This section of Matthew, Chapter 6:7-16, follows Jesus’ instruction about praying behind closed doors, and He is now teaching us how to pray.
We see a theme continuing here in this verse that began in the previous chapter, where Jesus emphasized that inner thoughts are as much a part of righteousness as outward actions (Matthew 5:20). This even applies to good deeds.
Selfish motivations behind good deeds undo the point of good deeds (Matthew 6:1). The same goes for prayer.
We, as Christians, are not supposed to or meant to pray with the intent to impress anybody. Doing so makes you a hypocrite (Matthew 6:5-6).
In the verse immediately preceding our Verse of the Day today, we also see that God does not approve of the pattern of mindless repeating words and phrases over and over, with the thought that you’re more likely to be heard (Matthew 6:7).
So, what does this mean for us? How do we apply this verse to our lives? We need to communicate with sincerity and humility when we pray. God doesn’t need, want, or ask for mindlessly repeated prayers. We can’t use just the right words for God to hear or understand us (Romans 8:26), as God knows what we need before we even ask.
Therefore, we can speak to Him simply, openly, and honestly. He will hear, understand, and respond (Hebrews 4:15-16) in His will (Luke 22:42).
