Well actually.....
Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed,
he went into his house;
and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
re: “Well actually.....
Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed,
he went into his house;
and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”
Yes, it was in his house, but it was obviously a public enough display that people knew when and who he was praying to, and, apparantly it was a regular practice of Daniel’s to do so. The point is, Daniel was not in his “closet” (out of sight), and he was not going to stop his practice of praying to God - even though people could obviously see him - simply because the law said he was only to pray to King Nebuchadnezzar. His witness was that he was going to honor God in spite of the danger.
So, again, I submit it is the motive for why one does anything for God that matters to Him. If our motives are wrong, then no matter how noble or “righteous” it may seem to us - God sees the heart and knows why we are doing what we are doing.
That’s what Jesus was talking about in Matthew. The problem with the Pharisee’s was not where they prayed but WHY they prayed in public - the did it to get recognition of men. Jesus was using an exaggeration to make a point when he said pray in your closet - after all, do you literally only pray in your clothes closet when you pray??
So, if it is praying over a meal, helping someone in need, reading the Bible in public, responding in a post on Free Republic that has something to do with God, etc. - we must make sure we do it with the right motives.