The Sermon on the Mount, Part XX and XXI of XL

The Sermon on the Mount, Part XX of XL
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TEXT: Continuing with Matthew 6:

6. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

COMMENTARY: Again, the "Father" is watching "in secret," from the interior depths of deepest Mind (the Unconscious). It is He/She, and She/He alone Who gives true rewards, as good karma. In that, the spiritual can and do rejoice. So, a spiritual person should exercise great caution never to pray in public!
For this "public prayer" betrays a deeply uncertain person, not sure of God, not trusting God in faith. For Jesus says that all real prayer is private and "in secret." Any act of public prayer displays a lack or absence of true spirituality or enlightenment.


The Sermon on the Mount, Part XXI of XL
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TEXT:

7. "And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

COMMENTARY: We have all, at one time or another, been the "victims"
of hyperverbal prayers that pretend, rather ignorantly and shamefully, to "educate" God. This kind of embarrassing "prayer" is a sermon in disguise. It is not accepted by God (deepest Mind) as "prayer" at all, but is a hollow, superficial, artificial excuse for selfdisplay-- unacceptable to Jesus, and thus, to God.

TEXT:

8. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

COMMENTARY: If this is true-- and it is-- then, we have no real need for the "prayers of request," or supplication. We do not need shamefully to beg God to love us, or to act on our behalf. To ask God for special favors displays a real lack of faith, for God already knows what we need. This revelation by Jesus revises and alters the very definition of prayer!
The true prayer is about God ("Our father,… hallowed be thy name."), not all about the self. It also concerns the welfare of the world ("Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"), and never selfabsorbed. We can ask for necessities, but need not "inform" God of what is happening ("Give us this day our daily bread").
And, most of the time, the very best prayer is silence. For in that profound state, we can immerse ourselves selflessly in the ocean, the galaxy, of Lovemind-- the most profound intent of the deepest prayer or meditation.