MODELS FOR PRAYER: MATTHEW 6:5-8

(Message by Tanny Keng)

1. Healing

a) When God created the earth it was a perfect place. Then he created humans and put them in a perfect garden with everything they needed to be happy and healthy. He gave them one command: Don’t eat from that tree in the middle of the garden. Then the man and woman decided to do exactly what God told them not to do: eat from that tree. 

b) From that time humans have been suffering from the effects of sin. One of those effects is bad health. The good news is that God not only allows us to get sick, He also left us reminders of how faithful He is to heal in His time, when He wills. We can count on the Great Physician to heal us when we are sick. 

2. Models For Prayer

a) Jesus was speaking in His Sermon on the Mount when He gave some guidelines for how we should pray. Here is what He said to the disciples just before He taught then the Lord’s Prayer:

Matthew 6:5-8 
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” 

The End ...