Praying (Matthew 6:5-15)
How are you doing? How is Lockdown 2.0 going for you?
These are hard times. I’m aware of far more people this time round that have contracted Covid-19. It’s hugely contagious. Last Sunday, we lost Roma, a lovely lady with a twinkle in her eye. Now she is at peace with her Heavenly Father. We do not grieve as those that have no hope.
Later that day, we also heard that George was in a critical condition. As a Leadership Team, we’ve been praying for him. I’m pleased to say, he’s showing signs of improvement. We’ll keep praying.
It seems, with al that’s going on, now is a really good time to discover prayer.
Jesus said, “And when you pray...” When, not if. He just assumed that people pray
You don’t have to be follower of Jesus to pray. In fact, heaps of people – religious and not – pray. So, if you find yourself praying, you’re not losing the plot.  There’s something within each of us that instinctively knows there’s more to life than this; that reaches out to something, someone, that is bigger, more powerful than the circumstances/ problems we face. So, even if you don’t think of yourself as being religious, don’t be surprised if you find yourself asking the Universe for help. You’re praying. And to God, the Source of all life, the Creator of the Universe.
“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites, they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.”
Once again, Jesus, so-called meek and mild, calls out those who are play acting the part of religious people. They’re hypocrites. They love - not the praying, not the God they’re meant to be praying to - they love being centre stage, the attention, the applause of others. 
The 'religious elite' think it’s about them and what they’re saying. They want to impress others – you and me – by making out their fancy formal, long prayers are better than ours, more deserving than ours. They’ve even got a special ‘Holy Voice’ they only use on Prayer Stage: Oh, look me, I’m so holy. “That Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou woudest come down...” What does that actually mean? Who speaks like that today? Get real! Instead, we pray with passion: God, rip up the heavens and come. We need you!
Or they are trying to impress God with their babbling lar-de-da prayers. It’s as if, they start with the assumption, God is probably reluctant, grumpy, uninterested , aloof – maybe, because they are) – and so has to be sufficiently impressed before He’ll deem to respond. 
All of this is religious claptrap. Nonsense. Prayer isn’t for the ‘religious elite’. It's for the rest of us. Prayer is instinctive, powerful, raw, ordinary, loud, intimate, clumsy, short, silent... Prayer is all of these things and more. And it's ultimately for an audience of One.

“But when you pray… go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” v.6
Jesus was not swapping one set of religious rules for another. He wasn’t saying prayer only works if no-one sees or hears you. In those days, not many people had multiple rooms. (It wasn’t until the invention of the chimney that having multiple rooms became practical.)
And Jesus wasn’t saying praying on the streets is bad. Some of our most powerful prayer times of late have been Prayer Walking.
Jesus was saying, whether or not you’re in company or on your own, prayer is for an audience of One – God. So it doesn’t matter whether your prayers are short, clumsy, full of stutters, even the odd ‘choice-word’. You’re not speaking to your delicate Grandma or reading to a Victorian-era stern school master. You are speaking to gracious, compassionate, all-loving God. The Father of all fathers – God, the Father.
So, when you pray. Make it your habit, part of your routine.
In the late 1800s Smith Wigglesworth was credited with bringing thousands of people to faith. He was an evangelist. He’s known for his audacious faith; many experienced miraculous healings. He famously said, he never prayed more than 30 minutes, but he never went more than 30 minutes without praying. Prayer wasn’t his ritual, it was part of his life. And it can be part of yours too.
Religious Jews prayed three times a day. Muslins pray five times a day.  Christians can pray any time. Don’t let that freedom of being able to pray any time mean that you don’t actually pray any time.
Apostle Pauls gave great advice:
“Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.” Ephesians 6:18
Christians don’t lie – except when they say, ’I’ll pray for you’. Just do it! Shoot a prayer, there and then. Silently or out loud. People / circumstances aren’t changed by sentiment – but by the power of prayer.
So, what are you praying at the moment?
•	Keep a Prayer List on your phone or on the back of a door
•	Pray through your Address Book
•	Pray as you watch or listen to the news. Press pause

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you”
Do you have a ‘secret place’? A place where it’s just you and God. 
•	That favourite chair?
•	Walking the dog?
•	In the loo?
•	On your commute to work?
The Greek word for ‘room’ is ‘tameion’. It’s a store room, where you might keep valuables. Think Safety Deposit Box vault
When I left school, I worked for Coutts & Co, a very exclusive, private bank. On one occasion I got to go down into the underground vault and saw all the Safety Deposit Boxes, all filled with gold, jewellery, Bearer Stock, and then items of even greater sentimental value. It was a room full of treasures.
When you pray, whenever, wherever, it’s as if you step into God’s Vault. Each prayer is a key to open up another Safety Deposit Box, with it’s treasure inside: intimacy with God, miraculous provision, healing, new job, restored relationship, end to injustice… Prayer is not about ritual, it’s about treasure
“Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you”
Open up. Get over any social awkwardness. Open yourself to all that God has for you. And for others, through your prayers.
Maybe, with Lockdown 2.0, it feels like you’re in that Vault Room, claustrophobic. Open the treasure boxes. 
Jesus then goes on to give a pattern of prayer. Today, we call it the Lord’s Prayer. It’s not just a set prayer we say, it’s a wall of Safety Deposit Boxes full of different treasure. 
We worked through this last October-November. You can listen to the tat series, Teach us to Pray, by going to ChesterRoadBaptist.org.uk/Talks
Pete Grieg in his book, How To Pray, says PRAY stands for:
P – Pause. Intentionally centre yourself again on Christ. Our Father in Heaven blessed be Your name.. 
R – Rejoice. Spend time in adoration and thanksgiving.
A – Ask. This is intercession. Give us today our daily bread
Y – Yield. Bring your life under God’s authority, listening to Him. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
This is how Eugene Peterson summarises it in The Message:
“The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.” The Message
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DannyBrierley@ChesterRoadBaptist.org.uk