The Secret Place

When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Matthew 6:6

Jesus draws a sharp contrast between those who perform prayer and those who pray. Some people treat prayer as if its power lies in the petitioners’ words—their eloquence or pitch or volume. Those who pray in public for the purpose of being seen and admired or who use public prayer as a platform from which to display their own great spirituality have the reward they seek. In many cases, they experience the admiration of others, just as they hoped they would. Their spiritual lives may well be applauded and admired. However, they will have settled for a cheap reward. They will not be rewarded with the presence of God. And theirs will be a perishable crown.

Jesus tells us there is a better reward, a higher pursuit. The reward God offers is himself, and that will be more than enough. When you pray, let the Father be your focus. In his presence we find everything we are looking for: “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever” (Psalm 16:11). He will display his presence through our lives to those around us. What we experience in the secret place of his presence will transform every aspect of our lives. He keeps his promises, and he promises that private time seeking his face is not wasted time, but time that yields rich fruit. Time alone with God is time rewarded.

How do you take hold of his promised reward? Make time alone with God a priority.

Lord, I crave your presence, and all my longings find their fulfillment in you. You are my reward and my one desire. Draw my heart to the secret place of your presence.

With Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship. . . . In the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. [In] the New Testament, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross.

Bono(1960–), Irish musician and humanitarian