Thursday, November 12, 2009

When and where do we pray?

Sorry to miss last week, was in class all day Thursday and Friday. Matthew 6 is a fun passage of scripture to read. I’m curious as to how you interpret Jesus’ words in verses 5 and 6 in regards to prayer? So, here are a few questions to get you thinking.

- Is He saying we should never pray in public?
- What about praying publicly when the church is gathered?
- Does this mean Christians should stop praying for their meals while out to eat?
- Is Jesus saying God only hears our prayers when we pray in secret?

What do you think?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tim,

Should we not kneel in public, raise our hands and then pray loudly?

Didn't the pharisees and saducees set that example for us? Remember
they were the church leaders; and Jesus recognized how they prayed in the bible.

Nelsman said...

Sounds like it on the surface, but Jesus prayed in the presence of the disciples in John 17, gave thanks for food for the 5 thousand in Mark 6:41, prayed for Lazarus in front of ohers in John 11:41. So this reads more like a warning to not turn a prayer into a performance "to be seen by men". Maybe Jesus is leading us into private prayer so we will not be tempted to go beyond a one on one relationship with the Father

Mr. Guthrie said...

I was about to comment today, but after Nelsman has commented, all I can do is echo his comments.