Series text: Ecclesiastes 4:12

“A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

Today’s text: Matthew 6:1-18

Jesus speaks regarding giving, praying and fasting.

• Issues to avoid in prayingPublic babbling

“Are we trying to impress someone?” “Why are we trying to impress someone?”

Plain old babbling And if He knows what we need before we ask Him then prayer must be

more than bringing before God our requests.

• Instructions for praying Private prayer when and where

Model prayer Invocation * Supplication * Recognition

or better saidTalking * Asking * Accepting

.

• Important Attitudes while praying o Jesus teaches through His prayer

The King is God His servants are us The debt represents sin The debt in today’s currency would be in the neighborhood of some 5 billion dollars. The conclusion is how God views those that are eager for His mercy & forgiveness, but quickly forget the mercy shown them when dealing with others.

• Avoid all babbling disguised as prayer. Do not pray in public if your motivation is to be seen and heard as some holy person who really is close to God. Do not pray in such a way that involves some repetitious set of words that have may sound good but have no real heart in them.

• Concentrate on intentional private prayer behind closed doors free from interruptions.

• Remember that good prayer is not simply a list of wants you bring before God. He is not the heavenly genie in a bottle that we can cause to appear to fulfill our every wish.

• No prayer is proper unless we seek forgiveness.