“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, They have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, enter into your private room, and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. And in praying do not babble empty words as the Gentiles do; for they suppose that in their multiplicity of words they will be heard. Therefore do not be like them, for your Father knows the things that you have need of before you ask Him. You then pray in this way: Our Father who is in the heavens, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive men their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you also; but if you do not forgive men their offenses, neither will your Father forgive your offenses” (Matt. 6:5-15).
Ordinarily, when we speak of prayer, we are concerned about answers to prayer. The Lord Jesus’ emphasis in these verses is not on answers to prayer but on the reward of prayer. Based on what do we say this? It is based on the word “reward” in verse 5, which is the same word as the “reward” of almsgiving in verse 2 and the “reward” of fasting in verse 16. If the reward of prayer refers to answers to prayer, what do the rewards of almsgiving and fasting refer to? According to its context, “reward” refers to the reward one receives in the kingdom. This shows us that having our prayers answered is secondary; the main thing is receiving reward for our prayer. If our prayers are according to God’s will, they will not only be answered, but they will also be remembered and rewarded in the future before the judgment seat. Hence, the prayer mentioned in these verses brings not only an answer today but righteousness as well. In other words, our prayer is our righteousness.
However, the righteousness of prayer does not come from careless prayers, half-hearted prayers, routine prayers, or prayers that issue from impure motives. On the one hand, the Lord teaches us not to pray the way that two kinds of people pray. On the other hand, He shows us a pattern for prayer. First, let us consider the two kinds of prayers which we should not follow.
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, They have their reward in full.” Prayer is for the purpose of fellowshipping with God and expressing His glory. But hypocrites utilize prayers that are for the glorification of God to glorify themselves. Consequently, they like to pray in the synagogues and on the street corners. They do this in order to be seen by others, because synagogues and street corners are public places, places that men pass by all the time. They do not pray in order to be heard by God but to be heard by men. They want to show themselves off. This kind of prayer is very superficial; it cannot be considered as a prayer to God, and it cannot be considered as fellowship with God. These men cannot expect to receive anything from God, because the motive behind this kind of prayer is to receive glory from men, and because there is no supply reserved before God. They have already received their reward; they have received men’s praise. Therefore, in the future kingdom, there will be nothing to remember.
What then should we do when we pray? The Lord said, “But you, when you pray, enter into your private room, and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” The private room here is a symbol. The synagogues and street corners both refer to open places, while the private room refers to a hidden place. Brothers and sisters, you can find the private room in the synagogues and on the street corners. You can find the private room on the sidewalk and in a car. The private room is the place where you fellowship with God in secret; it is the place where you pray without trying consciously to exhibit your prayer. “Enter into your private room, and shut your door.” This means to shut out the world and shut yourself in. In other words, it is to ignore all the outside voices and to pray to God quietly and alone.
When you “pray to your Father who is in secret...your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” What a great comfort this is! In order to pray to the Father who is in secret, you need to have faith. Although you do not feel anything outwardly, you have to believe that you are praying to the Father who is in secret! He is in secret, in a place that human eyes cannot see. Yet He is truly there. He does not despise your prayer; He sees you. This shows how much He cares for your prayers. He does not see you and then leave; He will repay you. Brothers and sisters, can you believe this word? If the Lord said that He will repay you, it means that He will repay you. The Lord guarantees that your prayer in secret will not be in vain. If you pray in a proper way, the Father will repay you. Even if there does not appear to be any repayment today, there will be repayment one day. Brothers and sisters, does your prayer in secret pass the test of the Father’s seeing in secret? Do you believe that the Father sees you in secret and will repay you?
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