In Jesus' instructions on prayer (Matt 6:5-15), he mentions three types of praying people. The first of these is the hypocrite (vs. 5). A hypocrite is more concerned of what men think about his prayer than what God thinks. Do you realize that this plays out in two ways? Some men pray out loud in a certain way (maybe very eloquently) because they care that men think them good prayers. Others refuse to pray out loud because they are concerned that men will think their prayers elementary.
The second of these is described as a Gentile (vs. 7). A Gentile, in Jesus' reference here, is a person who doesn't really know the Living God. Maybe he prays to false gods or the God of whom he merely knows something, but doesn't know personally. So he prays as if he needs to inform God of something that he does not know or as if he has to convince God to be concerned.
The third of these is YOU (vss. 5, 6, 7). When you pray, it's relational and conversational with a father who is already concerned for you and already knows the need. So you pray like this . . . "Our Father . . . ."
Do you fit in the YOU category? Are your encounters with God relational and conversational?
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