Matthew 6:6 English Standard Version (ESV)
6 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
I like every single part of it…
I always felt awkward at church when we got to the part where we made our prayers and petitions out loud. I understand the concept (“where two or more are gathered…”), but I’ve always felt most connected when my prayers were a one on one activity. (It’s another reason I hated going to confession in my youth– sometime three’s a crowd!)
Most group settings amplify my attention to what is happening around me, rather than allowing me retreat into the solitude and recesses of my heart, mind & spirit, which is where I need to be in order to listen for HIS words.
While I agree that faith can be strengthened in fellowship, I hold fast to the importance of intimacy and sacredness in private prayer.
I have enough challenges quieting my own mind without also trying to shut out every other source of stimulation and noise.
I want… I NEED just me and HIM. Alone.
I once told someone that I could imagine God settling in at the foot my bed, listening to my prayers. Instead of the monologue I so often give him, he and I would have an actual dialogue- real conversation. No parables or ‘signs’ that I might misunderstand. No ‘coincidences’ that *might* or might not be the answer to the questions I’ve posed to him. Just clear answers to my questions about… everything. And the ‘why’ behind those answers.
(It hasn’t happened yet, but I’m still hoping.)
I don’t remember the exact response of the person I was talking to, but I do remember that their response definitely included horror at the idea that I would even dare suggest such a thing.
I don’t think I am alone in this. It makes sense that we should spend time giving 100% of our attention to our most important relationship. After all, don’t we want 100% of HIS attention, especially in a time of need?
And what relationship can flourish and grow when it’s only given the leftover scraps of our heart and energy each day?
I don’t think I am alone in this thinking. It makes sense that we should make a point to spend time giving 100% of our attention to our most important relationship. After all, don’t we want 100% of HIS attention, especially in a time of need?
And what relationship can flourish and grow when it’s only given the leftover scraps of our heart and energy each day?
I am working to be better in that area, being more intentional about creating time and space for moments of private prayer- taking time when I first wake up, as well as the last parts of my evening.
And I try to capture moments throughout the day– not with slapdash “on-the-go” prayers, but with wholly focused and intentional times of prayer, however brief they might be.
And I’ve worked hard to stay cognizant that it’s not always the talking part that hold us back.
It’s often in the listening that we struggle the most. Good listening requires focus and attention, and the willingness to truly LISTEN, not just hear. And that means we need to shut out all other distractions.
And, I have said before, I am a work in progress. So, I’ll keep reveling in the quiet times of solitude and prayer- speaking to and listening for HIM. Waiting.
Faith in Action:
Begin your conversation with prayer and thanksgiving.
Then wait, in the silence, for his response.
