In Matthew chapter six, Jesus draws our attention away from outward appearances and calls us to examine the authenticity of our spiritual lives. He shifts the focus from the internal righteousness described in Matthew chapter five to the outward expressions of righteousness—acts like giving, praying, and fasting. But with this outward expression comes a clear danger: these acts, good as they are, can easily be corrupted. They can be hollowed out by hypocrisy or distorted by a desire to impress others, much like the empty religious practices of the Gentiles, who relied on meaningless rituals rather than genuine connection with God.
The issue Jesus addresses here is timeless. It is possible—and tragically common—for us to perform religious acts without engaging our minds or hearts. We may pray without truly praying, speak without truly listening, and give without truly loving. Jesus warns us that even prayer, a practice that should be deeply intimate and sacred, can become nothing more than repetition and noise—like the babbling of those who believe that quantity of words impresses God.
He exposes the motive of the hypocrite: they are more concerned with the approval of people than with the praise of God. The acts themselves—giving, fasting, praying—are not the problem. Jesus endorses all three. The issue lies in the intent. When we pray to be seen by others, when we give to be praised, when we fast to appear spiritual, we have already received our reward. That reward is the fleeting applause of man, not the lasting pleasure of God.
Jesus does not leave us with a warning alone. He gives us a model—a pattern of prayer that cuts through pretense and points us back to what matters most: the glory of God. He says, “Pray, then, in this way,” and introduces what we call the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13). We examined the first part of this prayer and saw how it radically reorients our attention. It begins not with our needs but with God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
This prayer opens with a threefold plea: that God’s name be honored, His reign be established, and His will be done. It is a God-centered, glory-seeking prayer. In a world where self-promotion and personal branding are prized, Jesus invites us to a different path—to seek the fame of God rather than our own. This is deeply countercultural. Our natural inclination is to elevate our own name, advance our own kingdom, and demand our own will. Even in our spirituality, we are tempted to make ourselves the center.
There’s something profoundly unsettling about that truth. Our prayers often reveal our priorities. Are we seeking God’s purposes, or are we subtly trying to enlist Him in our own plans? Do we long for His kingdom to come, or are we asking Him to bless our version of it?