Easter Marathon. Prayer

We read in Matthew 6th chapter :

“5. And when you pray, you shall 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. Truly I say to you, They have their reward.

 6 But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly.

 7 But when you pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

 8 Be not you therefore like to them: for your Father knows what things you have need of, before you ask him.”

Our prayer should promote the integrity of the soul. Therefore, if we have any other motives in our souls, such as:  I pray, because everyone does so; because I was asked to do it; from habit; by tradition, etc., then all these motives must be rejected. You need to pray only because you want to turn to Heavenly Father and ask Him for the most important aspects of your life. True prayer is when words, faith, and action coincide, such prayer forms the integrity of the soul. Prayer is an intimate thing, it is a conversation with the Creator.

Jesus said: "Do not be like the hypocrites." He did not say directly: you are hypocrites. No. He said, don't be like them, because by acting and feeling like them, you become hypocrites. Why hypocrisy in spiritual life is so dangerous? Because people around you feel it. They may not show it, but they subconsciously know that you are insincere. You talk about humility, but in your mind you despise people; you talk about the filling with the Holly Spirit, but you have only religious letters.

You may ask, what's wrong with the fact that such hypocrites stopped in crowded places and prayed in public? Well, more people have remembered about the importance of daily prayer, it is a good thing, isn't it? But no, hypocrisy in spiritual life will make you like a barren fig tree with many leaves and no fruit. Hypocrites only have the form of righteousness, but they do not have its power. And so it will be with everything we show off. The principle is next: do something because you are looking for the essence of this action (in prayer it is communion with God; in giving alms it is helping the needy), and not the approving reaction of others.

Prayer is like sowing: all attention should be on the One to whom it is addressed and on your heart, on its content.

Let's try not to search for praise and approval.

“Your father which sees in secret…” People see only what is obvious, what is outside, what is on display. God sees in secret. God sees the heart itself. What is more important to God: how others see you, or what is hidden in the depths of your heart? "Whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart" - Jesus said. So, if in your heart there is lust, the fact that it still exists only in your mind, does not indicate anything, except that simply there were  no appropriate circumstances for the realisation of this lust. You are what you think in your heart.

If in your soul you are confident in your victory, it does not matter that people see you as a loser. It is important what does God see. A person may say that money are not important for him, but  shopping, clothing, stuff are on the first place in his heart. A person may say that Gospel is the foundation of his life, but continue to trust in money, properties and his career more than in God's provision. A person may say that  loves God, but in the heart he will not be able to gather all his ideas about Him. The list goes on.

God looks at the heart, He sees in secret, and people are afraid even to look into their hearts, they are afraid to understand their true motives and desires.