The Praying Hypocrite

Happy Sunday! Last week we looked at the giving hypocrite. Today we will look at the praying hypocrite. Next week we'll look at the fasting hypocrite. Is it interesting that people use religion for so many bad reasons? Sadly, throughout history people have used religion to do some pretty crazy things.

On 9/11 2001, craz terrorists flew airplanes into buildings, killing innocent people, all in the name of religion. Charismatic leaders have had people commit mass suicide in the name of religion. Some leaders use religion to steal people's money, and even when they are caught in their crime, they insist that God told them to do it. Christianity misused does great damage.

In Matthew chapter 6 six, Jesus talks about religious Hypocrites. In verses 5-8 we find these words: "And whenever you pray, do not be like the Hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father who is in secret, and your father who sees in secret will reward you. When you're praying, do not Heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they'll be heard because of their many words. Don't be like them, for your father in Heaven knows what you need before you ask him."

Jesus spoke a lot about prayer. In these verses we learn how to pray and how not to pray. The negative example is someone who stands in a busy place to pray just so others can see them. Now, there's nothing wrong with public prayer. In church we do this week in and week out.

The problem here is that this person praying is just there to be seen. He doesn't really care about God as he prays. He cares about himself, he cares about his reputation, he cares about what others think. Jesus said that the reward is vastly limited. If they want others to see them, they will, yet God will not be part of this sherad.

Jesus encourages us to go and pray in private. Shut the door, just you and God. Let me encourage you to be a person of prayer if you're not in the habit, I should say discipline. Please know that Jesus expects us to pray. You may argue that you're not too good at it, and let me tell you that practice makes a big difference. Maybe you need to buy a book on prayer. Maybe you need a prayer partner to hold you accountable.

In verse seven, Jesus points out another way not to pray: "When you're praying, do not Heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they'll be heard because of their many words." Jesus wants our prayer to be our prayer, not a repetition of something that we have memorized. Have you ever listen to a child pray? I love it. I love the innocent anything goes of a child. They speak from the heart. We should too.

When I was very young, I had a routine prayer that I would pray at night: "When night time comes I go to bed, the Stars light up, I'm not afraid, I know God cares for me." That was it. Now, that may be okay for a 5-year-old, but for an adult it's just not right. Have your prayers fall into into a rut?

Years ago I was with a young girl who was at our our church asking for prayer. She was a foreign exchange student, and Christianity was new to her. As I prayed, she kept telling me, "Now tell them to take care of my parents, and tell them that I love it here, and tell them that my family needs to know about Jesus." I loved that moment. She reminded me that when we pray, when we really pray, God is there. The god that created this world is right there waiting to hear from us.

Beginning in verse 9 of Matthew 6, going through verse 15, we find the Lord's Prayer. I'll skip that and move on to verses 16 to 18 next week, and the reason I'm doing this is that I did a series of sermon on the Lord's Prayer from September the 18th 2022 to November the 13 2022. You can find those sermons on my website, David sh.cm. Go to the top right hand corner and hit the button that says sermons, and you'll be able to scroll down and find those sermons there.

God bless you as you pray. Pray with me. Lord, help us to be people of prayer. Help us to spend more time by ourselves praying than we would in public. Help us not to pray to impress anyone, but to pray to draw close to you. Father, help us to pray more. I don't know anybody that prays enough. Make us people of Prayer. In Jes Jesus name, amen. God bless, thanks for joining me today.