The Tone of Prayer • Devotion 4: Reward of Being Seen by God
Pastor John Carter
“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
Yesterday, we read about the awesome privilege we have of walking through intimate time with God. In our time and age, distractions are ever so present. It can include your phone going off all the time, news feeds blowing up, trying to see everything, and being connected to all that is happening with friends and family. That time with God can easily be put off to an “I will get to it later” conversation.
The later part of this verse is a common theme throughout these few verses. Last week, we talked about the rewards of giving in secret. Here we see Jesus teaching us the rewards of praying in secret. Consider what is being talked about here for a moment. God says come to me in a private conversation and share your heart with me. Let me work on your heart so that we can be better connected. I can share with you some areas that you need to work on and you can cast your burdens on Me. The promise is that God will reward us for diligently coming to Him.
James 5:15-16 records, “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” Considering the writings and teaching of James. I believe there are two parts to this.
- The correction and power to overcome sin.
- The power of God to answer our petitions.
This reward that Jesus promises us is profound. First, the forgiveness of sins and the power to overcome those sins only can come from God. When you are in that secret place with God, deal with the sins that God points out to you. Do not just ignore them! God is pointing them out to you for a reason, for your good. How long will you ignore the reproof and correction of God? He promises to forgive you, but you must turn away from the sin. Look at what James is saying; go to the Lord in prayer not just for yourself, but for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Pray for the brother who is battling sin or struggling through the grip and hold of the devil. The One who can give us the power to overcome it is God and Jesus Himself.
Sickness is a common reason for people to come to the Lord in prayer. If you have been a part of a prayer chain or a Wednesday night prayer meeting, most of the time it is filled with requests to heal or petitions of those who are hurting. This might even be why you are interested in this series because you are looking for the right way to fix a problem. It may be an illness or sickness that is profoundly affecting you. The power that can heal only comes from God, the One who can make it better. The One to fix it is God. I know God is the one that can forgive. He is the one who can heal, and He has all the power in the world. The question that always comes to mind for me is, “Why is He always the last person I go to?”
Maybe there is something specific you need prayer for today. You might be dealing with sin, sickness, or just a struggle in general. Let me encourage you, there is a place that you can go to get peace and hope for the situation. If you want additional brothers and sisters to pray for you, let me encourage you to reach out by texting “riverconnect” to 97000 and follow the instructions for a prayer request. As we see in James, we are instructed to carry the burdens together with the confidence that the One who can fix them hears them and He will reward us.
I love that James says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” That phase “as it is working” implies that prayer sometimes takes time and does not just happen in the immediate moment. Trust in Jesus and the Father to know that He hears and He knows what is best for each and every one of us.