Top X June 21, 2025 Devotional
June 21, 2025
MATTHEW 6:5 | 5 And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
One way to misuse God’s name is through formal adherence and private rebellion. There can be, in certain places at certain times, personal advantages to appearing pious. Some see church as a center for contacts, a source of social capital, an association that can add a moral and spiritual dimension to one’s public perception. But if we worship or pray to be seen, we miss the point and fall into a meaningless hypocrisy. Faith honors God only when it shapes our lives, decisions, and actions.
One advantage of periods and places where Christianity is unfashionable or unlawful is that it eliminates this problem.
How pure is your motivation to worship and follow?
Gracious God,
Purify my heart and my motives. May my prayers and worship be genuine, rooted in obedience and love.
Amen.
