Lesson Two • The Tone of Prayer
Devotion 5: Reward of Being Seen by Men
Pastor John Carter
“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.” Matthew 6:5
At the beginning of the week, we looked at the contrast between being seen by men versus being seen by God. Yesterday, we very briefly walked through the reward that comes from God. Ultimately, He is the One who has the power to heal and the power to forgive. He should be our first and primary place to go when it comes to confession of sins and petitions for healing.
What about the other way of praying? There is praying for the sake of others hearing us. There is danger in the prideful desire to have others hear us pray or even praying for someone else just to give off the impression that we are “super righteous” and close to God. Maybe you have even heard this said, “Can you pray for me because it seems like God answers your prayer?”
Compare the response Jesus gives to the prideful, arrogant person that is only self-seeking in his prayer. Jesus says they got their reward. In other words, they did not connect with the One who can actually heal, they did not connect with the One who can actually forgive. Their reward was that people saw them and they may have a small sense of glory for a moment. However, they have no power, they have no authority to forgive or release the bondage of sins. Their rewards are self-serving.
Do not be like them! This is what Jesus is saying. I know it seems obvious and you are probably thinking to yourself, “Never! I will never do this!” I hope this is true, but I want to look at some practical challenges for this.
When was the last time you spent time with God alone and prayed for your spouse? I mean, really prayed for their struggles and sins and sickness. When was the last time you spent time alone in a quiet, undistracted place with God praying for your children or grandchildren? Yes, it stings me, too. However, this is what is talked about in James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
The “one another” there is meant to help us not be so self-centered in our prayers to God. Maybe today you need to devote some time, to not make your prayer all about you, but for a fellow brother or sister in Christ that really needs the amazing power of God to do a miracle for them. Go to your quiet place and lift them up, carry their needs and burdens; take them to the very place that has hope! Take them to the One who has all the authority to forgive, and all the power to heal.