Questions for Lord’s Prayer Series: “Lord, Teach Me to Pray”

Read Matthew 6:5-8.  What are the two ways described by Jesus that we are not supposed to pray?

• How do you reconcile the words of Jesus earlier on the Sermon on the Mount regarding showing your piety (5:14-16) with the instruction to privacy in 6:1-6?
  

• What are the limits of secrecy in prayer?  What are the limits of public prayer?  What makes you believe that group prayer is acceptable to God?
  

• How would you rate terminology, phrasing or vocabulary as important and/or helpful in our spoken prayers?  Why or why not?  
  

• What are examples of how people who pray in public might displease God?  Do you see examples of this in public prayer at First Covenant Church?  If so, how might we do better?
  

• What do think Jesus thinks about praying over and over again the same requests?  Some teach that repeating over and over again the same requests is godly.  What do you think?  Why?
  

• The Lord’s Prayer has five themes: 
  

1. Praise and Worship
2. Wanting God’s Best for This World
3. Enough for Living
4. Restored Relationships
5. Spiritual Victory
   

        Given the warnings that Jesus gives about “how not to pray,” how do each of these five themes 

model non-hypocritical and straightforward prayer?  Use them in your prayer 

This week, to better follow these teachings, I will . . .