It has been on my heart to start writing more serialized blogs and as I sat in this coffee shop in Antigua, Guatemala, I asked the Lord what to write about. Earlier this week I revisited some of the villages that I worked in on my Race three years ago. Aderkee started helping, along with a team of girls from Gap Year, at the local church. One of the girls taught about the Lord’s prayer. I loved that and I feel like that is a great place to start.
In Matthew chapters 5-7, the famous “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus lays the groundwork for explaining this upside down kingdom. He says the weak are blessed, he says we are salt and light, he declares not the abolishment of the Law but its fulfillment, and he raises the standard of living for God. Chapter 6 is where He reveals the Lord’s Prayer. Today, we will focus on Matthew 6:5-6.
“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. 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.”
Wow. Jesus never holds back when it comes to calling out hypocrisy and fake devotion. He wants to make it clear right off the bat that prayer is not an act that makes a person more holy in the eyes of other people. It is the act of communing with the Father. It is speaking with the Most Holy One! It is spending time with Him who will truly make you holy. This passage reminds me of a parable that Jesus tells in Luke chapter 18.
“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.’” (Luke 18:9-14)
A question that I have to ask myself a lot in ministry is: “Who is getting the glory?” It is easy to go through life and think, “Look at how good I am! Look at what I’m doing for God! I deserve praise for what I am doing.” But this is such the opposite of what God’s Kingdom looks like. Jesus says that the hypocrites “love to stand and pray… that they may be seen by others. Truly, they have received their reward.”
So to those who feel like praying, evangelizing, and worshiping is the quickest way to receive praise from men, I am here to tell you that you may find success. You may be glorified. You may find yourself to be someone important. You may be given power and influence. But there may also come a day when Jesus says to you, “turn away from me for I never knew you.” And what good is it to gain the world but forfeit your soul?
“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.”
This is where prayer finds power: at the personal revelation of Jesus Christ. My life was changed when I realized that conversation with the Father was open to me. My prayer was not this jumble of empty words anymore. My prayer wasn’t some elaborate attempt to be impressive to God and others. It was a raw, real, kind, lovely conversation with the Author of Grace. And I was rewarded in the deepest parts of my being as the Holy Spirit taught my heart to abide. I was healed, I was spurred onto faith, I was opened up to the mind of Christ. Prayer lost all formality but gained all potency and normality and power. I now sit in full reverence and adoration for my Abba. I NEVER EVER want to take away attention from Him. He is so much greater than I and it is my desire for people to know Him as I do.
If you want approval, you already have it in the eyes of God. He deemed you worthy to send His beloved to die on a cross. If you want approval, ask Him who He thinks you are. Ask Him what He was dreaming of the day He thought to create you.
I challenge you to pray more this week. When you love something, give thanks. When you cry, ask for comfort and strength. When you are bored, let Him show you something new. When you are angry, tell Him why. Let him into your deepest places, and you will suddenly find yourself hidden in the deepest parts of God’s heart.
In the next blog we will be focusing on Matthew 6:7-8.
Philip, you are so right in your new experience in prayer. It’s simply going to the Father and having conversation with Him. Prayer is asking, and receiving.
Ps 91:1 is a verse I memorized years ago, and it relates to our prayer life, as well as our walk with Him. Excited for you!
one thing i’m so grateful for is how the Holy Spirit can refresh scripture we’ve read a thousand times. experiencing that freshness now. thank you for sharing what He puts in and on your heart, and for imparting courage into others! & thank you King Jesus!
this is so rich & full phil! thanks for sharing!