‘When you pray’

[Matthew 6:5-8]

What do you think Americans are tempted by? (Internet)  According to the First Barna survey of 2013, the most common temptations Americans receive are ‘anxiety and worry’ (60%) and ‘procrastination’ (60%). %).  The following temptations were surveyed as ‘overeating’ (55%), ‘spending too much time in the media’ (44%), and ‘laziness and avoidance of work’ (41%).  However, the most common temptation for American Protestants was ‘overeating’ (66%), followed by ‘anxiety and worry’ (58%).  Then, a survey was conducted on how Americans avoid these temptations.  According to the results of the survey, the most common way to avoid temptation was ‘There is not much’ (59%).  However, the most common answer among Protestants was 'Praying to God' (18%).  When I thought about the results of this survey, I wondered if, for some reason, we were not seeing temptation as a temptation.  Also I think we Protestants are not doing much to pray to avoid temptation.

Are you praying to God?  All of us who want to follow Jesus must make every effort to pray to our Heavenly Father like Jesus did.  And just as Jesus asked Heavenly Father on the Mount of Olives “Not my will, but your will be done” (Mt. 26:39, 42; Lk. 22:42), we also should also have a habit of praying to God for His will be done and not our will.  So, when we actually pray, we must get into the habit of praying, ‘Lord, not my will, but Your will be done.’  Therefore, I hope and pray that only the Lord to be glorified because His will is done through our lives.

In today's text, Matthew 6:5-8, Jesus is teaching us about prayer.  As we meditate on these three teachings of Jesus, I hope and pray that you and I will be able to receive and practice the lessons the Lord gives us and pray according to the Lord's will.

               First, when we pray we must not be like hypocrites.

Look at Matthew 6:5 – “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. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”  How to pray like the hypocrite?  It's like standing in the synagogue and on the street corners to pray to be seen by people.  Then, why does the hypocrite like to stand in the synagogue and on the street corner to pray so that people can see them?  I found the answer in Matthew 6:2 – “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 men.  I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”  In other words, the reason why the hypocrite prays in the synagogues and on the streets in order to be seen by people is because they want to be honored by them.  To this hypocrite, Jesus said in Matthew 6:5, the second half “they have received their reward in full.”  What rewards have the hypocrite already received?  It is none other than what they are shown to people. That's it.  God never rewards them.  Rather, God will judge them (MacArthur).

If we look at the meaning of the original Greek word “hypocrite”, it means ‘one who acts pretensely’ (pretender) (Swanson).  For example, the hypocrite is a person who is unholy but pretends to be holy, and who is ungodly but pretends to be godly.  The hypocrite pretends to have good faith even though he doesn't have good faith, pretends to know a lot without knowing much of the Bible, pretends to pray a lot without praying much, etc.  The hypocrite acts like a movie star, pretending to be someone other than himself.  The hypocrite does well in religious ceremonies in his religious life.  But he does not truly love God in his heart, nor does he love his neighbors.  Regarding this hypocrite, Jesus said in Matthew 15:8 – “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”  In other words, the hypocrites, such as the Pharisees and scribes, seem to be very good at praying to God with their lips, but in reality their heart is praying to be seen by others.  That's why they seem righteous in front of people.  But in reality, their actions in life don't even try to live up to what they prayed for.  Regarding this prayer, the writer of Proverbs says in Proverbs 28:9 – “If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable.”

We should not pray to be seen by people.  We should not pray in a church or large gathering where there are many people to be glorified by people.  God would never hear such prayers.  We must pray in a way that is acceptable in the sight of God.  What is the prayer that is acceptable in the sight of God?  It is a prayer offered to God with a sincere heart (ref.: 1 Cor.14:15), giving up all hypocrisy.  Prayers to God with the sincere heart are prayers offered while listening to and obeying His commandments.  This is praying in the Spirit as the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 6:18.  That is, we must offer prayers to God while obeying the word of truth under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Second, when we pray we should pray to our Father in secret.                 

Look at Matthew 6:6 – “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.”  Do you believe this word of Jesus?  Do you believe the saying, “your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you”?  Personally, I like Moses among the people of faith in Hebrews 11, the chapter of faith.  Look at Hebrews 11:24-26: “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter.  He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.  He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”  By faith Moses refused, by faith Moses suffered, and by faith Moses was humiliated.  Why did Moses do that?  It was because Moses looked ahead to his reward.  In other words, Moses did not look to the reward of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, of the princesses of Pharaoh, etc. in this world.  But looked at the rewards he would receive from God as he longed for a better country – a heavenly one, he refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, suffered with God's people, and were reproached for Christ's sake.  But what about us now?  Are we not too lacking in this kind of Moses' faith?  Why do we keep looking (expecting) to be rewarded by people rather than being rewarded by God?  The reason is because many of us Christians are now busy living the church life in front of people whom we can see rather than living by faith in the presence of our invisible God.  One example of this is the prayer mentioned in today's text Matthew 6:5-8.  Now we are praying to be seen by people.  Jesus is saying this is hypocrisy.  Therefore, Jesus is telling us not to pray like the hypocrite like this (v. 5).  He is telling us that when we pray, go into our closet, close the door, and pray to our Heavenly Father who is in secret.  Why?  It is because our Heavenly Father, who sees in secret, will reward us.

Please do not misunderstand.  Now Jesus is absolutely not telling us not to pray publicly.  But Jesus is telling us not to pray like the hypocrite who prays to be seen by people in his public prayer.  In particular, Jesus is telling us not to pray such hypocritical prayers like the Pharisees and scribes, in order to be seen by people in order to be glorified by them.  In order for us to pray publicly, we must have private prayer (Wiersbe).  In other words, we should not just have the habit of public prayer without the habit of private prayer to God in secret.  It's very dangerous.  The reason is because such prayer habit will make us even more hypocritical.  My heart is getting farther and farther away from God, because with my lips, I will pretend to live a life of faith so close to Him.  Therefore, as Jesus said, when we pray, we should pray to our Heavenly Father who is in secret.  We should never pray to be seen by people.  To that end, I would like to suggest three things.  Those three things are to go to a quiet place in a quiet time and pray to Heavenly Father in secret with a quiet heart.  I hope and pray that we should be able to give this prayer habit.

                Third and last, when we pray we must not keep on babbling.

                Look at Matthew 6:7 – “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.”  What do you think of prayer in tongues? One day, while meeting a junior and having a conversation, he was having a prayer meeting at the church, and the person next to him was praying as if he was praying in a different language.  What do you think of prayer in tongues?  One day, while meeting my friend and having a conversation, he said that when he was praying at her church, the person next to him was praying as if he was praying in a different language.  So, he listened carefully to his prayer, and heard that he was speaking bad languages.  When I heard that from my friend, I was was shocked.  I personally have 1 Corinthians 14:19 in mind when I think about speaking in tongues: “But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.”  I totally agree that it is better to speak five intelligible words to instruct than ten thousand words in a tongue that we do not understand.  And Paul says in verse 28, “If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.”  Why?  The reason is because God is not a God of disorder but of peace (v. 33).

                What Jesus is saying in Matthew 6:7 in today's text is that the disciples of Jesus who follow Jesus should not keep babbling like pagans when they pray.  In other words, when we pray, we should not repeat what we have already said.  Perhaps the Gentiles at that time repeated meaningless words when they prayed to their gods.  They did this because they believed that if they spoke a lot when praying, their god would hear their prayers.  One example is 1 Kings 18:29.  If we look at that Bible verse, there is a scene where the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal fight on Mount Carmel.  At that time, the prophets of Baal pray to Baal, but their god is not answered until midday.  So they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice.  Is this prayer that we talk like crazy for such a long time?  In Ecclesiastes 5:1-2, the Bible says: “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.  Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.  Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God.  God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.”  The Bible tells us not to be quick with our mouths before God.  Therefore, when we pray to God, we should not open our mouths recklessly and say things out of a rush.  We should say little when we pray.  Heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask (Mt. 6:8).

One of the great pastors in Korean Christian history is Pastor Yangwon Son.  When the Suncheon incident in Yeosu in October 1948, Pastor Son’s two sons, both 6th and 2nd graders, were shot by a left-wing student.  A book was published titled ‘The Atomic Bomb of Love,’ which tells the story of his life, who forgave that left-wing student who killed his two sons and raised their killer as an evangelist as an adopted son.  This story was also made into a movie in 1966.  There are 10 prayers of thanksgiving that Pastor Yangwon Son gave at the funeral of his two sons, and I would like to share them with you (Internet):

• I thank God for allowing martyrdom children to come out of the bloodline of a sinner like me.
• I thank God for my blessing in dedicating the two most beautiful sons among three sons and three daughters, the eldest and the second son.
• Among the many saints, how could the Lord have given me such a treasure? I also thank the Lord for that.
• I thank God because it is said that the martyrdom of one son is precious, much less the martyrdom of two sons.
• It is said that it is a great blessing to lie down and die while believing in Jesus. How much less will we be shot and martyred while preaching.  Thank God.
• I am thankful that my son, who was preparing to study in the United States, went to a better heaven than the United States.
• I thank God for giving me the heart of love to help my enemy who shot my two sons to repent.
• I believe that there will be countless sons in the kingdom of heaven through the martyrdom of my two sons. Thank you, God our Father.
• I thank my Lord Jesus Christ for giving me the joy of finding the eight truths and the love of God in the midst of adversity.
• I give all the glory to God who has blessed me with undeserved blessings.