Hey, church. Hello from the side of the road. We are amen podcast where we preach the good news of Jesus Christ and how it applies to everyday life. I am looking on your host. And today my husband Alex is preaching about the position power and purpose of prayer by looking at Matthew 6 verses 5 through 15.

Do you pray as often as you'd like or do you feel as though you wish your prayer life could improve? Well, if you're like me, this message is for you. Jesus has made it possible for you to have a safe place of prayer in a constant audience with the father.

So I'll read the verses and then Alex will jump right in before we do you guys are an answer to prayer and have allowed us to be online and online missionaries.

And we could not do this without you. So thank you so much.

If you'd like to support us, you can visit amenpodcast.com to keep this podcast add free. Let's read.

Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly, I tell you, they have their reward.

But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door and pray to your father who is in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you.

When you pray, don't babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they'll be heard for their many words. Don't be like them because your father knows the things you need before you ask him.

Therefore, you should pray like this, our father in heaven, your name be honored as holy, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors and do not bring us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.

For if you forgive others, their offenses, your heavenly father will forgive you as well. But if you don't forgive others, your father will not forgive your offenses.

Amen. Thanks for joining us. Listen to the sounds of the trucks and the motorcycles and the chickens running by as you listen and join in with us today.

We hope you feel you're here with us on the side of the road in Kauai, Hawaii. It's a beautiful day. A great day to talk about prayer.

If you're wanting to get stronger in your prayer life, this is the episode for you. So let's talk about why we need prayer, why we don't pray well or don't pray at all, and how to pray.

The first point, why we need prayer is because it works. At Matthew 6, 5 through 6, it tells us that there's a group of people, their religious leaders, that the audience of Jesus at this time, which was the disciples sitting there, you know, maybe in the grass, just like we are right now, sitting there listening to Jesus.

The religious leaders, they prayed like this, up in front of people, garnering a lot of attention publicly for all to hear, and Jesus is saying don't pray like that.

Because when they pray like that, they just want spiritual attention, they just want spiritual clout, and that is going to be their reward. People will see them as spiritual gurus, and that's all they get, but there's no reward eternally.

They don't have heaven as their reward, hell is awaiting them, though they feel like heaven is awaiting them. When you try to live for man's praise, you will never be approved by God.

So he tells them don't pray like that. I want you to pray in secret, because God sees all and he sees you in secret, and he says when you pray in secret, you'll be rewarded.

God promises to reward those who pray with the right heart. You know, prayer, though often done publicly with others, is a private affair.

It's a conversation that's open, honest, humble, and vulnerable with God. And prayer is perhaps one of the only places where you can fully be yourself.

You can be 100% vulnerable and accepted as you are. You can come as you are into the presence of God, because it's been made possible by Jesus.

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