Grace and peace to you.
Sometimes, simply remembering that there is a reward attached to something can make you give your best to it. Who enjoys labouring without any reward? Nobody.
Jesus said:
“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.”
Matthew 6:6
From this verse, Jesus does not say “if you pray.” He says “when you pray.” That means prayer is not presented as something strange or optional in the life of a believer.
So the question is not whether you should be prayerful or not. The question is whether you are truly praying before God, or only performing before men.
Jesus is not saying public prayer is wrong. He is warning us against prayer that is done for human eyes.
We live in a generation where people can be respected for looking pious. We can easily be tempted to glory in the ability to pray long, pray loud, or appear spiritual before others. But our Lord says, “go into your room, shut the door.”
That shut door is not only a wooden door. It is also the door of the heart. You must shut out the desire to impress people. You must shut out the noise of the world. The shut door says, “Lord, I am not here for men. I am here for You.”
Do you enter prayer with your lips speaking to God, while your heart is still listening to the world?
“Pray to your Father” is the sweetness of the verse.
You are not coming to God like a beggar outside the gate. You are coming as a child into the presence of your Father. This is why your prayer should be honest and without pretence. You can come weak. You can come trembling. You can come with tears. You can come dry. You can come tired.
Is this not comforting?
Your Father is always waiting for you in the secret place.
God is not only in the public gathering. He is also in the quiet room. The secret place may feel empty, but it is not empty at all. Never despise secret prayer because there is no human audience. The greatest Audience is already there.
So I am reminding you today: prayer is rewarding.
God sees the prayer nobody else hears. He sees the tears that never fall in church. He sees the sigh that has no words. He sees the tired believer kneeling beside the bed. He sees the heart that cannot explain itself. He sees the soul that says, “Lord, I am dry, but I am here.”
The reward of prayer is not only that God gives things.
The greatest reward of prayer is that God gives Himself.
Prayer is rewarding because it changes the praying man. The man who enters the secret place weak may come out strengthened. The man who enters confused may come out quiet. The man who enters burdened may come out able to bear the burden.
The room is secret, but the reward often becomes visible in the life.
Your Father is always waiting for you in secret.
Reflection Question
Do you pray carelessly, or do you pray knowing that secret prayer is, without doubt, greatly rewarding?
Prayer
Father, draw my heart back to the secret place. Teach me to pray without pretending. Help me to shut the door against distraction, pride, and the desire to impress others. Remind me that You see what no one else sees, and that no moment spent with You is wasted. Strengthen me in prayer, and let my life carry the reward of secret communion with You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Further Reading
Matthew 6
