Churchgoers? explain please.............?

Question

in Matthew 6, v5+6 (Sermon on the Mount) Jesus says....

"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.

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. "

when jesus has said to pray in secret, how can you justify going to church to pray?

thanks, just needed to see some religious peoples responses to comments by someone who is anti-religion on youtube.

Answer 1

Hi, James:

That is refering to hypocrites that stand on the street corner praying that their righteousness may be seen. Yes, Jesus knows our thoughts, and secret prayer is in order.

However, your prayers can bless others, and like Solomon, when he dedicated the temple, He lifted his hands to heaven and prayeed.

Also, read John 17. Jesus prayed a whole chapter there--it is quite inspiring.

Jesus told us that although God knows our needs, still He taught us how to pray. And sometimes churches offer the Lord's Prayer as Jesus dictated it 2,000 years ago.

Shalom, peace in Jesus, Ben Yeshua

Answer 2

There are many different ways and types of prayer but I believe what you are asking is about a common problem people run into christian or not and that is wanting others to see them and say " OOOH" and " AHHH" at what and who they are or what they are doing. Church ( the building) is like school and that's where many people learn to pray and how or even why. Yes, many people (christians and non-christians alike) I believe, have a misconception of church and " The Church". The Church isn't a building it is the people. The building doesn't save you. It's where the not perfect people go to learn what they should be doing and using in their lives. In other words it's for the perfecting of people cause perfect people don't need it. Good question. Keep asking them we christians should know how to answer good questions such as yours. Have a blessed day.

Answer 3

This is talking about standing on a street corner and shouting a prayer. Which I don't do as a Christian, even when I say grace in public it is low tones and to myself and God. It isn't there to make an impression to anyone else. Also in the Bible it says to be in prayer at all times. So a Christian can be in prayer in the middle of a store and you won't even know it. As there is such a thing called quiet prayer.
This is clearly talking about making a scene when you are in prayer, so as to draw attention from others. As for praying in Church, it isn't a public place, but people go there to do just that, pray. Does that make sense to you now?

Answer 4

We go to church for a LOT more than prayer, we do pray, but there is worship, liturgy, support of our faith community.

Jesus was referring to people, mostly influential people that would sit in the front of the temple and make a very showy ostentatious spectacle of praying so as to prove to everyone around them just how much more pious they were then everyone else.
And he is also saying to pray not only when you are in church, but at home, when you are alone.
In example after example Jesus gathered with his friends and followers, how can we not follow that example?
Without the company of other Christians we will never grow in our faith formation and be called to a higher level of spiritualism and evangelization.
To shun church is to miss out on the very most important tenets of Christianity.

Answer 5

I don't go to church to pray, I go to church to worship and be in fellowship with others saved by Christ. Praying does happen in church and why shouldn't it? The praying is to worship and praise God and ask for His guidance. What is being said here by Jesus is that the Pharisees would go out into the streets and stand in the Synagogues not to praise God, but to call attention to themselves to show how "holy" they were, and not to be that way because they would pretend to be holy, and instead sin tremendously. When Jesus said to do it in secret, it was saying to humble yourself before God rather than exalting yourself to other men. In the church I am a member of people don't pray to get attention, they pray to praise God.

:)

Answer 6

The quote by Jesus must be looked at from the time period. In Jesus' time, it was quite common for the religious leaders of the day to go out and pray in public, simply to look religious, not to speak with God. They were essentially saying to their peers, "look how religious I am!" Jesus didn't want people to pray simply for the attention, he wanted a personal relationship with his followers. Church is simply a time when Christian's gather to learn and praise with one another. Jesus didn't condemn the people for going to the synagogues, only for attending for the express purpose of being religious.

Answer 7

Don't you think that depends on how a person prays at church?

I don't go to church to be seen. I go to church to worship God, and to have fellowship with other Christians.

And Jesus was referring to the hypocrites of the day, who were praying for show. There's a difference between praying with a congregation (in fellowship) and praying to be seen, so that people talk about how "good" one is.

Answer 8

This does not mean not to pray in church. It means not to make a big show of your Christianity. The Pharisees liked to go out in public and call attention to themselves in front of EVERYONE. This is not like praying in church with other believers.

Answer 9

It just meant that you shouldn't pray to show off to other people. You shouldn't be praying to fill an image and to make people think that you're really spiritual and close with God. It meant that you should only pray for God and do it because you want to get close to Him and not because you want other people to think of you in a certain way.

Answer 10

The issue is not prayer. The issue (and the context which you leave out makes this plain) is that one should not attempt to draw attention to oneself. Jesus is addressing those who want worship and praise. There is nothing wrong with praying in public provided that the direction is rightly placed.