“But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:6

We often think of prayer as an action that is performed publicly by our ministry team, or by those older members of the congregation who are not hesitant to pray in a group setting. We also tend to think of the mass-distributed prayer lists that are sent out digitally for the congregation to see as a checklist for others who are in need. If we remember that at HCC we are REAL people finding REAL hope, we will also realize that we are people who all have needs on a daily basis. No one person’s problem is less important than any others, and that is not what our Father in Heaven thinks either. While public and corporate prayer is an amazing tool for communication with God, our personal and private prayers are equally important.

This scripture reminds us to go into our private room and pray to our Father in secret. This should eliminate the pressure many of us feel to pray in a large group setting with just the right words. This should help us to remember that in our prayers, no matter the wording as we discussed yesterday, we have the Spirit acting on our behalf and they are all important and sought by our Father. He wants to hear from you individually, and he is interested in what you have to say.

Prayer for Day 5: Pray today that God will help you find a quiet place and that you will gain the time in your schedule to work toward building a one-on-one relationship with your Father in Heaven. Pray that you will be rewarded as the scripture tells you and that your relationship will grow and flourish the way that it can only when you are committed to building that relationship and dedicating private and personal time to God in prayer.