Matthew 6 vs05-8 Jesus on Prayer
Verses 5
And when you //disciple// pray …
Pray – the concept to those standing around when Yeshua/Jesus was talking about praying is deeper than what we practice regularly today. In their mind it was the joining together of ones mind and spirit, getting into our deepest thoughts. It was about a very intimate union with YHWH/God. True tefillah (Tefillos/Prayer ) involved the heart and the deep love inside. It was nothing like anything we see in modern churches today.
They believed the "commands/laws" were YHWH/God’s way of connecting with his people. And tefillah/prayer was his people’s way of connecting with him. Keeping this understanding in mind moving forward in this verse can be key to understanding what Jesus was saying to his disciples.
do not be as the hypocrites because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the broad places so that they may be seen of men
The hypocrites – those are the religious leaders of the day. Giving of Alms, Praying, and Fasting which are grouped together here and at that time were practices used to express repentance and devotion as part of atonement for sins. The more you could be seen the more people knew you were righteous. They sat in the best seats in the “church” and went out into the market places and prayed so everyone could hear them. They didn’t do it from their heart – they did it SO THAT other people would see them. It was a show, all the intimacy was gone. They weren’t concerned about whether God heard them, just how many seen them.
In Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable about a Pharisee and a Publican (tax collector). Keep in mind a tax collector was believed to be so Unclean, he was unredeemable, he couldn’t even give a testimony in the courts. Jesus tells how they are going to the temple to pray. In the end, the Publican was justified, not the Pharisee. Ponder on that one for a moment or two.
Verse 6
BUT/AND you //disciples// when you pray, go into your chamber and shut the door and pray to your Father in secret …
First he says what not to do – don’t pray out so man can see. Then he says what to do – pray inside where God can see. This may or may not be about a physical location. Just like most of what Jesus teaches, the major idea is about what is inside a person, it’s all about the heart.
In the Hebrew Bible Translation it reads: “But you, when you pray, prepare it in your inner room, and pray unto YHWH in privacy, with a closed door.”
It is worth noting, if you look into Jesus’s prayer (pray) life, it tends to typically be done away from people. That’s probably why the disciples had to ask how to do it. Everything else they could watch, listen, and learn, but not prayer. There are only a few times Jesus prays out loud. Even then, before he does, he explains why he is praying out into the world for everyone to hear.
Personally, just my opinion, it may be because prayer, as it was understood at that time, is different than it is today. When Jesus went to talk to the Father, he hallowed Yah/God, he gave God his undivided attention. He communed with God. It was a personal conversation. When he left those times, he carried that communion with him. He was one with God. He didn’t need to “pray” for someone to be healed as if God wasn’t there already, he simply extended that communion and the person was healed. Just like the disciples shadows healed people as they walked by. But, again, that’s just a thought being processed out loud. What do you think?
and your Father who is seeing in secret will reward you.
Jesus said getting away and communing with God results in a reward, based on what he said earlier, that reward is most likely not received here on earth – but who knows? It’s possible right? Or is the reward unseen, inside of us, carried forth like it was with Jesus?
Wonder what we are missing out on as we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life? Jesus had his own hustle and bustle to deal with, but he still found a way.
When all we do is pray in groups, thinking about each word and what others will think are we really communing with God? Do we only pray when we have a request to make, burden to share, food to be blessed? Can we break our concept of prayer and our pray habits and get back to an ability to truly commune with the Father like Jesus did?
Verse 7
And praying, you //disciples// may not use vain repetition like the nations //people// for they think that in their speaking much they will be heard.
It doesn’t seem to be about the length of the prayer because in Luke-06, he records Jesus prayed all night. It also doesn’t seem to be about asking more than once, as Jesus returned again in the Garden. So the repetition concept here can’t be about the length of prayer time nor the number of times.
Repetition – the word carries a meaning of babbling, chattering, uttering empty words, repeating the same things over and over, stammering, speaking with little purpose. The word here comes from the same root word used in Matthew 5, Let your yea by yea, nay be nay.
Again, it seems to be about the connection of the heart. If one is just babbling along, disconnected from what is coming out of the heart into the mouth, there isn’t any connection between the person and God. This is probably the connection Paul was making in 1 Cor-14, when he said he would pray with words he understands.
Prayer is about participation of the heart, the body, and the mind in connecting with God. Oneness.
Verse 8
Do not be like them //hypocrites// for your //disciples// Father knows those things that you need before your asking him.
Do not be like them – thinking in speaking much you will be heard.
Those standing there hearing this had to have had a flash back to 1 Kings-18 and the battle of the gods. Elijah said the people had abandoned YHWH/God’s commands and were following the Baals. He told the people, if YHWH is God, follow him. But if Baal is God, follow him. The people couldn’t decide. The followers of Baal and Asherah (Easter) called the gods from morning till evening, they got louder and louder and danced around. They thought if they kept pleading and praying their god would answer. Elijah then stepped up and said around 50 words and YHWH answered.
Knows before you ask – As the scene took place between Elijah and the prophets of Baal and Asherah, YHWH/God was fully aware of what was needed. But Elijah still had to make the preparations and ask. Sometime we have prayers that are like our emergency calls. We are in a moment, we dial up and say, ‘Help’. There is a sort of connection made when someone says the word help. Not a lot of words or time needed, the communion is instant and can be very deep.
However, on a general, every day basis, maybe its about the purpose of our prayer. Are we praying for man to hear? Are we focused on what we want, Jesus says our Father already knows? Or are we just coming to meet with YHWH/God and have some good quality time with our Father? In that quality time, both God’s and our needs, wants, and desires are expressed and heard. Could those be the reward Jesus was speaking about?
Remember, the concept of prayer here is communion – meeting with God. It takes two. He is waiting for you.
Next well break down how Jesus told his disciples to pray … Matthew 6 vs09-15 The Lord’s Prayer
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