Matt. 6:5 And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, They have their reward in full. (6) But you, when you pray, enter into your private room, and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
Prayer is for the purpose of fellowshipping with God and expressing His glory. But hypocrites utilize prayers that are for the glorification of God to glorify themselves. Consequently, they like to pray in the synagogues and on the street corners. They do this in order to be seen by others, because synagogues and street corners are public places, places that men pass by all the time. They do not pray in order to be heard by God but to be heard by men. They want to show themselves off. This kind of prayer is very superficial; it cannot be considered as a prayer to God, and it cannot be considered as fellowship with God. These men cannot expect to receive anything from God, because the motive behind this kind of prayer is to receive glory from men... They have already received their reward; they have received men's praise. The synagogues and street corners both refer to open places, while the private room refers to a hidden place. Brothers and sisters, you can find the private room in the synagogues and on the street corners. You can find the private room on the sidewalk and in a car. The private room is the place where you fellowship with God in secret; it is the place where you pray without trying consciously to exhibit your prayer. Enter into your private room, and shut your door. This means to shut out the world and shut yourself in. In other words, it is to ignore all the outside voices and to pray to God quietly and alone. When you "pray to your Father who is in secret… your Father who sees in secret will repay you." What a great comfort this is! In order to pray to the Father who is in secret, you need to have faith. Although you do not feel anything outwardly, you have to believe that you are praying to the Father who is in secret! He is in secret, in a place that human eyes cannot see. Yet He is truly there. He does not despise your prayer; He sees you. He does not see you and then leave; He will repay you. The Lord guarantees that your prayer in secret will not be in vain. If you pray in a proper way, the Father will repay you. Even if there does not appear to be any repayment today, there will be repayment one day. (c) Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from "The Prayer Ministry of the Church" in the Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Vol. 22, pp. 158-159. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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