Praying in Secret

Lynn McChlery November 05, 2026 6 2

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Matthew 6: 6 (NIV-UK)

6 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.

A professional pianist once admitted: “If I miss practice one day, I know. If I miss a week, my teacher knows. If I miss two weeks, my audience knows.” The consistent disciplines of our private lives inevitably shape our outward character and actions. As with our diet, it’s what you do every day that counts!

In this sermon Jesus criticises those who practice prayer as public performance. Real prayer happens behind closed doors, invisible communion between us and the Father. Closing the door removes any temptation to posturing in prayer, trying to enhance our reputation for spiritual maturity. It also shuts out distractions. “Who I am before God is who I am: nothing more, nothing less” (Francis of Assisi). That kind of naked honesty can be hard, and something in us resists it. Alone with God, we can’t hide our fragility behind any kind of religious façade or form of words, as Jesus says the hypocrites do. And something shifts: communion with the Father becomes real, conversation with Jesus is honest, the Holy Spirit’s stirrings are sensed and examined. It’s counter-intuitive in our noisy world so it takes regular practice, but Jesus says this is rewarded by God.

For most of us, closing the door to distractions feels nearly impossible. Especially in silence, our thoughts rush in to fill the space! It can be helpful to capture the “distractions” and turn them to prayer. The person or thing that comes unexpectedly to mind might be the Holy Spirit’s prompting. If it’s remembering that you need to buy milk, note it down then gently return to prayer! The Father sees what we do in secret, and he knows – he doesn’t expect us to be other than we are. Busy thoughts are not a sin! And they don’t need to be a barrier to prayer.

Prayer:

God, it’s a little bit daunting that I can hide from you absolutely nothing – you know me better than I know myself. And it’s also deeply reassuring. Before you I need no masks and no fancy words. So I speak to you now from my heart, and I allow space to experience you in response.