But when you pray, go into your [most] private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.
Although some prayers are public prayers or group prayers, most of our prayer life is made up of secret prayers made in the secret place.
“Secret prayer” means that we don’t tell everyone we know about our personal experiences in prayer and how much we pray. We pray about the concerns and people God places on our heart, and we keep our prayers between us and Him unless we have a really good reason to do otherwise. We refuse to make a display of our prayers to impress others.
For prayer to be properly called “secret prayer,” it must come from a humble heart as demonstrated in the prayer of the despised tax collector in Luke 18:10–14. He humbled himself, bowed his head, and quietly, with humility, asked God to forgive him. In response to his sincerity, a lifetime of sin was wiped away in a moment.
God has not given us a bunch of complicated, hard-to-follow guidelines for prayer. Talking with God is a simple and powerful way to draw closer to Him.
Prayer of the Day: Father, teach me to pray with a humble heart in the secret place. Help me to trust You to hear and respond with love and grace, amen.
