Principles of Prayer

Do Not Pray Like the Hypocrites or Pagans!

July 6, 2025

Matthew 6:5-8

A church member went to talk to his pastor. He told the pastor, "When I was a new believer, the thought of talking with the God of the universe, the thought of him listening to me, responding to my cares and concerns, was so overwhelming I could barely take it in. I prayed all the time. I prayed when I got up. I prayed on my way to work. I prayed when I sat at my desk. I prayed for lunch. I prayed with my kids at dinner. I prayed with my kids when I put them to bed. Plus, it brought me such joy. God was answering my prayers. My life was changing, and I could see others' lives changing. "Then, I don't know what happened. The whole deal just cooled off. I don't pray much anymore."

The pastor responded to him, "Almost every follower of Jesus Christ experiences exactly what you've described. I have. When I look back over the course of my spiritual life, I see reasons in which I prayed eagerly and often, filled with joy and anticipation. Supernatural things happened in and around my life and the lives of those people for whom I prayed. Then for some unknown reason, my prayer life would begin a mysterious descent, until I almost gave up on praying. I'd still pray at meals and at church functions, but not much more than that. Then something would happen, and my prayer life would vastly improve. Then it would fade again.

Can any of you relate to the rhythm of prayer I'm talking about? I am afraid the priority of prayer has faded in the Church and in this nation!

Benjamin Frankin made this point before an assembly of representatives as he stated,

In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, sir, that we have not (hitherto)/up to this time once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Lights to illuminate our understanding? In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our favor…And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance? I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth – that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured, sir, in the Sacred Writings, that “except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it.” I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel… I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business.

President Washington stated, It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.

Oh, how important the Church, this country, our governmental leaders make time for prayer!

Prayer is an essential part of our relationship and life with the LORD! In Matthew 6:5-8, Jesus corrects the wrong way the religious leaders were abusing prayer. Now, the Jews were known for prayer. Yet, the religious leaders had an issue, a heart issue. In our text, Jesus begins to correct and teach about prayer. Let’s look.

Verse 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 others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 

We are not to be like hypocrites. Now these religious leaders as they were in the public area would pray aloud in a way that they would be noticed by everyone around them. As they prayed and lifted their hands to heaven, people around them would say something like, “Wow! They must be the godliest, most spiritually mature person around. I could never pray like that.”

The people’s admiration, applause, and mostly likely their financial gifts were their reward. Since their motivation was to impress others, rather than talking with the Lord, they shouldn’t expect a reward from God.

Mark 12:38-40 indicates this as Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” (Note: Luke 20:45-47).

Their reward from the Lord will be punishment! These hypocrites were missing the most essential dynamic of prayer,

truly conversing with the LORD! These religious leaders had developed a religion with lots of external activity but no sincere love for the LORD. They had a heart issue.

So, we must guard our hearts from all wrong motives to be seen and exalted—not only in our prayer life but also in other acts of righteousness. These religious leaders did the same thing relating to fasting. Jesus states in 6:16, When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 

Principle 1: Pray not to impress others! Remember the LORD is the true audience and the only one that really matters! Pray to impress the LORD! Love the LORD!

Suppose a husband only talked to his wife when other people were around. In public, he would tell her how wonderful she was, so people would think he was a good husband. But when they were alone, he would never say one word to her. Is that how a good husband treats his wife? Of course not. Would she believe that he truly loved her? No. His actions show his true feelings. If he really did love her, he would want to talk to her. He would make time to be alone with her so he could talk to her and listen to her.

This leads me to the first part of verse 6. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen.

When we pray, we are to go into a private area and talk to our Heavenly Father. Prayer is enhanced by having a quiet place where we meet with the LORD. Jesus practiced this himself.

Mark 1:35, Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 

Luke 5:16 notes, But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

In Acts 10:9, Peter went on his rooftop to pray.

One does not necessarily have to be a room. It could be taking a walk. It could be driving in the car listening to worship while bringing your requests before God. We are to talk to Him! (Note I Peter 5:7; Ephesians 6:18.) Prayer is the time you spend being real with God. It is when you pour out your heart to Him. You can tell God anything and everything.

Prayer is also when you stop to listen to His voice (John 10:27). It might be through His Word, the Bible. It might be the Holy Spirit helping you realize and the need to apply God’s wisdom. It might be a person that comes to mind that you need to pray for!

Principle 2: Take time to meet with the Lord! Regularly, have a heart-to-heart conversation with the LORD!

Now let me make this point. Some might take Jesus’ instruction here to mean we should never pray aloud. Yet, Scripture indicates numerous times the people prayed corporately. When King Solomon dedicated the temple in Jerusalem, he prayed with the people. In Nehemiah 9, the people fasted, prayed, and worshiped the Lord together. Many of the Psalms were songs sung in corporate worship. Jesus commonly prayed with others and even asked others to pray with him. Luke 9:28 notes that Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. In the book of Acts, the early church gathered to pray together regularly, and God’s Holy Spirit moved powerfully (Acts 2:42-47; Acts 4:23-31; Acts 12:1-11; Acts 16:25). In fact, the Lord’s Prayer, which he teaches right after this text, is in the plural: our Father, our debts, our daily bread, and deliver us from evil (Matt 6:9-13). Not only should we pray individually but also with a group of people.

Please realize that corporate prayer enhances our prayer life, and the Scripture says it is especially powerful. Matthew 18:19, 20 states, Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.

The end of verse 6 states, Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 

Jesus makes the same point in relating to fasting in Matthew 6:17, 18. Instead of pursuing the reward of others approving our spirituality, like the Pharisees did, we must go into our room, close the door, and pursue the reward of our Father.

Principle 3: Pursue the great honor of having a private conversation with the King of kings and He will reward you!

Now let me note this. This reward may take many various forms.

1. He will reward you with his presence. Jeremiah 29:13 states, You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Those who seek the Lord with all their heart, not for the applause of themselves, shall receive the greatest reward, which is knowing and experiencing the LORD!

James 4:8a,10 states, Come near to God and he will come near to you…Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

2. The LORD will reward you spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and possibly physically.

James 1:5 notes that He gives wisdom to those who approach him in faith.

Philippians 4:6, 7 promises that as we take everything to the Lord in prayer and thanksgiving, the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.

Luke 11:13 notes our Father in heaven will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” The key factor is wanting Him, submitting your whole will to do His will.

In Acts 4:31, the disciples wholeheartedly sought the Lord in prayer, and they were filled with the Spirit. His power comes from faithfulness in communing with the LORD!

3. He will reward you with heavenly rewards. One of my goals is to hear the words from my LORD as Matthew 23 states, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness! (Note Matthew 25)

Verse 7, And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 

When we pray that we are not to keep on babbling like pagans. We are not to think that we are going to somehow manipulate God by saying just the right words or saying so many words that He finally wears down and gives you what you want. Many Jews during Jesus time believed that long prayers were preferred over short ones. People just say words without any heartfelt meaning or sincerity. They might recite prayers and don’t even think much about what they are saying. They babble. Jesus likens this type of praying to the heathens. The heathens would repeat words or phrases which were meant to tire out the gods so they would get what they want.

I Kings 18:18-46 Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to see whose if Yahweh is God or Baal is God (v21). They built an altar, and the true God would send fire to the altar. The prophets of Baal called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. 27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 

Their babbling and vain repetitions were useless.

Should there be repetition in our prayer? Yes. What Jesus warns against is vain repetition. This means thoughtless prayer—when we’re saying something with no heart or focus. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed three times for the same thing. In Luke 18, Jesus tells the story of the judge and the persistent widow. Jesus taught persistence in prayer, but don’t reduce your prayer to meaningless, mechanical recitation of words.

Please take the heart that prayer is about a relationship between God and you! You are simply coming to Him and talking with Him about what’s going on in your life. One thing that we need to be careful about is saying the Lord’s prayer out of repetition rather than from the heart.

Principle 4: Be careful of being thoughtless, meaningless, and heartless in prayer.

One thing that I enjoy with my son, Aaron, is good, thoughtful dialogue. Now imagine with me Aaron being about 10 years old. At that age, he enjoyed playing video games on his PlayStation. Then imagine him wanting a new game for his PlayStation. He says, “I would like a new PlayStation game today.” I respond, “No, I can’t help you at this time, but maybe later.” Even though I say this, he says two minutes later, “Can we go get the PlayStation game now?” Then two minutes after that he asks again, “Can we go get the PlayStation game now?” Two minutes later, “Can we go get the PlayStation now?” He does this constantly for the next 2 hours. His bantering would drive me up the wall. It is like he didn’t hear me the first time, the second time, or the 99th time. He says it without really thinking. All he thinks about is getting what he wants. Yet, he is not patient, does not trust, does not think I hear him or believes that I will forget.

Verse 8, Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Our Heavenly Father already knows everything that we need! This should encourage us to praise, thank, and pray even more! Sometimes we won’t share with people because we are afraid of their reaction. They might reject us, hate us, use the information to hurt us, or think less of us. Since the LORD already knows, we should run into His presence to share.

Why share if he already knows? Because it allows God to work in our hearts. It draws us into more intimacy with God, and it accomplishes God’s will in our lives. Jesus indicates that God wants to give us what we need and lead us into what is best. He is not a pagan deity whom we should live in fear of. Certainly, he deserves our reverence as our Heavenly Father, but he also loves us and wants to commune with us. (Note Luke 11:9-13).

Principle 5: Take to heart that our Heavenly Father knows your needs! He knows what is best for you! Trust in Him! PRAY!

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:26b-32 and following, We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans…. 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose…. If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 

As followers of Jesus, we are to pray and take to heart the Lord loves us. God is good all the time! You might not understand, but you can take to heart that He is working for your good!

Let me close with this story. Catholic Priest Brennan Manning writes about the time he was called to visit a dying man. He walked into the man’s bedroom and saw a wooden chair right next to the bed. As he walked toward the chair to sit down, the elderly man motioned for him to come around the other side of the bed to sit in a chair. Priest Brennan did and the two had a conversation. They talked about the man’s illness for a while and then the elderly man said, ‘The reason why I wanted to see a pastor or priest was to ask you something. I have been a Christian for a long time, but I have never been a very effective prayer. And I got so discouraged with my prayer life that for a couple of years, I gave up. I told friend and my friend suggested to me that I take an empty chair and sit opposite of it and think of having a conversation with the Risen Lord Jesus. So, I did, and I just talk to him. Sometimes I talk to Him for an hour or two. I will tell Him how I am feeling. I tell Him that I am scared about dying. I will tell him that I am lonely.” Then he asked the priest, “Is that okay?’ Father Manning replied to the elderly man, “I think what you are doing delights the heart of God. You have captured what it means to really pray, to have conversations from the heart with the living Christ. The elderly man smiled and replied, “Thank you very much.” They prayed and then the priest left. A couple of days later, Brennan got a phone call from the daughter. She said, “My dad passed away.” They talked for a while. Then she told me where she had found her dad. The strangest thing when I walked into his room and found my dad dead…his head was lying on the open chair that empty chair next to his bed.

Let’s pray.