Matthew 6:5-6 (ESV)

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 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.

We do not pray so that others may see us. We do not fast so that others may see us. We pray and fast quietly, secretly, so that God sees us and hears us. But that does not mean that our prayers and fasting have no effect on people. We pray in secret, and we fast in secret so that the love and compassion of Christ is seen in us when we interact with people. We pray in secret so that the truth of Christ is heard in us when we interact with people. Private prayer and private worship is for the purpose of deepening our intimacy with God, but if it stops there then we have missed the point. Intimacy with God is not simply so that we can feel good about ourselves. It is to transform us so that others see God in us. Worship is not about us, and when we make it about us, we have then turned it into an idol. We pray in secret, and we fast in secret so that the world will see Christ in public. Maybe that is why, in the prayer Jesus taught his disciples, he includes this line, “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Mt 6:12).