“When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father, who is unseen.” (Matthew 6:6)
When Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, He urged them not to be hypocritical when they pray like Pharisees do. The Pharisees prayed not to God but to people on the street corners to be seen by them. If you pray that you are good like the Pharisees shouting “I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. I observe the Law”, those who hear their prayer think that he is a good man and he lives well to please God.
It’s not the prayer that you earnestly pray to God to get your problem solved but you just say to show others your own righteousness. Therefore, Jesus said when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father. That means you don’t say a prayer that people hear but say a prayer that God listens, and get answers.
And Jesus added, “For they think they will be heard because of their many words. (Matthew 6:7) But somebody misunderstands that we don’t have to pray for a long time. That means when you pray, do not keep on babbling but keep asking God until God answers to your prayer. That means you cry out loud to God like Jesus prayed earnestly at Gethsemane going a little farther from his disciples until his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
We ought to pray that God listens. A prayer in the room; you need to carry out the prayer that nothing can hinder our relationship with God during the meeting of intentional prayer. Praying secretly and earnestly in the room where we meet God alone is the best way to get answers to your prayer.
Pastor Seok-Jeon Yoon
Extracted from Yonsei Newspaper #672
