular prayer. That way, your prayer is a matter between you and God, alone. This doesn’t mean that prayer with a spouse or our children is inappropriate. Not at all. In fact, praying with children is a wonderful way for them to learn how to do it themselves.
But again, prayer is not for show. It’s about intimate communication with your Creator.
“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7).
We don’t build an intimate relationship with anyone by repeating lines like a character in a play. Prayer is real communication with God, not some sort of routine “spell” we cast with the same words time after time.
This is a little ironic, because the passage that follows is often called “The Lord’s Prayer,” and is repeated by many as if that repetition of the exact words, like a script, is equivalent to prayer like Jesus taught. But such an approach violates the very instruction of the passage, not to mention the collected body of examples in Scripture.
Rather, what Jesus did for them in the verses that follow—and what He does for us—represents a model prayer—a prayer that we can learn from so we can know how to pray ourselves.
In Jesus’ model prayer, we will find seven helpful elements that we should employ in our own prayers. First, notice how Jesus begins the prayer.
“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven…” (Matthew 6:9)
He’s already taught us something important—He addresses God directly and focuses His prayer on His Father in Heaven. He doesn’t begin with His own needs, wants, or desires. He focuses on God. And He calls Him “Father.”
A prayer is an appeal to your Father in heaven, rooted in a relationship with Him and made directly to God.
Jesus asks the Father directly. Hebrews 4:16 says “come boldly to [God’s] throne of grace.”