In Matthew 6:5, Jesus turns to a very familiar act, that of praying, and directly and more strongly tells his disciples that they must not be like the hypocrites when they pray. The hypocrites were praying to impress, with a motivation entirely centered on what others thought. The hypocrites contrived to be in places where their prayers would be visible to all (and maybe heard as well). They wanted the attention of folks so their astonishing piety could be observed.

It is a solemn warning to all of us who pray in public on a regular basis. There is nothing wrong with public prayers – at the start of a church meeting, or a Bible study, or during a worship service. It is good and proper for God’s people to come before him together in prayer. And I’m not saying we shouldn’t prepare to pray in public – making sure our tongue isn’t tied up and our grammar or phrases don’t distract. Yet, we need to be cautious that our praying isn’t done to impress those listening. Our prayers bring us to the throne of God (Hebrews 4:16); it is him we should be pointing others to in our prayers.

But where does Jesus tell us to pray? In the closet! Jesus describes praying inside the small storage closet located in most single room homes of his day. There can be no desire to impress other people in prayers made in secret to our “Father who is in secret.” We must spend time with him in prayer and we must do it in total privacy.