What is the Purpose of Prayer

Disciple U

Read Matthew 6:5-14 Teach Us to Pray

Where do you go to pray?
a) I struggle praying anywhere b) in my room

c) in the closet d) with my friends e) in church
How often do you pray? What gets in the way of your prayer life?

When you pray, what is your biggest challenge?
a) not knowing how to pray b) finding the time to pray

c) getting distracted while I pray d) wondering if God is listening
e) having the discipline to make it a daily routine
Who do you consider a prayer warrior? Why?
Name three characteristics they possess that helps them be a prayer warrior.

What is the greatest command in this passage?
a) Don’t be like the hypocrites. (5)
b) When you pray, go away by yourself. (6)
c) Shut the door and pray to your Father privately. (6)
d) When you pray, don’t babble on and on. (7)
Why do you think God wants you to pray privately instead of publicly?
If you were a coach, would you want your team to pray in the locker room or on the field? Why?

What is your favorite Biblical principle in this passage?
a) May your name be kept holy. (9)
b) May your Kingdom come soon. (10)
c) May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (10)
Why are God’s name, God’s kingdom, God’s will tied to prayer?
How can we honor God’s name? Can you describe what God’s kingdom is? BeOne2MakeOne *LearnHisWords FollowHisWays TrustHisWisdom
Matthew 6:5-14 Teach Us to Pray In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus tells His disciples to pray several requests.
Which one of these do you need right now?
a) Give me today the food I need. (11)
b) Forgive me my sins. (12)
c) Don’t let me yield to temptation. (13)
d) Deliver me from the evil one. (13)
Who do you know that is struggling with daily nourishment?
Who needs forgiveness? Who is struggling with temptations?
Who is being held captive by evil? What are you doing to help them?

What is the greatest leadership principle in the passage?
a) Effective leaders lead with authenticity, honesty, and integrity. (5)
b) Influential leaders are not intoxicated with fame or prestige. (6)
c) Mature leaders are the same in every room. (6)
d) Insight leaders know their place in God’s kingdom. (10)
e) Powerful leaders seek victory over the spiritual battles they face daily. (13)
f) Excellent leaders promote forgiveness and reconciliation by fostering a culture of grace and mercy. (14-15)
How can praying to God help you lead better?
How often to you pray for the teams you are building? What do you pray for?
Which one of these principles do you need to work on?

What’s the greatest lesson in this passage?
a) The essence of prayer is a private intimate moment with our Father instead of a public recognition from people. (5)
b) Jesus is more concerned about malicious motives than inspirational actions. (6)
c) God is more interested in your heart than your words. (7)
d) God wants you to depend on Him—He already knows what you need.
He wants you to need Him. (8)
e) Prayer is focusing on God’s glory before your personal needs. (9-13)
f) Our vertical relationship with God is tied to our horizontal relationship with others. (14-15)
Is there anyone in your life that you need to forgive before you ask the Lord to help you? Why do you think forgiveness is tied to *

BeOne2MakeOne LearnHisWords FollowHisWays TrustHisWisdom

READ: Matthew 6:5-15
LEARN: What are the themes, truths, commands, and promises God wants you to learn?
EXAMINE: What is the Holy Spirit telling you?
APPLY: How does God want you to change?
PRAY: How can you pray these principles back to Jesus?
GOT QUESTIONS: What is the purpose of prayer?

Prayer is an important part of the Christian life. It is the way we communicate with the Lord and praise Him. To understand the purpose of prayer, it is important to first understand what prayer is not. There are many wrong views in the world and culture about prayer, even among Christians, and these should be addressed first. Prayer is not
• bargaining with God.
• making demands of God.
• only asking God for things.
• a therapeutic, meditation-type exercise.
• bothering God and taking up His time.
• a way to control the Lord.
• a way to show off one’s spirituality before others.

Many people believe that prayer is only about asking God for things. Although supplication is a part of prayer (Philippians 4:6), it is not the sole purpose of prayer. Praying for the needs of ourselves and others is needed and beneficial, but there is so much more to prayer. A. W. Tozer warned, “Prayer among evangelical Christians is always in danger of degenerating into a glorified ‘gold rush’” (Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings, compiled by Gerald Smith, Moody Publishers, 2008, entry for Feb. 26). But God is not a magical genie who answers our every wish, nor is He a weak God who can be controlled by our prayers.

The best way to learn about the purpose of prayer is studying the example of Jesus during His earthly ministry. Jesus prayed for Himself and for others, and He prayed to commune with the Father. John 17 is a great place to see Jesus’ use of prayer. He not only prays that the Father be glorified but also prays for His disciples and “for those who will believe in me through their message” (John 17:20). Submitting to the Father’s will was another aspect to Jesus’ prayer life, highlighted in His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). With any request we have, we must submit to God’s will.

In addition to interceding for others, prayer is also a way to strengthen our relationship with God. Jesus set the example, as He prayed to the Father throughout His earthly ministry (Luke 6:12; Matthew 14:23). Those in relationships will naturally seek to communicate with each other, and prayer is our communication with God. Other good examples in the Bible of those who spent time in prayer are David, Hezekiah, and Paul.

Ultimately, the main purpose of prayer is worship. When we pray to the Lord, recognizing Him for who He is and what He has done, it is an act of worship. There are many examples of prayer being an act of worship in the Bible, including 2 Kings 19:15, 1 Chronicles 17:20, Psalm 86:12–13, John 12:28, and Romans 11:33–36. How we pray should reflect this purpose; our focus should be on who God is, not on ourselves.

Interestingly, the model of prayer that Jesus gave the disciples in Matthew 6:9–13, known as the Lord’s Prayer, has all these elements. The first part includes praise and worship of God (Matthew 6:9), and then the second part moves on to praying for God’s will to be done (Matthew 6:10). After this, there is supplication for ourselves and others (Matthew 6:11–12), as well as asking for strength to deal with temptation (Matthew 6:13). Jesus modeled this prayer for His disciples, and it shows all the reasons for prayer with the central focus of worship.

Prayer is an important part of the Christian life, and one’s prayer life should be developed. Not only does prayer affect our lives and the lives of others, but it is also a way to communicate with the Lord and grow in our relationship with Him. At the heart of prayer is an act of worship to the Lord. God’s Word places an emphasis on the power and purpose of prayer, and, therefore, it should not be neglected.

Author Warren Wiersbe sums up the purpose of prayer well: “The immediate purpose of prayer is the accomplishing of God’s will on earth; the ultimate purpose of prayer is the eternal glory of God” (from On Earth as It Is in Heaven: How the Lord’s Prayer Teaches Us to Pray More Effectively, Baker Books, 2010, p. 78).