SCRIPTURE: Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:6 NIV
THOUGHT: There are public rewards, and then there are private ones. It’s easy to want and chase the former, and to allow their glory to be the only glory we seek. How different to make a steady diet of the glory that being with God brings. Being in the presence of God is itself a reward, although I don’t know how often we think about it.
Teaching his followers to pray privately rather than in front of others, Jesus makes this big promise about rewards that follow a secret life with God. He says that being seen by others, perhaps even as holy, is the only reward the pray-er in public gets (Matt. 6:5) and calls these folks “hypocrites.” Pretty strong language, and a pretty good reason to think about practicing more than public prayer.
D.L. Moody famously said, “character is what you are in the dark” — what you do when no human is there to watch or hear or admire. Only God knows what goes on in the prayer closet, so only God can reward it. And he will, promises Jesus.
PRAYER: Father in heaven, give us the desire to nurture secret life with you. To love and seek private rewards from the prayer closet rather than public ones from the marketplace.
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Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
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