Prayer Walk: Matthew 6:6 (Week 3)
A Heart Filled With A Verse
Matthew 6:6
“But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” Matthew 6:6 (NLT)
aheartfilled.com
Prayer Walk Intro (Week 3)
An effective and deepened prayer walk starts with our attitude towards it. It begins with how we embrace it and what we believe the purpose is for it. An intentional prayer walk draws us closer to God, because it’s time spent in conversation with Him!!!
Friends, prayer is meant to be intimate and personal. It allows us to be vulnerable in a safe and inviting environment, because…
Prayer is all about talking to our most important Friend!
Prayer is just like having a conversation with your best friend over coffee (or tea, or…nachos)! When we enter into a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior He becomes our Friend. (John 15:13-15) So, when we go to Him in prayer we get time spent talking to our bestest, most important, friend – God Himself!!! With this little nugget of truth, how easy is it then to humble ourselves before Him?!? How easy is it then to be able to pour out our hearts to the One who knows us best?!? I’m talking about knowing us better than even the closest of friends know us, because…
God is closer than that!
A humble prayer walk helps us get into the right mindset, and knowing who we are talking with makes it even more meaningful! AND…that’s where Matthew 6:5-15 comes into play!!!
Prayer Walk: Matthew 6:6 (Week 3)
In the sixth chapter of Matthew, we get a lesson on prayer from the Creator of prayer! EXCITING!!! Jesus shines the light on how we need to embrace prayer. He reminds us there’s a right and wrong way to come to Him in prayer.
Prayer is not meant for show.
Prayer is a humbling act that comes from a genuine heart, honestly seeking time alone with the Friend above all friends. It’s a private conversation we get to have any time we want, and as often as need be, with our Heavenly Father! Check out what Jesus says…
“But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”
Matthew 6:6 (NLT)
Whether we are praying at home, on the road, or out and about this verse means we need to make sure it’s between God and us! Does it literally mean we need to “go into our rooms and shut the door” every single time? No, because prayer can happen whenever/wherever. But, this does help us understand it’s not for show. Our motives need to be pure and our prayers need to be humble.
Humbly Pray
We can learn a lot from the religious leaders Jesus mentions in His teachings, found in the New Testament. The religious leaders hearts were far from the relationship we need to be seeking with our Savior and Lord. They were hypocrites who talked a good talk, and put on a good show for the crowds but they didn’t get the whole “relationship” thing. They focused on self-seeking attention of those around them. AND…when they prayed they made sure everyone around them knew it and heard it. This is not the kind of communication God intended us to display when we go to Him in prayer.
God wants a real, genuine relationship with us, not one just for “show”. The veil was torn for a purpose and that purpose was for us!!
He really wants to be our friend; He really wants us to talk to Him like we talk to our friends.
Jesus ends this prayer lesson with the “Lord’s Prayer”. (Matthew 6:9-15) It’s a model for us to follow! When we dive into the purpose behind these seven verses we uncover how to get the most out of our prayer time with the Lord. Jesus reminds us to give God all the glory and praise as we earnestly seek His will.
It’s all about where our hearts are in the prayer moments!!!
Jesus also reminds us our prayers don’t need to be complicated. That we just need to come to Him, with open, honest hearts full of reliance on His power, mercy, strength, and love. Yes, friends, we have to trust Him. Trust His will for our lives and the lives of those we pray for. We can fully trust in His ability and power at work in and around you, BECAUSE His guidance, His love, and His friendship is certain and dependable!! He hears us and wants to keep hearing from us.
Friends, I encourage you to take some time to read through Matthew 6:5-15 for yourself. Allow the Holy Spirit to show you the way to an effective, deepened, personal prayer walk! AND…then, get your prayer on – humbly!
Remember, it’s all about our attitude towards it!! Humble prayers make all the difference. Being intentional and personal, giving God the time He deserves, only makes the friendship grow. THIS! This is how we deepen our prayer walk!!!
Forever Rely On God
Wanna keep exploring this topic?!?
Make sure to come back next week for another Bible verse devotion that’ll help encourage your prayer walk with the Lord! While you wait, CLICK HERE for Weeks 1 & 2 Devotions.
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