“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly<\/em>” (Matthew 6:5-6).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe key phrase to notice here is “that they may be seen by men.” There is a difference between people seeing you pray and saying a prayer to be seen by others. Solomon did not sin when he offered a prayer to God at the dedication of the temple: “Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven<\/em>” (I Kings 8:22). The purpose of Solomon’s prayer was not to show off. He was offering a prayer of thanksgiving to God on behalf of all present. Stephen prayed before unbelievers (Acts 7:60). Paul prayed with others (Acts 20:36).<\/p>\nIn a restaurant, if the food is coming at uneven times, we will say a private prayer. If the food is delivered at once and we deem that it is possible to say a prayer without disturbing others, we will do so but keep the volume so that just those at the table can hear what is being said. Basically, the prayer is for those who wish to thank God before a meal, and are not done because we want others to see as Christians. If the only time you say a prayer is when there are others present, then there is a problem.<\/p>\n\t
Response:<\/h2>\n
Thank you, Mr. Hamilton!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Hello, Mr. Hamilton! My husband and I have been studying the book of Matthew, and we have a question about Matthew 6:5-6. \u00a0How do these verses apply to saying a prayer of thanks before a meal in a restaurant? \u00a0We have read your answer to the question, “Must a prayer be said before eating…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[1510],"class_list":["post-42486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-prayers"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":34429,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/must-a-prayer-be-said-before-eating-a-meal\/","url_meta":{"origin":42486,"position":0},"title":"Must a prayer be said before eating a meal?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it good to say grace before eating a meal whether it be big or small?\u00a0 Would it be a sin if I don't give thanks to God before eating? Answer: Being thankful to God is important. We need to express in prayer your recognition of where our blessings\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43687,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-quote-the-bible-in-your-prayer\/","url_meta":{"origin":42486,"position":1},"title":"Is it wrong to quote the Bible in your prayer?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it wrong to quote the Bible in your prayer? If yes, why, and if no, why? Thanks. Answer: Nowhere in the Bible does it forbid one to quote Bible passages in prayer. As long as your prayers are sincere, humble, with faithfulness, fervent, watchful, praising, and thankful, quoting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59568,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-simple-prayer\/","url_meta":{"origin":42486,"position":2},"title":"A Simple Prayer","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 24, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by L.A. Stauffer via The Jackson Drive Reporter, March 15, 2009. Bible students may be struck with amazement that a body of Jewish followers would ask Jesus to teach them to pray. These were men of a nation that grew up with prayer. It was a staple of their home\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28449,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-bad-to-keep-on-praying-the-same-prayer-all-over-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":42486,"position":3},"title":"Is it bad to keep on praying the same prayer all over again?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 13, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: This is a question about prayer. Is it bad to keep on praying the same prayer all over again? It could be from desperation, or it can be another reason. For example, you have a problem or worry you share with the Lord and you think that you are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29528,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-and-prayer\/","url_meta":{"origin":42486,"position":4},"title":"Jesus and Prayer","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeff Wolverton Sentry Magazine, December 2002 Jesus as Our Intercessor The intercession of the Holy Spirit does not set aside the intercession of Jesus Christ. \"And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32077,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-proper-to-publish-your-prayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":42486,"position":5},"title":"Is it proper to publish your prayers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Pleasant good morning, I'd appreciate some guidance, please.\u00a0I have observed prayers in the comment section under news articles of tragic incidents. When tragedy strikes I could, in the privacy of my home, say a prayer for those involved, and believe that God hears my prayers. However, others are posting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42486\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}