21 Days of Prayer: Day 12 - Kjell & Vivian Johanson
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“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.”
Matthew 6:6 (ESV)
In stark contrast to the religious leaders of His day who loved to be seen and heard publicly when they prayed, Jesus taught His followers to pray in secret. In Matthew 6:5-6 (ESV), He said, “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.”
I think the point He is making is before we pray in public, we should be in the habit of praying in private. But beyond the motive of prayer, notice the specific instructions Jesus gives in this passage about effective prayer.
First, He says, “… go to your room….” Some translations use the word “closet” for room. It simply means "a private chamber." It could refer to the store-chamber in a house. In other words, for prayer to become a habit, we need a selected place for prayer. If you’re anything like me, even when I am in my “prayer closet” or place of prayer, the first thing I wrestle with is wandering thoughts. That leads to His second practical instruction:
Second, “… shut the door….” In His classic devotion, My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers says, “A secret silence means to shut the door deliberately on emotions and remember God.” When I read Jesus’ instruction to enter my closet and shut the door, I can’t help but think of that rhythmic tune by Randy Stonehill, Shut the Door, Keep Out The Devil. I must intentionally shut the door on all my wandering thoughts, my to-do list of all that must be done that day, turn off my cell phone or any other distractions, and focus my mind’s attention and my heart’s affection on God. Have you ever connected with God like that? The Psalmist wrote, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1 (NKJV) I can’t think of a better way to “keep out the devil,” can you?
Third, “… pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Chambers adds this, “God is in secret, and He sees us from the secret place; He does not see us as other people see us, or as we see ourselves. When we live in the secret place, it becomes impossible for us to doubt God; we become more sure of Him than of anything else. Your Father, Jesus says, is in secret and nowhere else. Enter the secret place, and right in the center of the common round, you find God there all the time. Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything. Unless in the first waking moment of the day you learn to fling the door wide back and let God in, you will work on a wrong level all day; but swing the door wide open and pray to your Father in secret, and every public thing will be stamped with the presence of God.” (August 23rd, My Utmost For His Highest)
A member of our staff team tells of how his wife took these instructions literally. As a young mother of four small children at the time, she would rise early and go to her closet and shut the door and pray in secret for her family and personal needs. This struck the curiosity of her four-year-old daughter who asked her, “Mommy, why do you go to the closet every morning?” She told her that it was a quiet place for her to talk to God in secret. Not long after seeing her mom do this, the little girl came out of her closet and told her mother that she had asked Jesus to come into her heart and wanted to give her life to Him. Wow! You never know how God may reward your secret prayer!
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.