Jesus Said, "Don't Pray Like Them!"

When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, He said, "Don't pray like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the temple and on the street corners to be seen by people. I assure you; They've got their reward!" (Matthew 6:5).  Do you know what hypocrites are? They are pretenders. They say one thing and do something else. They like to draw attention to themselves and not God. 

Jesus wants each us to have a personal relationship with God. He said, "When you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. When you pray, don't babble like the idolaters, since they imagine they'll be heard for their many words. Don't pray like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him" (Matthew 6:6-8). Do you know what idolators are? They worship idols. During the time of Jesus idols looked like figurines of animals or people. They had eyes but couldn't see, ears that couldn't hear, and even though people trusted them, they had no power to help in times of trouble. Today's idols look a little different. They are anything that people devote themselves to besides God. Can you name some?

Think About It
Jesus gave his followers a model prayer. It's called The Lord's Prayer. Do you know what model means? A model is a pattern of something. Jesus used a model to teach people how to pray and we will talk more about that next week.

Pray About It
Lord Jesus, thank you for teaching your disciples to pray. Thank you that the model of prayer is in Your word. Help me to learn how to pray so I can know you better. Amen.

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