And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 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)
Here at Guideposts we talk a lot about prayer. We give suggestions, offer help, share biblical passages, present stories of answered prayer, talk about prayerful situations, give examples of prayer in our own lives, guide you to the OurPrayer app.
Through OurPrayer we invite you to share your prayer requests, anonymously or publicly, and we have volunteers around the world who will pray with you and for you. But in the end, as the above admonition from Jesus reminds us, what you pray is your own private business.
I’m tempted to paraphrase that notorious Vegas ad: What you pray in your closet stays in your closet. Except that’s not quite right. It’s more like: What you pray in secret is heard by the One from whom no secrets are hidden and who has the power to heal your hidden sorrows and grant your secret wishes.
My friend and colleague Peola Hicks, the coordinator of OurPrayer, told me not long ago that after a busy day at the office, busy praying for requests and passing along requests, recruiting volunteers, writing her blog, encouraging colleagues, going to meetings, answering phone calls and responding to emails, she goes home and goes into her own prayer closet. I don’t think she will mind me telling you that it really is a closet in her bedroom. There in the quiet, in the half light, sitting on a stool, her Bible at hand, she prays. I have no idea what she says in her prayers. That’s between God and her. But I love her example. Ten minutes in her closet and she’s ready to face what remains of the day.
All of us here care very much about your prayers. When given the opportunity, we gladly add our prayers to yours, our compassion expanding to all of your needs. But we also know there are things you don’t even tell us that you tell God. That’s just as it should be. We do all we can on this website to protect your anonymity. Prayer is a good place to put those things you might not want to share with anybody. Be a closet case, “and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
