Ash Wednesday (Prayer Guidelines)

• Scripture • Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18

  “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
  2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
  Prayer
  5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

  16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

• Joel 2:1,2,12,13

  Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand 2 a day of darkness and gloom a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come.

  12 “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

  13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

• Topic • Lent

  The Christian Life

Ike Eisenhower, the 34th President of USA said this about prayer: “Personal prayer, it seems to me, is one of the simple necessities of life, as basic to the individual as sunshine, food and water, and at times, more so.…. A thousand experiences have convinced me beyond room of doubt that prayer multiplies the strength of the individual & brings within the scope of his capabilities almost any conceivable objective”
Prayer and Fasting is a subjects we all know about but if we’re honest, we are not sure we do it right or get it right. There are three guidelines in our readings today ( Matthew 6 and Joel 2)

First Guideline
It's not about words, many words or empty phrases’ Matt 6:5. Big words can lead others to think I can't pray like that or I am going to say the wrong thing, or sound stupid or run out of things to say. We should never feel inadequate in prayer, nor should others feel inadequate when we pray.

Jennie and I are experiencing that chapter of our lives where we have the joy of grandchildren. A few months ago Gracie (age two) toddled into my study and said ‘Granda?’
I looked up and waited, but she didn’t have anything else to say …just ‘Granda.’ She was at the limits of her vocabulary, but she just wanted to talk. She was really saying … ‘I just want to be with you, I want to be near you, I want to hear you…I love you... Granda.’ 
The point is this: God doesn’t think any less of the child because she doesn’t have a lot to say or that she says it wrong - I’m sure God was thrilled she prays.
Our heavenly father treasures our stuttering, stumbling prayers.  It is a simple illustration, which I hope helps us to learn that prayer is not about using many words or big words or the right words. Prayer is about getting to know God a bit better each time we talk to Him.  It is about developing that bond between Abba Father and child of God. It is developing that bond between Jesus and us, the adopted sons and daughters of God.  Each time we pray, we draw near to God and we cannot help but be changed by being in his presence where we find that God hears us, loves us and knows us completely. Indeed, Matthew 6:8 says, He knows our needs before we pray (we don’t need to say the right words). The main thing is to talk with God, not for a showy religious display to those around us. But to get to know God personally, to get to know God better.

 Second Guideline
Is about the importance of the secret or quiet place.
‘But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you’ Matthew 6:6.

For Jesus prayer seemed to be such a natural thing; he always seemed to begin every day, every challenge, every encounter with prayer. Mark 1:35 ‘Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.’ 

Susanna (born 20 January 1669) had 19 children, ten survived into adulthood. Two of her boys were quite well known. In such a busy house, she had a way of letting the family know when she was having a quiet time with God. She would pull her apron over her head and that was how she spent time alone. It had a powerful effect on her kids who respected her prayer practice. They respected her quiet time. Her children included John and Charles Wesley.
Lent is rooted in Jesus going into the desert for 40 days to pray and fast. ‘24/7 Prayer UK’ challenges us in these 40 days of Lent 2026 to commit ourselves to daily prayer and reading and reflection – you can sign up for short talks and prayer on their website.  I challenge you this Lent to make time to meet with God.

Third Guideline
God is merciful.   It is in God’s nature to be merciful.
 Listen to how God describes himself in Joel 2:12-13.
“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, or he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love….

‘God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.’ We find this phrase repeated seven times in the Old Testament: Exodus 34:6, Nehemiah 9:7, Psalm 86:15, Ps 103:8, Ps 145:8, Joel 2:3, Jonah 4:2. 
The prophet says, God does not require us to rip our ‘garments’ in a showy display of repentance. ‘Rend your heart, not your garments.’ “Rend your heart” is to acknowledge your brokenness and need for God’s forgiveness and restoration. As we rend our hearts, we discover that “the LORD is close to the broken-hearted” (Psalm 34:18). When we have strayed from God, Joel 2:13 urges us ‘Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.’  In the returning, we find he is merciful, and our close relationship is restored as we rend our hearts before Him (see Ps 147:3, Isa 61:1).
Today we are remembering in the ashes, our death.  In looking at our death – and the ashes we can return to a right relationship with God.

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