02/04/2020
When you pray is it a loud raucous prayer, or a quiet conversation? Do you ask the Lord for His help and provision in a bold and demanding prayer, or a humble and unassuming voice filled with meekness and fear? Is your place of prayer a city street, a distant mountaintop, a quiet chair in your home, or perhaps, as scripture says, a closet? However you pray, and wherever you currently do so, always remember to whom you are speaking... and that He is your God, your secret Father, and that He loves you personally with all His heart.
“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.”
Matthew 6:6 ESV
Children should be taught to love, honor, and respect their parents, but not all are given this instruction. They should speak with a proper voice that demonstrates these characteristics when they address their mother and father so that their lives will be long, and yet some do not. When our children are allowed to speak to us as if we are their peers, or in an adversarial voice, we have not done them any favor, and if they can’t respect their parents then it is certain that they will not respect others either... not even God.
“"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
Exodus 20:12 ESV
The Ten Commandment that we’re given Moses begin with how we should respect God, and then to honor our father and mother. This order is not arbitrary, but meant to demonstrate how we should lay out our lives... love God as your only God, be faithful, and honor Him, keep the Sabbath Holy, and then comes the fourth, or fifth depending on denomination and interpretation... honor your parents. The remaining commandments deal with how we are to behave in the world and with others... don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t desire your neighbor’s wife, and finally, don’t be envious of your neighbors things. It is interesting that honoring our parents is second only to how we should behave in our relationship to God, and comes before how we are to live in the world. But now that we understand the importance of respect and honor let’s talk again about our prayers...
We typically begin our prayer life addressing God in a manner similar to how we speak to our parents. Sometimes this is good, but if we have never honored our mother and father then our prayers to God will most likely not be appropriate. So we must learn how to pray.
In fact, some parents are not model parents, and in this way are hard to respect, let alone love, so the commandment does not tell us to love them... but to honor them. This is different than what God expects of us because He is perfect, and is the embodiment of love; so we are told not only to honor Him, but even more, to love Him.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV
This ties directly to our praying... prayer is an intimate conversation with God, and has two very important attributes, the first is that we honor and respect Him, and the second is that we exhibit love. We are to do this in our language, tone of voice, requests we make, and in where we choose to speak to Him.
First and foremost we are to honor Him. God is not our adversary, a business acquaintance, or some kid on the playground; He is the creator of all things, including us, and deserves our respect. He is sovereign and rules over all... so when we speak with him we should always remember to do so respectfully in light of who He is. Then secondly, He loves us, and this founds, and tempers all else... love allows us to speak freely with God, and without fear. We can do this because He loves us without reservation, but only if we love Him in kind. I don’t know of any scripture that says we should love Him that doesn’t tell us to do so with all our heart. This is how God loves us, and we are expected to love Him in the same way.
“"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17 ESV
So now we have established the manner in which we should approach prayer... respectfully, and with absolute love. Even when we are distraught, unhappy, or disappointed, this should always underpin our prayers. Do this. Pray this way.
“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.”
Matthew 6:6 ESV
Now we come to the how and where we should pray. We are told to pray without ceasing, but does this mean that we should walk down the street praying aloud as we go? No, because although we pray aloud in corporate prayer, and openly for instruction (such as those prayers that end these devotional messages), our prayers are predominately personal... just like our relationship with God is. Listen to these instructional verses...
“"Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”
Matthew 6:2 ESV
“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.”
Matthew 6:6 ESV
“But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Matthew 6:17-18 ESV
Secret is a good word, but private is also appropriate. When we have intimate conversations with our spouse we shouldn’t do so in public, and most of us don’t want to do that. Have you ever heard a couple arguing loudly in a public place? How did that make you feel, and what did you think of the couple who were arguing? How about a loving couple bring overly intimate and affectionate? How did that make you feel, and did you think to yourself “Come on now, go get a room!”? Well our intimate relationship with God is the same... our personal prayers are not meant for others to hear, or see, they are deeply personal and private... otherwise they are simply dramatic, and for show. So we are told to seek out a private place, a solitary spot, where we can converse without interruption, being braggadocios, or becoming a spectacle. Our prayers of relationship should be founded in love, and respect, and their decorum should reflect that. Be as Jesus, and pray alone, And respectfully; seeking God’s will always...
“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go over there and pray."”
Matthew 26:36 ESV
Let’s examine our prayer life to determine if we are praying as we should, and that includes praying respectfully, and in private, as our relationship with God demands. Are you praying in this way? Are we ready to find a private prayer closet? Are we ready to teach your children the meaning of honor, and love? Are we ready for a private conversation every day?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for loving me as you do, and Lord, know that I love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Meet me in the quiet places, where we can speak in secret, and know that what I say to you, and what you say to me, is for our ears alone. Our expressions of love, and even those times when I disagree, and you speak to me as a Father to a child, are meant only for us. Help me Holy Father to keep the grand things you instruct me to do, and the other things in which I am obedient, secret, because they are not meant to bring me honor, but to glorify you. Let my treasure be in heaven, and my reward be in your eyes. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who speaks to me in secret, and hears my prayers in the quiet places. I praise you Lord for the relationship you foster with me, and the personal nature of it. All glory is yours Lord, and amazing is your love and grace that is both universal, and intimately specific to me at the same time. Hear my prayers when no one else hears, and know my love for you now, and forevermore.
Rich Forbes