Bible Verses to Explore: Matthew 6:5-13
Do we need to use strange old words like thee or thou when we pray? No. God doesn’t expect us to use words we don’t know or don’t understand when we talk to him.
We can’t impress God. We don’t need to try to impress Him. Jesus himself told us not to pray using fancy words or long prayers to try to impress other people. In Matthew 6:7 Jesus said, “And when you pray, don't be like the people who don't know God. They say the same things again and again. They think that if they say it enough, their god will hear them.”
Talk to God like a friend. Use the same words that you would use to talk to your best friend. Don’t worry about the way your prayer sounds. You can’t confuse God. Don’t try to impress people or God by using fancy words or long prayers. Just tell God the things you are thinking. Tell God how much you love Him. Ask God for the things you need. Tell Him how you feel. Let Him know you need Him. God will listen. God will
answer your prayers.
Finally, remember the words of Romans 8:26 which says, “Also, the Spirit helps us. We are very weak, but the Spirit helps us with our weakness. We don't know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself speaks to God for us. He begs God for us, speaking to him with feelings too deep for words.” In other words, we need prayer. We can’t live, especially for God, without it.
Let’s pause and pray. Heavenly Father, thanks for listening to our prayers no matter how fancy or simple our words are. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Matthew 6:5-13 is worth spending more time exploring. I encourage you to download the Inductive Bible Study Guide so you can study and pray some more over these verses.