I had the idea for this thread yesterday. I would like people to post a passage or verse, that they just read in their daily Bible reading, and post it, and what God said to them that made it very important.
So as I was reading Isaiah and Psalm 107 last night, I found some interesting things, but nothing to really write home about (or post on CC)
Then I turned to the NT. I just started my third read through the NT, so I'm in Matthew, 4, 6 and 6 to be exact. I started reading in HSCB and wow! I remembered that chapter 6 is the exact chapter we are doing in Greek this week. I had looked at the first half of the chapter the night before, and last night I read the rest of the chapter in Greek. Pretty amazing to sync up both English and Greek.
But then, I opened a book I had been re-reading for a few months, The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard (a good book recommendation). And I opened it mid chapter, and you guessed it, he was talking about prayer in Matthew 6. (This book goes through the Sermon on the Mount, and talks about it!)
So in Greek, I learned the following about Matt 6:5-34on prayer Προσέχετε
Introduction - Jesus talks about the right and wrong way to live the 3 Jewish obligations of piety - almsgiving, prayer and fasting. Who better than Jesus to serve as our teacher on the subject of prayer?
A. Don't be like hypocrites when you pray. vs5 i.e., you will have already received your reward by being seen. (Do we brag about prayer in our culture? I have never seen it, but others might disagree)
B. Genuine Prayer calls for a personal relationship with God vs6- a highly personal conversation between you and God. Yes, their is a place for public prayer, but the leader is more leading them, rather than praying on behalf of people as the congregation encounter God on an individual basis.
C. It is not the length of your prayers that count. vs 7-8 God is not impressed by babbling. μὴ βατταλογήσητε The repetition of empty phrases is a pagan practice.
D. Jesus tells us how to pray. v9-13
1. First for those things that honour God, his character, and his redemptive program in the world.
- that his name may be held in honour
- that his eternal kingdom may come
- that his will may be done
2. Second that our own needs be met
- that we will receive each day that which is necessary for life.
- that we will be forgiven our daily sins
- that we will be kept from failing in our responsibilities to God.
Conclusion
The basis for prayer is the recognition of the greatness of God and our absolute dependance on him. Prayer is one place where pious subterfuge has no place in our relation to him.
Willard talks also about prayer He notes is "is the method of genuine theological research, the method of understanding what and who God is. God is spirit and exists at the level of reality where the human heart, or spirit, also exists, serving as the foundation and source of our visible life. It is there that the individual meets with God, "in spirit and in truth."
The effect is, once again, a remarkable difference in the life of the believer. "Your Father who see in secret, will repay you." (v6) The visible side of your life will involve highly significant events that cannot be explained in terms of the visible world. The "spiritual" person is understood by no one, as Paul says (1 Cor. 2:15) That is because they are operating from the reality that is "in secret."
Jesus also warns about mistaking prayer for a mechanical process. That too, would turn it into an event in the physical or visible world, not a matter of the heart. Kingdom praying and its efficacy is entirely a maters of the innermost heart's being honest and open before God. It is a matter of what we are saying with our whole being, moving with resolute intent and clarity into the flow of God's actions. In apprenticeship to Jesus, this is one of the most important things we learn how to do. He teaches us how to be in prayer what we are in life, and how to be in life, what we are in prayer.
Then, it is fitting that Jesus, at this point in the Discourse, gives the model prayer, commonly known as the Lord's prayer. Indeed, it it the Disciple's Prayer, and it has an absolutely vital role in kingdom living. But Jesus is not giving a law, requiring us to pray in the exact words. The Sermon on the Mount is not looking at laws, but at life: a life in which the genuine laws of God eventually become naturally fulfilled. *
As I was thinking about this and typing, it also occurred to me that last night, I was teaching an Alpha course. The topic for the night was "prayer." So I think I better really pay attention. God showing me the same topic, the same verses FOUR times in one night! Mega important!
Finally, what someone posts is not up for debate, even if you disagree. You may add that the post helped you, or add something positive about it. I do hope everyone will join in and show us what God specifically showed them as they were reading their Bible. And if you do not read the bible - maybe now it the time to start? I cannot emphasize strongly enough that the Bible is God's Word to us, and if we don't know it, it is pretty hard to follow God and to get to know him better. The resources are there, there is no excuse! Praise the Lord!
Willard, Dallas. The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering our Hidden Life in God, Harper One, New York, 1997, pp 193-195
So as I was reading Isaiah and Psalm 107 last night, I found some interesting things, but nothing to really write home about (or post on CC)
Then I turned to the NT. I just started my third read through the NT, so I'm in Matthew, 4, 6 and 6 to be exact. I started reading in HSCB and wow! I remembered that chapter 6 is the exact chapter we are doing in Greek this week. I had looked at the first half of the chapter the night before, and last night I read the rest of the chapter in Greek. Pretty amazing to sync up both English and Greek.
But then, I opened a book I had been re-reading for a few months, The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard (a good book recommendation). And I opened it mid chapter, and you guessed it, he was talking about prayer in Matthew 6. (This book goes through the Sermon on the Mount, and talks about it!)
So in Greek, I learned the following about Matt 6:5-34on prayer Προσέχετε
Introduction - Jesus talks about the right and wrong way to live the 3 Jewish obligations of piety - almsgiving, prayer and fasting. Who better than Jesus to serve as our teacher on the subject of prayer?
A. Don't be like hypocrites when you pray. vs5 i.e., you will have already received your reward by being seen. (Do we brag about prayer in our culture? I have never seen it, but others might disagree)
B. Genuine Prayer calls for a personal relationship with God vs6- a highly personal conversation between you and God. Yes, their is a place for public prayer, but the leader is more leading them, rather than praying on behalf of people as the congregation encounter God on an individual basis.
C. It is not the length of your prayers that count. vs 7-8 God is not impressed by babbling. μὴ βατταλογήσητε The repetition of empty phrases is a pagan practice.
D. Jesus tells us how to pray. v9-13
1. First for those things that honour God, his character, and his redemptive program in the world.
- that his name may be held in honour
- that his eternal kingdom may come
- that his will may be done
2. Second that our own needs be met
- that we will receive each day that which is necessary for life.
- that we will be forgiven our daily sins
- that we will be kept from failing in our responsibilities to God.
Conclusion
The basis for prayer is the recognition of the greatness of God and our absolute dependance on him. Prayer is one place where pious subterfuge has no place in our relation to him.
Willard talks also about prayer He notes is "is the method of genuine theological research, the method of understanding what and who God is. God is spirit and exists at the level of reality where the human heart, or spirit, also exists, serving as the foundation and source of our visible life. It is there that the individual meets with God, "in spirit and in truth."
The effect is, once again, a remarkable difference in the life of the believer. "Your Father who see in secret, will repay you." (v6) The visible side of your life will involve highly significant events that cannot be explained in terms of the visible world. The "spiritual" person is understood by no one, as Paul says (1 Cor. 2:15) That is because they are operating from the reality that is "in secret."
Jesus also warns about mistaking prayer for a mechanical process. That too, would turn it into an event in the physical or visible world, not a matter of the heart. Kingdom praying and its efficacy is entirely a maters of the innermost heart's being honest and open before God. It is a matter of what we are saying with our whole being, moving with resolute intent and clarity into the flow of God's actions. In apprenticeship to Jesus, this is one of the most important things we learn how to do. He teaches us how to be in prayer what we are in life, and how to be in life, what we are in prayer.
Then, it is fitting that Jesus, at this point in the Discourse, gives the model prayer, commonly known as the Lord's prayer. Indeed, it it the Disciple's Prayer, and it has an absolutely vital role in kingdom living. But Jesus is not giving a law, requiring us to pray in the exact words. The Sermon on the Mount is not looking at laws, but at life: a life in which the genuine laws of God eventually become naturally fulfilled. *
As I was thinking about this and typing, it also occurred to me that last night, I was teaching an Alpha course. The topic for the night was "prayer." So I think I better really pay attention. God showing me the same topic, the same verses FOUR times in one night! Mega important!
Finally, what someone posts is not up for debate, even if you disagree. You may add that the post helped you, or add something positive about it. I do hope everyone will join in and show us what God specifically showed them as they were reading their Bible. And if you do not read the bible - maybe now it the time to start? I cannot emphasize strongly enough that the Bible is God's Word to us, and if we don't know it, it is pretty hard to follow God and to get to know him better. The resources are there, there is no excuse! Praise the Lord!
Willard, Dallas. The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering our Hidden Life in God, Harper One, New York, 1997, pp 193-195
The verse is Luke 1:37, and the picture has what else, an orange cat in it, pointing to the verse. 
