5“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. Matthew 6:5
I see this happen a lot in the workplace, managers urging on the subordinates to approach or finish a project in a particular way so as to ensure ‘visibility’. They believe being visible as you do your job is a sure way to getting noticed and ultimately getting recognized or promoted. There is always that temptation to always show-off and make one’s presence known.
To be called a hypocrite seems far- fetched. Nobody wants to be identified as one and not many agree they should be.
According to the Mariam-Webster English dictionary online;
Full Definition of hypocrisy
plural hy·poc·ri·sies
- 1: a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion
- 2: an act or instance of hypocrisy
- 1: a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
- 2: a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings
Jesus our master gave us a picture or a description of hypocrites by what they do. So if you are not sure if you are a hypocrite or not, just check out the description Jesus gave and compare the description with your attitude and ways. What is the underlying reason or motive for what you do and the way you do them?
Prayer is a good Christian practice. It is the act of communication and communion with God and Jesus said in Luke 18 verse 1 that ‘men ought always to pray and not to faint’.
However, Jesus in this instance in Matthew 6:5 described the hypocrites by their attitude and approach to prayer. He said hypocrites love to stand and pray where they would be visible. The emphasis here is their motive of being seen by men. They enjoyed the attention. They crave the respect and applause of men, they are doing the right thing – to pray- however with a wrong motive and attitude.
That is the point; we need to be careful that whatever we do in the name of God is not really with the underlying motive of ‘making a show’. Jesus pronounced that once people start applauding and noticing you and you have succeeded in drawing their attention to yourself, at that point you have received your reward. Which means you should forget about getting answers to whatever request you are making in the prayer. No wonder why much of the so-called prayers we say we pray whether in the church or wherever don’t receive answers.
Mind you, I am not saying Jesus condemns praying in the public whenever there was a need for such, because He also did on a few occasions – examples – John 11:41 – when he raised Lazarus from the dead, John 17 when he prayed for his disciples and followers and when giving thanks as he fed the thousands – John 6:11, Mark 8:6. So Jesus does appear to pray in publicly, however his motive was never to make a show of the prayer itself as the Pharisees did.
What he condemns is the wrong motive of being seen and being recognized for the act. Have you seen people change their tone of voice and begin to speak in ‘King James tongue’ when they pray and know people are listening? What about people who repeat the same thing over and over in the name of praying long prayers so people can praise them for how long they pray?
People’s spirituality used to be rated based on how long they claimed to pray. Back in college days we had some brothers and sisters who were highly regarded and respected because they claimed they usually prayed for 5 to 6 hours non-stop every day. How ignorant? Most of those activities were for ‘show’. In the eyes of Jesus, they already got their reward once people started according them the respect for their seeming act of spirituality.
I have come to realize that anything I do to impress people, under the guise of spirituality – will do nothing more than earn me whatever impression people have of me and the act at that moment and nothing more. Particularly for prayer, it is guaranteed not to be answered. I have already received my reward by being recognized by men. People’s accolades block God from acting. That’s why Jesus says in Matthew 6:
2“So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3“But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
It’s all about the motive of the heart. God sees right through every pretense and disguise and He knows why you are doing what you are doing. Be free of any pressure to impress anyone. If you need to or you are called to pray in public, by all means go ahead but pray to your Father from your heart without any pressure to impress whoever is listening. God hears your heart and He will respond based on what is coming from therein.
Stay blessed.
Olaolu Oyeyemi