Prayer Is Private Devotion
by Charles R. Swindoll
Pray to your Father who is in secret,
and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
Matthew 6:6
Prayer is never something we do to be seen. It loses its whole purpose if it becomes a platform to impress others.
It is a private act of devotion, not a public demonstration of piety. According to Jesus, it belongs in the closet of our lives, an act done in secret.
Christ never saw prayer as pleading or begging or hammering away at the throne of God.
No, the Father knows His children, He knows what we need. Therefore, there is no reason to think that connecting with Him requires special words excessively repeated.
Prayer was never intended to be a verbal marathon for only the initiated . . . no secret-code talk for the clergy or a public display of piety. None of that.
Real prayer—the kind of prayer Jesus mentioned and modeled—is realistic, spontaneous, down-to-earth communication with the living Lord that results in a relief of personal anxiety and a calm assurance that our God is in full control of our circumstances.
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Listen to today's broadcast of Insight for Living with Chuck Swindoll at OnePlace.com.
Visit the Bible-teaching ministry of Chuck Swindoll at www.insight.org.
