Praying to God in Secret

September 16th, 2013 by JDVaughn Leave a reply »

When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place . . .  —Matthew 6:6


The primary thought in the area of religion is— keep your eyes on God, not on people. Your motivation should not be the desire to be known as a praying person. Find an inner room in which to pray where no one even knows you are praying, shut the door, and talk to God in secret. Have no motivation other than to know your Father in heaven. It is impossible to carry on your life as a disciple without definite times of secret prayer.

“When you pray, do not use vain repetitions . . .” (Matthew 6:7). God does not hear us because we pray earnestly— He hears us solely on the basis of redemption. God is never impressed by our earnestness. Prayer is not simply getting things from God— that is only the most elementary kind of prayer. Prayer is coming into perfect fellowship and oneness with God. If the Son of God has been formed in us through regeneration (see Galatians 4:19), then He will continue to press on beyond our common sense and will change our attitude about the things for which we pray.

“Everyone who asks receives . . .” (Matthew 7:8). We pray religious nonsense without even involving our will, and then we say that God did not answer— but in reality we have never asked for anything. Jesus said, “. . . you will ask what you desire. . .” (John 15:7). Asking means that our will must be involved. Whenever Jesus talked about prayer, He spoke with wonderful childlike simplicity. Then we respond with our critical attitude, saying, “Yes, but even Jesus said that we must ask.” But remember that we have to ask things of God that are in keeping with the God whom Jesus Christ revealed.

 

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September 16, 2013 JDV

Father God, thank You for reminding me that prayer is how we connect in an intimate and real way. You know me better than I know myself, and You know that I absolutely need You this day. In fact, because I am so easily distracted, I need to connect with You several times during the day. And it seems that when I do, my circumstances no longer matter, because I know You are God, you love me and are in control.

And God says…”Imagine your love for your children, what you would do for them, multiply that by 100 and infinity, and you will get a small glimpse of how much I love you and want a relationship with you.  Seek an intimate connection with Me several times during your day and notice how your vision moves from the circumstances of your life into the amazing possibilities of an abundant life. Get and stay connected to Me and live in wonderful expectation. Seek first the Kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and I will give you everything else you need in this world.”

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