disciples not to pray in public. Those who favor school prayer, National Day of Prayer, etc. should take his advice.
Matthew6:6 actually if you could read the complete matthew it would be best
2006-10-20 04:25:32 · 15 answers · asked by dollface3169 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
2006-10-20 04:45:45 · update #1
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
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.
When you read the full text, you see what Jesus is saying is not to go around being all "look at me, I'm so wonderful - see all the good works I do and how much I pray?" The Pharasees were wanting recognition for the good things they did. Jesus wants us to do things in private - not for reward, but because they are the right things to do. We can pray in public if it is to glorify the Lord Jesus, not to glorify ourselves.
2006-10-20 04:32:27 · answer #1 · answered by padwinlearner 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
In Matt. 6:6 Jesus was warning his followers not to pray like the preachers of the day would do, they would pray in public using holy sounding words so that people would think that they were very holy and spiritual. He was telling his followers that prayer is a personal conversation between you and god and that you should not make a spectacle of it.
I am a christian but unfortunately the issue of school prayer has little to do with school prayer and everything to do with fighting off the continued attacks against Christianity by the ACLU. When I was in grade school (early 1970's) I never remember prayer in school. It was never an issue. Besides prayer should be performed at home or quietly throughout the day, you don't have to speak the prayer, God knows your heart.
2006-10-20 11:39:09 · answer #2 · answered by x 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
This is a classic example of taking specific Scripture out of context and shaping it to conform to your own philosophy. If you read the passage in its proper context (the whole chapter), it is clear that Jesus is talking about the hypocrites who pray in the synagogues and on the street corners TO BE SEEN BY MEN, so that men will "see how holy they are." They loved the praise of men, and if you read the chapter you will see that they have their reward (the praise of men) for doing so and that's all they get.
Jesus is telling you not to be like them. That's the wrong attitude and the wrong purpose for praying. He's not saying that it's wrong to pray in the synagogue or on the street corner, it's the hypocritical attitude that's wrong.
For goodness sake, Jesus didn't pray in a locked closet every time he prayed, but he didn't pray for the crowd either because he wasn't interested in the "praise of men."
I challenge you to read the whole chapter, and then see if you find anything there that supports your idea that prayer shouldn't be allowed in schools. Whether it should or shouldn't be allowed in schools is really a whole other matter, but you won't find anything in the passage of Scripture you've cited to support your claim.
2006-10-20 11:52:45 · answer #3 · answered by Wilson 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The prayer that has been taken out of schools, is the right for the student to say the blessing, even in slient over their food in the lunch room. We are to give praises and thanks to the Lord, with our heads humbly bowed before we eat any of our meals, no matter where we are eating them. If we are not ashamed of God and our giving thanks to Him, He will not be ashamed of us.
Students are being suspended for their saying the blessing, even in slient over they food. Another form of Christian persecution.
Don't twist the word of God.
God does not want people standing on street corners, drawing attention to themselves like that. He would wrather them go into a closet than shout in public like that.
Give the whole scripture that applies to your post and not just one.
Matthew 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
2006-10-20 11:33:33 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
We need to read Matthew chapter 6 from verse #1 to fully understand what Jesus is pointing out here. He warns his disciples not to be like the hypocrites who like to make sure that people are paying close attention to how much they are giving in "alms" and how "wordy" their prayers are. They only want to appear righteous, but inside are corrupt. He is not telling us NOT to pray in public, but to do it with the right intentions.
Remember: Jesus told us that wherever two (or more) are gathered in His name, there will He be also.
Peace and God bless!
2006-10-20 11:33:14 · answer #5 · answered by Godsgirl 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That means to not be boastful and arrogant about prayer. I pray in public all the time and no one knows it. The prayer closet that it speaks of is so that your time with the Lord will be in a quiet, secluded place so that the Lord can come in your presence and speak to you about the needs that you bring before him.
2006-10-20 11:32:56 · answer #6 · answered by heavnbound 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Jesus said this in the context of pharisees (or any religious people) showing off their piety. Whta Jesus is saying is let us not be like those Pharisee show-offs who like to go around showing people how good and pious they are by ostentatiously praying where people couldn't help but notice them or ostentatiously giving out charity and advertising their good deeds. What such people really want is not God's approval, nor the simple pleasure of helping the less fortunate. No - what such people want is the admiration of men! So peole can say of them: "Oh, WHAT a wonderful, kind, generous, pious man!" Jesus says, such pharisees have already recieved their reward - the reward they wanted in the first place - the admiration of men.
But Christ's followers are not to be like these show-off Pharisees: they are not to pray ostentatiously but sincerely.
Hope this helps your bewiderment :)
2006-10-20 11:59:27 · answer #7 · answered by Phoebhart 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The kingdom people (children of God) must have some experience of praying in their private room, through which they contact their heavenly father in secret. Experience some secret enjoyment of the father (God) and receive some secret answer from him. Good luck and God bless
2006-10-20 11:33:40 · answer #8 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
WHY does Jesus tell his followers not to pray in public - Not because there is anything wrong with it, but to make sure they are not praying to be seen as super-spiritual by other people. If that is why someone is praying publically, it is wrong.
If Jesus did not want the disciples to pray publically, why did He pray in front of thousands of people just before a lunch one day?
You are right, we need to read the context of the passages we quote.
2006-10-20 11:29:48 · answer #9 · answered by dansweaza 2 · 4⤊ 2⤋
He is speaking of to gain glory of men...to be seen and heard of men...he is saying do not put on a show.Read Matthew10:7....And as ye go,preach,saying,The kingdom of heaven is at hand.Actually read the whole chapter.
2006-10-20 11:39:00 · answer #10 · answered by Stella G 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋