But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him, MAT 6:7-8.

The Lord Jesus is using our text to show us the contrast between the hypocrite and the true believer. That contrast is the emphasis, the central theme, of the entire Sermon on the Mount. We must be able to sort out and examine the differences between the hypocrite and the true believer in our own heart. Jesus says, "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly," MAT 6:5-6.

Our text begins, "But when ye pray..." Prayer is a personal thing; Jesus is showing us the contrast between acceptable prayer and the prayer of the hypocrite. "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do..." Isn't this what the Pharisees did? They used vain repetitions. Jesus shows us the contrast between Godliness and hypocrisy in our own hearts. The seed of hypocrisy lies deep in the heart of man by nature.

The Lord Jesus is not showing a contrast between us and the hypocrites as though we are the holy ones and the Pharisees are the hypocrites. That is not the lesson the Lord Jesus is teaching us. He teaches us how to sort out the hypocrisy of our own heart. Then he says, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [or hypocrites] do." He shows us how we must weigh ourselves in the balances. God wants sincerity, holiness, and Godliness in the spirit of prayer.

Matthew 18 shows our need to examine our heart. V:1 says, "At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Do you see that leaven of the Pharisees? It was in the heart of the disciples of Christ; that leaven of the Pharisees, that puffing up, that self- exaltation was in there by nature. That is the root of our fallen nature. The disciples of Jesus came to Him asking, "Who is the greatest...? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven," MAT 18:2-3.

Until you are changed and converted, until the leaven, the hypocrisy of the Pharisees is purged out, and you "become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Jesus is saying you cannot enter into God's service under the Kingship of Christ as long as that hypocrisy is still in your heart.

We must become converted. Now the Lord Jesus teaches us how you and I must become converted from a proud, self-exalting hypocrite to a believer with a childlike faith and true humility. We must come seeking God's will with all of our heart and soul before we can serve in His Kingdom.

We find in JOH 5:24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." Everlasting life does not begin after our death. Everlasting life begins in this life; it must become ours in this life. "He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath [not shall have, but hath!] everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

The Lord Jesus teaches us that the things of death no longer have their clutches on us. That is the same message we read in EPH 2:1-2, "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins. [You see, death no longer has us in its clutches. Oh, it is so precious the way this unfolds.] Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience."

Verse 3 continues, "Among whom also we all [The Apostle Paul is including himself] had our conversation in times past..." When we speak of our conversation, we are talking about that which traffics the mind, that which proceeds from the heart; where the conversation is, the heart is there also. We have to understand this when we pray. "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."

We spoke about the spirit of Godliness in prayer, both private and public. Jesus said in MAT 6:6, "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Jesus shows us what the true spirit of prayer is when we pray; it is the spirit of Godliness in prayer. The principle taught here is that our private prayers to God are to be kept private; our heart communicates with the Lord in private, not boasting before men. That is the same principle the Lord teaches in MAT 18:1 when the disciples were striving to see who would be the greatest.

In LUK 18:11-12 Jesus said, "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself..." The Pharisee stood before the men, he stood before the temple, he stood before the men of the world. He went on to boast and exalt himself saying, "God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess." This example shows what is displeasing to God; it is ungodliness.

The spirit of Godliness in prayer is a spirit of self-abasement as we find in verses 13-14. "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. [Then Jesus said,] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." The spirit of self-abasement is necessary if there is going to be the true spirit of prayer.

The principle Jesus teaches in our text is this spirit of self- abasement and humility in prayer, not vain repetitions to make a big show. MAT 6:7-8 says, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." They think they are going to impress the Lord with the wonderful speech they made in prayer. The Lord wants a simple prayer; the Lord wants a prayer that comes from the heart. He is looking at the posture of our heart. The posture of the heart must be in humility and self-abasement before the Lord.

"Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." Knowing this is a tremendous consolation when we come before the Lord. Our hearts are so overwhelmed we don't know what to say. Sometimes it is only a groan or a sigh. The Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. Why? The Father knows what we need before we ask.

Sometimes we must ask ourselves if we are praying to God or to others. Are we praying to the Lord, or are we praying to ourselves? How many of our own prayers, if we examine them, are prayers that we pray to ourselves? Are we trying to impress ourselves with our fair speech, or is our heart going out to the Lord?

The more I truly realize my need of praying to God, the more important it is that the door is not only shut to others, but to that ugly monster, self! He says we must go in our closet and shut the door. How often do we come before the Lord in prayer with a spirit of self-exaltation? The Lord wants a spirit of abasement, of self-abasement and humility.

Jesus' admonition, "But thou when thou prayest, enter into thy closet and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret," reminds me of Hezekiah in, ISA 38:2. "Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD." You see, the Lord had sent Hezekiah a message in ISA 38:1, "Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live."

Hezekiah was summoned to appear before the Lord. Hezekiah was the king, all of his servants were standing around, and he could gain no comfort from anyone or anything. That is when Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and cried unto the Lord. That is shutting the door to everything around and about him, shutting the door to himself, that ugly monster of self. He turned his face to the wall and prayed unto the Lord.

In his self-abasement Hezekiah pleaded with the Lord in spiritual travail as he said after his recovery in ISA 38:10-15. Hezekiah gave an account of that secret prayer between him and the Lord when he was given the message that he would not live. He was told, "Set your house in order." Then he said, "I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove [He didn't come before the Lord with vain repetitions or to impress the Lord with a lot of fair speech. His soul was in travail, He mourned as a dove. He said]: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me. [See how short his prayer was.] What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul."

He had a prayer that was so short, he didn't use any vain repetition of words. He turned his face to the wall and prayed, "O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me."

In these seasons of self-abasement we find the true spirit of Godliness. It is in such a time, when the Lord brings us into spiritual travail, that we understand that true spirit of Godliness. Hezekiah said in V:16, "O Lord, by these things men live [This tells us where our spiritual life is; by the cutting off of the flesh we are coming from death unto life.], and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live."

There is a preciousness taught in, "By these things men live." By these soul exercises we come from death unto life; then all "these things" that keep our souls separated from the Lord get cut off. All "these things" of the earth, all "these things" of time and sense, all "these things" of the flesh must have death marked upon them. Hezekiah was given notice: you will die and not live. It was in the cutting off of the flesh; he said it was in "these things" men live. In "these things" is the life of my spirit. In the cutting off the flesh is where spiritual life begins, "...so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live."

Where Jesus said, "And thy Father which seeth in secret..." not only means in secret places--not only that we are by ourselves and withdrawn from others and that we have literally closed the door, but that He "seeth" the secrets within our hearts. Our transparency before God is the key to understanding true prayer. We don't have to come with a lot of vain repetitions and have an excellent speech before the Lord. As with Hezekiah we can say, "I am oppressed, undertake for me." That was a full prayer. The Lord understood everything; He understood all the cares of his soul. Our text says, "...your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."

In 1-SA 16:7 we read, "But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." When we come into prayer, when we say He that seeth in secret, we are talking about what He sees in the heart. God is looking for true spiritual travail in the heart. We don't need a lot of vain repetition to be heard in heaven; we don't have to be able to lay our case so nicely before God. If the Lord just gives us that true soul struggle, then often, "Lord help me!" becomes a most powerful and acceptable prayer.

In ROM 2:16 we see how God judges by the secret thoughts of the heart. "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel." The Lord comes to judge the secrets of the heart. "And thy Father which seeth in secret..." means that He is looking at the secret thoughts and intents of the heart.

HEB 4:12 tells us, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." The Lord looks at and discerns the secret thoughts and intents of our heart. He looks to see whether or not we are in a true spirit of prayer. Is it truly our desire to enter the kingdom of God, i.e., to serve Him as Lord, or is that diabolical prince of this world still sitting upon the throne of our heart? God is going to discern our position by the thoughts and intents of our heart.

This Godly posture of self-abasement before God is the principle Jesus teaches in our text, "But when ye pray [That is what our text is about, when we pray!], use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. [Use a short prayer] Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."

The word vain as used in our text means, "Empty of substance, i.e., more showy than valuable," Webster's Christian series. When Jesus says, "Use not vain repetitions," He is saying that we should not use a repetitious speech that is showy rather than sincere prayer from the heart. The way the word vain conveys the exact meaning of our text is precious.

The heathen used vain repetitions in their prayers that were more showy than valuable. Let's look at an example of how the heathen used vain repetitions. We find that in 1KI 18:26, "And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made." That was their whole prayer before Baal: "O Baal, hear us, O Baal, hear us." They used that vain repetition from morning until noon. Repetition, repetition. There was no answer. They leaped upon the altar. They put on a show; they put on a scene, and they kept crying, "O Baal, hear us."

Now I want to ask you a question. How often have we found that we keep saying, "O Lord, O Lord," as a byword to fill in while we are thinking of what next to say when we are laying something before the Lord? That is vain repetition. There isn't any substance in such a use of the Lord's name. It is absolutely nothing but a byword. That is what these people were doing when they repeated, "O Baal." It was vain repetition. Do you realize that we sometimes use God's name in vain when we keep saying, "O Lord," while we are trying to think of what to say next in prayer? This practice happens very often.

The heathen used vain repetitions in their prayers as we find in ACT 19:34, "But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out [See the vain repetitions], Great is Diana of the Ephesians." Jesus said not to use vain repetitions as the heathen do. What we say should be said from our heart, and it doesn't have to be repeated, and repeated, and repeated. Don't use vain repetitions!

Rosaries are recited with the vain belief there is credit gained by much repetition. There are people who will go over and over their rosaries believing they are gaining credit before the Lord with repetitions. Jesus said, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."

Jesus is not saying that all repetition is wrong. We find repetitions in Scripture; all repetition is not bad. He is warning against vain repetitions that are, "Empty of substance, i.e., more showy than valuable."

The law of God is referred to in Psalm 119 by the use of eight different words, i.e., law, testimonies, ways, precepts, statutes, commandments, judgments, and Word. By the use of those eight words, there is a reference to the law of God in every verse except four in Psalm 119. So, repetition is not against Scripture; this repetition was not vain or empty of substance. It was not for show.

We find repetition in Psalm 136. Every one of its 26 verses end with, "...for his mercy endureth forever." This is repetition, but not vain repetition, i.e., more showy than valuable. It is an awesome, holy, reverential reference to the mercy of the Lord.

The Lord is not saying all repetition is wrong, but vain repetition is wrong. A man who offered a simple prayer every morning became exercised with our text, fearing that the Lord was displeased with such repetition. One morning as he was deeply exercised about this, his child got up and greeted him with, "Good morning, Daddy." The Lord taught the man through that example. He was not tired of hearing that greeting from his child every morning. You see, it was not vain or empty. Every time that little child said, "Good morning, Daddy," it was a refreshment to her father.

The Lord is not saying we cannot repeat true Godly, self-abasing prayers. Humble, contrite prayers may be a repetition, but they are not vain and empty. The Lord is not tired of hearing them.

The Psalmist vowed before the Lord he would eternally repeat his song of God's mercy in PSA 89:1-2, "I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. [see what David vowed to repeat] For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens." David vowed he would repeat, and repeat, the mercies of his God.

David repeated his praise for God's mercy every morning to remember His mercies and to come with gratitude. Such repetition is not vain. In PSA 59:16-17 we read, "But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy."

Satan wants us to overreact. He wants us to come into a legalistic bondage. He will probably tell you, "The Lord says you can't repeat, you've said that once, so don't ever repeat it." That is legalistic bondage; it is not what the Lord Jesus teaches. He talks about vain repetitions; He goes back to the intent of the heart. What is there in your heart that prompts that prayer? The Lord never gets tired of hearing your voice when you arise each morning with true, Godly, self-abasing prayer. Jesus is speaking of vain repetitions, "Empty of substance, i.e., more showy than valuable,"

Two errors are referred to in our text, MAT 6:7-8. First, Jesus says that when ye pray, "...use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do," and secondly, thinking that "...they shall be heard for their much speaking." Jesus cautions against such long prayers.

The shortest prayers are most often loaded with thanksgiving and requests; they are most often said when the soul is in the deepest travail. As I just explained with Hezekiah as he said, "O Lord, I am oppressed, undertake for me," he couldn't even come with a longer petition; that was all he could bring. Our Father sees in secret, and He knows what we need before we ask. Hezekiah's soul was in travail. He said a short prayer, but it was pleasing unto the Lord.

Our text says, "Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." Before we ask, He knows the posture of our heart. The Lord knows our every struggle and our every need.

One time in my own life it seemed as if the whole world was caving in on me. All I could say was, "Lord, help me!" As I drove for a half hour to my home I just said, "Lord help me!" It was repetition, but it wasn't vain repetition. The Lord answered me in ISA 41:10-14. The Spirit of God spoke through His Word in such a precious way, three times in a row. "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." There was such strength in that portion of Scripture. It was so precious. In V:13 it said again, "For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee." V: 14, "Fear not...I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." The Lord heard that prayer.

When I cried unto the Lord saying, "Lord, help me!" not only did He come with an answer saying, "I will help thee," but He delivered me from that crisis in such a remarkable way. That prayer was so short; it was repetitious, but it was not vain or empty. That short prayer was all my heart could express before the Lord. I didn't know where to begin to tell Him my troubles; I didn't have the faintest idea of what to ask the Lord to do. I had no idea of how He would deliver me from such a trial. He said, "I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee." He did, and He delivered me. When we come into soul travail, we find the shortest prayers are the most powerful. Our text says, "...for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."

Jesus was teaching the contrast between true Godliness in spiritual worship, and the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees. The Lord Jesus teaches us to discern the hypocrisy in our heart. This does not mean that any or all long prayers are wrong. That doesn't mean there aren't times when the Lord gives us the spirit of prayer, and that we sometimes pray for hours, meditating and pouring our heart out before the Lord, but such prayer is not vain or empty; it is not for the purpose of self-exaltation.

Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple was a long prayer. It is in 1 Kings 8, from verse 23 through 54. That long prayer had 32 verses. The prayer of the Levites in NEH 9 is from verse 5-38. It, too, is a long prayer, 33 verses, but it is not repetitious. Every verse brings forth a new petition of validity.

The Lord isn't saying that we may not have a long prayer. I heard a man say one time, "Well, I read a book about a certain man who went into his chamber and prayed for five hours. Every time they went back and listened by the door, they could still hear him praying." This may seem very impressive, and the man spoken of in the book may have been sincere, but I've often wondered about the motive of the man in telling it. Then he came back and asked, "How long has it been since you have gone into your room and spent five hours in prayer?" In other words, who are we impressing? That is what the Lord is teaching us.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus warned against the hypocrisy of the long, showy prayers of the scribes and Pharisees. Their prayers are hypocritical because they are for the purpose of show. To make matters worse, their actions are not righteous. LUK 20:46-47 says, "Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts; Which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation." You see, it is all for show, it's vain, and they make long prayers to be seen, but they "devour widows' houses."

Jesus says that their heart is like a cage of unclean birds; their walk of life does not correspond with their profession. Their heart is like a sepulcher; it is whited on the outside, but it is full of dead men's bones. There is absolutely no Spirit of Christ. Then He says, "The same shall receive greater damnation."

Jesus was speaking of the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees in MAR 12:38-40, "And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation."

The principle Jesus is teaching in our text where He says, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do..." is to recognize the Pharisee in our own heart. That is the fruit of the curse we received in the garden of Eden. The curse which I spoke about in the last sermon is the desire to overflow, to get puffed up, to have the leaven of the Pharisees. It is the curse of the broken law that has to be warned against and struggled against in our heart.

Sometimes we try to tell the Lord step by step how to fill our needs. When we come before the Lord and lay before Him a need, He doesn't have to be told how to fill it. In PHI 4:6 we read, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." We must tell Him what we need, but Scripture doesn't say we should be His counselor. That is vain. It is absolutely wrong.

A man once told me, "You know, I prayed, and I prayed that the Lord would send my father a spiritual blessing. The next thing I knew, my father was in the hospital where he was going through a real physical struggle. The doctors told him they thought he was full of cancer, and he was going to die." Then he said, "I started praying for the Lord to heal him physically." Then the Lord opened his eyes. He said "I was praying against the Lord's means to bring the spiritual blessing I had prayed for." Later on, his father did recover. When he went home, he took that spiritual blessing with him that had been originally requested. Sometimes we want to tell the Lord how to do it. We don't realize that the Lord brings a calamity for the very purpose of answering that prayer. We have to take notice of this.

In PSA 55:22 we read, "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." Then in 1PE 5:6-7 it says, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." Jesus tells us to humble ourselves and cast all our cares upon the Lord, but there is a difference between laying all our needs before the Lord and telling Him what to do. He may have decreed something we never thought of, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts," ISA 55:8-9.

Jesus teaches that true Godly prayer is a persistent prayer without relenting. LUK 11:5-13 tells us, "And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. [The Lord is teaching us that we must be genuine and sincere in our prayers. We must truly have that spiritual travail and come before Him with true, heart-searching, and humble prayers.] And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. [Now watch how beautiful this is] If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" If you and I who are fallen creatures give good gifts to our children, then consider what the Father gives to us.

"The tender love a father has
For all his children dear.
Such love the Lord bestows on them
Who worship Him in fear," PSALTER 278.

That is the tender, fatherly relationship God has with His children. He has such delight in those who come to Him as a little child. That childlike spirit is what Jesus spoke of in MAT 18 when His disciples were striving with a Pharisaical spirit. We must be converted and become as a little child. The Lord looks upon us and the needs that we lay before Him; He supplies them even as a father does for his children. When you and I are truly hungering and thirsting after that Spirit of Christ, that childlike spirit, then Jesus says, "...how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

That is what Jesus spoke of in MAT 18:1-4 when His disciples were striving in a pharisaical pride. You and I are going to strive with the Pharisee in our heart. Moses, the meekest of all men, was caught at the waters of Meribah. If we are true children of God, we will strive against self-exaltation. We will find that the childlike, Christlike spirit that Jesus spoke about is striving with that Pharisee in our heart.

In MAT 18:1-4 we find, "At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? [Even the disciples, the followers of Christ, are having that same struggle. Who is the greatest? They are striving for the highest place in Christ's kingdom.] And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

The Lord says those who abase and humble themselves as the small child will be the greatest. Those who come to petition their needs as a little child and are converted will be the greatest. You shall in no wise enter the service of the Lord with a haughty, Pharisaical spirit. There is only one way you and I can serve the Lord; that is when our heart and will is totally dissolved in the will of God.

Our text is synonymous with ECC 5:1-3, "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil." When you go to the house of God, i.e., when you come before the Lord, when you are in that private, secret chamber, then be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools. We are not going to be heard because we said some long prayer or spoke eloquently.

The Lord is looking at the heart. "For they consider not that they do evil," means they don't realize that when they come before the Lord with all this long repetition of words and fair speaking, they do evil. Verse 2 continues, "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few." Bring the struggle of your soul before the Lord in few words. If it is but a sigh, if it is from a needy heart the Lord will not only hear, but He says, "For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him," PSA 12:5.

ECC 5:3 says, "For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words." When we come before the Lord, and if it is truly from the heart, we will not come with such a multitude of words that have vain repetition.

Our text teaches us how to conduct our personal prayer life between us and the Lord. What is truly the heart's desire, the hungering and thirsting of our soul? Is it after the things of this life? Is it after the things of heaven? If it is truly seeking the presence of God and life to come, then we would come before the Lord with true self-abasement. By nature, we are so attached to the things of this life. True self-abasement is that we might pass from death unto life, that we might be able to wean ourselves from the things of this world, that our hearts might be fastened on the Lord, and our conversation might be in heaven. The hungering and thirsting of our heart and the thought processes of our mind might then be in heaven throughout the week, not just on Sundays or in church.

MAT 6:7-8 says, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."

The Lord Jesus is so blessedly gracious. He illustrates what He abhors with examples we can understand. He says, "Don't do that." Then He goes on and explains why He abhors it, and the hypocrisy of it. He comes back so graciously, "Be not ye therefore like unto them." Then He tells us why. "For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."

The Father sees the secret thoughts of our hearts; He sees our secret struggles, and He understands everything that goes on in our soul. He knows the things we have need of before we ask. Amen.

These on-lines sermons are a ministry of Gospel Chapel located in Conrad, Montana. We also have a book ministry and a daily devotion. For a list of sermons on cassette please visit our on-line tape catalog. See also, our sermon notes.

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