阅读经文 

你是否曾经走进车库，关起门来祷告呢？我并不反对在车库里祷告，只是当我想找个地方祷告时，通常不会首先想到车库。

然而，这基本上就是耶稣在这里告诉门徒要做的事情。耶稣用来祷告的地方，照字面意思是“储藏室”。在耶稣的时代，储藏室都位于比较偏僻的地方，用来储存工具和物资，包括食物，这种屋子通常都有一扇可以关闭的门。

耶稣的命令使祷告看起来是件秘密的、私人的事。这是祂要表达的重点吗？

在这段经文中，耶稣在教导人们关于祷告，禁食和十一奉献的事。这些都是人们宗教生活的重要方面，但有些宗教领袖倾向于用这些活动来炫耀他们自己如何地虔诚和热心。

耶稣在这里警告人们要避免浮夸的祷告。真诚、恳切的祷告只专注于神自己。如果你只是满足于讨人的喜欢，那就是你所获得唯一的奖赏。但如果你想要神听你的祷告，就要单单向祂说话。

如果你的车库不是最理想的祷告场所，那么另找一个可以与神独处的地方，专注地和祂沟通。“你父在暗中察看，必然报答你。”

Do you ever go into your garage, close the door, and pray? I'm not opposed to praying in my garage, but it's not usually the first place that comes to mind when I think about a place to pray.

Yet that's basically what Jesus tells his followers to do here. The word that Jesus uses for the place to pray literally means "storeroom." In Jesus' day storerooms were out-of-the-way spaces that were used mainly for storing tools and supplies, including food, and these rooms usually had a door that could be closed.

Jesus' command makes prayer seem a secretive and private matter. Could that be his point?

In this passage Jesus is teaching his listeners about prayer, fasting, and tithing. These were all vital aspects of the people's religious life, but some of the people's leaders tended to use these activities as a way to show off how religious and devout they were.

Here Jesus warns against showy prayer. Earnest and honest prayer, he is saying, focuses on God alone. If you're merely satisfied with impressing others, that will be your only reward. But if you want God to hear your prayers, speak only to him.

If your garage isn't the best place for prayer, find another place where you can be alone with God and concentrate on communicating with him. "Then your Father, who sees what's done in secret, will reward you."