Matthew 6:8
Encyclopedia
Matthew 6:8 is the eighth verse of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew
in the New Testament
and is part of the Sermon on the Mount
. This verse continues the discussion on the proper procedure for praying.
In the King James Version of the Bible
the text reads:
The World English Bible
translates the passage as:
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 6:7
Jesus has just condemned the lengthy prayers of the Gentiles, and in this verse states that such prayers are unnecessary as God is aware of a person's desire even before they ask. A similar statement is made at Isaiah 65:24.
This raises the question of why prayer is even necessary at all, and this issue has been much discussed by theologians. The most common view is that while God does not need prayer, humans do. Hendriksen
states that while God clearly does not need the actual act of prayer, each person does need such an outlet to bare their soul. Fowler believes this use of the term "your Father" is meant to enhance this fatherly aspect of God. According the Schweizer prayer is a gift from God for the comfort of humans, not an action performed to seek a reward. Fowler presents an alternate thesis that what Jesus is saying here is that, unlike in pagan prayers, there is no need to persuade or cajole God in prayer, God already knows all one's needs and a simple and sincere prayer would be the most effective.
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
and is part of the Sermon on the Mount
Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus, which emphasizes his moral teaching found in the Gospel of Matthew...
. This verse continues the discussion on the proper procedure for praying.
In the King James Version of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
the text reads:
- Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father
- knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
The World English Bible
World English Bible
The World English Bible is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997...
translates the passage as:
- Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father
- knows what things you need, before you ask him.
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 6:7
Jesus has just condemned the lengthy prayers of the Gentiles, and in this verse states that such prayers are unnecessary as God is aware of a person's desire even before they ask. A similar statement is made at Isaiah 65:24.
This raises the question of why prayer is even necessary at all, and this issue has been much discussed by theologians. The most common view is that while God does not need prayer, humans do. Hendriksen
William Hendriksen
William Hendriksen was a New Testament scholar and writer of Bible commentaries. He was born in Tiel, Gelderland, but his family moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1911. Hendriksen studied at Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary before obtaining an S.T.D...
states that while God clearly does not need the actual act of prayer, each person does need such an outlet to bare their soul. Fowler believes this use of the term "your Father" is meant to enhance this fatherly aspect of God. According the Schweizer prayer is a gift from God for the comfort of humans, not an action performed to seek a reward. Fowler presents an alternate thesis that what Jesus is saying here is that, unlike in pagan prayers, there is no need to persuade or cajole God in prayer, God already knows all one's needs and a simple and sincere prayer would be the most effective.