Matthew 6:1-18 6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ 14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. 16 When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." I perfectly understand the meaning of this passage about charity, which should not serve to extol our good works in public, but in the case of prayer, whenever we go to pray alone, we must do it hidden from others? Or do we run the risk of acting like we're ashamed to pray when we do?
I think it's really about your intention. I pray all the time in front of my family, because I want my children to have a healthy prayer life modeled for them, and I want to include them. But I also pray often alone, and the more intimate the prayer, the more I hope no one will find me (unfortunately with 4 kids, I get found a lot, haha.) Obviously in church you're going to be praying in front of others. But I think it's really just the question of whether you're hoping people will notice and admire you or not. Hopefully you're so focused on God that you don't even give it a moment's thought.
St Phillip used to advise his children to go to a graveyard and praise themselves for half an hour . Then he would ask them to go to a graveyard and criticise themselves for half an hour When they returned he asked them if anyone of the dead had responded to anything they had said? When they answered that there was only silence both times he said Be you like the dead as far as other peoples opinions of you good or bad Silent
