01/17/22 Praying With JESUS: 40 Days Toward Church Revitalization — Day 19

Matthew 6:1-15 (ESV)
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
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.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

This passage of Scripture links prayer in a believer’s life with at least three critical heart elements. These heart elements, when laid bare by the work of the Holy Spirit, reveal whether or not a believer is rightly aligned with God’s heart:

•   Theatrics = “beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them” (6:1,5)

•   Verbosity = “when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition” (6:7)

•   Forgiveness = “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (6:12,14-15)

AUTHENTICITY… There is no place in Christ’s church for hypocrisy. Jesus warned His followers not to make their faith activities a performance to impress others (Matthew 6:1,5,16). Neither should believers judge others because there is yet plenty in their own lives to be judged (Matthew 7:1-5). Instead Jesus both lived and taught authenticity in our relationship with Him and with one another. Are either of these statements true about you or about any one in your church family?

•   “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, but in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men” (Matthew 15:8-9).

•   “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man…” (Matthew 15:19-20a) When we fail to be authentic with Jesus, we will undoubtedly be playing a masquerade with our fellow believers. Let’s repent of our lack of authenticity and come clean with Jesus about our hypocrisy today.

PRAY… Father God, I want to come clean about my hypocrisy. It is creating chaos in my walk with You and in my relationships with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Please forgive me for not living an authentic Christian life, and by Your grace empower me to live soberly and uprightly in my walk with You and in my relationships with fellow believers. I desire to walk in the Light as You Yourself are the Light, so that I can have Biblical fellowship with other believers and so I can walk in authenticity with You. Be honored today in all my relationships, as I cast off hypocrisy and embrace the life of Christ. I ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.