Who Are You Trying To Impress?

When you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites.
Matthew 6:5

Jesus said, "When you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners,so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full" ( Matthew 6:5 ). This was a case of prayer gone wrong because:
(1) their prayers had become a shallow exercise rather than a deep relationship-building one;
(2) their prayers were rituals, rather than authentic expressions of a loving heart;
(3) their prayers were long and wordy, designed to impress others;
(4) their prayers were filled with meaningless clichs;
(5) their prayers became a cause for pride rather than an opportunity to express humble reliance on God.

But Jesus didn't leave us to flounder.
No.
He talked straight: "But you,when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will repay you" ( Matthew 6:6 ). If some of our children spoke to uslike we speak to God, we'd all laugh out loud. "O, great, most gracious and loving earthly parent, what is it that thou dost wish me to do?" No wonder people get turned off! If you want to learn how to pray listen to the prayers of infant believers. They're spontaneous. Personal. Honest.No gobble-de-gook. No impressive Christianease. They just let it all out. Surely such straight talk thrills the heart of God and brings the needed results!