In Matthew 6:5-6, Jesus does not command us to pray, but assumes we will pray. He says, “When you pray … .” Still, many professing followers of Christ struggle with the whole concept of prayer. When we turn to research sources, we discover a wide range of descriptions and definitions.

Prayer is something God’s children do because it is the nature of a born-again person to do so, even though most believers may confess that we do not pray enough or even know enough about prayer. Prayer is primarily a personal and private spiritual discipline. It is genuine communion with God, where we express gratitude, ask for something, implore, confess, adore, and much more. Prayer is mediated by Christ and guided and translated by the Holy Spirit.

Any spiritual discipline can turn into a religious performance that is void of real power. Jesus warned His followers not to be like the hypocrites of His day. They loved to pray in public, whether on street corners or in the synagogues. Our Lord is not against public prayer, but He is emphasizing the value of genuine, sincere and intense private prayer.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ time also cherished attention. Their public prayer was a way to be seen and heard by others. This is very different from the model for prayer Jesus gave us in Matthew 6:9-13. Public prayer of this nature is more like men praying to themselves or to others. In reality, it is not prayer at all.

In contrast to the Pharisees, Jesus emphasized the right way to pray in verse 6: “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who sees in secret and will repay you.”

If God is real and prayer is genuine, the only person who really needs to know the content of our prayer is God. The inner room was likely a small room used to store valuables. It could have been a chamber or closet. Private, personal prayer is the picture Jesus wants us to see.

While Jesus does not condemn public praying, He does qualify how public prayers should be made in verse 7. Meaningless words and repetition are worthless. Our public praying should not be characterized by idle, thoughtless, stammering sounds. The Gentiles believed they were more likely to be heard by a god if they used many words. Effective prayer cannot be measured by the size of our vocabulary, the number of words we use, or the various sounds we may make. It can be measured by the Spirit working in our hearts as we pray and have faith. Long-winded public prayers typically end up being something other than prayer.

What characterized the unbelievers should not be what characterizes believers. Verse 8 teaches us something vital about prayer: “Your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him.” He knows what we need before we pray. He also knows what we want. We know what we want, but we do not always know what we need. God has promised to meet all our needs in Christ Jesus — but not our wants (Philippians 4:19).

Many years ago, during my golfing days, I saw a set of new golf clubs I wanted. I talked among the family about how much I “needed” those clubs. My youngest daughter, who was learning about basic needs in school, finally heard enough. We sat down and she said, “Daddy, those golf clubs are not one of your basic needs!” Wow. She was right. There can be a big difference in wants and needs. Our wise God knows what we need before we pray, but it is through the means of grace-called prayer that He often meets our needs.

Effective prayer is founded in faith and is primarily private in nature. It is always personal, realizes God knows what we need, and submits to His wisdom. God responds with favor to that kind of praying.