July 30 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Matthew 6:5–8

Devotional

“But, thou,” says the Lord Jesus to the hypocrites, the Pharisees. They stood on the corners of the streets to pray, to be seen of the people. The hours of prayer were determined by when the most people would see them. They let the people see how pious and strict they were. If it was not possible for them to be in the temple at the set times of prayer, they would simply pray on the streets as a public display of their righteousness.

“But,” Christ says, “when thou prayest, enter into thy closet.” Do not stand on the corners of the streets, but rather enter into hidden places where nobody sees you. The lesson of the Pharisees is a lesson that still has to be learned today. That is not because there is so much public prayer on the intersections of roads. Neither because there is exaggerated strictness in church life, for sad to say, many consider church attendance once per Lord’s Day to be enough. But this lesson should be learned because there is so little hidden life in the inner chamber known among us.

It would be expected that in the homes of the wicked the knees of people are not bowed to God. But in the homes of the people who know there is a God in heaven, we would expect a discipline of prayer. Are there still inner chambers in our homes? Are there still hidden places where communion with God is sought? Is there still a personal seeking of the Lord in private? How are matters in our homes? If the doors could speak, if the floors, the walls, or the ceilings could speak, would they be able to testify of a hidden seeking, a grasping and sighing for heaven?

The inner chamber is the best proof that we are not only supplicants in the sight of others, but above all in the sight of God. We can confidently say that true spiritual life is absent when these hidden places are unknown to us. An inner chamber does not have to literally be in a room. Seeking God can take place anywhere and everywhere. We know that Nehemiah prayed as he spoke to the king. Hidden pleading with the Lord can take place anywhere, and can be with a few words or with a single sigh. It is what they used to call “hat-on praying,” that is, praying while we are doing our work. Do you know this hidden life with the Lord? Do you know this secret life of prayer?

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.