When You Pray

Matthew 6: 5-8

Story & Lessons

The Lord Jesus warned against hypocrisy in praying.

"When you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites".

The Pharisees loved to parade their eloquent, self-centered prayers. They wanted to impress men, but they did not impress God. They had the reward they wanted – the applause of men.

Our spirituality is not measured by the length or eloquence of our public prayers, but by our prayers in the secret place.

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The Lord Jesus also warned against using vain repetitions when we pray.

Have we slipped into the habit of saying the same things every time we pray?

Reflection...

We are all prone to hypocrisy concerning our prayer-life.

It is all too easy to pretend that we are disciplined and faithful in private prayer when we know that we are not.

It is a sad reflection that many of us are reluctant to come to the secret place to meet with our heavenly Father who sees in secret.

What a privilege it is to be able to come to God in prayer! We are able to come to him with confidence because he knows what we need before we ask him.

God is waiting for us to come to Him — if we do not ask, we will not receive.