Beware of Hypocrites
In Matthew 6, Jesus gives us direction on talking and listening to God. A portion of His teaching is world famous....but the portion right before, not so much, because it comes with a couple of warnings and cautions. Jesus said....
“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.” (Matthew 6:5 NIV)
friend, it's time for a moment of confession. There are times when I am in my staff prayer group and instead of being fully present and connecting with the prayers of my fellow pastors and co-workers, instead of lending my prayerful support to their prayer, instead of truly hearing and being inspired by their words of prayer, my mind is thinking about what I am going to pray when it’s my turn. I am practicing my pastoral tone – OUR DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER. I am organizing my thoughts so I sound deeply theological and respectable. After all, I am a professional PRAY-ER...right?
In those moments, I am not prayerful, I am prideful. In those moments, I have crossed over into pride and I hear Jesus whisper from this verse: “Grant, stop showing off. You have an audience of One when you are praying so bring it back and participate in this prayer moment...as I taught you...as I modeled for you.”
When you pray, alone or together, start in a place of humility and know you are welcomed by a God who already knows every word and thought forming in that moment. Instead of being prideful, Jesus proposes a different way, a humble way...
“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 NIV)
When you hear that instruction, you may immediately think of going into your bedroom, or your office, but let me paint you a different picture. In the days of Jesus, in the farming and fishing communities around the Sea of Galilee, they didn’t have private rooms that were designated as workspaces or sleeping quarters. In fact, in most homes in Palestine, the only room that had a door on it was a kind of storage room or supply closet where they would keep food, valuables and supplies. This room was humble in nature and that is where Jesus sends us, so that our humble surroundings would match our humble approach to the King of Kings, who once again welcomes us as family when we pray...and we enter into a sacred dialogue where a God that we cannot see, directly reveals Himself as a loving heavenly Father.
So today, friend, approach your loving Father in quiet, humble prayer. He already knows what your needs are, and although sometimes we struggle with the quietness of our requests, God wants us to present our requests before Him.
He is your loving Father, and wants to hear from you today.
And never forget,
You are a miracle!
