Dear Daily Message Readers,
Matthew 6:5 (NLT) "And now about prayer. When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get."
This next story sounds odd, but it does make a good point. Take a look:
Now, I don't think it is appropriate to embarrass someone in public with a rude one-liner or any other kind of demoralizing speech (I know this has happened in the past and it has hurt people before). And the mumbling preacher should have prayed louder. But, despite his lacking volume in corporate prayer, he did have a point. When we pray in public, we have to keep in mind that it is not our job to impress people with what we say or how we can change our voice to sound "spiritual," but to worship the Lord as we talk with Him.
Let me explain. The hypocrites, the ones Jesus told us about in Matthew 6, were great at praying in their own eyes. To them, a great prayer was one that was a bit boisterous, which immediately attracted attention to their pompous words and staged presentation. But as good as their prayers may have sounded to the people in the synagogue, they may as well have been praying to the wind, because their prayers didn't get any higher than that. Jesus said, "I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get" (6:5).
Today, instead of praying in a way that we think will impress others, take the time to to pray as Jesus told us in His model prayer (AKA, the Lords Prayer: 6:8-13). In other words, we need to pray to God, not to the people in our prayer group, congregation, or family. When this happens, no one will ever wonder who it is we are really talking to!
Faith Lesson: Our prayers should be addressed to our triune God, not to an audience of men.
In Christ,
Darin Smith
Matthew 6:5 (NLT) "And now about prayer. When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get."
This next story sounds odd, but it does make a good point. Take a look:
It supposedly happened at a large church gathering in the Midwest. It seems that a famous preacher was asked by another prominent church official to say a prayer at the meeting. The well-known clergyman began, but his voice soon became a mumble, making his prayer unintelligible to the people who were listening. Summoning his courage, the official interrupted, "Excuse me, sir, but we can't understand you." Without hesitation, the preacher looked up and said, "I'm not talking to you."
Now, I don't think it is appropriate to embarrass someone in public with a rude one-liner or any other kind of demoralizing speech (I know this has happened in the past and it has hurt people before). And the mumbling preacher should have prayed louder. But, despite his lacking volume in corporate prayer, he did have a point. When we pray in public, we have to keep in mind that it is not our job to impress people with what we say or how we can change our voice to sound "spiritual," but to worship the Lord as we talk with Him.
Let me explain. The hypocrites, the ones Jesus told us about in Matthew 6, were great at praying in their own eyes. To them, a great prayer was one that was a bit boisterous, which immediately attracted attention to their pompous words and staged presentation. But as good as their prayers may have sounded to the people in the synagogue, they may as well have been praying to the wind, because their prayers didn't get any higher than that. Jesus said, "I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get" (6:5).
Today, instead of praying in a way that we think will impress others, take the time to to pray as Jesus told us in His model prayer (AKA, the Lords Prayer: 6:8-13). In other words, we need to pray to God, not to the people in our prayer group, congregation, or family. When this happens, no one will ever wonder who it is we are really talking to!
Faith Lesson: Our prayers should be addressed to our triune God, not to an audience of men.
In Christ,
Darin Smith
