prayer for nearly every occasion. ―There was hardly an event or a sight in life which had not its stated
formula of prayer. There was prayer before and after each meal; there were prayers in connection with the
light, the fire, the lightning, on seeing the new moon, comets, rain, tempest, at the sight of the sea, lakes,
rivers, on receiving good news, on using new furniture, on entering or leaving a city. Everything had its
prayer‖. (Ibid., p. 193.) In spite of what no doubt began with noble aspirations, prayer deteriorated to a mere
ritual (lest we become too critical, let us think of some of our mealtime prayers). In spite of efforts to the
contrary, prayer in Israel fell into the deadly throes of formalism. It is for this reason that Y‘shua pointed to
the practice of prayer as an example of externalism in verses 5-15.
There were two principle errors current at the time of Y‘shua‘s earthly appearance. The first error is
described in verses 5 and 6. It is that of pretension.
―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‖. (Matt 6:5).
Pretension was easily fallen into, without even sensing its existence. One would be about his affairs and
suddenly realise that the time of prayer was at hand. Either he would fail to fulfill this obligation or he must do
it where he was. If he was in the marketplace or on the street corner, he would simply stand there and
commence his prayers. Of course, this was obvious to the passers-by who would nod to one another, noting
this man‘s devotion to his religious duty. One could easily accept public commendation and even seek it
further. More and more, one would find himself in a public place at the appointed times of prayer.
In accordance with the principle established in verse 1, such public acts of worship would gain men‘s praise,
but not YHWH‘s. They had, in the words of Y‘shua, already received all the praise they would get. The
expression ―they have their reward (in full)‖ is interesting. The Greek term employed (apechein) is a technical
business and commercial word for receiving payment in full. ―It was the word which was used on receipted
accounts. For instance, one man signs a receipt given to another man: ̳I have received (apecho') from you
the rent of the olive press, which you have on hire‘. A tax collector gives a receipt, saying, ̳I have received
(apecho...) from you the tax which is due‘. A man sells a slave and gives a receipt, saying, ̳I have received
(apecho„) the whole price due to me‘‖. (Ibid., p. 185.) Those who pray in order to impress men have no
further hope of reward from YHWH.
The solution to this problem of Pretension is suggested in verse 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‖. (Matt 6:6).
In contrast to the public exhibition of ̳piety‘ by the hypocrites, true disciples are to seek the face of Elohim in
private. Public prayer such as in a synagogue is not forbidden here, nor do we need to pray only in our
closets.
―The Greek word tameion was used for the store-room where treasures might be kept. So the implication
may be that in the inner room where the Christian regularly prays there are treasures already awaiting him
which he can draw upon and add to‖. (R. V. G. Tasker, The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1968), p. 73). It is our motive that the Saviour is speaking to here. We are not to seek the
approving nod of men, but to desire intimate fellowship with Elohim.
The second prevalent error in the matter of prayer is that of verbosity. We have all probably heard the story
of the individual, who when meeting the pastor at the door after the service, commented, ―Pastor, I really
enjoyed both messages this morning‖. ―But‖, the pastor objected, ―I only preached once‖. ―I meant the one
you preached and the one you prayed‖, returned the observant member.
Two kinds of needless verbosity are common. The first is senseless, thoughtless repetition. We all know of
the prayer wheels employed by the heathen. And we know of much prayer that is rattled off without touching
either the mind or the heart of the one praying.
All of us are aware of prayers of our own of this type. Oftentimes my ̳spontaneous‘ prayers sound strangely
familiar and lack life and urgency. Ironically, the Lord‘s Prayer is often ̳prayed‘ with this mindless repetition.
Another variety of verbosity was that of needless longevity. The Greek term battologeo ―meaningless
repetition‖ (verse 7) is an unusual one. While most commentators take it in the sense of babbling or
senseless utterances repeated over and over, Moulton and Milligan remind us that it was an expression