{"id":26930,"date":"2026-03-09T19:31:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T00:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/?p=26930"},"modified":"2026-03-09T19:31:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T00:31:50","slug":"praying-like-a-pharisee-in-several-easy-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/praying-like-a-pharisee-in-several-easy-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Praying like a Pharisee in several easy lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites\u2026 Therefore, do not be like them\u2026\u201d (Matthew 6:8).<\/strong><\/p>\n

All right, class, listen up.\u00a0 If you expect to be the next generation of hypocrites, you need to give me your full attention.\u00a0 The old Pharisees will be passing off the scene before long, and we\u2019ll need a new class of the double-minded\u2013you know, the play-actors\u2013ready to step up and fill their ranks.<\/p>\n

Tongue firmly planted in cheek now, everyone?\u00a0 All right. Let us proceed\u2026.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not easy being a hypocrite.\u00a0 You\u2019re always working on two levels, keeping things to yourself while presenting another image to the world.\u00a0 And that\u2019s hard.\u00a0 It takes a pretty smart person to pull this off.\u00a0 Shallow lazy people can be a lot of things, but not a successful Pharisee.<\/p>\n

Scripture says \u201ca double-minded person is unstable in all his ways;\u00a0 he should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.\u201d That\u2019s James 1:7-8.\u00a0 We cite it here for two reasons. First, to say how tough our calling is, and second, to remind ourselves that being hypocrites we\u2019re not expecting to receive anything from the Lord for our prayers.\u00a0 That\u2019s not the point.<\/p>\n

Okay? Got that? For a hypocritical Pharisee, prayer is about a lot of things, but touching the Heavenly Father with our actual needs is not one of them.<\/p>\n

Now, that being said\u2026.<\/p>\n

Your assignment as a hypocrite will cover a lot of areas\u2013your home life where you say one thing and do another, your church life where you pretend to love the Lord while secretly maneuvering and conniving, your stewardship where you claim to give more than you do and look for ways to profit from your spirituality, and of course, your prayer life which will be groomed for public consumption but devoid of anything vital and sincere. But today, let\u2019s zoom in.<\/p>\n

For the moment, let\u2019s focus on prayer.\u00a0 Praying like a hypocrite\u2013the Pharisaical model\u2013is not for the weak of heart.\u00a0 Only the top ten percent of the class will be able to meet the stringent requirements.\u00a0 Consider, for example\u2026<\/p>\n

One. A Pharisee must be able to pray effectively in public.\u00a0 (Matthew 6:5)<\/strong><\/p>\n

He does it in public because that\u2019s the whole point: to impress people.<\/p>\n

Those with stage fright who dread speaking in public will not be able to pull this off. A Pharisee can always be counted on to pray at public gatherings, in church settings, and at civic events.\u00a0 A Pharisee will have worked up a set of great phrases and voice patterns which sound impressive to the public at large, and which, with a little practice, you will be able to whip off at a moment\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n

The end result\u2013and this is always the point\u2013is that people will come away impressed by your spirituality and ready to trust you with the crown jewels.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The fun part of this is that you will encounter people who do all their praying in secret\u2013in the closet, as they say, if you can imagine that!\u2013and they have an amazing prayer life. And the funny thing is, some of them will have a hard time putting two words together in public.\u00a0 Even though they can pray rings around you in private, you should not worry your little head about this.\u00a0 You two are playing different games.\u00a0 You are a public pray-er, Pharisee!<\/em><\/p>\n

You are a performer!<\/p>\n

Two. A Pharisee piles up flowery words and pet phrases which mean little but sound mighty impressive.\u00a0 (Matthew 6:7)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, we\u2019re not sure if God is impressed by high-sounding rhetoric. But one thing we know for sure: Most people are.\u00a0 They swoon at the sound of long, convoluted theological phrases. You know this because some of the famous preachers you\u2019ve heard on television use them, and people adore them. So this is clearly the right way to go.\u00a0 So, you jot down the impressive prayer phrases and learn them, then practice inserting them into your prayers.\u00a0 Soon saying them will sound normal and natural, with no one having a clue that you are playing a role and giving a little memorized speech.<\/p>\n

You could win an academy award, you\u2019re such a good actor.<\/p>\n

Three.\u00a0 A Pharisee measures the effectiveness of his prayers in several ways, but mostly by the length.\u00a0 Pharisees think they will be heard \u201cfor their many words.\u201d \u00a0 (Matthew 6:7)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once you have mastered the art of impressive prayer language, you will soon be able to string together massive amounts of this filler.\u00a0 Eventually, you will be able to boast about all the time you spend in prayer.<\/p>\n

Four. A Pharisee calls attention to his achievements and faithfulness in prayer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>(The Lord gave a perfect example of this in Luke 18:11-12).<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how it\u2019s done:\u00a0 \u201cO Lord, how we thank Thee that I was able to finish my doctoral work last semester.\u00a0 Thank you, Lord, for my new book which is being published next week, and for the acclaim it\u2019s already receiving from critics.\u00a0 And how we praise Thee, Father, for the lovely new car we were able to purchase since I received the raise in salary.\u00a0 How great Thou art, O Lord.\u00a0 It\u2019s such a joy, therefore, to tithe our income to Thee and give beyond the tithe\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

A cynic would say the Lord already knows these things, and he\u2019d be right. But as a hypocrite, you\u2019re not talking to God but to the audience.<\/p>\n

Five.\u00a0 And likewise, a good Pharisee will find occasion to belittle other people in his prayer.\u00a0 (Luke 18:11-12)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLord, I thank Thee that I am not like other people. They\u2019re swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector\u2026.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll come up with your own version of this\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cLord, there are so many theological liberals today, spreading their heresies. I thank Thee that I have held the standard, that the faith I have preached is the same one proclaimed by Paul and Barnabas, Silas and Timothy\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLord, this country is being ruined by politicians. They\u2019re increasing taxes just so they can build more schools, passing laws to stop good people from owning bazookas, and forbidding sweet little children to pray to Thee.\u00a0 Lord, curse them with a mighty curse\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Lord, smite the drug pusher, the harlot, and the child abuser.\u00a0 Send Thy judgment upon the adulterer and the pornographer and the lily-livered preachers who will not tell the unvarnished truth from the pulpit.\u201d<\/p>\n

You get the idea.<\/p>\n

Now. Here\u2019s the way it works out in a public setting\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you\u2019re at a family gathering.\u00a0 Relatives have driven in from every direction, and a feast is on the table. This being a momentous occasion, it will require a prayer of blessing of some significance.\u00a0 So, naturally, they call on you to pray.\u00a0 And even though all they\u2019re asking for is a blessing of the meal, you being the person you are (hypocrite, Pharisee, public performer), you give them their money\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n

\u201cO Lord, Thou who hast made the heavens and the earth\u2026.\u201d (and you go on like that for a while.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t bad, but it quickly becomes filler.)<\/p>\n

\u201cFather in Heaven, we stand in awe at Thy blessings upon our land\u2026\u201d (and now you talk to the Lord about the history of America and try to work in something Ben Franklin said if possible.\u00a0 Or you quote from the God Bless America.).<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now we come to enjoy this repast which has been set before us\u2026.\u201d (don\u2019t call it a meal or food or groceries.\u00a0 Repast is a good theological word.\u00a0 No one is quite sure what it means, but that doesn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 At this point, you thank the Lord for the hands that prepared it.\u00a0 Mention Granny\u2019s fried apple pies if you really want to score points.)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would be amiss if we did not give thanks for the memories of Grandpa George and Grandma Bessie, without whom none of us would be here today\u2026.\u201d (And you\u2019ll probably want to work in a few things about Grandpa\u2019s work ethic and Grandma\u2019s faith)<\/p>\n

When we do this, a number of things happen\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, pray like that, and we can promise you several things\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2013The family members will be talking about you all the way home. No one will forget your prayer.<\/p>\n

\u2013The food will be cold, but that\u2019ll soon be forgotten.<\/p>\n

\u2013You will acquire a reputation in the family as the keeper of the faith, the one who can be counted on to anchor this clan to the Rock.<\/p>\n

\u2013And, you would think no one would ever call on you for a prayer again, but that would be wrong.\u00a0 By the next gathering\u2013a year or so up the road\u2013most will have forgotten that yours was the prayer that ran over into the second quarter of the football game and caused Aunt Clara to fall out from standing too long.\u00a0 They\u2019ll look around for someone to pray and there being no other likely candidates, all eyes will go to you.<\/p>\n

And because they remember nothing specific about what you prayed last time, you can use the same basic prayer you did a year ago.\u00a0 Just remember to insert the new President\u2019s name and a few markings to keep it current.<\/p>\n

This is just so much foolishness, of course.\u00a0 No one should want to pray meaningless prayers.\u00a0 It\u2019s the faithful prayer of the righteous which goes straight into Heaven and is welcomed at the Throne by the Father.\u00a0 Let us pray with faith to a loving Father through His Son our Savior the Lord Jesus.<\/p>\n

Let us get serious about prayer.\u00a0 After all, a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways and should expect nothing in prayer.\u00a0 Perhaps we should begin by praying, \u201cUnite my heart to fear Thy name,\u201d from Psalm 86:11.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites\u2026 Therefore, do not be like them\u2026\u201d (Matthew 6:8). All right, class, listen up.\u00a0 If you expect to be the next generation of hypocrites, you need to give me … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prayer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26930"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26937,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26930\/revisions\/26937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}