"But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." Matthew 6:6

Jesus says something about the purpose of prayer. Why we pray. What prayer is for. He addresses a common error, a temptation for all who attempt to approach God in prayer. He uses the example of the scribes and the Pharisees, the primary group of hypocrites (fakers, actors, pretenders) in those days. Matthew 6:5 begins "When you pray". Like giving, it isn’t if ‘but when’ you do so. If you are a Christian you will pray. Period. It is expected that you will pray – that you will want to talk with God. Religious hypocrites made it something it was never intended to be – a way to get attention, to focus the spotlight upon themselves rather than God. It is assumed that we would fulfill the purpose of prayer and communicate with God, talk with Him, converse with Him, pour our hearts out to Him who knows our hearts.