Wait, Why Am I Talking?
As you may remember from elementary school, there are four different types of sentences:
- Declarative: We didn’t invent the chicken, just the chicken sandwich.
- Interrogative: Would you like waffle fries and a beverage?
- Imperative: Please get me more Chick-fil-A sauce.
- Exclamatory: I love Hash Brown Scramble burritos!
To an extent, the four types of sentences explain the basic motivation behind what you choose to say, write, or type. Declarative sentences share facts or opinions. Interrogative sentences clarify ambiguity or uncertainty. Imperative sentences function as commands or requests, and exclamatory sentences convey emotion.
However, we’re still hardly scratching the surface of the reasons why people express their feelings or offer their perspectives. One time, a friend who is trained as a professional coach told me about the acronym “WAIT,” which stands for, “Why am I talking?” I think this is a critical question for us to all consider from time to time, whether we’re presenting to a large group of people or sitting across the table from a friend or family member. Why do we say what we say, and what do we hope will happen as a result?
This idea is at the heart of Jesus’ teaching on prayer in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:5 (NLT), Jesus says to the crowd, “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.”
If the hypocrites decided to wait and ask “why am I talking” before speaking their prayers out loud, they would have realized that their ultimate desire was to be heard and seen by others. Obviously, this requires a high level of self-awareness that they might not have possessed, but the point remains the same. Whether we’re conscious of the reasons behind our actions or not, we don’t talk without a reason, and if we’re not careful, sometimes the primary reason behind our words is to alter others’ perceptions of us.
Ironically, the hypocrites’ actions may have still produced the result they desired. It’s likely that people did see them praying on the street and think about them differently as a result. The issue with their prayers (and the motivation behind them) was that their intended outcome was insignificant and self-serving. They might have been seen by others, but it didn’t produce any sort of the long-lasting transformation and effect that prayer is capable of providing.
Jesus’ instruction on prayer (which is an imperative, if you’re keeping score), is simple: “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”
As with every command in the Sermon on the Mount, the heart behind Jesus’ teaching is more important than the literal. Jesus isn’t saying that it’s always wrong to pray in front of other people, but he’s clear that our goal should be for God (and not others) to hear our words. Ultimately, the heart behind our prayers should be for God to transform our hearts, help others who are hurting or in need, and bring His kingdom into the world so that others may see and know Him.