Private Conversation
Matthew 6:5-10 “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 men. I tell you the
truth, 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.”
ONE of the shortest verses in the Bible is 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray continually”.
The Apostle Paul urges Jesus’ disciples to be in constant conversation with the
Holy God. Jesus in this point during his Sermon on the Mount preached that our continual
prayers are to be private because there was hypocrisy in public prayer among
the Jews.
Jesus is not
condemning all public prayer. Jesus prayed before thousands. Jesus prayed with
his disciples. And Jesus prayed alone—in a “closet”. Jesus’ sole prayer purpose
was to glorify God, not himself.
However, religious
leaders of his day often spoke long self-focused prayers in public to point to
their own righteousness. Long prayers can be good if they are pointed and
directly spoken to God. But we should pray with specific purpose to God, not to
people around us to say, “See my praying!”
As Jesus said, “they
have received their reward in full” he affirmed that God doesn’t need long
prayers to fulfill his promises. But we are to pray continually to God with
pointed praise, thanksgiving and supplication in public and in private, praying
to God.
LIFE Link: Trust God is hearing your trust in Him.
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