Matthew 6:1-13
January 16, 2022
preached by Pastor Doug Cooper
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Time of Reflection Quotations

“Prayer is where the action is.”

~ John Wesley (1703-1791), English minister, writer and theologian

“One of the greatest attacks of the enemy is to make you busy, to make you hurried, to make you noisy, to make you distracted, to fill the people of God and the Church of God with so much noise and activity that there is no room for prayer. There is no room for being alone with God. There is no room for silence. There is no room for meditation.”

~ Paul Washer (1961-present), American minister

“The prayer preceding all prayers is ‘May it be the real I who speaks. May it be the real Thou that I speak to.’”

~ C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)

“Prayer – Christian prayer – by its very nature, is born out of an acknowledgment of need, out of an honest recognition of spiritual poverty.”

~ Paul Brendan Murray (1947-present), Irish Dominican priest, poet, writer, and professor

“It is a most delightful reflection that if I come to the throne of God in prayer, I may feel a thousand defects, but yet there is hope. I usually feel more dissatisfied with my prayers than with anything else I do.”

~ Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), English pastor and writer

“The right way to pray is to stretch out our hands and ask of One who we know has the heart of a Father.”

~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), German pastor, author and theologian

Sermon Passage

Matthew 6:1-13 (ESV)

¹ “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

² “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

⁵ “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. ⁶ 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.

⁷ “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. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹ Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread,
¹² and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”