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How to Pray: Prerequisites to Prayer
March 07, 2022
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Subscribe to Nicole’s mailing list and get a weekly companion guide for each episode, with journal prompts and reflection questions: https://nicoleunice.com/howtopray/
In this first episode, we’re going to talk about the little passage that leads into The Lord’s Prayer – Matthew 6:5-9.
A. What does it say?
3 Praying People in These Verses:
1. The hypocrites – what do they do? They love to be seen in prayer, and they already have their reward.
2. The righteous – they pray private prayers (at least in this context), and God rewards them later on.
3. The pagans – they babble on with many words, thinking they will be heard – do not be like them.
This passage is not a formula for prayer. If we take this too literally, we will miss the principles, the general framework, that we can grab from this passage.
B. What is the backstory?
Hypocrites were known to pray as performance, and Jesus was addressing that during the Sermon on the Mount – his sermon introducing his upside-down kingdom and what is required of those who choose to follow him.
C. What Does it Mean?
Prayer should not be performance, but personal.
Jesus is setting up a framework that says, there is a way you can pray that helps you connect to a Father who knows you and loves you.
Notice: Jesus does not say “here is ‘what’ to pray.” But rather, “here is ‘how’ to pray.”
D. What Does it Mean for Me?
Am I making space for private, personal prayer? Or am I praying to be seen? Don’t pray for others’ affirmation.
These next few weeks is an invitation to create a place of intimacy and connection with your heavenly father. If you have felt like you are missing something because prayer does not feel like what you think it should – if you have those questions, you are in the right place.
If you want access to exclusive content (interviews, bonus teaching and a 28-day prayer plan), you can pay for premium here: https://www.biblestudytools.com/subscribe/
Subscribe to Nicole’s mailing list and get a weekly companion guide for each episode, with journal prompts and reflection questions: https://nicoleunice.com/howtopray/
In this first episode, we’re going to talk about the little passage that leads into The Lord’s Prayer – Matthew 6:5-9.
A. What does it say?
3 Praying People in These Verses:
1. The hypocrites – what do they do? They love to be seen in prayer, and they already have their reward.
2. The righteous – they pray private prayers (at least in this context), and God rewards them later on.
3. The pagans – they babble on with many words, thinking they will be heard – do not be like them.
This passage is not a formula for prayer. If we take this too literally, we will miss the principles, the general framework, that we can grab from this passage.
B. What is the backstory?
Hypocrites were known to pray as performance, and Jesus was addressing that during the Sermon on the Mount – his sermon introducing his upside-down kingdom and what is required of those who choose to follow him.
C. What Does it Mean?
Prayer should not be performance, but personal.
Jesus is setting up a framework that says, there is a way you can pray that helps you connect to a Father who knows you and loves you.
Notice: Jesus does not say “here is ‘what’ to pray.” But rather, “here is ‘how’ to pray.”
D. What Does it Mean for Me?
Am I making space for private, personal prayer? Or am I praying to be seen? Don’t pray for others’ affirmation.
These next few weeks is an invitation to create a place of intimacy and connection with your heavenly father. If you have felt like you are missing something because prayer does not feel like what you think it should – if you have those questions, you are in the right place.
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Meet Your Host
Nicole Unice is a Bible teacher, author, and passionate communicator who delights in bringing God’s Word to life in a personal and relevant way. Her training as a counselor informs her work, as she emphasizes the importance of facing our own reality and embracing the transforming power of God’s grace. Nicole is ordained as a teaching elder in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Her latest book, “Help, My Bible is Alive” is a 30-day experience designed to help people experience God through the Bible.
Nicole has spent twenty years serving the local church, first in student ministry (where she’s never lost her love of a great group game) and then leading start-ups of all kinds, from leadership development to capital campaigns. She now teaches and consults with churches and ministries to strengthen their stories and cut through confusion to discover the next right steps for success.
Nicole has spent twenty years serving the local church, first in student ministry (where she’s never lost her love of a great group game) and then leading start-ups of all kinds, from leadership development to capital campaigns. She now teaches and consults with churches and ministries to strengthen their stories and cut through confusion to discover the next right steps for success.
