Words of Grace – Oct. 6, 2016

When Jesus saw the great multitude of people from Galilee following him (Matthew 4:25), he went up into a mountain (5:1). When he had sat down, his disciples came to him.  “And he opened his mouth, and taught them” (v.2).

A disciple is one who follows the teachings of another.  The disciples of Jesus were being taught by their master-teacher so that they could learn to follow him.

In Matthew 6:5 Jesus taught them about prayer.  He told them that when they prayed, they were not to pray like the hypocrites do.  The hypocrites loved to pray standing on the street corners so that they could be seen by others.

Jesus wanted his disciples to pray in a secret place so that only the Father could see and hear them.

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (6:6).

Jesus taught his disciples to pray just like he prayed.  Mark 1:35 tells us that he went out into a solitary place early in the morning to pray.  Luke 6:12 tells us that he went up unto a mountain where he continued all night in prayer.

“Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).