Introduction: If prayer is supposed to be a conversation with God, He must think I’m a really lousy conversationalist. I have a habit of mindlessly repeating phrases like, “Please, Lord, help.” Or “Thank you, Lord.” Part of my problem is that Jesus said, “Pray then like this” and gave us the Lord’s Prayer. See, Matthew 6:9-13. If Jesus is giving us a model for prayer, does that mean prayer should follow a set pattern? If so, how do we keep prayer from becoming mindless repetition? How do we avoid boring conversations with God? What does He want when we pray to Him? Is He looking for an interesting conversation? Or is He looking for something else? This week’s and next week’s lessons are on prayer. Next week we focus on the Lord’s Prayer. Let’s dive into our study of the Bible and begin our journey to find what we can learn about prayer!

I. Our Prayer Partner

A. Read Matthew 6:5-6. What is the potential problem with public prayer? (The person praying is not speaking to God, but rather is speaking to those who are listening.)

1. What is the reward for those who intend to impress others with their prayer? (Their reward is simply that they impress others. God does not reward those kinds of prayers.)
2. Who is the prayer partner for this person? (Not God. It is the listeners.)
3. How often do you find yourself praying in public?

a. Is this generally your idea, or have you been asked to pray? (The example Jesus gives is of those who are volunteering to pray in public.)

4. Why do you think Jesus tells us to secretly pray to Him? (God wants our prayers directed to Him, not others. He is our prayer partner.)

a. Do you think that Jesus is telling us to have a special place to pray? (Some commentators think so, but I do not because Jesus says to “go into your room,” meaning a private place as opposed to a special location.)

b. What is the advantage of praying specifically to God? (As our Partner in prayer, God will “see” us and reward us.)

B. Read Matthew 6:7-8. Which group practices poor examples of prayer? (Pagans. Jesus has switched from criticizing religious hypocrites to criticizing pagan prayers.)

1. What is the specific problem with pagan prayers? (They think that more is more. They use a lot of words and those words are not adding much to what is being said.)

C. Look again at Matthew 6:8. What is the reason why God does not need or want many empty words? (God knows what we need before we ask.)

1. Whoa! Is Jesus saying that we do not need to describe our needs to Him when we pray? He already knows our needs? (That is exactly what Jesus is saying.)
2. Let’s explore this. If you are talking with a friend, and the friend already knows all of the background information, what does that allow you to do? (First, not waste time. Second, it allows the conversation to go directly to the heart of the problem.)

II. What Our Prayer Partner Is Not

A. Read Luke 11:5-7. Does this friend have the bread requested? (Yes. The friend does not claim otherwise.)

1.  Jesus asks a question in these verses. What do you think is the expected answer? (The friend will get up and lend the bread. Your friend would do it, right?)

B. Read Luke 11:8. What does the ESV call the reason the friend finally helps? (“Impudence.” Other translations use ideas such as persistence or shameless boldness. The point is that even a reluctant human friend may finally respond.)

1.  Is Jesus saying that God is reluctant and must be worn down? (No. The reluctant friend is being contrasted with God. If even such a friend responds, how much more should we trust God to hear us.)

C. Read Luke 11:9-10. Who is answering requests here? (Read Luke 11:1. This story follows Jesus giving one version of the Lord’s Prayer. The person being asked is God.)

1.  What point is Jesus making? Is it that we should pester God? (No. This “friend” is being contrasted with God. God does not need to be pestered.)
2.  How does the idea that God already knows our needs fit in here?

D. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Does the phrase “pray without ceasing” suggest pestering God? (It is not saying we should pray without ceasing regarding the same subject. It means we should have the attitude of constant dependence on God.)

III. Daniel’s Prayers

A. Read Daniel 6:5-7. Is this a conspiracy to destroy Daniel because of his religious beliefs?

B. Read Daniel 6:10-11. Is Daniel refusing to compromise his religious beliefs?

C. Let’s go back to Matthew 6:6. Jesus had not yet spoken these words at the time Daniel faced his challenge. Is Daniel doing the wrong thing? Is it acceptable to keep your windows open if you keep your door closed?

1. What did we decide was the core sin in Matthew 6:5? (Ostentation.)

a. Is that sin involved in Daniel’s situation? (No. Being seen by men was a problem for Daniel. Daniel was refusing to stop praying because men had forbidden it.)

D. Our lesson is entitled, “Prayer Warriors.” What prayer warrior lesson do we learn from Jesus’ words in Matthew 6 and Daniel’s actions in Daniel 6? (The common value in both Matthew 6 and Daniel 6 is that when we speak to God in prayer, we should not be controlled by what others think. We should not try to impress them, and we should not fear them. We are praying to God!)

E. Let’s look at another aspect of Daniel 6:10. This reveals that Daniel knelt and prayed three times a day. Does this seem consistent with the idea of prayer being a conversation with God? (Do you set a time to phone someone? If a person is important, or someone thinks you are important, it is common to make an appointment.)

1. Notice that Daniel’s prayers included giving thanks before his God. Trade places with Daniel. Knowing what he did, would the subject of your prayer be thanking God or praying (see Daniel 6:7) that you would not become lion food?

F. Read Matthew 6:8. Do you think that Daniel might not have mentioned the death threat issue because God already knew what he needed?

G. Read Daniel 2:17-18. What does this teach us about the idea that God already knows what we need? (Daniel and his friends specifically bring the crisis before God. This shows that Jesus’ statement that God already knows our needs is meant to give us comfort, not to limit the content of our prayers.)

IV. Prayers and the Presence of God

A. Read Psalm 139:1-3. How much does God know about us? (He even knows our thoughts “from afar.”)

B. Read Psalm 139:4. This is consistent with Matthew 6:8. If God already knows our situation, and He knows what we are going to say, how does that affect how you pray? (This suggests that prayer is our mind speaking to God’s Spirit. That expands on the idea of having a set time to pray. Instead, we can pray to God all the time. I’m not suggesting that a set time is wrong, simply that we are not limited to a set time.)

C. Read Exodus 33:13-15. This is Moses speaking to God. What does God promise Moses about His presence? (He says that He will be with Moses.)

1. How important is having God present in our life so that we can speak to Him? (Moses says that he cannot move forward with his God-given task without God being present. God says that His presence will give Moses “rest.”)

D. Friend, God wants us to have a prayer relationship with Him. Our prayers are not like a conversation with another person, because God already knows our needs and even knows what we intend to say. He does not need to be pestered, because He loves us and knows our priorities. Will you enter into a prayer partnership with God today? Why not decide right now?

V. Next week: Practical Prayer.

Copr. 2026, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

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