Struggling for motivation to pray? Jesus teaches us about the rewards of private prayer, as we partner with others in God’s global mission.
‘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 others. Truly I tell you, 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.’ Matthew 6:5-6
The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ extended lesson in true spirituality. It’s a lesson in being genuine disciples, citizens of the King – as opposed to the false hypocrisy of failed fake religion. Whether that’s the literalism of the Pharisees or the liberalism of the Sadducees, Jesus corrects faulty belief and behaviour in these packed chapters.
And at the start of Matthew chapter six he addresses the trio common to so many religions of the world: giving, prayer and fasting. What motivates you to give, to pray and to fast? It’s all about reward.
One of the surprises in these verses is that the hypocrites loved to pray. They would be the first at the church prayer meeting, quick to log on to the monthly missions prayer meeting – they made sure they were there. And the adulation they received for their public piety was the sum of their efforts. Behind it lay their pride.
Rather than praying to be seen by others, Jesus commends privately praying to an unseen God, our heavenly Father who is in secret, or as some translations put it, ‘who is in that secret place.’
Now what’s interesting is that the word for room in verse six was also used for the storeroom where treasures might be kept. The implication being that there are treasures already waiting for us when we pray.
Which was certainly the experience of CT Studd, a leading cricketer of his day from one of the wealthiest families in the land, who gave it all up as one of the leaders of the Cambridge Seven who took the gospel to China. Let me share some of his words that both encouraged and challenged me:
‘The last of our supplies was finished, and there was no apparent hope of supplies of any kind coming from any human source. The mail man had just set out that afternoon, and in a fortnight he would bring the return mail.
If the return of the postman brought no relief, starvation stared us in the face. We decided to have a night of prayer. We got on our knees for that purpose.
I think we must have stayed there twenty minutes before we rose again. We had told God everything that we had to say in those twenty minutes. Our hearts were relieved; it did not seem to us either reverence or common sense to keep on talking to God as though he were deaf or could not understand our simple language, or the extremity of our circumstances, or the weight of the words of his Son, who said that God knew everything before we told him, or as he said himself, “Before they call I will answer.”
And verily he did. The mail man returned at the appointed time. We were not slow to open the bag. We glanced over the letters; there was nothing, and we looked at each other. I went to the bag again, took it by the corners and shook it mouth downwards; out came another letter, but the handwriting was totally unfamiliar to us.
This was the letter: “I have,” he said, “for some reason or other received the command of God to send you a cheque for £100. I have never met you, I have only heard of you, and that not often, but God has prevented me from sleeping tonight by this command. Why he should command me to send you this I don’t know – you will know better than I. Anyhow, here it is and I hope it will do you good.”
The name of that man was Frank Crossley. We had neither of us seen each other or corresponded.’[1]
Now rewards in the Christian life are of course not restricted to £100 cheques from people we’ve never met! He refreshes our soul, satisfies our hunger, quenches our thirst, brings light to our paths. His rewards are various and bountiful, and yet the secret to them all is closing the door and praying to our father in the secret place.
Let’s seek the rewards of the Father and maybe as we do that we’ll be rewarded as Frank Crossley was with the privilege of partnering with others in their gospel work.
Rev Rupert Shelley is Director of Mission Partnerships
[1] Quoted in C. T. Studd: Cricketer & Pioneer, Norman Grubb (London: Lutterworth Press, 1970), pp. 98-99