Matthew 6:5-8

6 “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. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

The word Pray appears in the Holy Bible 362 times, & It is something Jesus asks His followers to do in an empty & meaningless way. You look up the definition of what to pray for; you may see the word petition, but in common everyday speech, it is a way to communicate with our Creator Father God. When I first became a Christian I didn’t know how to pray to God, my only experience is asking for a blessing over my families meal, when my parents ask me to. So it took me some time to develop a relationship with the Lord, for me to open myself in a petition to ask God to listen to words of communication to Him. But enough about me & my prayer life, & more into what Jesus is teaching His followings during the Sermon on the Mount. The preaching  In Matthew 6:1-8 so far seems to teach Jesus followers to make your relationship or religion real the Lord & not make it a hypocrisy. The word hypocrisy in Matthew 6 is the  Greek ὑπόκρισις (hypokrisis), the word was most used by actors in a stage performance, so actor were normally called  hypocrites. The ancient Greek speaking world knew hypocrites, got paid to pretend to be characters in play & Jesus is telling His followers, please don’t be a pretender in your prayer, His saying be 100% real.  Of course the Lord knows what His children need & want, but still He wants to hear from them. He is our Father God & just like any parent, He loves to hear our voice & the word of God says our prayers are a pleasant smell to Him, compare them to like incense smoke rising up to heaven.

Revelation 8:3 Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand.

God doesn’t want His children to try to win a best performance act in your prayer life. I have heard people in many ways, once for a real long time before a thanksgiving dinner & sometimes in ancient King James English, as if that old English  language is more holy than modern English. Sometimes I hear people pray in a language I can’t understand, I wonder if that performance act is for the Lord or an individual prayer. The Holy Bible tells those who are students of His word, whose prayer God answers & who it doesn’t. When the worshiper of the church can’t hear the difference from real prayer or hypocrisy, each individual will know if the person’s  prayer is answered. God bless you all, the Lord Jesus loves you & so do I. Sam H.

John 9:31 We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him.