Read Matthew 6:1, 4-18, 23:13-39; Romans 12:9; James 3:17; 1 Peter 2:1-2

"Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theatre, but the God who made you won't be applauding." (Matthew 6:1 MSG)

Lord God, we thank You for the model of Jesus Christ our Saviour who, when He walked this earth, dripped with authenticity. We long to be authentic as our Saviour was—not phoney and proud and faking our commitment to You but people who have a faith that's genuine, not counterfeit. That takes courage. It takes guts to live the real life before a world that's lost its way, where hypocrisy is so often modelled and comes across as religious piety.

Forgive us, Father, for the way we have subtly sought the applause of others, hoping they'd be impressed with our humility or our generosity or even our authenticity, which wasn't authenticity at all. We pray that we'll be more effective in secret than we ever could be in public and that, as a result of Your seeing us in secret, You'll be honoured and the rewards will come at a time when it's just between You and us.

Father, we pray that You will turn reproof into restoration and thereby change us so that we become like Christ—and unlike the Pharisees who were so impressed with themselves. May we instead be so impressed with You that we lose sight of ourselves. And in that self-forgetful state, may we give You all the glory that You deserve.

It is in the strong name of Jesus Christ that we pray. Amen.

Excerpted from The Prayers of Charles R. Swindoll, Volume 1, Copyright 2010 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.