FOR A PRETENCE MAKE LONG PRAYERS

It had been a busy day of argument. Differing parties had united to vent their opposition and malice upon the Saviour. The atmosphere is tense. Herodians, Pharisees and Sadducees all have had their turn. Their carefully crafted trick questions have been political, theological and hypothetical, but one by one the interrogators were silenced by the superior wisdom of the Son of God. Before he lets the crowd disperse, He puts them on their guard against the subtle, self-seeking scribes who were destroying the nation. Item by item, he fills in the description of these scurrilous men, coming at last to their covetousness. They ‘devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers’.

Just how it worked in practice is not altogether certain but whatever the nature of their fraudulent activities, it is clear that the Lord Jesus not only condemns their dishonest dealings but the pious dress beneath which they were concealed. While they prayed with the widows, they preyed upon them. Such duplicity, the Saviour declares, will earn for such men ‘greater damnation’. Their profession of piety will bring a severer sentence upon their heads than will be visited upon dishonesty without the garb of godliness.

Hypocrisy is obnoxious to God, but never more so than when it touches the exercise of spiritual things. Prayers for a pretence! Imagine the most holy and elevated exercise of the human spirit being used as a cover-up. The prayers may have been long, but they were not able to provide in quantity what they lacked in quality. Let us cultivate integrity and sincerity in prayer. Let us examine our motives here. The supplication may be short but if it is sincere, it will be pleasing to the Lord. How often public prayers have been used as a cover for correction, innuendo, or even point-scoring. We should call upon the Lord out of a pure heart. In the very next section in this Gospel the Lord Jesus draws attention to a poor widow who gave her two mites. The private sincerity of this widow elicited Christ’s commendation - the parade of piety in those scribes; His condemnation. Let us aim at sincerity in all things, especially in prayer.