“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
Have you ever prayed a secret prayer? Something that is only between you and God! It is one of the most fun things to do. The main thing that Jesus is addressing here is that all prayer should be between you and God and not to be seen by others. The verse directly preceding this one addresses that. If you only pray in order to be seen by others then you have already received what you were after. This is not to say that public prayer is wrong but God knows the heart and He knows if you are only praying publicly in churches and to be seen by others. We should all have secret times in our prayer closets or prayer chairs that are only for you and God. Then when asked to pray publicly you can come from a sincere heart, not just to be seen by people.
I love a secret prayer that is just between me and God. The first thing to remember about a secret prayer is, of course, for you to pick a time and get alone with God. Just you and Him. Now it doesn’t have to be long, it can be a time in the middle of the day, but it is something you aren’t talking about to others, it’s something you are praying just between you and God! Then make sure that what you are praying for is within the parameters of His will. There are things I pray for that I know are in the will of God. The salvation of another person for example is in the will of God. But you do have to remember that God allows people to have free will in their choosing. But I can pray for God to bring people into the life of another person that will help to point them in the direction of salvation. God desires for that wayward child to come home to Him, but He allows them free will. But I can pray protection for that wayward child and for God to act on his/her behalf to point them in the right direction.
I recently had something I felt led to pray for another individual. At the same time a church that I follow is having a 28 day challenge to pray for something at the same time every day. I set an alarm in my phone to stop what I was doing every day at the same time and to pray specifically for this thing. I did not tell even one person what I was going to be praying for, which is hard for me sometime, because I will pray for something but I am bad too to think that God may need my help in a matter. (Just kidding, I know He does not need my help but in the back of my mind if I announce it am I hoping someone will help my prayer along?!) But in this matter, I took the challenge, I set my alarm and every day it goes off to remind me to pray. And I told no one else what my prayer was. Now at times, I am in the middle of something and I can’t necessarily stop to pray, but I will hit that snooze button until I can stop and pray about the specific matter. It’s short and its a sweet time, but it is just between me and God. The most fun thing is when you begin to see God move and you know it is God who is answering on your behalf! Not something you tried to make happen in the physical realm but that you know God is moving in the spiritual realm for your request. Make no mistake there are times you need to call on every prayer warrior you have to storm the gates of heaven for you. But the secret prayers, the ones that are just between me and God, that’s when my intimacy with Him on a personal level grows! That’s when I begin to call him Abba, Daddy, because I know He hears me! Because my Daddy wants good things for me!
Restore 