Red Letters 25 - "Pray in Secret"
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2 Chronicles 7:11-16 English Standard Version (ESV)
11 Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king's house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house, he successfully accomplished. 12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.
1 Peter 5:6-10 English Standard Version (ESV)
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Matthew 6:5-6 English Standard Version (ESV)
5 “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. 6 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.”
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Last week's message and this weeks is connected with the common theme of doing things “in secret.” In fact there are specifically three things that Jesus says we ought to do in secret: giving, praying, and fasting. However we must be reminded that doing something in secret is not about hiding every good deed we do, but rather about the condition and attitude of our hearts.
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”
Jesus says, give in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you. Then Jesus continues this line of thought when He speaks about prayer. He says do not pray like those who love to stand and pray in the synagogues or churches, at the street corners that they may be seen by others. But 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.
Jesus is calling us to examine the intention of our hearts when we pray. He is not saying only pray in secret, just as he did not say only give in secret.
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
Why do we pray?
How do we pray?
When and where do we pray?
Do you pray in order to be seen by others? Do you pray most passionately and eloquently in front of others so that you may be seen and told "oh you pray so well!”? Do you pray only when gathered in a place of worship? Do you experience the temptation to feel like you’ve done your due diligence in terms of "prayers for the week" once Sunday comes and goes?
While we could look at this passage and talk at length about the issue Jesus has with showy religious rituals and practices that go no deeper than being just for show… We actually find ourselves in an odd time because we aren't gathering in our synagogues (sanctuaries) and we have lost the street corners where some have been tempted to pray to be seen. For the past 4-5 months we have been at home where suddenly, we no longer have such a platform if you will. So how are we to read this passage for such a time as this?
Well based on what Jesus is saying here about the hypocrites who pray just to be seen…
We could assume that ff you remove the audience and the public places where they would lift their voices with many eloquent and boisterous words… Then suddenly their motivation for prayer would be gone. If there is no one to watch them, then why pray?
Jesus is then calling us to examine our hearts and attitudes to prayer and telling us that prayer is not a function of tradition or ritual or religion. Jesus is saying that is something that happens in the intimate relationship between you and God. I think for many of us, this pandemic has brought to the surface much truth about what we believe about God. Have we found ourselves, in the midst of all the anxiety and fear, but at peace because we trust in the Lord who is faithful?Have we found ourselves, in the midst of being alone for so long, yet being comforted by the presence of the Lord Jesus who is closer to us than the very air we breath? Have we believed in the Lord and that His good will is being unfolded before us, even when we do not see nor understand? Have we found ourselves coming to the Lord in prayer, despite not being seen or recognized for our faith?
How we have come to handle our prayer life now?
How we are handling how we come to the Lord, in His word and in His prayer now will reveal to us whether we have truly valued our relationship with Him, or whether we have been valuing the traditions and practices of our religion over Him. Without our public gathering of worship. Do you find yourself praying more, or do you find yourself praying less? I hope it is the former… Especially in this time where so much of what we had depended upon has taken a backseat to the Coronavirus.
Ewan’s, our youngest, favourite Bible story is the story of Daniel and the Lions den (Probably only because there are lions.) But the more and more I read this story, the more I become amazed at Daniel's faithfulness in prayer. If you remember the story, despite being an exile in the land of Babylon, Daniel rose up the ranks in the kingdom and people grew jealous of this Israelite. They convinced the King to create a law that prohibited anyone from praying to any one or any other god other than the king himself for 30 days with the penalty of being thrown in the Lion's den. Daniel, despite his position and knowing the new law, continued to pray three times a day as he always did. Daniel did not pray to be seen by others. And even facing the risk of death, continued to pray.
Prayer, like many things about our faith, is unnatural. Sinners are not inclined to pray. The dead and the cursed, the evil and wicked, are not inclined to pray. It is only by the Spirit of God that prayer comes with intentionality and by choice. And many of us may have used for so long the excuse of being unable to set time aside to pray because we have been so busy. But that excuse has come to hold a lot less water these days has it not?
And yet, even I find myself struck at Daniel's faithfulness in his praying. “Three times a day??” I have a hard time remembering to pray before every meal! I grabbed some lunch at McDonald's the other day with my three boys and we all started eating and halfway through my burger Ewan pipes up and says “We no God!” (Translation: We didn’t pray!)… He’s two… And already he's more faithful than I.
The thing about prayer, is that it is in itself an act of love and an act of humility. On one hand, it is the choice we have to make to meet with a person we love and have a conversation with them. In our love for them, we desire to listen and speak and share our lives with them in conversation and in each others presence. But more importantly perhaps for us now, is that prayer is act that says that I depend on the Lord for all my needs.
With where we live in Canada, many of us can go days, weeks, months and maybe even years without ever experiencing any real material needs. And so we have come to turn to our bank accounts to fill our needs. And while it is not that having material blessings is a bad thing... It certainly can reveal in our hearts whether we depend on the world first, or if we depend on the Lord first.
After Solomon builds the temple the Lord tells him:
14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.
This is the pre-requisite of prayer: Humility.
When Jesus says give in secret. It is to do so humbly.
When Jesus says pray in secret. It is to do so humbly.
It is in our humility that God wants to meet us. And it is in our humility that we can in fact meet with Him. It is the secret humble prayers, and the pray-ers on whom the eyes, ears and heart of the Lord is upon.
As we examined last week, it is difficult to meet with and be obedient to God and to meet with others when we have hardened and proud hearts. But to come before the Lord in secret with bare and vulnerable hearts… That is what Jesus cherishes. We don't need to "know what to say"
We don't need to pray in a manner that has to sound like how a minister prays or how this person prays… The only prerequisite here for prayer before the Lord is to come with sincerity and with humility… Knowing that we do not need to babble on with many words, for the Lord who cares for you, already knows all that you need.
1 Peter 5:6-10
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
We may then be tempted to wonder, if God already knows what I need… Why do I need to pray?
Why not just give us all that we need and save us from our suffering? It is simply because to come before the Lord in prayer marks the heart that is willing to put their faith in, to trust in Him… A heart that is willing to entrust its deepest pains, hopes and secrets in to Him.
Brothers and sisters, will you answer Christ's invitation? To be the humble who come to the throne of Grace with hands stretched out, and even on our knees, asking for the Lord's mercy, graciousness and blessings? We are already very much in our rooms, locked away from the world. Will you then come to him in secret and in prayer?
Entrusting that your Father who sees in secret will reward you?
May this unusual time bring about the fruit of passionate and humble prayers in your life.
Amen.