Praying to the Lord is truly sacred and honorable. Prayer is an extension of having faith in the Lord and maintaining the personal relationship with Him. That being said, prayer is more than just a form of communication with Him…it is your personal time together with the Lord and it should never be disregarded nor compromised!
I pray every day and I always pray to God wholeheartedly in the privacy of my room here at home with the door closed and locked (which I normally do) for it is clearly written in Matthew 6:6-8 in the Holy Bible. Knowing that idolatry is truly unholy, there are no images, no statues, no statuettes and no relics in my room that detract me from the Lord. Definitely there is no display of religion as well! What I always have with me is the Holy Bible (the Word of God) and when I pray, I reach out to Him wholeheartedly and acknowledge the presence of the Lord who is also watching me and listening to me. Praying in tongues to Him is also part of the process. These I urge you, my readers, to be aware of and you are always free to decide when to pray to Him in your respective rooms and available time. When you pray to God, you must do it in an honest and sincere manner.
Right now, we can examine the holy scripture of Matthew 6:6-8 in the New King James Version of the Holy Bible. These are words of Lord Jesus and are part of the Model Prayer He taught long ago.
“But when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees you in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”
Matthew 6:6-8 (NKJV)
Lord Jesus’ words are very clear when it comes to praying to God with the right place (note: physical location) that ensures you have a controlled local surrounding that is not only completely private but protects you from disturbances from outside. The secret place referred to in verse 6 is none other than our hearts where the Holy Spirit dwells in since the day we got born again. Our hearts are also where our believing happens. As such, the secret place is not to be confused with the closed room we pray in.
The Lord is pleased when you prepare yourself to reach out to Him. This includes making time for Him, isolating yourself to be with Him and prioritizing your relationship with Him. As such, these actions are ways of honoring God. While it is true that we, His children, must converge as a spiritual family to worship Him as His church on Sundays, each of us (as individuals) still must prepare ourselves to be with Him more personally (individually) and privately. In other words, praying to the Lord should not be limited at all. Believe in Him and pray to Him, and He will reward you in return. Also remember that when you have fellowship with God, always be ready to quickly listen to Him, go where He tells you to go to, speak His Word to others when He orders you to do, and accomplish whatever He tells you to do. He is our Heavenly Father and with the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we will be blessed, guided and protected always. As such, always treasure your time with the Lord.
In verse 7, the vain repetitions done by the others (the heathen) Lord Jesus referred to are the empty babblings and long prayers that confuse meaningless verbosity with piety. To put things in perspective, Lord Jesus actually teaches that we must always have focused prayers that truly acknowledge God’s needed reign in every facet of life and society. As His children, we are not supposed to pray like the others who do not truly know the Lord. Those others are wasting their lives with their belief that God will hear them only because of their repetitions and excessive words used in praying to Him. I should also state that praying in tongues (which means praying in the Spirit to Him) is itself a method that also prevents vain repetitions.
Moving on to verse 8, Lord Jesus said that we should not be like them. Praying to the Lord should always be by faith and by heart. It’s not supposed to be hypocritical and pretentious. To put things in perspective with regards to biblical times, Lord Jesus wanted to free people from the pretentious practices of piety of the Pharisees.
For additional faith-based learning you might seek, posted below are the Passion Translation and the New Living Translation of Matthew 6:6-8.
“But whenever you pray, go into your innermost chamber and be alone with Father God praying to him in secret. And your Father, who sees all you do, will reward you openly. When you pray, there is no need to repeat empty phrases, praying like those who don’t know God for they expect God to hear them because of their many words. There is no need to imitate them, since your Father already knows what you need before you ask him.”
Matthew 6:6-8 (TPT)
“But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”
Matthew 6:6-8 (NLT)
As it is clear in Christianity, faith is really done by the heart, not the brain. When we pray to God, it is by heart and not by rituals and certainly not by traditions. Prayer itself is an attitude of the heart! Whenever we look up to Him, we do it wholeheartedly and sincerely! And when we deepen our personal relationship with Him by means of prayer, we must have a private place to have fellowship with Him. This is why as a spiritual family, we gather together as one church on worshiping Him on Sundays and during prayer group sessions or bible studies. Between Sunday worship services and the mentioned activities, we have opportunities to individually have fellowship with Him. This means only you and the Lord having precious time together in private! Remember, the secret place is your heart where the Holy Spirit dwells.
Now that this bible lesson is done, I would like to reach out to the lost and the unsaved people reading this. You can save yourselves by submitting to the Lord willingly. No force and no coercion here. You have time and freedom to decide. For those who have decided to get born again now, please read the instructions below and follow the prayer that I learned from our pastor.
Are you ready? Firstly, open your heart to the Lord and pray this simple prayer in sincerity from your heart:
Dear God,
I believe that Jesus is Your Son, and that He died on the cross to pay the penalty of my sins. I believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead and that He is alive! Right now, I call on the name of Jesus. Jesus, come into my heart. I receive You as my personal Lord and Savior. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me by the power of Your blood. Thank You for saving me and giving me eternal life! Help me now to follow Your plan for my life. Amen.
Congratulations! You are now a child of God! You have received Holy Spirit in your heart! This is easily your greatest decision ever made and also the greatest miracle of your life. Always praise, thank and honor the Lord. No more darkness in your life caused by politics, radicalism, toxicity, rebellion, religion, unbelief, evil, idolatry, traditions and rituals! Leave behind the darkness of your life and don’t look back to it. With Lord Jesus, you are already moving forward! You also have a personal relationship with God, a relationship that is strictly off-limits to others (even to your household members or biological family members).
With your new life realized, make an effort to acquire a copy of the Holy Bible (New King James Version is recommended), study it and apply its lessons into your life no matter what situation you are in right now. I also recommend you to join a church of born-again Christians near you and find your place in the spiritual family (God’s family). Worship the Lord together with them and always remember that faith, not religion, is essential in your personal relationship with God.
The Holy Bible is the ultimate authority and nothing else comes close. Remember always that Lord Jesus did not die on the cross to start religion. He died to redeem us all and showed that we must be led by faith in Him, faith in the Holy Spirit and faith in God the Heavenly Father. He rose from the dead and made His earthly presence felt once more to those who believed in Him. Since then, Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven and He promised to return in the future.
In ending this, here are some Christian worship videos for you to enjoy and praise the Lord with. Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus!
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