INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT PRAYER
Christians claim to be followers of Jesus. When we examine their lives, however, these claims are empty. Actually, according to recent research, they are more like Pharisaical Jews than like Jesus. Anyone who doubts this research only needs to look at Jesus teachings and practices about prayer where they will find that they are not like him at all and do not follow his teachings — including teachings about prayer. Jews make no claims to be like Jesus so they are not hypocrites but they still are Pharisaical in all of their religious activities because their religious emphasis is on obedience to religious rules in public view. These practices for both Jews and Christians violently contradict Jesus’ teachings on prayer as seen in this scripture:
Matthew 6:5-9 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
COMMENTARY: This verse reinforces the private, even secret nature of prayer that God affirms and rewards. Unfortunately, most people wrongly interpret the secret inner room (verse 6 in the NASB) as a physical room which many intercessors like to call their prayer closet. Applying their rigid literal interpretation skills, they miss the symbolism of inner room or closet as the heart where they speak to God with spiritual words that only God can hear. It is only this kind of internal, spiritual prayer that qualifies as praying without ceasing and praying in the spirit which has been wrongly interpreted to be some sort of babbling prayer language for which Pentecostals and Charismatics are known. See Tongues for criticism of this phenomenon.
Some people who do pray in secret still violate this principle by forecasting to others that they will pray for them or by reporting after the fact that they have been praying for them. They cannot be trusted to keep a secret between themselves and God. They are compelled to tell others about their prayer life so that they can earn points for their religiosity.
Despite the clear message in verses 5 and 6, religious Christians insist on praying in public and totally negate their claims to be followers of Jesus. It is unthinkable that Jesus, who chastised the Pharisees for their public prayer habits would violate his own principles of when, how and where to pray, but they have no trouble with such violations. See this link for a review of Jesus’ teaching on prayer and his prayer habits.
STUDY TIP: See General Conditions for Prayer for more commentary on these verses.
7 “And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
COMMENTARY: People who pray in public are very likely to pray long, rambling prayers that touch on many subjects or explore the finest details of need within a specific subject. Their many words play well for others who are in the same public prayer setting, but God is not positively influenced by their recall of many prayer issues or their eloquence in asking him for help.
Repetition of prayers from day to day or week to week also qualifies as “heaping up empty phrases.” Praying over and over for the same issue does not reflect faith that God will answer the prayer. Rather, repetition reflects trust in the prayer’s faithfulness to pray often as though God is looking for an unspecified quantity of prayer before he will answer.
These words of Jesus have special application for people who practice praying in unknown tongues. Not only are the phrases empty but they are repetitious. The matter is made much worse when groups of tongue-talkers/prayers do it together in loud voices. Religions that advocate such practices wrongly build names and reputations for themselves on these practices. Their rewards for such practices is recognition of men and women for their super-spirituality.
STUDY TIP: See General Conditions for Prayer for more commentary on these verses.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
COMMENTARY: How much clearer could Jesus be? Christians who pray in these ways proves that they are hypocrites because they do not obey what Jesus has commanded.
This verse also explains why those kinds of prayers are unnecessary. God already knows what people need. With knowledge that God knows what people need, faith is exhibited more clearly by not praying than by praying.
9 Pray then like this: See The Lord’s Prayer for a detailed explanation of this prayer.
Matthew 6:16-21: “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
COMMENTARY: At first glance this appears to be instruction about rules for fasting. It does, however, apply to all sorts of religious activity.
The general rule here is that religious activity, of which fasting is only one kind and prayer is another, should not be conducted in ways that will be noticed by others. This rule places severe restrictions on all religious activity.
Jesus says that the reward for such public, religious display is the attention and praise that it earns for the religious person. Saying that they have their reward in full means that they will receive no rewards from God for the religious things they do.
See Sabbath, Fasting, and Rest for understanding of what God means by fasting.
17 “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
COMMENTARY: This is another caution against public religious displays — including prayer. It says that the only one who should see your religious activity is God who sees what people do in secret. The secret place this is referring to is the spirit/heart within people that only God can see because he alone knows what is in the hearts of men.
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
COMMENTARY: Earthly treasures (i.e. pride) are the rewards that religious people receive from other religious people who see them performing religious activities and honor them for the things they do. These rewards do not last.
20 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
COMMENTARY: See Kingdom of God/Heaven for understanding of heaven. Since heaven is God’s dwelling place, and since God is spirit, treasures that last and cannot be stolen are purely spiritual treasures. They are otherwise known as the fruits of the spirit.
See Faith, Grace, Mercy, Peace, Love, Heart, Glory, Blessing, Spirit and Truth for more about the fruits of the spirit that New Covenant disciples enjoy.
21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
COMMENTARY: The heart can be focused on either earthly, fleshly matters or on spiritual matters. Both are treasures of the heart. It is best, however, to value spiritual treasures rewarded by God that cannot be seen more than fleshly treasures rewarded by men that can be seen.
From these scriptures and commentaries we see that public displays of all religious activity, including prayer, are not what God expects from his people. What he wants and expects, however, is quiet, invisible spiritual activity in the heart where only he can see it.