5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matt 6:5-8

Writers earn their living writing words. A novel has to be so many words to be published. A typical romance novel runs about sixty thousand words. A suspense best seller in the neighborhood of eighty to one hundred thousand words. Then there are writers who write short pieces for magazines and journals and are paid per word. If a writer wrote one hundred words at five cents a word the piece would earn five dollars. So it is in the best interest of the writer to use as many words as possible. All those descriptions of things have a purpose besides entertaining the reader.

Makes you wonder about politicians and preachers doesn’t it?

As a pastor, I make an effort to know which members in the congregation are comfortable praying in public. It is embarrassing for the person and the pastor when the person responds with, "I beg to be excused" or just shakes their head. Prayer is a highly personal conversation between a person and God. Some people do not feel it is appropriate to pray in public while others are afraid they will say the wrong thing or that they are not prepared to use "religious language".

Then there are those who love to pray in public because of the recognition. It is not hard to know who these people are because they pray in "religious" language with many repetitions of certain phrases. Years ago one particular pastor made me wince because he had a unique way of saying "Holy" and when he prayed he wore the word out.

What Jesus is teaching in the verses above about prayer is that if it comes from the heart the words are not what are important. Neither is the length of the prayer. In Verse 8 He says, "Your Father knows what you need before you ask". His point is that when you are asking from the heart that you are asking with purpose as well as need and like a child before his father the need is on the face before the words are spoken.

Pray often each day. Remember when you really, really wanted to go someplace or wanted something special and you approached your mother or father? Pray just like that and God will amaze you.