Three Steps to Appropriate Prayer Times

Read Matthew 6:5-8

Did you know that the word hypocrite in Greek actually means an actor, stage player or pretender? In other words, it is someone who is pretending to be what they are not. In the matter of prayer Jesus said these types of people, "Love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men" (Matthew 6:5).  In other words, they made a show of the fact they were praying to God so that people would think they were righteous. But Jesus said "When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" (Matthew 6:6).  Does this mean that all public prayer is wrong? Not at all. For it is clear from scripture that corporate prayer was practised (Acts 12:12). But to understand what was really going on we need to look at the culture of the day behind Jesus' statements.

When the Temple stood there were regular times of prayer, and scripture confirms this (Psalms 55:17; Daniel. 6:10; Acts 3:1). However, when the time of prayer occurred pious Jews would stop what they were doing, no matter where they were, and make a great show of the fact that they were praying. It is clear from Matthew 6:5 that if they hadn't made it into the Temple for the prayer time they would go to great lengths to show those around them that they were indeed still praying. Proving Jesus' point that they were hypocrites who cared more about what people thought of them, than actually praying to God. Hence, Jesus' admonishment to pray in secret.

Jesus also said, "Do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words" (Matthew 6:7). This is another area that must be looked at from Jesus' 2nd century viewpoint. Idol worship was rampant during these times and idol worshippers often chanted for hours the same words or phrases, over and over again to appease the gods. Jesus' words seem to indicate that some Jews were of the mind that maybe that's how they should pray to God as well - by chanting. In 1 Kings 18:26 Baal worshippers chanted from mid-evening to morning. The multitude in the theatre at Ephesus shouted for two hours “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians” (Acts 19:34). But Jesus said, "Do not be like them" (Matthew 6:8).

Yet, today we find many popular Christian leaders encouraging chanting as a means to centre ourselves to become more focused on God. They are ignoring Jesus' warnings against such things. Popular Christian author and pastor Tony Campolo says, "I say His name over and over again, for as long as fifteen minutes, until I find my soul suspended in what the ancient Celtic Christians called a ‘thin place’—a state where the boundary between heaven and earth, divine and human, dissolves. You could say that I use the name of Jesus as my koan” (Campolo, Mystical Encounters for Christians). FYI - A ‘koan’ is used in Zen Buddhism as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening. This is something very similar to what the pagans did during Jesus time and so we should avoid it.

So how do we apply Jesus' principles to our prayer times?

Three Steps to Appropriate Prayer Times

• Don't draw attention to yourself - As I thought about the type of people Jesus was referring to in this verse (where they made a show of the fact that they were praying to God) I could think of only three examples where this is seen today. The first and most obvious are Muslims, who have been known to take over whole neighbourhoods so that they could pray at certain times of day. They make it a point to let people know they are doing this, rather than going to their mosques. This is something Jesus would oppose because they are making a show of the fact that they are praying. The same might be said of the Jews who pray at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. You will often see many of the men putting on quite a show with constant bowing, while they are praying at the wall. In all likelihood Jesus would call them hypocrites and admonish them to pray in secret because A) Their temple is no longer there and they have synagogues to pray together in behind closed doors and B) Praying at the wall has become two things  - a political statement and a form of idol worship. Why pray at the wall at all? To emphasize the fact that their temple used to stand there. They don't want anyone (especially Muslims) to forget that. Unfortunately, it has also become an idol to them. Like the Jews during Jeremiah's day they have placed their faith in a building (or wall in this case) rather than in their Creator.  Now the third group of people I thought of might hit home with some of you, because quite frankly it hit home with me when I considered it. So bear with me while I ask you some questions. When you go to church how are you behaving during prayer times? Are you drawing attention to yourself? For example, are you following the correct way of using tongues? If your whole congregation is speaking in tongues at once, there is no benefit in that to anyone without an interpreter present. To the outsider we are just a bunch of babbling fools. Jesus has told us not to make a display of ourselves when we are praying. So before you pray in public, consider your behaviour and your motives.
  
• Pray privately - While it is good to pray with others, we do need our "alone times". Here we can share the concerns of our heart with the Father and focus on what He is saying in response. This should be a time with just you and God and no interruptions. Granted, this can be difficult with a house full of kids, so take those moments when you can and wherever you can.
  
• Don't chant - Jesus says don't use vain repetitions - in other words don't keep saying things over and over again - don't chant. Some people believe this means we shouldn't say the Lord's Prayer as it becomes repetitious. I would agree if we said it repeatedly during a service, but we don't. However, it should not be used in the place of genuine prayer either. The Lord's Prayer is simply our template on how to pray appropriately to God and I will discuss that next week.