Go To Your Room And Close The Door

There are times when Christians need to pray publicly, but most of time our prayers are to be done in secret without any distractions from the outside world. In this way, we are not tempted to go off track by praying to please others instead of praying to please God with the wisdom of His Holy Spirit.

"But when you pray,

go into your room,

close the door

and pray to your Father,

who is unseen.

Then your Father,

who sees what is done in secret,

will reward you."

Matthew 6:6 (NIV)

Many times I have been asked to pray a certain way by others when in my heart I knew that wasn't the way God would have me pray. I sometimes then fall in temptation, pray publicly against God's will, and repent later when I go to my room, close the door, and pray for the need in private.

Here are some examples I have personally come across:

• Being asked to pray for a married couple's separation or divorce to go smoothly when, in my heart, I know I am to pray for reconciliation and restoration for the marriage instead.
• Being asked to pray for wisdom of a doctor in treating a patient when I really desire to pray for a miraculous healing from God instead.
• Being asked to pray for God to give a person a new husband or wife, even though that person is divorced and "unreconcilable differences," not infidelity, was stated as the cause. I instead pray that God will be sufficient to meet all the person's needs.
• Being asked to pray for God to provide a woman pastor with the money to buy a church building so that she can venture out on her own in ministry, even though she blatantly ignores her husband so much that nobody even knows who he is. My heart is directed towards her husband and their marriage, but I am pressured to pray in another direction.

I could give more examples, but I am sure you get my point. Praying with the heart of God and according to His will can be very difficult in public. We are tempted too much to pray before man instead of God. That is why God tells us to go to our rooms, close the doors, and pray without being seen by anyone but Him.

You Are My God And I Will Give Thanks

It is interesting to note that the examples of righteous prayer in the Bible consist mostly of praise and worship. These prayers always begin and end with statements glorifying and honouring God. They acknowledge who God is, thank Him for what He has done in the past, and trust Him for what He is going to do now. Even if the present situation is dire, life-threatening, and seemingly hopeless, the request for God's help comes in the middle of the prayer, consisting only of one or maybe two sentences.

When God's children come near to Him in prayer, we are instructed to first enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving

and His courts with praise;

give thanks to Him

and praise His Name."

Psalm 100:4 (NIV)

If there is a desperate need to call upon the Name of the Lord, we are still not to neglect to first offer God a thank offering.

"I will sacrifice a thank offering to You

and call on the Name of the Lord."

Psalm 116:17 (NIV)

God wants us to present our requests to Him, but with thanksgiving.

"Do not be anxious about anything,

but in everything,

by prayer and petition,

with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God."

Philippians 4:6 (NIV)

We can always give thanks to God and exalt His Name. No matter what trials or tribulations we are facing, He is still our God! Praise His Name!

"You are my God,

and I will give You thanks;

You are my God,

and I will exalt You."

Psalm 118:28 (NIV)

I wonder if sometimes our prayer requests are not answered because we neglect to give the honour and praise that is due to His Name.

So Let Your Words Be Few

God is not impressed with eloquent, long, or repetitious prayers. He wants our prayers to be spoken before Him, heartfelt, thought-out, short, direct, and to-the-point. He does not want them to be hasty, memorized, wordy, manipulative, and ostentatious.

"And when you pray,

do not keep on babbling like pagans,

for they think they will be heard

because of their many words."

Matthew 6:7 (NIV)

"Do not be quick with your mouth,

do not be hasty in your heart

to utter anything before God.

God is in heaven

and you are on earth,

so let your words be few."

Ecclesiastes 5:2 (NIV)

However, even though God wants our prayers to be short, He wants us to pray frequently, continually, and on all occasions.

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions

with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Ephesians 6:8a (NIV)

"Pray continually."

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV)

God loves to hear from us. He does not clock the length of our prayers and evaluate our speech. He searches our hearts and knows our true, innermost desires. He just wants us to draw near to Him.

How Beautiful Are the Feet Of God's Messengers!

Each child of God has a personal relationship with his/her Heavenly Father and has set apart Jesus Christ as Lord in his/her own heart. However, there is more: every Christian must continually be prepared to gently and respectfully share his/her faith with others, so that they may have the same hope as him/her.

"But in your hearts

set apart Christ as Lord.

Always be prepared to give an answer

to everyone who asks you to give the reason

for the hope that you have.

But do this with gentleness and respect."

1 Peter 3:15 (NLT)

Every Christian is called by God to be a messenger who brings Good News, otherwise those who do not know God will never know the truth and believe in Him.

"But how can they call on Him

to save them unless they believe in Him?

And how can they believe in Him

if they have never heard about Him?

And how can they hear about Him

unless someone tells them?

And how will anyone go and tell them

without being sent?

That is why the Scriptures say,

'How beautiful are the feet of messengers

who bring Good News!'"

Romans 10:14-15 (NLT)

And if anyone believes in God's Son, he/she will experience eternal life and no longer be under God's angry judgement. But, if anyone doesn't obey the Son, he/she will be condemned to spend eternity in hell.

"And anyone who believe in God's Son

has eternal life.

Anyone who doesn't obey the Son

will never experience eternal life

but remains under God's angry judgment."

John 3:36 (NLT)

It is God's will that everyone be saved and understand the truth.

"Who wants everyone to be saved

and to understand the truth."

1 Timothy 2:4 (NLT)

Therefore, it should be the desire of every Christian's heart to share the gospel of Jesus Christ to all who will listen, and to never be ashamed of proclaiming this Good News about Christ to others. A Christian who shared his/her faith allows God's power to work to save those who have yet to believe.

"For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ.

It is the power of God at work,

saving everyone who believes."

Romans 1:16 (NLT)

We Are To Use Our Freedom To Serve

God teaches servanthood. When someone becomes a child of God, he/she is called by God to live in freedom because he/she is now free from the curse of his/her sinful nature, the curse of death. However, a child of God is not to use this newfound freedom to satisfy his/her sinful nature. Instead, he/she is to use this freedom to serve others in love.

"For you have been called

to live in freedom,

my brothers and sisters.

But don't use your freedom

to satisfy your sinful nature.

Instead, use your freedom

to serve one another in love."

Galatians 5:13 (NLT)

The last charge the writer made against God in her article explaining why she raises her children without God was this: God teaches narcissism. More specifically, she believes that teaching children that God has a special plan for them gives them a false sense that they are special. She also feels that teaching children about God's grace encourages selfishness because it causes them to think that no matter what wrongs they commit they don't have to worry about it: God loves them, so He will instantly forgive them.

First, it is true that God has a plan for each person whom He has created. But these are not self-agrandizing plans. They are to do good, not evil. God offers each person a future, a future to be a servant in His Kingdom. Not a super star, lord, or master. He gives us hope, the hope of spending eternity with Him in a perfect sinless world.

"'For I know the plans I have for you',

says the Lord.

They are plans for good

and not disaster,

to give you a future and a hope."

Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

Secondly, it is true that we are all special in God's eyes. He attentively watches every child as He forms and weaves him/her together in the womb. Nevertheless, knowing that God has a plan for us does not create narcism, because the roots of narcism lie in severe insecurity while the fruit of God's dear love for us is a steadfast security that motivates us to love others.

"You watched me

as I was being formed 

in utter seclusion,

as I was woven together

in the dark of the womb."

Psalm 139:15 (NLT)

Finally, it is not true that God's grace offers immediate forgiveness for people sins. People must repent first. Repentance is having a deep sorrow for past sins and a desire to turn away from them. God offers forgiveness of sins, but only for those who repent.

"It was also written

that this message

would be proclaimed

in the authority of His Name

to all the nations,

beginning in Jerusalem:

'There is forgiveness of sins

 for all who repent.'"

Luke 24:47 (NLT)

A child of God is dearly loved and secure in God's eternal promises. A child of God is a servant after God's own heart, with a desire to love others, and to turn away from sin.

Only One Debt Remaining

God is sinless. God became man by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to be sin for us, so that in God we might become the righteousness of God.

"God made Him

who had no sin

to be sin for us,

so that in Him

we might become the

righteousness of God."

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

Without God, there is not one righteous man or woman on earth. We have all sinned and done wrong.

"There is not a righteous man

on earth who does what is right

and never sins."

Ecclesiastes 7:20 (NIV)

The blog writer who opposes teaching God to children stated in her sixth charge against Him that God does not teach children to be good. More specifically, she argued that when children are told God is always watching them, they only become good externally, not internally, just so they can get the prize and go to heaven.

However, God does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.

"The Lord does not look

at the things man looks at.

Man looks at the outward appearance,

but the Lord looks at the heart."

1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

If a person's acts of righteousness are before men in order to be seen by them, there will be no reward from God.

"Be careful not to do

your 'acts of righteousness' before men,

to be seen by them.

If you do,

you will have no reward

from your Father in Heaven."

Matthew 6:1 (NIV)

Jesus Christ summed up all the commandments and laws of God into just one: Love your neighbour as yourself. Love is from within. It's internal. When a person has love in his/her heart for God and others, then his/her good works are righteous. His/her deeds are not selfishly and hypocritically done for a show. They are done because of an internal desire of love within.

"Let no debt remain outstanding,

except the continuing debt

to love one another,

for whoever loves others

has fulfilled the law.

The commandments,

'You shall not commit adultery',

'You shall not murder',

'You shall not steal',

You shall not covet',

and whatever other command there may be,

are summed up in this one command:

'Love your neighbour as yourself'.

Love does no harm to a neighbour.

Therefore love is the

fulfilment of the law."

Romans 13:8-10 (NIV)

It is only in knowing a perfect and sinless God who loves us greatly that we can truly know right from wrong, be able to love others in the same way, and live righteously through His Son, Jesus Christ.

God Has Given Us The Understanding To Know Him

God is real. We are never to boast of our wisdom, our strength, or our riches. We are only to boast that we have been given the understanding to know God, the One who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on the earth.

"'Let not the wise boast of their wisdom

or the strong boast of their strength

or the rich boast of their riches,

but let the one who boasts boast about this:

that they have the understanding to know me,

that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,

justice and righteousness on earth,

for in these I delight,'

declares the Lord."

Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NIV)

The fifth charge the writer of the article made against God is that He is not present since He is only an imaginary figure who cannot be seen, smelled, touched, or heard.

Even though God cannot be smelled or touched, His eternal power and divine nature can be seen clearly through all that He has made.

"For since the creation of the world

God's invisible qualities —

His eternal power

and divine nature —

have been clearly seen,

being understood

from what has been made,

so that men are without excuse."

Romans 1:20 (NIV)

Not only is God present, He is present everywhere. No one can hide from God because His presence fills both heaven and earth.

"'Can anyone hide in secret places

so that I cannot see Him?'

declares the Lord.

'Do not I fill heaven and earth?'

declares the Lord."

Jeremiah 23:24 (NIV)

God also can be heard. He speaks to us through His Word. All Scripture is God-breathed! and has been given to us by God to teach, rebuke, correct, and train us, so that we may live righteously before God and do every good work.

"All Scripture is God-breathed

and is useful for teaching,

rebuking, correcting and

training in righteousness,

so that the servant of God

may be thoroughly equipped 

for every good work."

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

God speaks to us through His Holy Spirit as well. The Holy Spirit is our Counsellor. He is our Comforter, sent by God so that we are not alone in this world. God's Holy Spirit teaches us all things and reminds us of everything Jesus Christ has taught us.

"But the Counsellor,

the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in My Name,

will teach you all things

and remind you of everything

I have said to you."

John 14:16 (NIV)

God's physical attributes may not be seen by men and women living on earth, but we have all been given the understanding to know Him and to have personal relationship with Him.