August 14 | Matthew 6:5-13

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DAILY READING

Matthew 6:5-13

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REFLECTION

Quiet Reflections in the Morn

By Judy Webb

Are you like me in that you feel incompetent when it comes to prayer? Does the thought of praying out loud in your small group give you chills? It is obvious when reading the Bible, that the Pharisees and Sadducees had no qualms about this task. They viewed their public praying as a way to show how good they were, how learned and moral their lives were.

“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 others. (Matthew 6:5)

On the other hand, the Disciples wanted to learn how to pray, but not as the religious leaders of their day, but as Jesus, their teacher prayed. They saw how he never made a production out of his special time with God the Father. He craved this time when He could talk to His Father and pray for His will to be done. We know Jesus had some difficult conversations when He asked God to remove the cup of suffering which was waiting for Him. But Jesus also wanted God’s will to be the fulfilled.

The disciples witnessed Jesus’ prayer habits...he got up early and went off to pray alone. Often the disciples didn’t know where he was. They knew there were people waiting to be healed, to see and to hear Jesus…but Jesus was off praying. Why? Because Jesus knew the time spent talking with God was necessary for him and for the rest of his daily work. This fact should impress upon us the importance of a daily time alone with God. We have lots going on and we need to pull away from the noise and enjoy a few quiet moments each morning in His Presence.

The true God isn’t impressed by the length or eloquence of our words, but by the heart. Hypocrites pray not to be heard by God, but to be seen by man. Their prayers are an insult to God.

This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name… (Matthew 6:9)

PRAYER

Dear Jesus,

What a privilege it is to pray. We know you hear our prayers and you answer them as well. When others ask us to pray for something, we should feel honored by this request. I feel that once I pray for or with someone, we are never strangers again. What a blessing indeed! Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JUDY WEBB

I have been a member of UALC for 26 years and have been writing devotions for this site for about 17 of them. Writing is my passion. As retired staff I still love everything about UALC and its members including my small group.