Prayer Block #1: Provisions and Possessions, E23

Which Road Are You On? E27

In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus began his conclusion to his Sermon on the Mount by putting a choice before his readers. He called them to consider which road they were on in life. After stating his Golden Rule, Jesus began the conclusion to his sermon by saying… Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.”

The Golden Rule; E26

In Matthew 7:12, Jesus shared his famous “Golden Rule.” Some have postulated that the title was drawn from Roman history. It is said that the Roman Emperor Alexander Severus had Matthew 7:12 inscribed in gold on the walls of his throne room. Consequently, people began calling Jesus’ teaching “the Golden Rule” in the Third Century AD. Luke shared his version of the rule in Luke 6:31. He depicted Jesus as saying… Luke 6:31 “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” Along with Jesus’ Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40) and Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), the Golden Rule stands as one of Jesus’ foundational and fundamental teachings. The rule is valued by both Christians and non-Christians throughout the world.

Assurance in Prayer; E25

In Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus gave his disciples assurance that God would hear and respond to their prayers. At face value, it may seem that his teaching in the current passage is unrelated to his teaching from the previous passage. However, he returned to giving explicit teaching on prayer because he knew that adherence to the teaching in Matthew 7:1–6 would require wisdom from God. In order to know how to rightly respond to people problems with others (Matthew 7:1–6), one must pray and seek wisdom from God (Matthew 7:7-11).

Judge Not? E24

In Matthew 7:1-6, Jesus taught on the subject of interpersonal judging of others. He knew that a fixation with the faults and failures of others would serve as what might be called a “prayer block” or “prayer hindrance.” When one is preoccupied with the sins and shortcomings of others, one will be unlikely to see his or her own need for grace. A judgmental perspective is antithetical to the poverty of spirit and mourning over one’s own sins that Jesus encouraged in Matthew 5:3-4.

Prayer Block #1: Provisions and Possessions, E23

In Matthew 6:34, Jesus taught his disciples to be on guard against worry. His words were interestingly contained within a section of his sermon that was focused on prayer (Matthew 6:1-7:11). In his teaching on prayer, Jesus highlighted two realities that can seemingly shut down a disciple’s prayer life, two realities that can serve as what we might call “prayer blocks” — anxiousness over provisions (Matthew 6:11; 19-34) and animosity towards people (Matthew 6:12; 14; 7:1-6). Jesus would later teach his disciples how to have assurance and confidence in prayer (Matthew 7:7-11). Before he did, he warned them to be on guard against hindrances that block and prevent sweet fellowship with God in prayer (Matthew 6:19-7:6).