RPMs -- Recognizing Potential Mates

This creatively driven series of talks will provide foundational principles on how to date and select a mate God's way. We're going to cruise past the cultural myths and embark on a supercharged ride to the ultimate relational destination.

Prayer Post 4

Hello! I know you all have been patiently anticipating prayer post 4. Actually, this post is part two of post 3. It deals with another aspect of praying with gut-level honesty. This post will be based on Matthew 6:5, 7.

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men… And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words."

1. Do not be like the hypocrite when you pray. What does this mean? Well, the word hypocrite comes from Greek plays. It is a theatrical term. Whenever Greek plays were in existence, the actors held masks in front of their faces to portray their characters. This is where the word hypcorite derives. Hypocrite basically means play-acting. It is acting like something that you are in fact not. It is "wearing a mask." So, when we pray we are not to wear a mask. We are not to pretend to be something we are not. God is not a spectator in a box seat watching our prayer performance. He does not want performance. He desires gut-level honesty. Do not try to pretend to be a prayer warrior. Just be yourself and communicate with God. Do not put on a show or a play, if you will.

2. Do not pray to be seen by men. This is another aspect of being a hypocrite, putting on a show for others. Have you ever been to a prayer meeting, and you could see that someone was just putting on a show while they were praying? I have, and I can not stand this. Some people pray as though they are putting on a theatrical drama of some sort. It is all for show. They desire applause. It seems they are performing a speech or even praying a sermon, and sometimes it is at you, not with you. Sometimes these people are praying at God, if you will, instead of praying to God. Actually, some of these prayers are telling God what to do instead of being done in a worshipful attitude of reverence and awe. Anyway, you get the point. Do not pray for show or for the applause of man. Pray with gut-level honesty. Pray like you are your real self. No special words or formulas, just talk to God. Others will greatly appreciate this. Trust me!

3. Do not babble and babble along in your prayers. In other words, God doesn't mind short prayers. Praying for a long time does not get God to hear you anymore than praying for a short time. God is not impressed or moved by the length of a prayer; he is moved and impressed with gut-level honesty and sincerity. Pagans think they are heard because they can pray for hours on end as though God answers a person due to the length of their prayer. Christians know God hears and answers their prayers because God says he does in his word, not because they say prayers like they are running a marathon. Now, do not misinterpret this verse as meaning you cannot pray for something more than once. That is not what this verse means. As a matter of fact, Jesus told the parable of the persistent woman who kept knocking on the door of the judge until he answered her. You can pray more than once for something; this shows faith and persistence, but you do not have to pray for eight hours or even fifteen minutes about one particular subject. You can ask openly and honestly, and you can ask openly and honestly several times until the prayer is answered. If you pray for fifteen minutes, and it is a sincere prayer, that is awesome. If you pray for five minutes, and it is sincere, that is awesome too. If you can pray for eight hours, and it is a sincere and honest and heartfelt prayer, that is awesome too; however, length is not a requirement, but gut-level honesty is!

I hope you are getting something out of these posts. I plan on doing more, so stay tuned. Prayer post 5 will be coming!