The Secret to Prayer is Secret Prayer

"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to the Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:6)."


Everyone wants to know the secret to something. Golfers want to know the secret to playing golf like Tiger Woods. Investors want to know the secret to making a fortune on Wall Street. Parents want to know the secret to raising healthy, happy kids. And Christians desperately want to know the secrets to effective prayer. So what are the secrets to real intimacy with God?

The first secret to effective prayer is secret prayer. And Jesus provided the ultimate example. As Dr. Luke puts it, he "often withdrew to lonely places and prayed" (Lk. 5:16). Unlike the religious leaders of his day (Matt. 6:5-7), Jesus did not pray to be seen by men. Rather, he prayed because he treasured fellowship with his Father. Jesus knew the secret to deep and true relationships is time alone together. He took that time with God. You can, too. A further secret is to recognize the connection between prayer and meditation. Our prayers are only as inspired as our intake of Scripture. Scripture feeds meditation, and meditation gives food to our prayers. Meditating on Scripture allows us to more naturally transition into a marvelous time of meaningful prayer.

Donald Whitney, who rightly refers to meditation as the missing link between the intake of Scripture and prayer, notes that if there was a secret to the prayer life it was his discovery of the connection between meditation and prayer.

A finale secret is to discover your secret place, a place where you can drown out the static of the world and hear the voice of your heavenly Father (Matt. 6:6). The issue of course, is not location but motivation. We are all unique creations of God. Thus, your secret place will no doubt be different than mine. The point is that we all desperately need a place away from the evasive sounds of this world so that we can hear the sounds of another place and another Voice.


Lord teach us Now to pray

You can almost see the sense of urgency sketched on the faces of the disciples as they circle around the Master Teacher. One of them, perhaps Peter, assumes the role of spokesman. His words were both eager and expectant. Over and over again he has watched his master withdraw to secluded places to pray. And he has seen the serenity Jesus exuded in the aftermath. He may have been uncertain of what made Christ's face seem as though it glowed, but of one thing he was certain: Whatever it was, he wanted it, and he wanted it now!

There were hundreds of Scriptural prayers Jesus could have drawn their attention to that day. For example, Jesus might have responded by pointing his disciples to the prayers of Joshua, Jephthah, or, yes, Jabez. But he didn't. Jesus knew that his disciples would never properly understand "examples" of prayer without first understanding "principles" of prayer. And that's exactly why he gave us "The Prayer of Jesus."


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Hank Hanegraaff: Teach us Now to Pray



Will continue on this topic in my next blog. God bless everyone, at CS! Serendipity