And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites [are]:
for they love to pray standing in the synagogues
and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou
hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret;
and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]:
for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth
what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. ...etc.
Surely, then, ALL manner of public prayer is forbidden by
this passage? Jesus taught and read in the synagogues and in the
countryside, and gave thanks with his friends at mealtime, but the
only record I know of that he prayed was in
Gethsemane, where he did not even pray with his disciples. It seems
that Jesus himself only prayed as he instructed, in secret.
