Read: Matthew 6:1-8
When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. (v. 6)
I read recently about a woman who was very distressed about a particular problem in her life. She was sharing this with a friend, and the friend said to her, “Why didn’t you pray?” The woman’s answer was that she didn’t know how. “No one ever taught me.”
She isn’t the only one. Being taught to pray is a wonderful gift and an opportunity. One of my earliest examples of faithful prayer was my grandmother. When I was a boy, I would occasionally stay overnight at my grandmother’s house. On one occasion, I got up to go to the bathroom, and on my way I passed my grandmother’s bedroom. Glancing into her room, I saw her kneeling at her bedside praying—just as today’s reading teaches us. It’s a picture of faithful prayer I will never forget.
Prayer can have a number of different settings—a small group, a large worship setting, or privately. But it seems to me that the main point of today’s reading is that prayer must come from the heart. From what Jesus is saying, this often happens best when we are alone. This is not to discount corporate prayer. I have also heard some very heartfelt prayers offered in a large worship setting. But today’s emphasis is on making prayer from the heart. And this is often best done when you “go into your room and shut the door and pray” (v. 6).
As you pray, ask God to open your heart to him.
About the Author
Rev. John C. Koedyker is an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America. He has served as a missionary to Japan as well as pastor of several churches in Iowa and Michigan. Until recently he served Muskegon Classis as its Stated Clerk for 18 years. He resides in Grand Haven, Michigan.
