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Selected Verse: Matthew 6:8 - Strong Concordance
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Mt 6:8 |
Strong Concordance |
Be [3666] not [3361] ye [3666] therefore [3767] like [3666] unto them [846]: for [1063] your [5216] Father [3962] knoweth [1492] what things [3739] ye have [2192] need of [5532], before [4253] ye [5209] ask [154] him [846]. |
| |
King James |
Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
| Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him--and so needs not to be informed of our wants, any more than to be roused to attend to them by our incessant speaking. What a view of God is here given, in sharp contrast with the gods of the heathen! But let it be carefully noted that it is not as the general Father of mankind that our Lord says, "Your Father" knoweth what ye need before ye ask it; for it is not men, as such, that He is addressing in this discourse, but His own disciples--the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, hungry and thirsty souls, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, who allow themselves to have all manner of evil said against them for the Son of man's sake--in short, the new-born children of God, who, making their Father's interests their own, are here assured that their Father, in return, makes their interests His, and needs neither to be told nor to be reminded of their wants. Yet He will have His children pray to Him, and links all His promised supplies to their petitions for them; thus encouraging us to draw near and keep near to Him, to talk and walk with Him, to open our every case to Him, and assure ourselves that thus asking we shall receive--thus seeking we shall find--thus knocking it shall be opened to us. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of - We do not pray to inform God of our wants. Omniscient as he is, he cannot be informed of any thing which he knew not before: and he is always willing to relieve them. The chief thing wanting is, a fit disposition on our part to receive his grace and blessing. Consequently, one great office of prayer is, to produce such a disposition in us: to exercise our dependence on God; to increase our desire of the things we ask for; to us so sensible of our wants, that we may never cease wrestling till we have prevailed for the blessing. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of - Prayer is not designed to inform God, but to give man a sight of his misery; to humble his heart, to excite his desire, to inflame his faith, to animate his hope, to raise his soul from earth to heaven, and to put him in mind that There is his Father, his country, and inheritance.
In the preceding verses we may see three faults, which our Lord commands us to avoid in prayer: -
1st. Hypocrisy. Be not as the hypocrites. Mat 6:5.
2ndly. Dissipation. Enter into thy closet. Mat 6:6.
3rdly. Much Speaking, or Unmeaning Repetition, Be not like the heathens. Mat 6:7. |
7 But [1161] when ye pray [4336], use [945] not [3361] vain repetitions [945], as [5618] the heathen [1482] do: for [1063] they think [1380] that [3754] they shall be heard [1522] for [1722] their [846] much speaking [4180].
6 But [1161] thou [4771], when [3752] thou prayest [4336], enter [1525] into [1519] thy [4675] closet [5009], and [2532] when thou hast shut [2808] thy [4675] door [2374], pray [4336] to thy [4675] Father [3962] which [3588] is in [1722] secret [2927]; and [2532] thy [4675] Father [3962] which [3588] seeth [991] in [1722] secret [2927] shall reward [591] thee [4671] openly [1722] [5318].
5 And [2532] when [3752] thou prayest [4336], thou shalt [2071] not [3756] be [2071] as [5618] the hypocrites [5273] are: for [3754] they love [5368] to pray [4336] standing [2476] in [1722] the synagogues [4864] and [2532] in [1722] the corners [1137] of the streets [4113], that [3704] they may [302] be seen [5316] of men [444]. Verily [281] I say [3004] unto you [5213], [3754] They have [568] their [846] reward [3408].