“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. “ (Matthew 6:5 to 13 NKJV).
AND WHEN YOU PRAY - God desires a direct and intimate relationship with His children. Genesis 3 demonstrates this as God was coming to spend time with His creation, Adam and Eve particularly. They of course had fallen for Satan’s temptations and had fallen into sin, which lead to the severing of this face to face relationship. The Psalms are filled with references to God hearing and ministering to the needs of His people. Jesus here seems to be assuming that Christians will want to communicate with His Father. He then lays out some simple instructions concerning this communication.
DO NOT BE HYPOCRITES - The word translated Hypocrites is really a transliteration of the Greek word hupokrites defined basically as an actor on a stage. That is the type of behavior Jesus is describing in this entire section of the Sermon on the Mount. To pray like a hypocrite was to pray not to the Lord, but instead to whatever humans were in ear-shot. The Pharisees were known to pray literally long, wordy prayers in their synagogues and in the marketplaces to simply demonstrate for those humans around them just how pious they could be. Jesus’ answer to this was to instruct us to go into a private place, away from the temptation and distraction of other people, and pray solely to the Father. The room or closet specifically refers to that place where the people stored their most valuable possessions. Isn’t that the way we should treat our relationship with God, as a highly valued commodity.
DO NOT BE LIKE THE HEATHENS - A Heathen was the same as a Gentile, or non-Jew. Many were noted for their repetitious prayers involving the same phrase over and over and over. There are two Biblical examples of this occurrence. In the Old Testament Elijah went up on Mt. Carmel to challenge the priests of Baal. The priests of Baal repeated for hours on end, “Oh, Baal hear us. Oh, Baal hears us…” while Elijah taunted and teased them. They added beating themselves until they were bloody trying to impress their deity. In the New Testament book of Acts the followers of Artimus or Diana of the Ephesians tried a similar practice by repeating, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians” over and over to no avail. Our prayers do not need to be lengthy or the least bit fancy to be heard or answered by our heavenly Father. What He simply desires is for us to talk with Him. Even though in His omniscience He knows our every need, He still wants us to take the time to communicate with Him. Next time we will look at the Lord’s prayer, the model Jesus left us to follow.
Dr. Oberg
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