“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. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”** Matthew 6:5-8 (NIV)**
The private prayers of the saints most often require solitude. Hidden in “closets” from all but the Lord. Private prayer is private and seeks to be far from distractions and disturbances. Like a private talk with your closest friend and even more so. Indeed, where do we find in Scripture the Pharisees or the scribes or Pharoah or even Judas in private prayer? They appear to prefer the public position of prayer to display their pretense of piety. They do not truly want to know what God says or desires, His will or His way. Rather, they appear to want Him to bless what they say or desire – their will and their way or perhaps the admiration from onlookers. Secret prayer is not normally the hypocrite’s trade. Yet, Jesus was constantly going off by himself to be with His Father in prayer.
It does us well to remember that God’s ear is inclined to the sincerity of one’s heart and our hearts can be uber deceptive as the Prophet Jeremiah tells us in Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NIV): “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? ‘I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.’” Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NIV). Indeed, as King David did, we too should ask God to search our own hearts as he prayed in Psalms 139: 23-24 (NIV): “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
The hypocrite in public prayer seeks his own pride, glory and honor – to make his name great rather than the Lords. He cares for a good opinion among men rather than a clear conscience before God. Whereas, those who seek God in private prayer are rewarded. Scripture tells us in Hebrews 11:6 (NIV): “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” How openly did God reward Daniel in the lion’s den when he forsook an edict from King Darius forbidding prayer – excepting, of course, to the king - and Daniel goes home opens the windows and prays in his upstairs room three times a day towards Jerusalem. And God rewarded his secret prayers. God always hears the groans of His people.
Remember, Jesus told us to pray and not to lose heart and give up in Luke 18:1. And James tells us in James 5:16B (NIV): “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35 (NIV)