Matthew 6:5 “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”
There are too many believers in Christ that settle for appearing righteous to others.
Hypocrites aren’t just people who have a standard and fall short of that standard. They are people who have a standard, fall short of that standard, and go about making it seem like they haven’t.
The hypocrites in this text aren’t genuinely calling out to God, they are trying to get people to believe they are genuinely crying out to God.
Being “seen of men” is their goal.
But prayer is not something we do to make ourselves look good. Prayer is communication with God.
When we pray, we should thank Him, praise Him, express reliance upon Him, seek His guidance, ask for His help, and more.
These should be genuine expressions from the heart of a genuine believer. Not speeches meant to build our reputation.
Matthew 6:5 “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”