by David Qaoud

Is there a wrong way to pray? Of course. You can pray to the wrong gods, in the wrong places, for the wrong reasons. This is one of the reasons why Jesus taught his disciples the difference between right and wrong praying.

The context is the sermon on the mount. When the sermon gets to prayer, Jesus says:

“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. . .” (Matthew 6:5-8).

In this passage we see how to pray vs. how not to pray.

How Not to Pray

In Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, Daniel Akin asks this question: Why do people not attend church? He lists various reasons why:

• The church is boring.
• The services last too long.
• I once got hurt in the church.
• The church just wants your money.
• I don’t like organized religion.
• The church is too political.
• My needs aren’t being met.

(Personal note here, take a good look at this list for not going to church. Not one of them is about the Word of God being falsely preached or taught, God not being honored or Glorified, all these reasons are based on selfishness.) 

I would add also that many people don’t go to church because they aren’t believers and don’t love God or his people. Not to mention the idols of expressive individualism and busyness in our culture.

But the most common reason, according to what Akin has heard, is because the church is filled with hypocrites.

Hypocrites. Interestingly, the word hypocrite shows up over 12 times in Matthew’s Gospel alone. In this text on prayer, Jesus gives the example of hypocritical praying as a guideline for how not to pray…

CONTINUED AT SOURCE: How to Pray vs. How Not to Pray