Secret Prayer Vs. Showy Prayer

Secret Prayer Vs. Showy Prayer

When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you. –Matthew 6:5-6

As I’m looking forward to my twenty-year college reunion next month, I’m reminded of one of my college friends who at one point described me as “a prayer warrior.” I suppose I remember because it surprised me when she said it. I knew it wasn’t true. I was all too aware of my meager efforts in the work of prayer. And although I’m sure I made a feeble effort to disclaim the mantle, the truth is, I enjoyed it.

As I read Jesus’ warning about hypocrisy in prayer, I realize how well he understands people. He knows that we crave the admiration and applause of other people. He knows that we would much rather cultivate a reputation for being a person of prayer than to actually pray. This can work against our very real desire for authentic prayer, setting up the scene in which we put on a mask, step onto the stage, and play the role of “prayer warrior.”

I step on the stage of hypocrisy when I tell someone that I will pray for her, knowing even as I say the words that most likely I will not. (But saying it makes me seem so spiritual and caring.) I put on the mask when I pray publicly using phrases or clichés or a tone of voice I’ve heard others use, making me seem practiced in prayer. But I am most hypocritical when I pray for the ears of my audience rather than to the heart of my Father. They might be fooled, but he isn’t. He knows that my secret prayer place is too easily ignored, too rarely enjoyed.

Jesus says that when we pray to impress other people, we’ve already received our reward in full—their admiration—but what an empty and fleeting reward that is. And I simply don’t want to settle for it anymore, do you? We can perform public prayers or make claims of private prayer and receive the applause of people, or we can go into our secret place, shut the door, and commune with God. There we find our most blessed reward, not in making an impression on others, but in finding intimacy with him.

My true Prayer Warrior, I don’t want to settle for a reputation; I want the reality of an ongoing conversation with you that is something we share alone and intimately. Point out my pretense and performance so I can enjoy your approval.

DIGGING DEEPER