Is praying in public against a direct command from Jesus? Does this also include church and public meals?

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Yes and it can be a witness to others. Judge your own motives, and be guided by your trust in Christ and your love for the saints.
We have a small group prayer meet every week. So many miracles happening through this prayer meet. God is showing us sincere prayers, led by Holy spirit, is the way to experience God's guidance.

I prefer to pray for people I know of, not from someone s list. God touch my heart to pray certain issues, that is the best prayer to experience God's leading.
 
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No, that's not right. It's the attitude of your prayer. I pray in public with people when they ask for prayer. People have street ministries, they have prayer. I've done outdoor concerts and we have prayer. Nothing wrong with prayer in a public place if you're doing it with the right heart and attitude.
I'm asking is it possible to do pray right infront of an audience?

I'm not saying leading prayer in church is a problem as we have examples of this. I'm asking is it possible to pray the correct way because no matter what you do you are bringing attention to your self.

If intention is your only qualifier on the right and wrong way to pray, then are muslim's 5 times a day call to prayer legitimized by the condition of their hearts when they pray?
 
But if Jesus meant that it was wrong for a Christian to pray in the company of other Christians, many Christians in the New Testament must have disobeyed. For example:
Again it is not a matter of right and wrong. It is a matter of God receiving your prayers and ignoring them.

NKJV Act 1:13 And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James.
Act 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
They went to an upper room... This is a private prayer no matter how many attended.
NKJV Act 16:13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.
Again the act of going out side of the city to the river side, is an attempt to seclude themselves from the general public.

NKJV Act 12:12 So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.

When is someone's house considered public property?
-also
You seem to be confused with the idea of Congregational lead prayer , and public prayer. (the upper room, this person's house, the river side) Jesus lead prayer (6 times Different in the NT) But there are about a dozen times recorded when Jesus went off to pray.

NKJV Act 16:25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
lol.. They where chained.. in a prison.. When did prison become a public place?
NKJV Act 1:24 And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen
Act 1:25 to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place."
acts 1: 13 says they where in the upper room where they where staying when they prayed.
12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

An upper room in a person's house is not a public place.
I am sure if I spent longer at it, I could find more examples of Christians praying together. The context of Jesus speaking of praying in private was His teaching against the ostentation that Pharisees engaged in when they prayed in public places for the whole purpose of other people seeing them and praising them for it. He was not forbidding His followers from praying together.
which is different how when we do it? (Pray for a meal in a public restaurant? )
 
Yes and it can be a witness to others. Judge your own motives, and be guided by your trust in Christ and your love for the saints.
Again, how can one plan or set out to pray publicly, and not be pharisaical in intent? Look at the other two examples of thing one is expected to do for God and then look at the same prohibition Jesus puts on Fasting, giving and prayer. All three items are expected tasks/works that must be done, by the believe for God; and yet if you look at all three together/same context the expectation being communicated is do not do your works for God in public/infront of other men..
 
My family gathers and prays with each other all the time. Sometimes for us, sometimes for someone else. If you think God is against that, you're misunderstanding the Bible.
Are your family meetings open to the general public? Do you hold your prayer meeting in a restaurant or are they private/by invitation only?
 
I'm asking is it possible to do pray right infront of an audience?

Yes, of course it is.



I'm not saying leading prayer in church is a problem as we have examples of this. I'm asking is it possible to pray the correct way because no matter what you do you are bringing attention to your self.

That's not what the Bible is talking about. It's talking about an attitude of the heart. The manner in which you bring attention to yourself.


If intention is your only qualifier on the right and wrong way to pray, then are muslim's 5 times a day call to prayer legitimized by the condition of their hearts when they pray?

They are praying to a false god. And their intent is to be noticed. It's not a religion... or a religion only.
 
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I believe you can pray anywhere, anytime, and with anyone. While we can’t judge the sincerity of others in these moments, God can. He knows whether a prayer comes from the heart or is simply for show.
 
Again, how can one plan or set out to pray publicly, and not be pharisaical in intent? Look at the other two examples of thing one is expected to do for God and then look at the same prohibition Jesus puts on Fasting, giving and prayer. All three items are expected tasks/works that must be done, by the believe for God; and yet if you look at all three together/same context the expectation being communicated is do not do your works for God in public/infront of other men..
The key to your question is Jesus' use of the term "hypocrite." Many don't know what the word meant in his day. His main critique of the Pharisees was their approach. They were acting, only pretending to be a righteous person. When Jesus calls someone a “hypocrite,” He is not using the word in the casual modern sense of “someone who says one thing and does another.” His term is the Greek hypokritēs—a stage‑actor, someone performing a role for an audience. In Matthew 6, Jesus applies this label to religious people who turn acts of devotion into public theater. Their giving, praying, and fasting are not genuine expressions of worship but carefully staged performances designed to elicit admiration. Jesus’ warning, then, is not about the visibility of the act but the intent behind it: the danger of turning worship into a costume, righteousness into a script, and the presence of God into a stage.

This is why Jesus’ prohibition cannot be read as “never pray in public.” The issue is not public prayer but performative righteousness—doing spiritual acts in order to be seen, praised, or validated by others. And that danger is still recognizable today. We can tell when someone’s prayer is an act, when their fasting is a display, when their giving is a performance. The tone shifts, the posture changes, and the attention subtly moves from God to the watching crowd. The solution is not to avoid public prayer but to avoid public performance. A believer can pray publicly with a pure heart as long as the prayer is directed to God rather than crafted for an audience. Jesus is teaching us to guard our motives, not to hide our obedience.

Does that help?
 
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Your inner room, to me, means my mind. We have conversations with ourselves there, and we pray there too. No one else can see it, except God. That’s my take, at least.
 
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1. no. 2. church prayer, public prayer & meals are public prayer & it's totally fine.
what about the other two directives Jesus gave concerning works we are expected to perform in mat 6's sermon on the mount? We are supposed to give in secrete and we are supposed to fast in secret.

Would you announce your good works in church or at a public meal? Would you announce how much money/wor you have given in church or at a public restaurant?
 
what about the other two directives Jesus gave concerning works we are expected to perform in mat 6's sermon on the mount? We are supposed to give in secrete and we are supposed to fast in secret.

Would you announce your good works in church or at a public meal? Would you announce how much money/wor you have given in church or at a public restaurant?

Monitoring the giving in churches, huge problem.
 
Please do a search on public prayers in Bible, many many.
Jesus also did in front of big crowd.
I have. Jesus is recorded in praying 6 different times through out the gospel in front of a mixed crowd of people. If you take the prayers away He did at the cross, that number dwindles down to 3. One of the biggest crowds He prayed openly infront of, was when He resurrect Lazarus from the dead and even then he says/gives a reason as to why He prayed aloud:

41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.

The other two instances (where He feeds the 4000 and then the 5000) can be said, that He prayed out loud for the same reason. So the people there knew that He was sent by God.

Every other time Jesus is praying to the Father/When He is not teaching or leading his disciples. He goes off by Himself to a quiet place to pray.
 
Your inner room, to me, means my mind. We have conversations with ourselves there, and we pray there too. No one else can see it, except God. That’s my take, at least.

We traveled for a living, meaning we ate in lots of restaurants. We always closed our eyes and someone said a short prayer over the food. If you think something is wrong with that, you are misunderstanding what the verse is saying.
 
I have. Jesus is recorded in praying 6 different times through out the gospel in front of a mixed crowd of people. If you take the prayers away He did at the cross, that number dwindles down to 3. One of the biggest crowds He prayed openly infront of, was when He resurrect Lazarus from the dead and even then he says/gives a reason as to why He prayed aloud:

41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.

The other two instances (where He feeds the 4000 and then the 5000) can be said, that He prayed out loud for the same reason. So the people there knew that He was sent by God.

Every other time Jesus is praying to the Father/When He is not teaching or leading his disciples. He goes off by Himself to a quiet place to pray.

It's extremely difficult to give in secret in todays world.
Praying in secret, very easy.
 
I have. Jesus is recorded in praying 6 different times through out the gospel in front of a mixed crowd of people. If you take the prayers away He did at the cross, that number dwindles down to 3. One of the biggest crowds He prayed openly infront of, was when He resurrect Lazarus from the dead and even then he says/gives a reason as to why He prayed aloud:

41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.

The other two instances (where He feeds the 4000 and then the 5000) can be said, that He prayed out loud for the same reason. So the people there knew that He was sent by God.

Every other time Jesus is praying to the Father/When He is not teaching or leading his disciples. He goes off by Himself to a quiet place to pray.
After a few years experience God's miracles, I understand why God want us to pray together. God is showing to our group, not just one person, the miracles. So we all benefit by that believe. Even some prayers I don't want to pray in front of others, but holy spirit urge me to do so.

If I prayed myself and see the miracles, other might not believe it.

Both private and group praying are good, as long as guided by God.
 
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Again it is not a matter of right and wrong. It is a matter of God receiving your prayers and ignoring them.


They went to an upper room... This is a private prayer no matter how many attended.

Again the act of going out side of the city to the river side, is an attempt to seclude themselves from the general public.



When is someone's house considered public property?
-also
You seem to be confused with the idea of Congregational lead prayer , and public prayer. (the upper room, this person's house, the river side) Jesus lead prayer (6 times Different in the NT) But there are about a dozen times recorded when Jesus went off to pray.


lol.. They where chained.. in a prison.. When did prison become a public place?

acts 1: 13 says they where in the upper room where they where staying when they prayed.
12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

An upper room in a person's house is not a public place.

which is different how when we do it? (Pray for a meal in a public restaurant? )
I think we are almost agreeing. You seemed to be saying earlier that the only Biblical way to pray is to go into a room by yourself to do so. From what you have written now, it seems that you agree that it is fine for Christians to pray together. The Prohibition is against "praying" to show off.
 
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We traveled for a living, meaning we ate in lots of restaurants. We always closed our eyes and someone said a short prayer over the food. If you think something is wrong with that, you are misunderstanding what the verse is saying.
I don't believe I said there was
 
I had a friend that was in need of prayer and we were in public. I quietly prayed for her. God is not against that. Ever done an open air service? Ever stop at an accident on the road, been in a hospital? All occasions to pray and God hasn't forbidden that.
I think you are confusing the word public with out side.

Jesus prayed outside all of the time. He just went off outside of the view of others to do it.
 
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