“But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matt. 6:6)
What is your motivation for how you behave in front of others? What is your motivation for doing good deeds for others? Is there a motivation to please God or to please men in everything you do? I remember when we visited Egypt (before we had kids) and the locals were so friendly, opening the bathroom door with a smile on their face or offering a seat to you or fanning you to cool off from the dry heat. I thought to myself that these people are so kind. But then after every action they did, they would stick out their hand with their palms up because… they expected a tip from the foreigners. Their motivation was not to genuinely help people, but rather it was to be rewarded for their actions and kindness.
Jesus dealt with this as people did good and honorable deeds not to build treasures in heaven, but rather to be applauded and noticed by others. The hypocrites also did this in the way that they prayed by standing in a public place and using fancy words to get noticed by others walking by. So how does Jesus want us to pray to our Heavenly Father? The first thing Jesus tells us to do is to go into your private room. Do you have a place where you can go to God in prayer that is private and the only one you can impress is God? Maybe it is a physical secret room in your house, or maybe it is in your car which is parked in the Staff parking lot, or taking a leisurely stroll at a nearby park. Even though people might be seeing you, they wouldn’t know what you are doing.
When we remember what verse 8 reads, “For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him,” that will free us to just come before our Father to share our heart, our hopes, our requests before Him and not worry about saying something the right way or to use flowery/fancy words. Rather, we can rest in knowing God already knows our heart and our circumstances and His desire is for us to commune with him in prayer, meditation, and a deeper trust in Him every day.
All this talk about praying in private doesn’t mean that public prayer is a bad thing. Both are very good to have in the church body. What is the importance of praying in private for us as followers of Christ? I love this quote from the 19th century Evangelical bishop, J.C. Ryle, “Of all the evidences of the real work of the Spirit, a habit of hearty private prayer is one of the most satisfactory that can be named. A man may preach from false motives. A man may write books and make fine speeches and seem diligent in good works, and yet be a Judas Iscariot. But a man seldom goes into his closet, and pours out his soul before God in secret, unless he is serious.”