am I a hypocrite?

In Mathew 6:1-18, Jesus talks about what it means to be a hypocrite using three examples: giving, praying and fasting. He makes it clear that they are giving to the needy in order to be praised by others. They are praying publicly so that others will hear them. They are fasting so that others will see their devotion and sacrifice. Their actions may indicate worship of God but their motivation has little to do with him, it is primarily concerned with their own reputation.

Am I like them? Am I a hypocrite? Jesus contrasts the public show of the hypocrites with the "secret" worship of the disciple. This is not about no one ever knowing that you pray but more about how your private and public life match up:

• Do others think I'm more generous than I actually am?
• Do I have a reputation for being "spiritual" that does not exist when I'm on my own?
• Would I be as willing to serve if no one ever knew?

what if nobody knows?

Matthew 6:16-18

And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that heir fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your father who is in secret. And your father who sees in secret will reward you.

Again, Jesus assumes that his followers will be fasting. fasting may be a neglected part of the Christian life at this point in history, but again Jesus points to the motivation as the problem for the hypocrites. they wanted others to see the sacrifice they were making. They wanted others to see their devotion. What about me? Am I fasting/serving/sacrificing because of God or because of others? How do I know? Would I be bothered if no one knew I was doing it?

the lord's prayer (Matt 5:9-13)

Matthew 5:9-13

Pray then like this: "our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil

our - Jesus' model of prayer is not addressed to "my" Father. We are in this together. Yes, we will pray alone, but we also need to pray together. Christianity is not a private, individual life. We are designed to live in community. Pray together

Father in heaven - Addressing God as Father would have been a revolutionary concept at the time. God is not just some far off creator/ruler/judge but we have intimacy with him as a Father. But he is also our father in heaven - he is different to us, he is holy. We find authority and intimacy, and need to hold the two in tension to avoid swinging to cold begrudging service on the one side or flippant familiarity on the other. Pray with humble confidence

hallowed be your name - the focus of our prayer is God. Our entire lives are for God's glory, for the sake of his name. Pray for God's glory

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. - this could be praying for Jesus return but also praying that his kingdom described in chapter 5 would be seen among our Christian community and not-yet believers. That we would see our sin and repent. Be reliant on God, not ourselves. Love God, love others, love our enemies. So often our prayers look like we are asking God to help build our empire and that he would cause our will to be done. Let God set the agenda for prayer.

Give us this day our daily bread, - we are to pray for physical needs. Too often this is the only thing we do pray for. Pray for your needs.

and forgive us our debts, - growth in the christian life should not mean less repentance, but a heightened awareness of sin, confession of that sin to God, and asking for his forgiveness. Pray through the gospel.

as we also have forgiven our debtors. - this statement seems out of place but is that just because we don't really appreciate how much we've been forgiven by God? We are like the unforgiving servant. If we can't forgive those who have sinned against us, have we really got the gospel? Pray for our relationships with others

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil - the christian life is not us trying to make a better job of it now that we know God likes us. We need him to sustain and protect us every day. We are totally reliant on him not ourselves. If a particular temptation was avoided today, it was the Holy Spirit not us, and, left to our own devices, we are no less likely to avoid it tomorrow. We are totally dependent on him. Pray about our dependance on him

why pray?

Matthew 5:8b

.. your Father knows what you need before you ask him

If God already knows what I need, then what's the point of praying? That question seems to make sense but, the more I think about it, the more it seems to miss the point of prayer. If prayer is simply a transaction, and if God knows what I need and is going to provide, then there is no point in me praying, it's more efficient in the same way that it's more efficient to shop online and save time. But prayer isn't a transaction, it's a conversation with our Father. I borrow tools from my dad and he always gives them to me, but my interaction with him consists of far more than me turning up and saying "pressure washer", collecting it and walking away. Prayer is not about the end result, it's about the person you're praying to - your Father in heaven.

praying to impress (Matt 6:5-8)

Matthew 6:5-8

And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward . But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

When you pray, are you trying to impress God. When you pray, are you trying to impress others?

The Pharisees made themselves the centre of attention when they were praying. Is that what you are trying to do? It could take two different forms. Maybe you try to create a good impression of yourself by praying eloquently, emotionally or at length. Or maybe you try to avoid creating a bad impression by just keeping your mouth shut. The same pride and self-concern motivates both the show-off and the person refusing to pray if others are present. It's not about whether we speak or not but our motivation that matters

Also, our prayer does not impress God. You do not have to try to create a good impression with God by the way you pray or the words you say ("heaping up empty phrases"). God's response to your prayer is not dependent on what you said, how you said it or how many times you said it.

Jesus likens prayer to a child talking to their father. A child approaches their father in conversation freely. Maybe it's a long conversation or maybe it's short. Maybe it's eloquent or maybe it wouldn't make much sense if it was written down. Maybe other people hear maybe they don't. The child knows that whether the father listens or not is not dependent on the form of the conversation. 

It's the same with us. Our prayer does not make us acceptable before God. Jesus does.

when you pray (Matt 6:5-6)

Matthew 5:5-6

And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward . But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Again Jesus says *when*, not *if*, you pray. He clearly expects us to be praying!

There is clearly a time for praying together, Jesus is not saying that we should always pray alone, his point is about our motivation. When praying with others are we trying to impress them. It's ok to pray long, but are we trying to impress others with the length of the prayer? It's ok to consider who you are with and use appropriate language, but are you trying to stand out with the language you use? The opposite side of the same problem is not being willing to pray with others. The same pride and self-concern that motivated the Pharisees to make a spectacle of their prayers also drives others to keep their mouths shut because of what others may think about them.

Jesus talks about praying in private. How does my public prayer life compare to my private prayer life? Corporate prayer should be just an extension of our individual practice of prayer. Could another reason why we tend to sit around in silence be that we don't pray individually either?