Pray in Secret

 By: Joanne Viola

We continue on in "The Path of Prayer" as we look at the idea of praying in secret.

“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
(Matthew 6:5-6, NASB)

  

In this passage, Jesus gives instructions on prayer:

• There should be a place of prayer. “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room …” It is true that prayer can occur anywhere, but an established setting helps us to focus on what we have come to do, pray.

“It was His [Jesus] habit to withdraw into a solitary place to pray. He needed the fenced spaces of silence.” (Samuel Chadwick, page 12)

• Prayer should be private. “… close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret …” Jesus is teaching that while corporate prayer is needed, most of our prayers should be done privately. It is as we are alone in prayer that we drop the pretenses and pray with an authenticity of soul.

“Prayer is between the soul and God alone.”
(Samuel Chadwick, page 12)

• Place and privacy will lead to purity. ” … and your Father who see what is done in secret …” As we meet with God in our routine place and in privacy, it is there we are exposed to the eyes of our Father. It is there our hearts are made pure once again.

“Hearts must be pure and hands clean that dare shut the door and be alone with God.”
(Samuel Chadwick, page 13)

Private prayer helps us to develop genuine conversation with God, pretenses dropped, and our inner selves lay bare before Him. Our place of prayer can be in our home, the sanctuary of our car, as we take a walk, or on a park bench.

That secret place is ours and ours alone, personal to us and God. It will require a determination to so as not to become distracted by other activity or people. It is there in those moments of prayer that we will come to say:

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.“
(2 Corinthians 1:3, NLT)

 

Photo by Christian Kielberg on Unsplash