61 "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven . 2 "So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets , so that they may be honored by men . Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full . 3 "But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing , 4 so that your giving will be in secret ; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
5 "When you pray , you are not to be like the hypocrites ; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men . Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full . 6 "But you, when you pray , go into your inner room , close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret , and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 7 "And when you are praying , do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 6:1-7
Commentary on Matthew 6:1-4
(Read Matthew 6:1-4)
Our Lord next warned against hypocrisy and outward show in religious duties. What we do, must be done from an inward principle, that we may be approved of God, not that we may be praised of men. In these verses we are cautioned against hypocrisy in giving alms. Take heed of it. It is a subtle sin; and vain-glory creeps into what we do, before we are aware. But the duty is not the less necessary and excellent for being abused by hypocrites to serve their pride. The doom Christ passes, at first may seem a promise, but it is their reward; not the reward God promises to those who do good, but the reward hypocrites promise themselves, and a poor reward it is; they did it to be seen of men, and they are seen of men. When we take least notice of our good deeds ourselves, God takes most notice of them. He will reward thee; not as a master who gives his servant what he earns, and no more, but as a Father who gives abundantly to his son that serves him.
Commentary on Matthew 6:5-8
(Read Matthew 6:5-8)
It is taken for granted that all who are disciples of Christ pray. You may as soon find a living man that does not breathe, as a living Christian that does not pray. If prayerless, then graceless. The Scribes and Pharisees were guilty of two great faults in prayer, vain-glory and vain repetitions. "Verily they have their reward;" if in so great a matter as is between us and God, when we are at prayer, we can look to so poor a thing as the praise of men, it is just that it should be all our reward. Yet there is not a secret, sudden breathing after God, but he observes it. It is called a reward, but it is of grace, not of debt; what merit can there be in begging? If he does not give his people what they ask, it is because he knows they do not need it, and that it is not for their good. So far is God from being wrought upon by the length or words of our prayers, that the most powerful intercessions are those which are made with groanings that cannot be uttered. Let us well study what is shown of the frame of mind in which our prayers should be offered, and learn daily from Christ how to pray.