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 men.  I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen.  Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:5-6).

You know how the prayers you speak in public are different from the ones you say in private?

Yeah, uh, that’s a problem.  It’s not supposed to be that way.  

When we’re in public, too often we pray to impress.  We use our best theological words–sometimes incorrectly–and an impressively earnest tone of voice.  We don’t want God or anybody else to forget who we’re talking to, so we use His name in every sentence:

“Oh Lord, we just come to you Jesus to tell you God that we just, we just love you Lord Jesus, and we just thank you, Lord God, for your sanctimoniosity, Lord…”

We also say, “Just” a lot, though I’ve never figured out why.

The point is, you probably don’t pray that way when you’re alone with Jesus.  Then, you let it all spill out, raw and honest, not worried about how you sound because you know He understands.

That’s the prayer he’s looking for.

No, Beloved, I’m not saying that your public prayers should be rambling and random

just that they should be

real.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.