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Matthew 6:6 - Your Secret Place.

Matthew 6:6 (NKJV) But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

INTRODUCTION

Some have concluded that Jesus' directions about private prayer call into question all public prayer. Jesus' own practice indicates this wasn't his intention. The Gospels record Jesus at prayer both privately (14:23) and publicly (14:18-19). Jesus was drawing attention to the motives behind people's actions. The point really wasn't a choice between public and private prayer but between heartfelt and hypocritical prayer. When asked to pray in public, focus on addressing God, not on how you're coming across to others. [Life Application SB 2019]

COMMENTARY PEARL

Make Time to Be Quiet
   God isn't going to speak to you if your life is filled with noise. You've got to get alone, and you've got to get quiet. We call this a quiet time with God.
   Jesus says it like this in Matthew 6:6: "Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace" (The Message).
   Here's the key to hearing God speak and getting his vision for your life: God wants to meet with you.
   You need to realize you're not waiting on God; he's waiting on you. God made you to have a relationship with him. He wants you to spend time with him daily. He wants you to schedule a date with him every day. God is waiting.
   Getting alone in a quiet place can be difficult today. I don't know if you realize how much noise there is in your life. Maybe you've always got the radio on in the car, or you've got earbuds in or Bluetooth turned on. Every waiting room, grocery store, and elevator has music. There's very little time or space in your life that's absolutely quiet.
   If you've got kids at home, it's even more difficult! But let me give you some hope. Susanna Wesley, one of the great women of history, had 18 children. One of her sons, John, founded the Methodist church and helped spread Christianity across America; another, Charles, wrote more than 6,000 hymns.
   How do you find time alone when you have 18 children? In her biography, it says that Susanna Wesley would sit in her favorite rocker every afternoon, and she would throw her apron over her head for an hour. Her kids knew that Mom with an apron over her head meant, "No child bothers Mom, or you face the consequences!"
   Wesley said the prayers of his mom shaped his life.
   Susanna Wesley found space every day to spend time with God, and you can too. Do what you need to do to make time to be quiet and meet with the Lord. [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]

CLOSING THOUGHT

There is need that much time be spent in secret prayer, in close communion with God. Thus only can victories be won. CT 258