Jesus’ teaching on prayer (Matthew 6:5-8)

Summary

Jesus taught, “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 men … but when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father who is unseen.”

Understanding the text

Jesus began his teaching on prayer here by saying how not to pray:

1. Don’t show off. Synagogues were places of worship where many people gathered to pray. Jesus spoke against those who prayed loudly just so they could be seen and praised by others. He called such people hypocrites and he probably had in mind the Pharisees. They would even pray loudly in public places too.
2. Don’t use a lot of meaningless words. The Gentiles' prayers were long because they thought this would impress their many gods. Often, they repeated a phrase or a god’s name many times, hoping to attract attention.

Jesus said that prayer should be a private time between God and the worshipper. Jesus does not mean that it is wrong to pray with others, but the prayers should be sincere and for the right motives.