Are Your Motives Pure?

I have really been struggling with figuring out my motives lately. My motives for ministry, for well - everything. I get asked to do a lot of things and it's hard to step back and really check my motives. Even in ministry - am I doing this just becasue I can, or because I want to be noticed, or because I want some sort of validation, or to be liked, or because someone is making me feel guilty if I don't?

Jesus made it clear that when we do even good deeds with wrong motives, we should not expect any reward from the Lord.
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." - Matthew 6:1

I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want anyone doing anything for me that they're going to resent doing. Isn't it likely that God feels the same way? The Bible says, "Love must be sincere."(Romans 12:9)

When we do things out of pure motives, we do them to GIVE--not to RECEIVE. When we do things for others with an attitude that says--"What's in it for me?"--we are doing them with impure motives, and God is not pleased.

The apostle Paul wrote: "We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts".
(1 Thessalonians 2:4)
God tested us thoroughly to make sure we were qualified to be trusted with this Message. Be assured that when we speak to you we're not after crowd approval—only God approval. Since we've been put through that battery of tests, you're guaranteed that both we and the Message are free of error, mixed motives, or hidden agendas. We never used words to butter you up. No one knows that better than you. And God knows we never used words as a smoke screen to take advantage of you.
- The Message Bible

We may be able to hide our true motives from other people, but we will never be able to hide them from God. And even if we spend our entire lives doing good deeds, we will reap a bitter harvest if we did not do them with pure motives. On the other hand, if our purpose is to please God and not people, we will be more likely to only get involved with the things we can do with motives that will honor Him. David had the right idea when he prayed: Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart (Psalm 26:2)

Even sometimes in group prayer situations it feels awkward. Am I praying as the Spirit leads or just trying to sound important or that I know how to pray? Lately I have been remaining silent. I truly don't want to speak anything unless it's the Lord.
Again in Matthew 6:5-8 Jesus said
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?
"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. - Matthew 6:5-6 from The Message Bible

The Lord rewards what is done in secret.

Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the LORD (Lamentations 3:40)

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for the times I've done or said things out of impure motives. By the power of Your Spirit, please change me so that my purpose will always be to please and glorify You. Give me a heart that loves sincerely, and remove all phoniness from me. Thank You for helping me to examine my ways so that I can avoid the negative consequences of impure motives!