"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:6
A little boy was saying his bedtime prayers when his mother passed by his room and stopped to listen. “Bless Mommy and Daddy.” Then he shouted, “PLEASE, GOD, GIVE ME A NEW BICYCLE!” His mother stepped in and said, “You don’t have to shout. God is not hard of hearing.” Her son replied, “I know God is not hard of hearing, but Grandma’s in the next room, and she is.”
It sounds like he was saying, “God, give me a new bicycle,” but he was praying to Grandma.
Denn Guptill went to Bible College with a guy named Kirk. He and his friends never asked Kirk to say grace when they went out for burgers because he said grace for everyone in the restaurant. Denn said that Mabs Fernley was different. One evening when Mabs was saying grace at supper her husband, Walter, said, “Mabs I can’t hear you.” She said, “That’s OK Walter. I wasn’t talking to you.”
When you pray publicly for a group, speaking so you can be heard by the group is just the polite thing to do. But she was right about who she was talking to. The boy, pretending to pray but really wanting Grandma to notice, and Kirk, praying on and on for everybody in the restaurant, sound kind of like the warnings Jesus gives just before and after telling us to pray privately. Let’s read Matthew 6:5-7 together.
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words."
Hypocrites pray to be seen by men. Pagans babble on and on. Sadly, more times than I care to remember, I have been one or the other. Jesus emphasizes private prayer.
I have worked with quite a few volunteers, pastors, missionaries, state workers, denominational workers, and seminary students. Some have emphasized the importance of time alone with God after admitting that they had let their ministries or their studies crowd out that private time. They wanted to warn other volunteers, ministers, and students not to neglect time alone with God. A common theme was, “When you are too busy to pray, you are too busy.”
It’s easy to fall into the “I’m too busy” trap.
You’re a Sunday School teacher. You know you need time to pray and read the Bible for yourself, but the lesson must be ready by Sunday. You tell yourself, “It IS Bible study.” Then you let that substitute for your quiet time.
You’re a seminary student. You’re taking New Testmant Greek, Old Testament survey, systematic theology, and who knows what else. It’s six weeks into the semester and you’re nine weeks behind. (I’m not sure how that happens, but I’ve heard that complaint.) You spend hours a day in Bible classes and classes related to the Bible. You have more hours of homework. Your day is still only 24 hours long. You tell yourself, “It IS Bible study.” Then you let that substitute for your quiet time.
You’re a pastor. You pray with everyone you visit in the hospital and everyone you counsel. You study to preach. Maybe you, too, have a Sunday School class to teach. The demands keep coming. You tell yourself, “It IS prayer and Bible study.” Then you let those things substitute for your quiet time alone with the Father.
You’re a parent. I have never been a parent, so I won’t pretend to know what all fills your day. But it is full. At night, you listen to your little children say their prayers. You tell yourself, “It IS prayer.” Then you let that substitute for your quiet time.
We can all come up with reasons to accept substitutes for our personal, private time with God.
In Mark 1, after going to the synagogue, Jesus goes to Peter’s house and heals his mother-in-law. Then, at sunset, sick people from all over town descend on the house to be healed. Who knows how late Jesus was up healing? Mark 1:35 tells us that, “in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”
He had spent the evening hours teaching the “whole town.” He cast out demons and healed the sick until who knows when. If He waited until daylight, the multitudes would come and he would not have time to be alone with the Father.
Think about Jesus for a moment. His ministry was growing. Each day he became more and more famous. Everywhere he went hurting people crowded after him. But during his incarnation, Jesus did not allow an active ministry to prevent private time with the Father. He continually went away alone to pray. He would heal the sick until late into the night then go away very early in the morning to a solitary place to pray alone. He would feed 5,000 then go away into the mountain to pray alone. He prayed alone in desert places. He prayed alone in the garden. He prayed all night before choosing the twelve. Are we busier than Jesus was? If Jesus needed time alone with the Father, how much more do we?
When Coach Bobby Bowden played baseball in college, he never hit a home run. His senior year at Howard College, he was the only player not to hit a home run. One day, he hit a line drive against Auburn. As he approached third, the coach was waving him on. As he made his turn, he heard his third base coach say, “But hurry!”
When he touched home, the team was ecstatic, slapping his back and shaking his hand back in the day before “high fives.” The first baseman yelled for the catcher to throw him the ball. The umpire yelled, ‘out.’ When he ran the bases, Bobby Bowden never touched first.
Maybe that’s why he became a football coach. Anyway, you can probably imagine he told his players, “If you don’t take care of first base, it doesn’t matter what you do.”
Matthew 6:6 is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This is the first time Jesus taught his first disciples about prayer. His first lesson was, “Spend time alone with the Father in prayer.” If we don’t follow his first lesson, we are not following the example or the command of Christ.
Jesus did not allow an active ministry to prevent private time with the Father. He continually went away alone to pray. Are we busier than Jesus was? If Jesus needed time alone with the Father, how much more do we? For Jesus, time alone with the Father was his first priority. He never skipped it.
Something occurred to me preparing for this lesson while the church is having a stewardship emphasis on Sunday mornings. Have you ever heard a testimony or a sermon in which someone said that if you tithe, if you give 10%, that God will help you meet your obligations with the 90% that is left better than you would have done it yourself with the whole 100%?
The command to have private prayer is just as clear as the command to tithe. The biggest difference is that the Bible does not give any set amount of time we need to spend in private prayer. For the sake of example, I am going to use a half hour. If you spend a half hour alone with God during the day, he will help you accomplish more in the 23 ½ hours that are left than you would have accomplished in 24 hours on your own. Martin Luther said he was so busy, he had to spend three hours a day in prayer or he would never get everything done. Time alone with the Father is our first base. We should never miss it.
I’m sure you agree that private times of prayer are important, but you will never “find” the time for it. You must “make” and “take” time for private prayer. It is possible to “make” time and not “take” it. We can make time, but become distracted and then give the time to something else. We must make and take time for private prayer.
Let’s suppose you agree that private prayer time is important. You have made a commitment to a half hour private, daily devotional time. It will be easier if, before your first devotional time, you make a prayer list. List some things for which you are thankful and list some prayer requests.
Most writers suggest following the example of Christ in Mark 1:35, rising early and immediately going to a private place to pray. But not everyone can wake up and immediately devote quality time to prayer.
George Mueller was one of those people. We have talked before about how his prayer list became a prayer diary and eventually volumes of prayer lists. In 60 years he recorded 30,000 answers to prayer. He did not get up and immediately go to a private place to pray. His writings say he was up and about for a while, fully dressed and ready for the day, before his time of private devotions. If you need to be up for a while, if you need to move a little bit, if you need your morning coffee before you are awake enough to pray effectively, by all means, do what you need to do to wake up. If you are a diabetic and need have to have a meal first, do it.
One thing I have learned talking with you about these studies is that many of you struggle with the same things I do. I don’t think I have ever done this before, but I will suggest an outline for a private devotional time that, for right now, is working for me. I will tell you a little about the struggles I have had in the past that led me to do it this way. This is not the only way to do it, but some of you may find it helpful.
So the time has come. You have made time for private devotion. You are taking that time. With no hypocrisy, no vain repetition, no pagan babbling, you are alone with God. Now what?
1. Sit comfortably with your prayer list, Bible, paper, and pen handy.
I learned a long time ago that I cannot just set my clock 30 minutes early and spend that time praying in bed before I get up. I’ve tried. That doesn’t work for me. I don’t know how much time I spent praying, but it would be optimistic to say I prayed for 5 minutes and went back to sleep for just 25. I can’t have morning devotions in a warm bed and a dark room. It’s too comfortable.
I do not have my devotional time in a recliner. I’ve tried. That doesn’t work for me. It’s too comfortable.
Some people can do those things successfully. I can’t.
I have learned that if I try to have my devotions on my knees, I am soon more aware of my knees than of God. It’s too uncomfortable.
I have my devotional time in a chair at a desk or table. It’s not too comfortable, it’s not too uncomfortable, it’s ju-u-u-u-st right.
2. Begin with adoration and praise.
Listening to some people pray, the words of adoration and praise seem to flow effortlessly. I am not one of those people. I have to struggle to find the right words to express my adoration. I then become more aware of my language than of God’s presence.
I don’t think God minds if I use other people’s words to express my true feelings. You may choose to read one of the Psalms or a devotional from a book like, “My Utmost for His Highest.” Currently, I read the words from some of the old hymns. When I find one that puts me in the right mind of adoration and praise, I continue my devotions.
3. Next comes confession.
By now, some of you may be wondering if, after sitting comfortably, I am following the ACTS pattern Bro. Jim taught the children. Yes, I am. ACTS, A-C-T-S. A - adoration. C - confession. T - thanksgiving. S - supplication.
After adoration comes confession. If you pray and confess your sins before going to bed, this may be a short part of your devotional time. Even lying in a warm bed in a dark room, we can have sinful thoughts and attitudes. Confess them. If nothing comes to mind, don’t invent or exaggerate sins to confess. Thank God for keeping you through the night.
4. Thanksgiving.
We will talk soon about this as a prayer key. Use your prayer list, the list of things for which you are thankful. Express your thanks for anything and anyone else that comes to mind. Once, when my mind was blank, I took a deep breathe, then thanked God for air. For a moment, I felt silly, then I went on to express thanks for other things. Express your thanks for anything and anyone else that comes to mind. I have known asthmatics who did not consider a deep breathe of air a silly thing. They were thankful every time they had a deep breathe. I should not have felt silly for expressing thanks for something so vital.
5. Supplication.
Most of the time, I think this is the easiest part for us. It’s amazing how hard it can be when we have made and taken the time for private prayer. Our minds goes blank. That’s why a prayer list made in advance is helpful.
6. End your devotional time meditating on a short passage of scripture.
Many people have a plan for reading the Bible through in a year. That is a worthy undertaking. I have tried including that in my morning devotionals. I’m not sure how strong a pattern this is, but several great prayer warriors from the past encourage meditating on short passages of scripture. Three or four chapters at a time is too much for meditation. I am going back to the shorter passages. My “read the Bible through” plan will be later in the day.
Beginning Monday morning, I will go back to something I did years ago. Every morning, I will read the passage for the next Sunday School lesson. That means from Monday to Sunday, I will read the lesson passage 7 times.
Recently, on a Sunday night, Jeff Medina demonstrated a method of Bible study that asks questions of the passage. I have a list of questions that can apply to every Sunday School passage. Not every question will apply to every passage, but enough of them will apply for a good time of meditation.
These are common questions. They are not original with me. As you read the scripture, ask:
Is there an example I should follow?
Is there a command I should obey?
Is there a sin I should avoid (or confess)?
Is there a promise I should claim?
Is there a prayer I should pray?
Is there a lesson I should learn?
You don’t have to make notes on every question every day. Just make a note of what comes to mind as you meditate on the scripture. Meditating on the same passage every day for a week may seem tedious, but it is a surprisingly valuable way to end your devotional time.
I almost forgot to say something important. When you find answers, do them. When you find an example to follow, follow that example. When you find a command to obey, obey it. Don’t just write answers down. Live them.
Most Sunday School lessons are part of a 6 year cycle. The “Explore the Bible” series we use is based on an 8 year cycle. That means that in 6 to 8 years, you can have a broad overview of Bible and major doctrines. Eight years from now, I will know and understand the Bible significantly better than I do now, significantly better than if I just sat in Sunday School and listened to what the teacher studied.
If meditating on the same passage every day for a week does not appeal to you, our Sunday School books do include short, daily passages for devotional reading. You can still use these questions to guide your meditation.
To summarize:
Sit comfortably.
Read a Psalm, devotional, or hymn to express a prayer of adoration.
Confess your sin.
Pray prayers of thanksgiving and supplication using your prayer list.
Read a short passage of scripture and meditate on it using the given questions.
When you build personal, private time with God into your life, you’re building on a sure foundation. You’re building on a rock. When the storms of life come, and they will, you will stand strong. Matthew 6:6 is part of the Sermon on the Mount. Do you remember how it ends? Jesus says in Matthew 7:24 that anyone who hears and does what he teaches will be like a wise man who builds his house on a rock. He goes on to say that when the floods and stormy winds come, it stands.
When you build personal, private time with God into your life, you’re building on a sure foundation. You’re building on a rock. When the storms of life come, and they will, you will stand strong. When friends and family disappoint you, you will stand strong. When life turns against you, you will stand strong. When hell itself unleashes its fury against you, you will stand strong. Personal, private time with the Father is that important.
