Why does Jesus condemn self-centered prayer?
 |
| Christ and The Pharisees (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Self-Centered Prayer
Since pride was at its root, our Lord first dealt with those who prayed to exhibit their supposed spirituality before men. “When you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full” (Matt. 6:5). Prayer that focuses on self is always hypocritical because every true prayer focuses on God.
The term hypocrite originally referred to Greek actors who wore masks that portrayed in an exaggerated way the roles they were dramatizing. Thus hypocrites are pretenders—persons who are playing a role. The only thing you truly know about them is the false image that disguises their real beliefs and feelings.
The False Audience: Men
The hypocritical scribes and Pharisees prayed for the same reason they did everything else—to attract attention and bring honor to themselves. That was the essence of their righteousness, which Jesus said had no part in His kingdom (5:20).
On the surface, Jesus’ condemnation of their practice of prayer seems unwarranted. Certainly there was nothing wrong with standing and praying in the synagogues. Standing was the most common position for prayer in New Testament times, and the synagogues were the most appropriate and logical places for public prayers to be offered. As long as the prayer was sincere, it was suitable. Even the practice of praying at the “street corners” was not wrong in itself—that was actually a normal place for prayer. At the appointed hour for prayer, devout Jews would stop wherever they were, even if they were walking along the street.
The real evil of these hypocritical worshipers, however, was not the location of their prayers, but their desire to display themselves “in order to be seen by men.” The Greek word for “street” refers to a wide, major street and street corner. The scribes and Pharisees made a point of praying where a crowd was most likely to gather. Whatever place might afford the largest audience, that’s where you would find these hypocrites.
In their desire to exalt themselves before their fellow Jews, the scribes and Pharisees were guilty of pride. They were like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable who “stood and was praying thus to himself” (Luke 18:11). God had no part in their pious activity. As a result, they had “their reward in full.” Since they were only concerned about the reward men could give, that’s all they received.
It’s imperative we take to heart Jesus’ warning in Matthew 6:5. To develop intimacy with anyone requires openness and sincerity, and that certainly applies to our relationship with God. If you ever want to experience power and passion in your communication with the Lord, you must begin by making sure your motives are like those of the publican in Luke 18:13–14, who approached God with a humble and penitent attitude.
The True Audience: God
In contrast to the hypocritical practice of the day, Jesus instructed His followers: “When you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you” (Matt. 6:6). Notice that the Lord gives no prescribed time or occasion for prayer. All He says is, “When you pray,” thus giving us great latitude to pray at all times.
To make as great a contrast as possible between God’s pattern for prayer and that practiced by the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus says that when you pray, “go into your inner room.” That could refer to any small room or chamber, even a storage closet. Such rooms were often secret and used to store and protect valuables. But a location for prayer was not Jesus’ point here, it was attitude. If the true worshiper found it necessary, he should find the most secluded, private place available to avoid the temptation to show off. When he got there, he should “shut the door” to close out all distractions so he could concentrate on God and pray to Him and Him alone.
Much of our prayer life should take place literally in secret. Jesus regularly left His disciples so He could find a place to be alone as He prayed. Our family and friends may be aware of times when we are praying, but what we say is meant for God, not them. Certainly there are occasions when public prayer also edifies those who hear because it represents their feelings and needs. But even those prayers convey a certain intimacy because God is the focus of the requests. When a person’s heart is right and concentrated on God, public prayer will in a profound way shut one up alone in the presence of God, making it no different in motive than a prayer offered in the most private of places.
When we pray with the right attitude, “[our] Father who sees in secret will repay [us]” (v. 6). The most important secret He sees is not the words we say in the privacy of our room, but the thoughts we have in the privacy of our heart. Those are the secrets He is the most concerned about. And when He sees that He is the true focus of our prayers, we will receive the reward only He can give. Jesus doesn’t tell us what that reward will be, but we do know that God will faithfully and unfailingly bless those who come to Him in sincerity and humility.
Meaningless Prayer
The hypocritical prayers of the scribes and Pharisees were offered not only in the wrong spirit, but also with meaningless words. They had no substance, no significant content. To be acceptable to God, prayers must be genuine expressions of worship and of heartfelt requests and petitions.
False Content: Meaningless Repetition
The practice of using meaningless repetition in one’s prayers was common in many pagan religions in Jesus’ day, as it is in many religions today. Thus His warning was clear: “When you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words” (Matt. 6:7). The phrase “use meaningless repetition” is the translation from the Greek text of one word that refers to idle, thoughtless chatter.
The Jews had picked up this practice from the Gentiles, who believed that the value of prayer was largely a matter of quantity, supposing “they will be heard for their many words.” They believed their deities first had to be aroused, then cajoled, intimidated, and finally badgered into listening and answering.
Prayer was simply a matter of religious ceremony to the Gentiles, and it became that way for the Jews as well. Since no effort is required in those types of prayer, those who followed that practice could be totally indifferent to the prayer’s content. But worse than that, they were indifferent to real communion with God.
Each of us would do well to heed our Lord’s warning here. We have all been guilty of repeating the same prayers meal after meal and meeting after meeting—with little or no thought of God or what we are saying. Prayer that is thoughtless and detached is offensive to God and should be offensive to us.
Let me add one qualification, however. Jesus is not forbidding the repetition of genuine requests. In the first chapter we looked at those verses that declare the value of persistent prayer. Honest, properly motivated repetition of needs or praise is not wrong. But the mindless, indifferent recital of spiritual-sounding incantations or magical formulas is.
True Content: Sincere Requests
In contrast to those who use meaningless repetition, Jesus says, “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him” (Matt. 6:8). God’s purpose in prayer is not for us to inform or persuade Him to respond to our needs, but to open sincere and continual lines of communication with Him. Prayer, more than anything else, is sharing the needs, burdens, and hungers of our hearts with a God who cares. He wants to hear us and commune with us more than we could ever want to commune with Him because His love for us is so much greater than our love for Him.
How should you respond to these important words from our Lord? If you are ever to know power and passion in your prayer life, you need to pray with a devout heart—with a pure motive seeking only the glory of God. You also need to pray with a humble heart seeking only the attention of God, not men. Finally, you need to pray with a confident heart knowing full well that God already knows what you need. If you go to God on those terms, He will reward you in ways you could never imagine, and you’ll learn the value of being alone with God.
