11 years ago
Friday, January 27, 2012
The "ABC"s of Prayer - O is for OSTENTATIOUS
What exactly does it mean to be ostentatious? It sounds harmless enough right? To be ostentatious means to be showy or give a pretentious display that is designed to impress people. When it comes to prayer that is certainly not a good thing. In fact, in the Old Testament, Solomon addressed this issue on at least two separate occasions. In Proverbs 25:14 he cautions us that "Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain." We're "all show and no go". Again in chapter 27 verse 2 he mentions that we should "Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips." Not only does this kind of conduct hurt our testimony as a believer, but it actually impacts our ability to reach the ears of our creator when we pray. As Christ Himself put it: "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 6:1) Now that we know what it means to be ostentatious, let's be careful that we don't allow ourselves to be involved in this kind of conduct. Sure there is a time and a place for corporate prayer, but the bulk of our prayer should be done alone with our Heavenly Father so that we aren't seeking the praise of men. As Christ put it: "thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly." (Matthew 6:4)
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9 comments:
Praying for a humble heart, every moment of every day. It takes a moment to become a Christian, a lifetime to become like Christ.
Great post. Thanks Brian.
Your comment is waaaayy better than my post. Thank you brother!
Brian, may I humbly submit that you don't sell your effort short? God is using you, through your blog, and the (relative) loneliness of a beginning blogger, to persevere in your faith.
What you write it is a gift to the world. Why you write is God's calling. How long you stay with it will be a combination of the two, IMHO.
Thank you for the kind words Jeff. I am actually very encouraged by the number of views my blog is receiving. I am also using the blog to make it easier for our church to submit and organize their prayer requests (View Guestbook) and track answers to prayer.
You're welcome my friend. Glad you are encouraged. For beginner bloggers, it's not uncommon to look at followers and blog comments as a measure of success. I recommend not focusing on that and just trust your voice and know (like you already do) that people are listening and appreciate what you offer.
everything ok?
Everything is absolutely OK ! Leading a new Bible study at our church, basketball sectionals, work, oh yeah. . . blog? Sorry. Thanks for keeping me on track. It'll be there Thursday.
"Sure there is a time and a place for corporate prayer, but the bulk of our prayer should be done alone with our Heavenly Father so that we aren't seeking the praise of men."
Amen!
Great comment Dan! Glad to see you are in tune with the true motivation for prayer. . . Fellowship with our Creator.
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