Book Sample
6:5 "And when you pray, (Expresses: Expects prayer to be a daily part of the believers life.) do not be like the hypocrites, (5273-an actor under an assumed character, mask, stage-performer. Metph-religious phony, fraud, pretender.) for they love to pray standing (Metph.-observable, ostentatiously) in the synagogues (4864-Jewish assembly, house of worship) and on the street corners (Lit.-Town squares. Metph.-publicly) to be seen (Syn.-praised, admired) by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. (Expresses: Human recognition, admiration, nothing more from God.)
Warns against praying simply to impress others of how religiously devout we are.
Message & Application
Shows believers how prayer should always be about growing closer to God, and not for those listening!
Teaches prayer should be about developing an intimate relationship with God, not about gaining a reputation or admiration of others.
Note: Jesus is not prohibiting prayer meetings or prayer groups. But only the ostentatious display of prayer for the purpose of impressing others.
6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, (closet-K.J.V. lit.-storeroom in a Jewish home. Metph.- privately, inner heart.) close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. (i.e. Spirit) Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, (Syn.-sincerely, true motives. Expresses: God’ omnipotence) will reward you. (Suggests: Answer to prayer, or a deeper relationship with God.)
God wants prayers that are sincere & heartfelt.
Message & Application
Shows how believers are to direct our prayers to God in a genuine & sincere manner. (Know that honest prayers get answered by God!).
By praying privately allows us to be ourselves in pouring out our true feelings to God without being embarrassed, distracted, or interrupted.
Teaches how praying privately allows us to shut out worldly distraction, that we may better hear the still and small voice of God. Note: Even today praying privately allows us to bear our hearts & souls openly before God, sharing our deepest hurts, pains, and struggles.
Note: Today a “Prayer closet” can be anything from a commute to work, a walk in a park, a chair on the porch, a dorm room, a kitchen table, etc.
Pg. 97
_________________________________________
6:7 And when you pray, {See V. 5} do not keep on babbling (vain repetitions-K.J.V., A.V.-945-to stammer, to repeat idly, denotes; “The meaningless and mechanical repeating of phrases”. Syn.-yammering, rambling, rattling, blah-blah-blah, heap up empty phrases-R.S.V., recite the same prayer over and over-L.B.V.) like pagans, (heathens-K.J.V. Syn.-unbelievers, non-Christians) for they think they will be heard because of their many words. (much speaking-K.J.V., repeating-L.B.V., Syn.-chants, verbatim, religious Phraseology /vocabulary.)
8 Do not be like them, for your Father (i.e God) knows (exactly-L.B.V.) what you need before you ask him. (Suggests: Prayers to God must be given in faith, or prayers must be given in trusting that God knows what’s best.)
Warns believers against reciting prayers that are empty of thought & feeling.
Message & Application
Shows how God wants the kind of prayer that comes from the heart, not just the mouth. (God hears the heart more than the tongue!).
Warns how prayers that are repetitive in nature often lack thought and sincere feelings. (Be personal in your prayers to God!).
Warns believers against mindlessly memorizing or reciting prayers. (Prayer should always come from one's heart and true feelings).
Calls for keeping our prayers short, simple, and to the point. (God doesn’t need a lot of religious jargon to understand your needs!).
Teaches how prayer is not about magic formulas or fancy speech, but simply about pouring out our hearts and being genuine with God.
–Babbling-Meaning: A Greek term describing a man who hung about the streets and market places, picking up scraps of words or teachings secondhand. Then repeated them without any real understanding of their true meaning. In a religious sense, it is ritual jargon in which words are often recited without thought and meaning.
–Vain repetitions-K.J.V.-Meaning: Repeating of words that are empty of thought. Some view the Catholic “Rosary” (5 to 15 Hail Mary’s) as falling closely along these lines of thoughtless repetition. Even the “Lords Prayer” is sometimes often recited without much
thought behind the words. (Be conscious of what the words mean!).
Note: The reason why “Repetition Prayer” is bad is because it suggests that by repeating things over & over again God is unable to understand our needs, that God has to be motivated and bullied to do His duty. Or that God is reluctant and needs to be persuaded in giving us what we want.
Note: Jesus is not condemning long prayers or the repetition of the same prayer. But rather only of prayers that are empty of thought & feelings. (cf. Luke 6:12, 11;5-9, 18:1-8, Matt. 7:7, 26:42-44)
Pg. 98
_______________________________________________________
The Lords[Disciples] Prayer
6:9 "This, then, is how (manner-K.J.V. Syn.-pattern, model) you should pray: "‘Our Father in heaven,(Expresses: God’s sovereignty, love, grace, protection.) hallowed be your name (Expresses: Reverence of God’ person, character, and name.)
10 your kingdom come (Suggests: Christ’ rule, Millennial reign, Gospel success, conversion of sinners, end to evil.) your will be done (Expresses: Obedience and conformity to God’will and purposes.) on earth as it is in heaven. (Suggests: That God’ will and glory comes first before our own wants, that we confidently and cheerfully accept God’ decisions and directions that He appoints us.)
11 Give us today our daily bread (Expresses: Day to day dependence on God for both our physical and spiritual needs, as well as being content with what God provides.)
12 Forgive us our debts, (Metph.-sins, offenses, short comings, failures, moral lapses) as we also have forgiven our debtors. (Suggests: Receiving God’ daily mercies is dependent on having a forgiving spirit towards others.)
13 And lead us not into temptation, (Metph.-daily struggles with sin, lusts, Satan’s trials.) but deliver us from the evil one.’ (For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen.-K.J.V.-[Not found in the earliest Greek MSS] Expresses: Doxology of confidence in God’ sovereignty & answer to prayer.)
Believers are to pattern their prayers in giving praise & glory to God first before seeking their own needs & wants.
Message & Application
–Our father in heaven-Meaning: Prayer that addresses God on a intimate and personal level, knowing God as one who loves and cares for our welfare. (Takes into account our redemptive relationship with God).
-Hallowed be your name-Meaning: Prayer that praises & thanks God for who He is and all He has done, that everything we have belongs to Him. (Also promises to live in ways that bring praise/honor to God).
-Your kingdom come-Meaning: Prayer that yields to God’s supreme sovereignty and authority over everything. Affirms and welcomes God’s rule, reign, and values in our own lives and the world to come.
-Your will be done-Meaning: Prayer that seeks to live out God’s will in our lives, humbly submitting to His purposes and plans. One who recognizes and trusts that God knows what is good and best for us.
–Daily bread-Meaning: Prayer that looks to God who is able to meet our physical & spiritual needs, i.e. food, clothing, work, health, peace, joy, comfort, etc. (Also signifies one’s day to day dependence on God).
–Forgive us our debts-Meaning: Prayer that asks for God’s help and daily cleansing of our offenses, shortcomings, and moral lapses. (Does not mean the forgiveness of sins already paid in full by Christ).
–Lead us not into temptation-Meaning: Prayer that acknowledges our weakness & need of God’s strength in not yielding to sin & temptation. (Not that God entices us to do evil or He not test our faith.)-(James 1:12)
Pg. 99
_____________________________________________________
6:14 For if you forgive men when they sin (trespass -K.J.V. Syn.-offences, injuries, insults) against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (Suggests: Answer prayer, daily mercies. Not part of the prayer but reinforces the thought of the fifth petition-{V. 12} that forgiveness of sins is conditional.)
15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (trespasses-K.J.V., A.V. Syn.-misdeeds, shortcomings, daily faults.)
Believers willingness to forgive others determines God’ daily mercies to them.
Message & Application
Shows how believers cannot expect God’s blessing & daily mercies while holding an unforgiving and grudging heart towards others.
Teaches how forgiving others demonstrates an awareness of our own weaknesses, shortcomings, and need of God’s daily cleansing.
Warns that when we refuse to forgive others, we put ourselves above God as judge. (Remember it is God’s place to judge, not yours!).
Those who have experienced God’s grace will be gracious to others. (If God forgave us when we didn’t deserve it, can’t we do the same).
Warns how holding onto anger and bitterness can poison our spiritual life and hinder our relationship with God and other people.
Note: The forgiveness Jesus is calling for here is not about letting them off, trusting them again, liking them again, or minimizing the offense. But it's about releasing our right to stay angry & bitter with them, knowing how much God has forgiven our sins. That we’re putting it all in God’s hands, trusting Him to give us the strength to let it go and move past it.
Note: Jesus is not saying God will stay angry with us if we remain angry with others. Or that God will take away our Salvation if we’re not forgiving everyone we meet. But rather is warning how an unforgiving spirit can affect our daily fellowship and walk with God, hindering both our prayer life and the flow of God’s love, joy, peace, and blessings.
Purposes in being Forgiving:
Pg. 100
__________________________________________________________
6:5 "And when you pray, (Expresses: Expects prayer to be a daily part of the believers life.) do not be like the hypocrites, (5273-an actor under an assumed character, mask, stage-performer. Metph-religious phony, fraud, pretender.) for they love to pray standing (Metph.-observable, ostentatiously) in the synagogues (4864-Jewish assembly, house of worship) and on the street corners (Lit.-Town squares. Metph.-publicly) to be seen (Syn.-praised, admired) by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. (Expresses: Human recognition, admiration, nothing more from God.)
Warns against praying simply to impress others of how religiously devout we are.
Message & Application
Shows believers how prayer should always be about growing closer to God, and not for those listening!
Teaches prayer should be about developing an intimate relationship with God, not about gaining a reputation or admiration of others.
Note: Jesus is not prohibiting prayer meetings or prayer groups. But only the ostentatious display of prayer for the purpose of impressing others.
6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, (closet-K.J.V. lit.-storeroom in a Jewish home. Metph.- privately, inner heart.) close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. (i.e. Spirit) Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, (Syn.-sincerely, true motives. Expresses: God’ omnipotence) will reward you. (Suggests: Answer to prayer, or a deeper relationship with God.)
God wants prayers that are sincere & heartfelt.
Message & Application
Shows how believers are to direct our prayers to God in a genuine & sincere manner. (Know that honest prayers get answered by God!).
By praying privately allows us to be ourselves in pouring out our true feelings to God without being embarrassed, distracted, or interrupted.
Teaches how praying privately allows us to shut out worldly distraction, that we may better hear the still and small voice of God. Note: Even today praying privately allows us to bear our hearts & souls openly before God, sharing our deepest hurts, pains, and struggles.
Note: Today a “Prayer closet” can be anything from a commute to work, a walk in a park, a chair on the porch, a dorm room, a kitchen table, etc.
Pg. 97
_________________________________________
6:7 And when you pray, {See V. 5} do not keep on babbling (vain repetitions-K.J.V., A.V.-945-to stammer, to repeat idly, denotes; “The meaningless and mechanical repeating of phrases”. Syn.-yammering, rambling, rattling, blah-blah-blah, heap up empty phrases-R.S.V., recite the same prayer over and over-L.B.V.) like pagans, (heathens-K.J.V. Syn.-unbelievers, non-Christians) for they think they will be heard because of their many words. (much speaking-K.J.V., repeating-L.B.V., Syn.-chants, verbatim, religious Phraseology /vocabulary.)
8 Do not be like them, for your Father (i.e God) knows (exactly-L.B.V.) what you need before you ask him. (Suggests: Prayers to God must be given in faith, or prayers must be given in trusting that God knows what’s best.)
Warns believers against reciting prayers that are empty of thought & feeling.
Message & Application
Shows how God wants the kind of prayer that comes from the heart, not just the mouth. (God hears the heart more than the tongue!).
Warns how prayers that are repetitive in nature often lack thought and sincere feelings. (Be personal in your prayers to God!).
Warns believers against mindlessly memorizing or reciting prayers. (Prayer should always come from one's heart and true feelings).
Calls for keeping our prayers short, simple, and to the point. (God doesn’t need a lot of religious jargon to understand your needs!).
Teaches how prayer is not about magic formulas or fancy speech, but simply about pouring out our hearts and being genuine with God.
–Babbling-Meaning: A Greek term describing a man who hung about the streets and market places, picking up scraps of words or teachings secondhand. Then repeated them without any real understanding of their true meaning. In a religious sense, it is ritual jargon in which words are often recited without thought and meaning.
–Vain repetitions-K.J.V.-Meaning: Repeating of words that are empty of thought. Some view the Catholic “Rosary” (5 to 15 Hail Mary’s) as falling closely along these lines of thoughtless repetition. Even the “Lords Prayer” is sometimes often recited without much
thought behind the words. (Be conscious of what the words mean!).
Note: The reason why “Repetition Prayer” is bad is because it suggests that by repeating things over & over again God is unable to understand our needs, that God has to be motivated and bullied to do His duty. Or that God is reluctant and needs to be persuaded in giving us what we want.
Note: Jesus is not condemning long prayers or the repetition of the same prayer. But rather only of prayers that are empty of thought & feelings. (cf. Luke 6:12, 11;5-9, 18:1-8, Matt. 7:7, 26:42-44)
Pg. 98
_______________________________________________________
The Lords[Disciples] Prayer
6:9 "This, then, is how (manner-K.J.V. Syn.-pattern, model) you should pray: "‘Our Father in heaven,(Expresses: God’s sovereignty, love, grace, protection.) hallowed be your name (Expresses: Reverence of God’ person, character, and name.)
10 your kingdom come (Suggests: Christ’ rule, Millennial reign, Gospel success, conversion of sinners, end to evil.) your will be done (Expresses: Obedience and conformity to God’will and purposes.) on earth as it is in heaven. (Suggests: That God’ will and glory comes first before our own wants, that we confidently and cheerfully accept God’ decisions and directions that He appoints us.)
11 Give us today our daily bread (Expresses: Day to day dependence on God for both our physical and spiritual needs, as well as being content with what God provides.)
12 Forgive us our debts, (Metph.-sins, offenses, short comings, failures, moral lapses) as we also have forgiven our debtors. (Suggests: Receiving God’ daily mercies is dependent on having a forgiving spirit towards others.)
13 And lead us not into temptation, (Metph.-daily struggles with sin, lusts, Satan’s trials.) but deliver us from the evil one.’ (For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen.-K.J.V.-[Not found in the earliest Greek MSS] Expresses: Doxology of confidence in God’ sovereignty & answer to prayer.)
Believers are to pattern their prayers in giving praise & glory to God first before seeking their own needs & wants.
Message & Application
–Our father in heaven-Meaning: Prayer that addresses God on a intimate and personal level, knowing God as one who loves and cares for our welfare. (Takes into account our redemptive relationship with God).
-Hallowed be your name-Meaning: Prayer that praises & thanks God for who He is and all He has done, that everything we have belongs to Him. (Also promises to live in ways that bring praise/honor to God).
-Your kingdom come-Meaning: Prayer that yields to God’s supreme sovereignty and authority over everything. Affirms and welcomes God’s rule, reign, and values in our own lives and the world to come.
-Your will be done-Meaning: Prayer that seeks to live out God’s will in our lives, humbly submitting to His purposes and plans. One who recognizes and trusts that God knows what is good and best for us.
–Daily bread-Meaning: Prayer that looks to God who is able to meet our physical & spiritual needs, i.e. food, clothing, work, health, peace, joy, comfort, etc. (Also signifies one’s day to day dependence on God).
–Forgive us our debts-Meaning: Prayer that asks for God’s help and daily cleansing of our offenses, shortcomings, and moral lapses. (Does not mean the forgiveness of sins already paid in full by Christ).
–Lead us not into temptation-Meaning: Prayer that acknowledges our weakness & need of God’s strength in not yielding to sin & temptation. (Not that God entices us to do evil or He not test our faith.)-(James 1:12)
Pg. 99
_____________________________________________________
6:14 For if you forgive men when they sin (trespass -K.J.V. Syn.-offences, injuries, insults) against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (Suggests: Answer prayer, daily mercies. Not part of the prayer but reinforces the thought of the fifth petition-{V. 12} that forgiveness of sins is conditional.)
15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (trespasses-K.J.V., A.V. Syn.-misdeeds, shortcomings, daily faults.)
Believers willingness to forgive others determines God’ daily mercies to them.
Message & Application
Shows how believers cannot expect God’s blessing & daily mercies while holding an unforgiving and grudging heart towards others.
Teaches how forgiving others demonstrates an awareness of our own weaknesses, shortcomings, and need of God’s daily cleansing.
Warns that when we refuse to forgive others, we put ourselves above God as judge. (Remember it is God’s place to judge, not yours!).
Those who have experienced God’s grace will be gracious to others. (If God forgave us when we didn’t deserve it, can’t we do the same).
Warns how holding onto anger and bitterness can poison our spiritual life and hinder our relationship with God and other people.
Note: The forgiveness Jesus is calling for here is not about letting them off, trusting them again, liking them again, or minimizing the offense. But it's about releasing our right to stay angry & bitter with them, knowing how much God has forgiven our sins. That we’re putting it all in God’s hands, trusting Him to give us the strength to let it go and move past it.
Note: Jesus is not saying God will stay angry with us if we remain angry with others. Or that God will take away our Salvation if we’re not forgiving everyone we meet. But rather is warning how an unforgiving spirit can affect our daily fellowship and walk with God, hindering both our prayer life and the flow of God’s love, joy, peace, and blessings.
Purposes in being Forgiving:
- Believers by forgiving others gets rid of growing anger, bitterness, and resentment towards them.
- Believers by forgiving others are better able to reflect God’s love and mercy.
- Believers by forgiving others frees our guilt, brings peace of mind, keeps Satan from gaining a foothold.
- Believers resentment & unforgiveness can leave a bad witness of our faith to the rest of the world.
Pg. 100
__________________________________________________________
If you are interested in having a free promotional copy of this whole book "Matthew Life Application Commentary" sent to you (limited time offer only) please fill out required fields below.... (be sure to add mailing address)
