But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

  Matthew 6:6

We began this “Seeking God” Series by looking at the big picture in seeking God, namely that, a relationship with God is the goal of this life, it’s what we were created for, and this relationship is what we are all looking for whether we realize it or not. We then moved to five (5) benefits from seeking God, pardon, enjoying God’s goodness, life, joy, pleasures, provision, and of course, eternal life. We are going to conclude this series by looking at the practical side to seeking God, the “nuts and bolts” if you will. The last two (2) installments will deal with this practical side.

In today’s passage, Jesus reveals to us what should be a daily priority, spending time with Him. He tells us that private prayer, not seen by any other person, is where we will find the most rewarding, deepest, and most intimate time with God. Bible study, groups, corporate worship, and prayer groups are all an important part of our spiritual development but Jesus reminds us that time spend privately with Him is where we will find great reward. 

He begins by telling us to go into our “inner room.” Many have taking this to mean a closet or some interior room and it certainly could be. But the idea of an “inner room” is the idea of a secluded place for us to meet with our Savior. Jesus even had this discipline built into His earthly life. Consider the following:

But the news about Him (Jesus) was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.

Luke 5:15-16

Slipping away to the wilderness is the equivalent to going into our inner room. So, the point is not that we have to be in a closet, Jesus wasn’t. Our “inner room” may very well be outside in a quiet place where we can spend time with our Savior. The main thing is that we have a place where we can go to spend time with God as we seek Him with all of our heart. 

Next, Jesus says, “close the door.” If we are going into an inner room, this can literally mean “close the door.” But “closing the door” can represent getting away from all distractions. Practically speaking, when we go to our quiet place to spend time with God, we should not take any devices with us that would cause a distraction. The idea of going into an inner room and closing the door is getting away from this very busy and loud world. So, we should have a place to go where we can escape all of the distractions and demands of this world.

There is reward for doing this. I personally believe that the best reward we can receive is the presence of God. But Jesus says that when we privately pray, away from all distractions, God sees what we do in private and that He will reward us. Why would we ever neglect so great a promise? Why would we ever attempt to live this life and face all of its challenges apart from the presence of God and the heavenly resources available to us as believers? 

Make a plan on how you will begin a quiet time with God today. Here are some suggestions:

1. Find a place to go
2. Determine what time each day you will spend with God
3. Take an open Bible and make a daily study plan 
4. Spend time praying, remembering to pray scripture over your life
5. Finally, remember that praying is talking to God and studying the Bible is listening