And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites

 

 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. 

 

"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."

 

- Matthew 6:1-6 

 

We are reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.  You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain  on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

 

  "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward."  As we begin chapter 6 of St. Matthew's Gospel, here Jesus begins to present three most basic aspects of spiritual life.  In today's reading, He begins with charitable giving, and will also begin to speak about prayer; in subsequent verses He will also speak of fasting.  These three disciplines, my study Bible says, are related directly to God's righteousness.  The original meaning of "hypocrite," we're told, was "actor."  (The word means "below the mask" with the mask representing an attitude -- as in the masks that ancient actors wore onstage to delineate their character.)   Hypocrite, my study Bible tells us, are play-actors who practice piety for show, who desire to please other people rather than God.  They are those who may wear a mask of compassion but are inwardly heartless.  For such their reward is the applause or glory from men.  To sound a trumpet before oneself was a way of conveying a public message; ironically such public announcements in the Greek-speaking world were called evangelia, meaning "good news" -- a word translated as "gospels."

 

"But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly."  My study Bible comments that God is not impressed with what others think of us, nor by what we think of ourselves.  It says that God will reward good deeds when they are based on pure motives of the heart.  Perhaps we should consider that the word translated as charitable is ἐλεημοσύνη/eleimosini, from the root word meaning "mercy" (ἔλεος/eleos).  So our charitable acts might be defined as the practice of merciful deeds, whatever form that takes.

 

 "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."   We will add here the next verse (from tomorrow's reading), "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.  For they think that they will be heard for their many words."  My study Bible notes that the hypocrites miss the spirit of prayer, which it describes as an intimate, personal communion with God that leads to the vision of God's glory (1 Corinthians 2:9).  Hypocrisy blocks out this communion and this vision.  Vain repetitions cannot establish such communion, because God does not need our "babble."  My study Bible adds, importantly, that to partake of this communion, both silence and words are necessary.  So, therefore, we pray always (Luke 18:1) and without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  Moreover, it's noted that Christ does not condemn the use of many words per se, but here teaches instead that words must express the desire for communion with God.  In the following reading for tomorrow, Jesus will give us specific words to repeat (the Lord's Prayer, or the Our Father).  It's not repetition itself that is condemned, but vain repetition.  Many psalms, prayers, and hymns of the Church have been repeated for countless generations in the worship of God "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23).  Additionally, true prayer is not telling God what God already knows, and then telling God what to do about it.  Neither is it appearing to be pious in front of others.  My study Bible describes true prayer as first of all humble (go into your room); it is personal (pray to your Father); and it is sincere (do not use vain repetitions).

 

 So what are vain repetitions?  Perhaps they are repeated prayers like magical incantations, and we must distinguish between this kind of repetition and what prayer is and does.  In the Orthodox tradition (which those of other denominations are also using today) is the Jesus Prayer practice.  This itself is the repetition of a very short prayer (sometimes these are called "arrow prayers" in tradition).  The common form of this prayer today is "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."  But it has historically taken on many forms and can be used in other forms, such as, "Lord have mercy," for example, which so often intersperses our worship services.  In the period of earliest monasticism, psalm verses were repeated, particularly, "Lord make haste to help me; Lord make speed to save me."  (For more on the Jesus Prayer practice see this site, or this one.)  The purpose of such repetition is a focus on prayer which draws us into the presence of God; in fact it is also sometimes called the practice of the presence of God.  In such prayer we draw our thoughts to God, even in the midst of tribulation or difficulty, and other thoughts that wander astray in our minds.  The very purpose of such short, repeated arrow prayers is to redirect our mind to God, and indeed, in the words of the Jesus Prayer, we find that we are inviting Christ in to whatever circumstances are in our lives, or in our hearts.  We simply continue to "recollect" ourselves by the repetition of the prayer, and orient ourselves to proper communion with God.  Again, in this Orthodox prayer tradition, we find writings which teach us of this practice of praying with "the mind in the heart."  That is, the prayer is meant to deepen within us through time and practice, reaching into the places of the heart, so that we are inviting Christ in with our arrow prayers, even to the places we might not always be aware of within ourselves.  This becomes a direct way to invite repentance, for as the prayer deepens, we also encounter our own resistance, and the places where God enters to change our perspective, and "change our minds" -- the literal meaning of repentance.  In this we return also to the depths of the laws of love behind the entire Sermon on the Mount.  As Jesus has just finished focusing on the Law and its deeper interpretation to cover even the things of the heart, such as anger and lust, so we enter into this theme of prayer in the heart.  Moreover, these developments of internal prayer are directly related to Christ's teachings against hypocrisy as well, for they invite us in to discover what we might even be masking from ourselves, so that we may invite Christ and God's grace in so that we are healed.  In this way, let us go forward and pay attention to what He teaches, in our prayers and charitable acts.

 

 

Pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly

 

 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

"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. "

* * * 

"Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

 

- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 

 

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  On Saturday we read that Jesus taught:   "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.  You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?  Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." 

 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven."  As we begin chapter 6, and the next section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus will present to us what my study Bible says are the three most basic aspects of spiritual living:  charitable giving, prayer, and fasting.  These three disciples, it says, relate directly to God's righteousness.  

"Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward."  The original meaning of the word "hypocrite" was actor, as in the ancient plays in which every actor would wear a mask to indicate the character they were interpreting.  My study Bible comments that hypocrites are play-actors practicing piety for show, desiring to please human beings rather than God.  They wear masks of compassion, but internally they are heartless.  Their reward is applause from men, but nothing more.

"But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly."  My study Bible says that God is not impressed with what others think of us, nor by what we think of ourselves.  God will reward good deeds when they are based on pure motives of the heart.  

"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."  The hypocrites miss the spirit of prayer, which my study Bible says is an intimate, personal communion with God that leads to the vision of God's glory (1 Corinthians 2:9).  Hypocrisy effectively blocks out this communication and this vision.  True prayer, my study Bible says, is humble (go into your room) and personal (pray to your Father).  Note the deeply personal nature of the prayer Jesus recommends here; the emphasis is on the authenticity of internal life, not external show.

"Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."  My study Bible comments that to keep a sad countenance to show off one's fasting (or to show off any other form of sacrifice that one does nominally for a "good" purpose) is mere external display.  Again, Jesus rejects this as hypocrisy.  Although fasting is not commonly well-understood today, especially in the West, it remains a tradition of the Church, and is also widely practiced elsewhere and among other religious traditions as well.  Fasting practices vary from place to place (thus, it is not about "rules"), but they generally focus on abstinence from animal foods or those derived from animals; a strict fast might include abstinence from eggs and dairy.  For the one who fasts, my study Bible says, the compassion of God outshines the physical discomfort.  There are hymns of the traditional fasting season in the Orthodox Church that call on the faithful to wash and anoint their faces (there is no Ash Wednesday in the Orthodox Church).  Fasting is for spiritual growth and the glory of God, not to be seen by others.  It is important to know that fasting is not simply abstinence from food, but consists of self-denial in all areas of life in order to escape control of the passions.  For example, a famous sermon by St. Chrysostom asks us, "What good is it if we abstain from eating birds and fish, but bite and devour our brothers?"

In today's reading, Jesus focuses on three aspects of the practice of faith:  charitable giving, prayer, and fasting.  These are three traditional aspects of disciplines of faith.  There is one thing which His comments have in common on each of these subjects, and that is the very personal nature of our devotion to God.  It is this emphasis on the personal and intimate that draws away a tendency to practice hypocrisy, and instead gives us a focus on a true intimate relatedness to God.  He emphasizes with each theme that our "good deeds" must be done in secret, and that God sees in secret.  This word translated as secret is κρυπτός/kryptos, meaning "hidden," or "concealed," something that is veiled to others.  St. Peter uses this same word (κρυπτός/kryptos) when he writes of "the hidden person of the heart" (see 1 Peter 3:3-4) in his own teaching with emphasis on what is internal, and rejection of external show.  Each time Jesus focuses on a religious practice, He speaks of "your Father who sees in secret."  For His teachings here on both prayer and fasting, He adds that our "Father who sees in secret" is also our "Father who is in the secret place."   All of this points not simply to the importance of eliminating hypocrisy in our practices for the good, for serving God, but also indicates the mystical or hidden nature of faith, and the "hidden person of the heart," as St. Peter's puts it, who must seek out God in secret, and whom God seeks out in secret.  When Jesus says to go into your room, the text has a special word for a special room.  It indicated an inner room in a house where one's treasure and valuables might be stored; in modern Greek speech, this word (ταμεῖόν/tameion) is now used for "cash register."  It makes us think twice about Jesus' saying just a few verses further along in the Sermon on the Mount, that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21).  This emphasis on the hiddenness of the heart, on the Father who is also in the secret place, and who sees in secret, teaches us about the faith of Christ, in which God is worshiped in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24) -- and not for the show of others, or an external mask we wear for applause.  In today's world, social media has permeated seemingly every aspect of our lives; there is an extraordinary amount of emphasis on what mask we wear -- what our "selfies" and other things we post on social media tell others about our lives.  Even what is nominally true is only a partial picture, and therefore the emphasis again is on a mask, a role we are playing, and what kind of feedback or applause we seek for this.  Certainly the designers of social apps have always understood this (see this article, for example).  But ironically, we have also seen the negative outcome of the drive for attention:  motivated by loneliness, a need for a connection with others, or the desire to make a particular impression, social media use instead manages to reinforce negative images of the self compared to others (especially in young woman), depression, and a sense of isolation.  Christ's emphasis on meeting God in the secret place, on God as the One who sees in secret, and our own interior lives hidden from others, is a way to bypass such a ruthless cycle of destructive patterns of behavior.  What we find in that interior place that does not rely on the feedback of others is not only a sense of love and care in the encounter with God in faith, but also a letting go of the things we think we have to be or to have.  All of these practices, of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting, tend to emphasize the bedrock of who we are internally, and lead us to start to understand our real needs, and especially the things we can let go when we find that security in God.  Do we need every fancy food?  Can we live without some amount of wealth that can help others?  Does our prayer life really take us away from something more important?  Moreover, they enforce for us that we can find great discipline, and are capable of the strength to make even difficult choices.  Let us get down to what is real, and find our faith in what truly matters.  Let us value what we're offered in all of these practices that can help us so much, and which remain an antidote to the ills and delusions of the world. 

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

 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

"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.  And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.  For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

"Therefore, do you not be like them.  For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.  In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

"Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with  sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward."

- Matthew 6:1-16

We've been reading through the Sermon on the Mount.  We began with the Beatitudes, the blessings of the Kingdom.  Then Jesus taught about true righteousness for His disciples, the fulfillment of the Law.  He then spoke of the statute against murder, and the righteousness of His fulfillment, and about the Law and divorce, the inner workings of covetousness, and personal integrity.   In yesterday's reading, He taught, "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'   But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?  Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.  Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly."  We begin chapter 6 as Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount.  Having taught about the righteousness of the Kingdom and the Law, in this chapter He speaks about three traditional aspects of spiritual life:  charitable giving, prayer, and fasting.  Here, He uses the word hypocrite to express His emphasis on the deeper aspects of these practices.  Hypocrite originally meant "actor" in the Greek; it literally means "under a mask," as in the ancient theater.  My study bible says that hypocrites are play-actors practicing piety for show, desiring to please other people rather than God.  They may outwardly wear masks of compassion, but inwardly they are heartless.  Their reward is the applause of others, and nothing more.  It adds that God isn't impressed by what others think about us, nor about what we think of ourselves.  The reward is to good deeds based on pure motives of the heart.

"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.  And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.  For they think that they will be heard for their many words."  Hypocrites miss the spirit of prayer, which my study bible describes as an intimate and personal communion with God that leads to the vision of His glory (1 Corinthians 2:9).  It says that hypocrisy blocks out this communication, and this vision.  Vain repetitions don't establish this type of communion; God doesn't need babbling words.   To partake of this communion requires both silence and words.  So we pray always (Luke 18:1) and without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  It's not that Christ condemns many words, but that words must truly express the desire for communion with God.  In the next verses, Jesus does give us specific words to repeat (the Lord's Prayer), and so we note, it's not repetition per se that is a problem - it's "vain" repetition.  Psalms, prayers, and hymns have been repeated for countless generations even as we seek to worship God "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23).  My study bible also says that true prayer isn't telling God what God already knows and then telling God what He should do about it.  It's not appearing pious in front of other people.  It's humble (go into your room), personal (pray to your Father), and sincere (do not use vain repetitions).

"Therefore, do you not be like them.  For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.  In this manner, therefore, pray:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  My study bible says here that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity reveals our potential relationship with God.  Christ, the true Son of God, gives us the privilege of calling God our Father by grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).   As a "son of God" (that is, one who inherits), a Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God as Christ does the Father, my study bible tells us.  Let us note the importance of communion here, of relationship.  God isn't our Father only because He created us.  He is Father in a saving, personal relationship of love, a communion that comes by the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  In these words, we see the closeness of communion; what we pray for is God's will to be thorough, in all places in heaven and on earth.

"Give us this day our daily bread."  The word translated as daily is ἐπιούσιος/epiousios in Greek.  It literally means "above the essence" or "supersubstantial."  Clearly it reflects the reality of the eucharistic bread, Christ Himself.  To pray thus for our daily bread means that we don't pray simply for daily nourishment - bread for this day.  It's the bread for the "eternal day of the Kingdom of God," my study bible puts it.  That is, the nourishment of our immortal soul.  The living supersubstantial bread is Christ (John 6:5).  In the Lord's Prayer, my study bible tells us, we don't ask merely for material bread for physical health, but rather for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  This request to be forgiven is plural -- we're to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  Debts refers to spiritual debts.

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen."  God tempts no one to sin, says my study bible (see James 1:13).  But temptations do come from the evil one, the devil.  Temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to sinful or selfish passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  None of us lives without temptations, but we pray not to encounter temptation or tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). 

"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."  Here Jesus poses mutual forgiveness as a precondition of God's forgiveness.  Those who don't forgive aren't forgiven.  Jesus will repeat this same teaching in the parable of the unforgiving servant (18:21-35).  My study bible says that to not forgive others is to willfully flee from the forgiveness of God for ourselves.

"Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with  sad countenance.  For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.  Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward."  As we come upon Lent, this is a good thing to think about.  Fasting practices are designed to help us to understand not only discipline, but that we are capable of saying no to the things that tempt us, to forego things we may desire for the love of God.  To keep a sad countenance or to show off one's fasting is once again a mere external display that has nothing to do with the point of the practice.  My study bible says that for the one who fasts, the compassion of God outshines physical discomfort.  In the tradition of the Church there are both seasons of fasting and seasons of feasting.

There is a lot to consider in today's reading.  But we do note that Jesus emphasizes the personal nature of relationship or communion with God.  Jesus does not speak about praying to the Almighty, or the Lord.  Instead, it is a deeply personal relationship that He speaks about.  He tells His disciples, "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."  He speaks to them of "your Father," and repeats those words twice.   And what He says conveys the deepest intimacy.   To go into one's room, to shut the door, to pray to "your Father who is in the secret place" and "your Father who sees in secret" conveys yet another layer of intimacy.  Let us note that although generally speaking He addresses His disciples in the plural, here the "you" (of your Father) is singular.  That again gives us a further depth of intimacy.  All of this ties in with Jesus' teachings against hypocrisy in spiritual practices, because it's the depth of the relationship that makes faith a true richness of the heart.  Jesus speaks of One-to-one intimacy, in the deepest and most secret places both of God who is and who sees in the secret place, and our own secret place, so to speak.    These are the hidden places of the heart.  The word for room here in the Greek is ταμεῖον/tameion, which implies an inner chamber both for refuge or privacy and for storing treasure, one's cherished goods or wealth, things of value.  (In modern Greek, it's used as the word for cash register.)  This is the real depth Christ calls us to in relationship.  Metropolitan Anthony Bloom in his book Beginning to Pray teaches us also about intimacy in prayer.  Jesus speaks to each disciple in telling them to pray to "your Father."  Bloom encourages us also to find our private word for God.  He uses the example of David who, having addressed God in formal tones, bursts out in a psalm "You, my Joy!"  (see Psalm 42:4, "God my exceeding joy").  Repeatedly in the Psalms we encounter other words for God that express an intimacy of experience:  "my shield," "my strength,"  "my refuge," "my deliverer," "my salvation."  Jesus' own life teaches us about His intimacy with the Father, to which He calls each of us in our own inner rooms, in the privacy of the closed door, with our Father in the secret place who sees in secret.  Let us find our own way there and know the trust, joy, and refuge we may also find.