Matthew 6:5-7

New Catholic Bible

Praying in Secret. ⁵“Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may observe them doing so. Amen, I say to you, they have already received their reward. ⁶But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees everything that is done in secret will reward you.

The Lord’s Prayer.^[a] ⁷“When you pray do not go on babbling endlessly as the pagans do, for they believe that they are more likely to be heard because of their many words.

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Footnotes

Matthew 6:7 In response to a request from his disciples to teach them to pray (see Lk 11:1), Jesus entrusts them with the fundamental Christian prayer, the Our Father. It is also called the Lord’s Prayer because it comes to us from the Lord Jesus, the master and model of prayer. The Lord’s Prayer constitutes the summary of the whole Gospel, lies at the center of the Scriptures, and is the most perfect of prayers. The object of the first three petitions is the glory of the Father: the sanctification of his name, the coming of the kingdom, and the fulfillment of his will. The four others present our wants to him: they ask that our lives be nourished, healed of sin, and made victorious in the struggle of good over evil.

Matthew 6:5-7

New International Version

Prayer^(A)

⁵“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing^(B) in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father,^(C) who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷And when you pray, do not keep on babbling^(D) like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.^(E)