Matthew 6:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 6:5-8

Prayer. The duty of prayer is assumed. To be without prayer is to be without religion. "Behold, he prayeth," is another way of saying," He has become a Christian" ( Acts 9:11 ). Prayer is the language and homage of dependence. The idea is that of coming to God for a blessing with a vow ( προσεχῦη , from πρὸς ," with," and εὔχη ," a vow"), viz. to fulfil the conditions upon which his blessings are promised. The elements of acceptable prayer are— I. SINCERITY . 1 . The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 6:5-15

Prayer. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 6:8

Be not ye therefore like. Revised Version omits "ye," as the emphatic personal pronoun is not expressed. The connexion of thought is—Seeing you are expected to shun heathen error (Meyer), do not allow yourselves to reproduce heathen practices. By observing these you would be taking a definite way of becoming like (passive, or rather middle, ὁμοιωθῆτε ) those who ordinarily practise them. For ; i.e. you stand on a different footing altogether from the heathen; you are intimately... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Matthew 6:7-8

Matthew 6:7-8. When ye pray, use not vain repetitions A multiplicity of words without meaning, or uttered without seriousness, reverence for God, sincerity, or faith. The original word, βαττολογησητε , is derived from βαττος , a stutterer, or foolish talker, and λογος , speech. The former word was the name of a certain prince of the Cyrenæans, who was a stammerer, and also of a babbling foolish poet, who frequently repeated the same things, and whose rhapsodies were full of... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Matthew 6:1-18

41. Giving, praying and fasting (Matthew 6:1-18; Luke 11:1-4)If the followers of Jesus give help to the needy with the aim of winning people’s praise, their giving is of no value in God’s sight. They will have their reward in the praise they seek, but will miss out on any reward from God. They should keep matters of giving secret from even their closest friends (Matthew 6:1-4).Prayer also is a private matter. Believers do not need to make a show of prayerful zeal, as if their heavenly Father... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Matthew 6:8

knoweth. Greek. oida. Very significant in this connection. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 6:8

Be not therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what thing's ye have need of, before ye ask him.This, of course, is elementary wisdom. A God who needs to be told what men need could certainly not help if told! Prayers, giving God information, are as ridiculous as they are impious. read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Matthew 6:8

Matthew 6:8. Be not ye therefore like unto them— This argument would be forcible against all prayer in general, if prayer were considered only as a means of making our wants known to God; whereas it is no more than an act of obedience to our heavenly Father, who has commanded us to pray to him, chap. Mat 7:7 and made it a condition of his favours; an expression of our trust in him, and dependence on his goodness, whereby we acknowledge, that all the benefits we receive come from him, and that... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Matthew 6:8

8. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him—and so needs not to be informed of our wants, any more than to be roused to attend to them by our incessant speaking. What a view of God is here given, in sharp contrast with the gods of the heathen! But let it be carefully noted that it is not as the general Father of mankind that our Lord says, "Your Father" knoweth what ye need before ye ask it; for it is not men, as such, that He is... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 6:1-18

Righteousness and the Father 6:1-18Jesus moved from correcting popular misinterpretations of selected Old Testament texts that speak of righteous conduct (Matthew 5:17-48) to correcting popular misconceptions about righteous conduct. He moved from ethical distinctions to the practice of religion. Throughout this entire section proper motivation for actions is a constant emphasis. read more

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