5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:5-6 ESV)
We, at least in most Christian churches or groups that I have been around, do not have a lot of issues with overly grandiose prayers. For the most part, especially in public, when called on people make their prayers short and pretty targeted to the moment. We seem more afraid to pray in public than we make a show of it.
It is not necessarily easy to pray when called upon, especially without any preparation or thought to it. It should be the most natural thing to us, and maybe it is in the confines of our minds or our quiet places. But in public, spur of the moment, it can be terrifying. This is why when we close our eyes to pray we need to envision one thing….that we are praying to our closest friend.
When we do so the prayer flows more naturally, and we come humbly and ask for ourselves, others or the moment what the Spirit leads us to. It does become as natural as breathing.
Reflect on: Your prayers in private and in public. Are you praying to the crowd or to your best friend?
