Introduction: We are talking about avoiding prayers that hypocrites pray and the reward for praying directly with God the Father. We’ll also discuss why and under what circumstances you definitely should pray in public.

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Matthew 6:5 "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues (churches) and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

What makes a prayer “hypocritical”? Is praying on a street corner or praying in a church hypocritical? By itself, no! So which part is hypocritical? It’s when their heart intent is ONLY to be seen by others. It’s just a public presentation for the audience. Prayer is actually you in a dialogue with God the Father and Jesus.

Don’t be like the hypocrites. Who prays just to be noticed by other people? Anyone can fall into this trap. A priest, pastor, parent, saint, church member and anyone who prays in public can have the wrong motive. Don’t do what they do just because they are nice people or have a title. Follow Jesus. In order to avoid praying like a hypocrite, one reaction is to not pray in public at all. There is a significant problem with making that the rule. Jesus prayed privately and He prayed in the synagogue. In James 5:16 it says that you are to confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. And it says that the effective prayer of a righteous person can accomplish much. We are directed to pray for one another. There are things God wants to accomplish when He tells us to pray for other people.

There is a reward. If your goal is to be seen or heard in public, then the reward is that you are seen in public. That’s it. There is no more reward than that. However, Jesus says there are rewards given to those who actually talk with God the Father directly. Prayer is simply me talking directly with God. In John 14 Jesus says He is God, and the Holy Spirit is God and God the Father is God. So when you pray to God, you can pray to Jesus or God the Father or God the Holy Spirit. You can talk with God anywhere. Can you talk with Jesus on a street corner or in a church? Yes! You can talk with Jesus anywhere! There is no limit. I pray a lot while I’m driving. The actual reward God the Father gives to you when you pray directly to Him deserves it’s own lesson so in the next lesson we’ll go into detail about the reward.

Prayer coaching: “Jesus, press on me not to pray just to demonstrate or prove something to others. Teach me to dialogue with God the Father and You in my mind while I’m in public without being distracted by others. Jesus, guard me from being like those who are just seeking attention when they pray.”

Prayer coaching: “Jesus, give me the reward that comes from talking with God the Father directly in my mind. Jesus, thank You for giving permission for me to come to You and talk anytime. Thank You for being available always. Forgive me for the days I didn’t actually talk with You and went through the motions of praying just to present myself publicly as someone who prays. Help me to pray with You often throughout every day.”