And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.“When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward.And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites: for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.
9 sermons cite this verse
… let's learn how not to pray. Matthew 6, verse five. Jesus says, 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. You might underline that. That they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you pray, go to your room. When you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in this secret place, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. When you pray, don't use vain repetitions as the heathen do, but they think they'll 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. I'll stop there. It's a tragic thing, but really, sin knows no boundaries. It can follow us to the very throne of heaven where I'm actually missing the whole point of what prayer should be. …
… I wanna read the context of what he's writing together in Matthew 6, verses one through 18. We'll start with verse one here. Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward with your father in heaven. So, whenever you give to the poor, don't sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets to be applauded by people. But truly, I tell you, they have their reward. But when you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you. Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites because they love to pray standing in synagogues on the street corner to be seen by people. But truly I tell you, they've received their reward. But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, that's our word, and pray to your father who's in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you. …
… So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets to be honored by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give, get when, but when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret. Then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not like be the hypocrites for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father who is unseen. Then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep babbling like the pagans, for they think they will be heard because there are many words. Do not be like them, for your father knows what you need before you ask him. …
… But let's start with verse 5 of chapter 6. When you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, for they like to pray standing in synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have the reward. It's important to recognize prayer has a reward, either from people or from him. 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. This is a very significant thought that I wanna make sure we have established before we get into this prayer. Where is the father? He's in the secret place. where is his attention is to the prayers prayed in secret what does that mean it doesn't mean you have to go into your clothes closet and close the door it means that what you want to do in meeting with the father it's a relational journey you shut down all the exterior noise everything that competes for your affection everything that competes for your attention why because to build the identity as a son or a daughter with a heavenly father isn't done in busyness. It's done in focused time with the father. Something is built in the secret place, the quiet place, the alone place that you can't build anywhere else. I'm thankful that we have the privilege of praying in the craziness of life, in the busyness of life. I'm just saying there's a …
… already addressed that problem in the Sermon on the Mount. He addressed all three of those. He said, first, when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who stand in the synagogue and on the street corners to be seen by men. For I tell you, they already have their reward. What is their reward? To be seen by men. And then he said, when you do a charitable deed, this is almsgiving, don't sound a trumpet like the hypocrite. In fact, don't even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. And then he addressed the third. When you fast, do not be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance and they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. They already have their reward. Here's what he was addressing. When they fasted, they tried to look miserable. They not only did it publicly, but they would put ashes or white powder on their faces so their faces looked pale and sickly. And they put on old tattered clothes and they went in public so people would go, wow, that dude is spiritual. …
… Because what he's doing is he's talking to an audience of, yes, his disciples, but also many more listeners who have come to listen to him give this sermon on the mount, if you might have heard it. And so he gives this, when you pray, he says, do not do this first. Do not be like the hypocrites. Why? Because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly, I tell you, they've received their reward in full. And so right here, Jesus starts with, don't be like the hypocrites. And in the original language, what that word meant would have been like someone who was a stage actor, someone who was a performer, someone who wore a mask to perform in front of other people. And so what Jesus is saying is when you pray, it's not about performance. It's not about putting on a mask. I want the real you. He says in verse six, but when you pray, go into your room and close the door and pray to your father who's unseen. …
… that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray then in this way, Our Father who is 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 also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. And thinking about Father's Day, again, I was drawn to this passage because it repeatedly addresses God as Father. That's what we need to understand in its most full sense, the relationship that we enjoy with the eternal God. He is our Father. In what sense? Well, we could say He's our Father in the physical sense. In the natural sense, Malachi 2.10 says, do we not all have one Father? …
… as the hypocrites, the play actors do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. That is, the applause that every actor wants. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. Verse 5, and when thou prayest, thou shall not be as the hypocrites are, the actors are. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men there in a theater. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. On down to verse 16. Moreover, when ye fast, ye shall not be as the hypocrites, that is, the play actors of a sad countenance. They're wearing the sad mask today. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto men to fast. That is, it's, it's a play. for I say unto you, they have their reward. I read an article about Art Linkletter. Many of us know Art Linkletter. It's been in the entertainment realm for many, many years. …
… fanatical that we in this 21st century should pray and fast? Jesus said, when you fast, not if you fast, but when you fast. Matthew chapter six and verse five, Jesus is talking about prayer and he says, and when thou prayest, thou should not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets that they may be seen to men. Verily I SAYING TO YOU, THEY HAVE THEIR REWARD. JESUS IS SAYING, DON'T PRAY TO BE SEEN OF MEN. BUT THEN HE SAYS IN VERSE 16 OF THE SAME CHAPTER, MORE OVER, NOW HE LINKS PRAYER AND FASTING, MORE OVER WHEN YOU FAST, BE NOT AS THE HYPOCRITES OF A SAD COUNTENANCE, FOR THEY DISFIGURE THEIR FACES, THAT THEY MAY APPEAR UNTO MEN TO FAST. VERILY I SAY TO YOU, THEY HAVE THEIR REWARD. OUR LORD GOD DIDN'T SAY IF YOU FAST. HE SAYS WHEN YOU FAST. LEONARD RAVENHILL SAID THAT THE CHURCH HAS GONE FROM ITS UPPER ROOM WITH ITS FIRE TO ITS SUPPER ROOM WITH ITS SMOKE. NOW I'M NOT AGAINST FELLOWSHIPS. MATTER OF FACT, IF YOU STUDY THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE, YOU'RE GOING TO FIND OUT THAT GOD HAD HIS GREAT FEAST DAYS. …