02 - LORD'S PRAYER - Jesus Taught Us How to Prayნიმუში

03 – The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Before teaching the actual “Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus first instructed His disciples—and through them, us—on how we should pray. He wasn’t talking about body posture, a specific place, or any outward form of prayer. Instead, He pointed to the posture of the soul, the intentions of the heart, and the motivations of the spirit.

Jesus was teaching about intimacy with the Father. His disciples needed to grasp two essentials: how to pray, and how to make prayer a daily practice. We need to learn the same disciplines today.

To illustrate, Jesus told a story about two men who prayed—one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector (Luke 18:10–14). Through this example, He drew a sharp contrast between hypocrisy and sincerity, focusing on each man’s motivation and the reward that followed.

In Matthew 6:5, Jesus spoke about the hypocrites. At first glance, His words sound encouraging: “They love to pray.” But the reality was different. They didn’t love prayer itself, nor did they love God—the One to whom prayer should be directed. What they really loved was themselves and the chance to be noticed when praying in public.

There is nothing wrong with praying while standing in the temple, or even praying aloud in public places—so long as the true purpose is to honor God wherever we are. But Jesus exposed the motives of many Pharisees in His day: they wanted to be seen by people. And that, He said, was already the only reward they would receive.

By contrast, Jesus told us to pray in secret—to meet with the Father privately and intimately, attentive to the presence of the Holy Spirit. God does not see us as others do. He searches the depths of our souls and knows us completely. That is why we must seek Him as He truly is: Creator, Lord, Judge, Savior, and our Father.

The true motivation for prayer is not to be seen by people, but to be seen and heard by God, our Abba Father. And our reward is this: He sees us, and He hears us (Matthew 6:4).

This teaching about secret prayer should not be taken with rigid literalism. Otherwise, we would have to stop praying in church or with our families. The point is not about location—it’s about purifying our motives and seeking genuine communion with God through His Spirit.