Scripture: Matthew 6:5-6 (ESV) — “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.”
Today’s passage from Matthew serves as Jesus’ prologue to the Lord’s Prayer. It’s a powerful warning that the benefits of prayer are not found by those who use it as a spiritual PR stunt. Just as politicians or celebrities may be tempted to attend a charity event only long enough to garner publicity, we, too, can turn our prayer closets into display cases rather than sanctuaries that protect us from spiritual pride.
Don’t mistake prayer that doesn’t impress others for prayer that doesn’t impact others. What if your prayer life were centered on the principle that prayer which blesses people is prayer that doesn’t glorify people? And that prayer which edifies us is prayer that humbles us? This kind of prayer life thrives in the secret place. But all too often, it becomes a casualty of a culture that prioritizes the celebration of our outer selves at the expense of the enrichment of our inner selves. This happens because we become overly invested in how we are perceived, falling in love with a version of ourselves that feeds the desires of our flesh.
Many believe that people are lost in misery because they hate themselves. However, 2 Timothy 3:2 tells us that in the last days, people will be lovers of self. This has become the favorite pastime of our culture. It’s easy to recognize this among unbelievers, but what’s especially troubling is how powerfully it tempts believers. It’s easy to fall for the lie that we can remain faithful to our own hearts while still knowing God’s heart. But we cannot be full of Christ while being full of ourselves.
Jesus makes it clear that our desire for self-glorification threatens our prayer lives. Isn’t it just like our flesh to convince our hearts that we need prayer that elevates ourselves over God? That we should talk to God only on our terms, prioritizing the approval of others over the intimacy of the One we are addressing?
At the heart of prayer that seeks attention is our own agenda. The reward for this is nothing more than fleeting praise from fragile people. In reality, it’s not a reward at all, but rather a punishment disguised as one. The result is halted prayer—an unrealized vision of God’s heart, obstructed by our own plans. At the very least, these kinds of rewards serve as detours that delay our journey toward intimacy with God; at worst, they are wrong turns leading to the wrong destination.
The only rewards worth desiring are born out of authentic prayer. Authentic prayer seeks God’s will without preconceived notions of what His will should look like. Jesus teaches that the secret place of prayer is fertile soil for authentic prayer.
At its foundation, authentic prayer stems from a heart that seeks God’s will over its own. It adopts a posture of total dependence, with a firm conviction that God’s way is the best way. Its hopes and dreams rest in fullness in Him and contentment in His will. It’s a heart that would rather sit and listen for the voice of God than seek the applause of people.
Unfortunately, the world has never been better positioned to nurture the desire for visibility. Social media platforms are full of people attempting to serve God while simultaneously serving their fleshly preoccupations.
Matthew 5:29 says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.”
This passage is written in the context of lust, but have you ever considered that you might lust after your own glorification? What is it worth to you to remove that kind of lust from your life? Are you willing to eliminate anything that fuels it?
It’s time to identify what needs to be cut off. Your life is too important to God to embrace a prayer life that lingers in the arena of pleasing your flesh.
Reflection Questions:
- Ask God to show you the things enabling you to seek attention instead of spiritual humility.
- What is the one thing that, no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to avoid its gravitational pull toward a prideful heart in prayer?
- What can you remove from your life today so that tomorrow doesn’t repeat the cycle of dysfunction?
- What is pulling you away from faithful prayer in the secret place?