HOW JESUS TAUGHT US TO PRAY: THE HEART OF TRUE PRAYER
The Goal of Prayer: Intimacy with God How Jesus Taught Us to Pray: The Heart of True Prayer Prayer is one of the most sacred privileges of the believer. It is the way we speak to God, but it is also the way we open our hearts for Him to speak to us. Sadly, many reduce prayer to a ritual, a list of requests, or a public display. But the Bible paints a richer and deeper picture of prayer—a holy conversation with our Heavenly Father. Jesus’ Warning Against Hypocritical Prayer Jesus spoke strongly about the misuse of prayer: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have their reward in full. 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.” (Matthew 6:5–6, NIV) The issue was not public prayer itself (since Jesus prayed publicly many times...