“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).
The common practice of the religious leaders in Jesus’ day was to stand in the most conspicuous places possible and pray loud prayers. Their primary intent was to be seen by men. There could be only one motivation behind this practice: PRIDE.
God is very clear about what pride does in our relationship to Him. God resists the proud. He actively stands in opposition to those who approach Him in arrogance. This is even true of His own children.
Have you ever had the frustrating experience of talking to someone and quickly realizing they are looking over your shoulder? They are talking loudly, hoping to be noticed by others. You sense they are searching for the next person they can talk to—the one who they feel is more important than you.
Can you imagine doing this in the presence of the God of the Universe? And yet, this is what much of our prayers are like. Unaware of the One we are approaching, we engage in surface prayers for the sole purpose of impressing others. God does not hear nor respond to such insincerity.
We must enter into His presence sincerely with the sole desire of communing with God alone.
Father, forgive me when I let pride enter into my life of prayer. Keep my eyes on Jesus rather than those around me. Let me be more concerned for His fame than for my own reputation. Teach me the humility of the Son of God, who gave up His life for me so that I might have eternal life! Help me to enter Your presence with a deep desire to know You more!
---Adapted from Simply Prayer by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org.
Prayer Points
Read Psalm 108 and praise the Lord, whose love is higher than the heavens and whose faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Give thanks for specific acts of faithfulness to you so far this week.
Confess any unfaithfulness which has robbed God of his glory.
Commit yourself to praising God among the nations (108:3).
Ask him to show you the nations in our cities and around the globe.
Pray that everyone will see clearly that human strength cannot win the battle for peoples’ hearts (108:12-13). Ask God to gain the victory over spiritual enemies that bind the unsaved.
Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org.