How NOT to Pray

Sunday, March 9, 2025

Scriptures: Matthew 6:5-8

• Sermon Summary

  Summary: In the first sermon in our new series How to Pray, Jeremy discusses some of the complexities of prayer and questions about the nature of prayer.

  Humour: Prayer can be almost anything we want it to be. By quoting a prayer from the actress and comedian Tina Fey, Jeremy highlights the possible humour and honesty that can be expressed in an earnest prayer. Jeremy also brings our attention to The Lord’s Prayer and how it is meant to not merely be repeated and recited, but to shape our imagination of what prayer can be.

  Hypocrites: Jesus looks at three ways of praying that we ought to avoid imitating based on Jesus’ cautionary words in Matthew 6. First is that of the hypocrites, people who use prayer as an act to benefit from the role, and aren’t honest about their selfish motives. Jeremy emphasizes that it’s not conflicting motives that make someone a hypocrite, but rather dishonesty about one’s intentions—by using prayer to manipulate God or others into getting what you want.

  Publicists: Second are the Publicists, people who used public prayers with the intention of improving their social standing. Jeremy reframes this warning as an attempt by us to pray in a way that impresses God—an attempt to change God’s feelings about us. Jeremy explicitly says that God loves us unconditionally, and that nothing we can pray—or not pray—will change the context of God’s love for us.

  And Pagans: Third are the Pagans, people used prayer as an incantation to manage the divine. Jeremy explores the idea of misusing prayers as gossip, as a way to make yourself look good and someone else look bad. He also warns us of a modern Christian temptation to believe that, by using certain words or phrases, we can bind God to our will. We lose the intention of healthy prayer when we let prayers become little attempts to control our image or conform God to our will. Instead, Jeremy says that prayer is an invitation to shape our lives by keeping God at the centre of our imagination.

• Discussion Guide

  Community is shaped by the conversations we share. These questions and reflections are a tool to help you meaningfully engage with the themes of this week's teaching.

  Connect: If you can remember and are willing to share, what are some prayers that you have committed to memory? You could share a prayer either from your childhood, or something your family still recites around the dinner table before a meal.

  Share: what your attitude toward prayer has often looked like for you throughout your life. Jeremy started his sermon by addressing the “problem of prayer.” He shared the following,

  “Because if you’re anything like me at all you have probably found yourself at some point trying to pray,
  And yet silently questioning, what this is all about?”

  What feelings do you have about prayer? If you feel comfortable, you can also feel free to share why you think you feel the way you do about it.

  Reflect: on the ways that prayer can be misshaped. Jeremy walks us through the three warning that Jesus offers us before giving us the Lord’s Prayer: prayer as a means to control our image, a way to be dishonest about ourselves, and an attempt to move God for our will.

  How might shifting the focus of prayer from getting results, to seeing yourself and the world around you with an honest lens, change the way you approach your prayers with God?

  Engage: with the notion of silence in prayer. Consider Jeremy’s words,

  “But any time we find ourselves wondering if our prayer was “good enough”
  That might be a sign we’ve slipped into this performative trap.
  That might be a sign to just sit back and remember, God already knows and silence is golden—at least for right now.
  There’s actually been something really healing about the moments I’ve found myself here.
  The times I’ve been able to stop myself mid prayer and say,
  I get it. I see what’s happening. I’m done.
  I’ll just listen from here.”

  What are your thoughts on the role silence plays in prayer?

  Take away: What is your takeaway from the message or today’s conversation?

  Prayer from the sermon:
  Almighty God,
  to whom all hearts are open,
  all desires known,
  and from whom no secrets are hidden.

  Gracious God,
  who knows us fully,
  who sees our truth,
  and invites us forward without hesitation.

  Loving God,
  who listens intently,
  and speaks softly,
  who welcomes us to speak openly in your presence,
  may we pray true words today,
  words of lament,
  and grief,
  and celebration and joy this day.

  May we share our hearts with you,
  unburdened by expectation or presumption.

  But instead, might we speak your truth,
  and in return hear your love returned to us.
  In the strong name of the risen Christ, we pray.
  Amen.

• Service Songs & Prayers

  CALL TO WORSHIP Psalm 146

  MUSIC Curated by Nathan Funk
  Hillsong Worship - In God We Trust
  Hillsong Worship - Forever Reign
  Kristian Stanfill - In Christ Alone
  Hillsong Worship - Fresh Wind

  EUCHARIST INVITATION
  Written by Bobbi Salkeld

  Many of us began our Lenten journey last week on Ash Wednesday. We received an ash cross on our foreheads to remember that we are made of dust and will one day return to dust. 

  But if you’re just catching up to Lent today on this first Sunday of our 40 day pilgrimage to Easter, we’ll use the Eucharist meal as your starting point. 

  So welcome to the spiritual pilgrimage of Lent – a season in the Christian calendar that prepares us for Easter. 

  As you approach the Eucharist table today, I invite you to see in these elements what you need for the Lenten pilgrimage. 

  There’s the simple truth that we eat these elements together, reminding us that we do not make the journey to the cross alone.

  There’s the nourishment that comes when we consume grapes from the vine and grain from the field, reminding us that we make our way through the world as a part of the world. Through Lent, we sense the world waking up to spring. 

  We also trust that we meet Christ in this sacrament, remembering the meal he had with his friends on the night he was betrayed. We sense that we are welcome to the table whether we are full of faith or if we struggle to believe. 

  Through the Eucharist, we find so much of what we need for the pilgrimage of Lent. 

  Let’s pray together.

  Jesus, present at this meal,
  The bread that we eat
  And the grapes that we crush
  Are places where you meet us.
  Broken, we are being made whole.
  Poured out, we are filled with joy once again.
  Spirit, inspire our Lenten pilgrimage we pray.
  Amen. 

  And so … 

  Come forward together in this next step in the Lenten journey.

  SERIES BUMPER
  How To Pray