Wednesday, April 10th, Day 31

Author: Steve Roach

Church: NorthStar Church

Get Alone with God

“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 (ESV)

Jesus took time to make sure His disciples had a solid framework for developing a strong and vibrant personal prayer life. He began by noting the best location for personal prayer. Instead of praying on a busy street corner, He told them to go into their inner room to pray. This could have been any room in their home that had a door. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t pray in public, but it does mean that our primary place of prayer should be a place where we can be alone with God. If we know that God is the only one who sees or hears us praying, we eliminate the temptation to turn prayer into a charade. Not only is getting alone with God helpful in protecting our motives, it also helps eliminate potential distractions. Jesus modeled private praying in His own prayer life by finding lonely places to pray to His Father. We would be wise to follow His example and do the same.

What is a place where you can spend private time with God in prayer each day? This might be a home office, bedroom, or inside your car before walking into work or school. Then, write down a specific time when you plan to pray each day. Mornings are usually the best times but do what works best for you. Obviously, life can throw us curves and schedules can change at any moment so be flexible if needed with the location and time. But, be careful not to let prayer be squeezed out of your schedule completely because of other pressing activities and demands in your life. Try to keep your time alone with God as consistent as possible. As you pray to your Heavenly Father today, thank Him for being a good Father who rewards His children for their faithful trust in Him.