Bible Study - Matthew 6:6-8
- Read Matthew 6:6-8
- Here Jesus is giving some clear instruction about how to proceed in
private prayer. In Jesus' time the Jewish system of prayer made it
very easy, for those who wished to, to be publicly pious in order to
impress. Prayers were to be said at regular times of the day, wherever
you were. So it was easy to make sure that you were somewhere very
visible at the appropriate time, and to pray loudly and at length.
- Repetition of words and phrases was also a well-used form of
prayer. People would chant themselves almost into a trance. In both of
these cases, any true communication with God would be lost. The first
is merely performance and second becomes thoughtless
self-hypnosis.
- Jesus wanted his disciples to avoid this. If we are alone with God,
there is no need to try and impress. There is time and space for us to
be open to the word of God, to listen to him and just to be his
presence. There is no virtue in wordy prayers. If we do not know what
to say, it is better to say nothing. God hears the words of our
heart.
- To think about
- 1. Jesus is talking about private prayer but how can we ensure that
when we pray together, either at meetings or at services, we do not
fall into the same bad habits?
- 2. If, in other areas of our life, we do not speak unless we really
have something to say, then maybe this habit would carry over into our
conversations with God. Why not try it and see!
- Prayer
- We are so busy Lord, we do not listen. The world is so noisy Lord,
we do not hear. We do not hear what your Spirit is saying to each one
of us. We have been afraid of silence. Lord, teach us to use your gift
of silence. Teach us Lord. Amen
- (Written by women of New Zealand for Woman's World Day of
Prayer)