In the New Covenant writings, Yeshua (Jesus) gives us three different methods to use when we pray. Only two of them make sense.
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So, let’s see what Yeshua says.
In Matthew 6:9-13, Yeshua tells how to pray by giving us what we call “The Lord’s Prayer”. This is more than just a prayer, it is the template for all prayers.
We start by recognizing God’s existence and authority, then we ask for only what we need today (demonstrating faith in God to provide), then to be forgiven (this one has a caveat I will explain soon), and lastly we ask for protection from evil. We finish it up honoring God by (again) recognizing his authority and power.
That caveat I mentioned is this: we are to ask God to forgive us as we forgive others, which is actually tantamount to authorizing God not to forgive us if we do not forgive others. Yeshua even confirms this in Matthew 6:14-15.
This prayer is about as good as you can get when it comes to praying, whether you repeat it verbatim or use it as a template for your own prayer.
The second method Yeshua suggests is in Mark 11:24. Here he tells us that when we pray, if we trust we will receive it, it will be ours. This is certainly something that we have to do, i.e., trust that not only does God hear our prayers, but that he can be trusted to deliver.
Now, this doesn’t mean that whatever we want we get. There are many prayers that are not godly or even proper, so if you think praying over a lottery ticket will guarantee you will win, you will be sorely disappointed.
(Watch! Now someone will reply they did that and this whole message gets shot down.)
Trust and faith seem to be the same thing, but they are really two sides of the same coin. Trust is something that we usually give to someone after they have proven themself to be trustworthy, but faith is something we choose to have, proof notwithstanding (Hebrews 11:1).
Of course, when it comes to God, trust should be automatic because , well…he’s God. Duh!
But, for those Doubting Thomas’ out there, you should be able to trust God because we are told in the Bible about many things which archaeology has proven to be true. If the people and events we are told about in the Bible are true, then everything in the Bible can be trusted, as well.
OK, yes- there are some things that are literal and some things that are figurative, and absolute proof of God will never be given because proof is the antithesis of faith, and we are saved by faith, not scientific evidence. But, all in all, we can trust what we read about God because there are so many testimonies, both ancient and modern, to his existence that he has proven, to those who accept it, that he does exist. And if he exists, then he is what we read about in the Bible.
The third method of praying is in John’s Gospel, which I have often said is (in my opinion) a false gospel, but that is for another time. In John 14:13, and again in John 16:23, Yeshua tells his talmidim (students/disciples) that when they pray, they should pray in his name. The idea here is that by invoking the name of the Messiah, God will make sure their prayers are answered.
This one doesn’t make sense to me.
First, let’s examine this for the Trinitarians out there: if Yeshua is God, then why would we need to invoke his name when praying, since our prayers are already directed at him? What I mean is, when we pray to God we are already praying in his name, right?
See? It doesn’t make sense if we go along with the Trinity thingie.
Second, if we believe (as I do) that Yeshua and God are totally separate entities, unique and individual, then when we pray to God why do we need to “drop” Yeshua’s name? Doesn’t God already know that we belong to Yeshua? Does mentioning Yeshua let us go to the front of the prayer line?
Is praying like the game “Simon Says”?
“Dear God, do this, in Yeshua’s name.”
“You got it!”
“Dear God, give me this, in Yeshua’s name.”
“Not a problem.”
“Dear God, I need help with this.”
“NO! You didn’t say ‘In Yeshua’s name’!”
I don’t think so.
I have written a few times about why I do not believe that John’s Gospel is a real gospel, and you can find those on the website, and these verses are part of why I believe the way I do.
God knows our hearts and minds, and when we pray to him, he knows whether or not we accept Yeshua as our Messiah. The idea that we need Yeshua to intercede for our prayers to be answered makes no sense to me.
That is why this message is titled “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad”- if you pray to God using the template Yeshua gave us in Matthew, and trust that you will receive what you pray for as Yeshua told us in Mark, then there is nothing else you should need to do to have your prayers answered.
Oh, I should mention one thing more- prayers MUST be heartfelt, honest, humble, and genuine. If your heart isn’t in it, I don’t believe that prayer will get much attention.
Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!