“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” Matthew 6:6, NKJV.
The Pharisees at the time loved to pray openly so men could see them and say how great they were. They sought the reward that comes from man, but not from God. But Jesus told his disciples don’t pray like that. Go to your heavenly Father in secret, close your door and focus only on opening your heart to Him in your life.
When you shut your door, it signifies a time between only you and God. You aren’t out to impress. No one is around, and how you sound doesn’t matter. The way you pray doesn’t matter. Bow, cry, or just sit quietly and commune with the Father. God will answer, make His goodness known, and reward you openly.
It may be wise to put this into practice physically. Go daily to your closet, shut the door and begin to pray. When you shut that door, you are symbolically shutting off every distraction. Scripture doesn’t indicate that Jesus always had a physical closet he went into, yet we find that He always went away to pray. The more you get away, the less distractions there will be. The less distracted you are, the more powerful your prayer life becomes.
Prayer: Father, thank You for the riches found in my prayer closet. Help me to stay focused on building my prayer life. Meet me right where I am, and help me. Speak to me. Let me experience Your presence right where I am. I will pray in secret and watch You openly reward me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Study: Matthew 6:1-13
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