A devotional on praying in secret explores Jesus’ instruction: “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, ESV). Prayer is not a performance. It is intimate time with a Father who sees you.
Key Verse
“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, ESV)
The Setting: Practicing Righteousness
In Matthew 6, during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses three common religious practices of his day: giving to the needy, praying, and fasting. In each case, he warns against doing them for an audience (Matthew 6:1). Some religious people gave with great fanfare, prayed on street corners, and made their fasting obvious. They received exactly what they wanted, the admiration of people, and nothing more (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16).
Jesus offers a different way. Give quietly. Pray privately. Fast without drawing attention. The audience that matters is God.
Shut the Door
The word Jesus uses for room often referred to an inner storeroom, perhaps the only room in a simple house with a door that could be closed. It was not a special prayer chamber; it was an ordinary space. Jesus is saying, find a place where no one is watching, close the door on distractions and audiences, and talk to your Father.
Shutting the door does two things. It shuts out the temptation to perform, and it shuts out the noise that keeps us from focusing. Today, shutting the door might also mean shutting off notifications.
Your Father Who Sees
Notice how personal this is. Jesus does not say pray to the Almighty or to the deity. He says pray to your Father. Prayer is a child talking to a parent. And this Father sees in secret. Nothing done in private escapes him. The tears you cry alone, the prayers you whisper in the car, the struggles you have told no one about, he sees them all.
Jesus adds that the Father will reward. The reward is not primarily material blessing; it is the Father himself, his presence, his answers, his shaping of our hearts. Right after this, Jesus warns against heaping up empty phrases, because the Father knows what we need before we ask (Matthew 6:7–8), and then he gives the Lord’s Prayer as a model (Matthew 6:9–13).
Jesus’ Own Example
Jesus practiced what he taught. He often withdrew to desolate places to pray (Luke 5:16). He got up before dawn and went off alone to pray (Mark 1:35). He spent a whole night in prayer before choosing the twelve apostles (Luke 6:12). If the Son of God needed private time with the Father, how much more do we.
Is Public Prayer Wrong?
Jesus is not forbidding public prayer. He prayed publicly, and the early church prayed together often (Acts 2:42; 4:24). The issue is motive. Public prayer is good when it seeks God; it is empty when it seeks applause. Private prayer protects our hearts, because no one is watching but God.
Building the Habit
Choose a time and place. Many people pray best in the morning before the day’s demands begin, but any consistent time works. Start small, perhaps ten minutes. Use the Lord’s Prayer as a guide, a psalm, or a simple pattern: praise, confession, thanks, and requests. Keep a journal if it helps. When you miss a day, start again without guilt.
A Personal Application: Find Your Room
Identify your room this week. It might be a bedroom corner, a parked car, a quiet porch, a walk around the block, or a closet. Set it up simply: a Bible, a notebook, maybe a chair. Tell your household, if needed, that this is your time with God. Then show up for five days in a row. Pray honestly, as a child to a Father. When the week is over, notice what changed, in your prayers, your peace, or your awareness of God.
Today, Try This
Find a quiet place today, shut the door, put your phone away, and spend ten minutes talking to your Father.
Reflection Question
Do you pray differently when others are watching, and what would it look like to pray only for your Father’s ears?
Prayer
Father, thank you that you see me in secret. Free me from praying to impress others. Draw me into honest, private conversation with you. Teach me to pray as Jesus did, and let me find my reward in knowing you. Amen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Matthew 6:6 mean?
Matthew 6:6 teaches that prayer should be a sincere conversation with God rather than a performance for others. Jesus encourages private prayer to a Father who sees and responds to what is done in secret.
Is public prayer wrong?
No. Jesus and the early church prayed publicly. Jesus warns against praying to be admired by others. Public prayer is good when it seeks God, and private prayer helps keep our motives pure.
How do I start a private prayer habit?
Choose a consistent time and quiet place, start with a few minutes, use the Lord’s Prayer or a psalm as a guide, and pray honestly. Consistency matters more than length. When you miss a day, simply begin again.
Keep Reading
- Explore more: Sermon on the Mount study
- Read more daily devotionals
- The narrow way: what the narrow gate means (Matthew 7:13-14)
- Related: read: Devotional on the Early Church
- Related: Devotional on Fasting
- Related: Bible Verses About Prayer
- Related: Devotional on Consistent Prayer