Scripture Points — Prayer

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By Arthur W. Lindsley on July 2, 2009 ,

Scripture Points: Prayer

Matthew 6:1-8

“(1) Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your father in heaven . . . (5) And when you pray you are not to be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. (6) But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you. (7) And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. (8) Therefore, do not be like them; for your heavenly Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

- Even before teaching His disciples how to pray (the Lord's Prayer) Jesus warns them about the danger of religious activities such as prayer leading to pride and religious showmanship.
- It is ironic that people can use prayer, which ought to encourage the greatest humility before God, as the means to establish a reputation for piety among men. . .

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Arthur W. Lindsley

Senior Fellow for Apologetics, CSLI Arthur W. Lindsley is the Vice President of Theological Initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Works, & Economics. He has served at the C.S. Lewis Institute since 1987 both as President until 1998 and currently as Senior Fellows for Apologetics. Formerly, he was director of Educational Ministries at the Ligonier Valley Study Center, and Staff Specialist with the Coalition for Christian Outreach. He is the author of C.S. Lewis's Case for Christ, True Truth, Love: The Ultimate Apologetic, and co-author with R.C. Sproul and John Gerstner of Classical Apologetics, and has written numerous articles on theology, apologetics, C.S. Lewis, and the lives and works of many other authors and teachers. Art earned his M.Div. from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of Pittsburgh.  

COPYRIGHT: This publication is published by C.S. Lewis Institute; 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 301; Springfield, VA 22151. Portions of the publication may be reproduced for noncommercial, local church or ministry use without prior permission. Electronic copies of the PDF files may be duplicated and transmitted via e-mail for personal and church use. Articles may not be modified without prior written permission of the Institute. For questions, contact the Institute: 703.914.5602 or email us.

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