Matthew 6:5-8 (When You Pray)

“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.  But 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.
  “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.  Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!"

Prayer has always been a tough one for me.  I'm not easily devoted to the discipline of quieting myself long enough to bend my knees and say everything I can possibly think of to God.  Then, I feel guilty about this.  I know I'm not the only one who feels that way, because a woman with whom I work  approached me a couple weeks ago and worried because she could never seem to find time to pray long prayers either, and she felt that that was what she was supposed to be doing.

I really feel that again this is an area where satan really has a tight grip on us.  We are believing the lie that long prayers equal spiritual maturity, and therefore, short prayers can be equated with the opposite.  But long prayers for the sake of long prayers are quite far from what God really wants from us!  The above verses say, “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.  Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!"  Our words and Christian-y phrases mean nothing to God.  You know when someone is trying to butter you up, don't you?  In the same way, there is no reason to try to butter God up because this says He already knows what we need even before we ask Him!


Similarly, to our giving that we talked about yesterday, our prayers should not be done for all to see, but rather "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."  Again, He rewards what is done in secret, where no one can see but Him.  Here's the part that's hard for me...going away by myself (but, I'm an extravert and I don't like being alone)..., shutting the door behind me (Oh no, I might miss something and be left out)..., and praying (but I have laundry to do, dishes to wash, and a coffee date with a friend in an hour).  Oh, I am a mess.  


Somehow, I have already packed my fall schedule so full that my weeknights (Monday through Thursday) are pretty much booked.  I already have a weekly Tuesday night commitment, a weekly Wednesday night commitment, and an every-other Monday night commitment.  That leaves Thursdays, which Josh and I have designated as our "date night" for this semester.  Now is when you can ask me, "Molly, when are you going to have time to be with the Lord in quiet?"  Hence the tears I cried with Josh last night....why do I do this to myself?  Our conversation was "it's all GOOD, but is it all beneficial RIGHT NOW?"  I am falling into the trap of being "too busy."  I can see now that all the commitments I made for this semester were probably not my best choice.  When will I have time to just sit in the quiet and let the Lord's presence sink into my soul?  


In the seventh century, Issac the Syrian wrote about "stillness" which he summarized as, "a deliberate denial of the gift of words for the sake of achieving inner silence, in the midst of which a person can hear the presence of God.  It is standing, unceasingly silent and prayerfully before God."  The prayers Jesus recorded in the New Testament are surprisingly short; yet, in places like the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed all night long.  I wonder how much of that night was Jesus practicing "stillness" before the Lord.  I love the phrase from Issac that says "unceasingly silent."  For a busy-body like me, silence is difficult.  It really is.  I feel the need to fill the space with something.  But "unceasingly silent" gives me the picture that no matter what, I will remain silent.  God is patient, so as I'm babbling to Him, He doesn't need to interrupt me.  But, when will I expect Him to speak to me if I'm never quiet?


This is a challenge to me.  Wow.  I need to find some time weekly to just remain unceasingly silent before the Lord.  Maybe that's what our culture, myself, and my co-worker need to hear.  Maybe we are trying too hard to say long prayers, when really we need to learn to just be silent before the Lord.  

Let me close with our verses today in the Message translation:
"And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace." 

That's what should be remembered when you pray...