Pastors confess praying is the most difficult discipline to maintain. That sounds surprising but pastor can find themselves so occupied with the other things of study, administration, planning, etc., that prayer can be one of those things that gets done last or not at all.
However I find many Christians confessing the same thing. For some reason prayer is difficult. I am not sure why except it seems that when we pray we are not getting anything measurably productive accomplished.
I always need help and encouragement in this area. Recently I read Robert Mounce’s translation of Matthew 6:5-6 and something happened; I started looking forward to spending time in prayer. Not hours but just more time than usual. It reads:
“But when you pray, go into a room by yourself. When you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is with you there in the secret place, and your Father who sees what you are doing in secret will reward you.”
Now, Robert Mounce is known for his faithfulness to accurate translation and study of Scripture so I knew I wasn’t reading someone’s preferred understanding of the passage.
But what gets my attention is the phrase: “your Father who is with you there in the secret place.” Imagine that! God Himself looks forward to time alone with me. With ME!
Unbelievable. And not only that, He says that He will reward me openly for it. That sounds like something unmeasurable is getting accomplished.
Now What?
- Does this change your perception of prayer?
- Does it encourage you to make prayer more of a priority?
- But above all, can you see that it isn’t so much you praying but God wanting to meet with you there?
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