Prayer and Forgiveness

Study Text: Matthew 6:9-13; Matthew 18; Mark 11:23-25

In Jewish imagery, a mountain signifies something strong and immovable, a problem that stands in the way (Zech. 4:7). We can move these mountains only by trusting God.

Of course, this is not the only lesson Jesus ever gave on prayer; and we must be careful not to isolate it from the rest of Scripture. Prayer must be in the will of God (1 John 5:14-15), and the one praying must be abiding in the love of God (John 15:7-14). Prayer is not an emergency measure that we turn to when we have a problem. Real prayer is a part of our constant communion with God and worship of God.

Nor should we interpret Mark 11:24 to mean, "If you pray hard enough and really believe, God is obligated to answer your prayers, no matter what you ask." That kind of faith is not faith in God; rather, it is nothing but faith in faith, or faith in feelings. True faith in God is based on His Word (John 15:7; Romans 10:17), and His Word reveals His will to us. It has well been said that the purpose of prayer is not to get man's will done in heaven, but to get God's will done on earth.

True prayer involves forgiveness as well as faith. I must be in fellowship with both my Father in heaven and my brethren on earth if God is to answer my prayers (see Matt. 5:21-26; 6:14-15; 18:15-35). The first word in "The Lord's Prayer" is our—"Our Father which art in heaven" and not "My Father which art in heaven." Though Christians may pray in private, no Christian ever prays alone; for all of God's people are part of a worldwide family that unites to seek God's blessing (Eph. 3:14-15). Prayer draws us together.

We do not earn God's blessing by forgiving one another. Our forgiving spirit is one evidence that our hearts are right with God and that we want to obey His will, and this makes it possible for the Father to hear us and to answer prayer (Psalm 66:18). Faith works by love (Galatians 5:6). If I have faith in God, I will also have love for my brother.
We must pray in secret before we pray in public (v. 6). It is not wrong to pray in public in the assembly (1 Tim. 2:1ff), or even when blessing food (John 6:11) or seeking God's help (John 11:41-42; Acts 27:35). But it is wrong to pray in public if we are not in the habit of praying in private. Observers may think that we are practicing prayer when we are not, and this is hypocrisy. The word translated closet means "a private chamber." It could refer to the store-chamber in a house. Our Lord prayed privately (Mark 1:35); so did Elisha (2 Kings 4:32) and Daniel (Daniel 6:10).

We must pray sincerely (vv. 7-8). The fact that a request is repeated does not make it a "vain repetition"; for both Jesus and Paul repeated their petitions (Matthew 26:36-46; 2 Corinthians 12:7-8).

A request becomes a "vain repetition" if it is only a babbling of words without a sincere heart desire to seek and do God's will. The mere reciting of memorized prayers can be vain repetition. The Gentiles had such prayers in their pagan ceremonies (1 Kings 18:26).

All of us have one routine prayer in our system; and once we get rid of it, then we can really start to pray! With some people, praying is like putting the needle on a phonograph record and then forgetting about it. But God does not answer insincere prayers.

We must pray in God's will (vv. 9-13). This prayer is known familiarly as "The Lord's Prayer," but "The Disciples' Prayer" would be a more accurate title. Jesus did not give this prayer to us to be memorized and recited a given number of times. In fact, He gave this prayer to keep us from using vain repetitions. Jesus did not say, "Pray in these words." He said, "Pray after this manner"; that is, "Use this prayer as a pattern, not as a substitute."
The purpose of prayer is to glorify God's name, and to ask for help to accomplish His will on earth. This prayer begins with God's interests, not ours: God's name, God's kingdom, and God's will. Robert Law has said, "Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man's will done in heaven, but for getting God's will done in earth." We have no right to ask God for anything that will dishonor His name, delay His kingdom, or disturb His will on earth.

It is worth noting that there are no singular pronouns in this prayer; they are all plural. It begins with "OUR Father." When we pray, we must remember that we are part of God's worldwide family of believers. We have no right to ask for ourselves anything that would harm another member of the family. If we are praying in the will of God, the answer will be a blessing to all of God's people in one way or another.

If we put God's concerns first, then we can bring our own needs. God is concerned about our needs and knows them even before we mention them (Matthew 6:8). If this is the case, then why pray? Because prayer is the God-appointed way to have these needs met (see James 4:1-3). Prayer prepares us for the proper use of the answer. If we know our need, and if we voice it to God, trusting Him for His provision, then we will make better use of the answer than if God forced it on us without our asking.

It is right to pray for daily physical needs, for forgiveness, and for guidance and protection from evil. "Lead us not into temptation" does not mean that God tempts His children (James 1:13-17). In this petition we are asking God to guide us so that we will not get out of His will and get involved in a situation of temptation (1 John 5:18), or even in a situation of tempting God so that He must miraculously rescue us (Matthew 4:5-7).
We must pray, having a forgiving spirit toward others (vv. 14-15). In this "appendix" to the prayer, Jesus expanded the last phrase of Matthew 6:12, "as we forgive our debtors." He later repeated this lesson to His disciples (Mark 11:19-26).

He was not teaching that believers earned God's forgiveness by forgiving others; for this would be contrary to God's free grace and mercy. However, if we have truly experienced God's forgiveness, then we will have a readiness to forgive others (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13). Our Lord illustrated this principle in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18:21-35).
We have seen that true praying is a "family affair" ("Our Father"). If the members of the family are not getting along with one another, how can they claim to have a right relationship with the Father? The emphasis in 1 John 4 is that we show our love for God by loving our brothers. When we forgive each other, we are not earning the right to prayer; for the privilege of prayer is a part of our sonship (Romans 8:15-16). Forgiveness belongs to the matter of fellowship: If I am not in fellowship with God, I cannot pray effectively. But fellowship with my brother helps to determine my fellowship with God; hence, forgiveness is important to prayer.

Since prayer involves glorifying God's name, hastening the coming of God's kingdom (2 Peter 3:12), and helping to accomplish God's will on earth, the one praying must not have sin in his heart. If God answered the prayers of a believer who had an unforgiving spirit, He would dishonor His own name. How could God work through such a person to get His will done on earth? If God gave him his requests, He would be encouraging sin! The important thing about prayer is not simply getting an answer, but being the kind of person whom God can trust with an answer.