How not to pray
As a Christian, do you want to learn how to pray more faithfully? Do you need to learn more about prayer? One of the greatest gifts Christ gives us is instruction in prayer. Interestingly, it was the disciples who asked Jesus to teach them. Luke 11:1 tells us that the disciples came to Jesus and made a clear request: “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” It is also incredibly interesting that when Jesus honored the disciples’ request, he first taught them how not to pray. Sometimes, before we can really understand how to do something important, we have to understand how not to do it. Do Not Pray Like the Hypocrites The first thing Jesus tells us as we prepare to pray is “do not be like the hypocrites.” Jesus condemns all forms of hypocrisy but here he is speaking of a very specific, public hypocrisy. As we have seen, this display of hypocrisy is one that seeks personal attention for piety. Jesus explains the interior motive of these types of hypocrites: “they love