Along with Christ’s example, we also have his instruction; perhaps no clearer than that found in Matthew 6:6. “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.” Here is a clear directive for every Christian to seek the Lord in private prayer.

Private Prayer is the life source for every true believer. And yet, while we would acknowledge the truth that praying is to the Christian as breathing is to any living creature, we would also admit along with Martin Luther that prayer is “the hardest work of all…a labor above all labors, since he who prays must wage a mighty warfare against the doubt and murmuring excited by the faintheartedness and unworthiness we feel within us.”^[1] Christians of all stripes have felt the weight of Luther’s words when it comes to private praying, seeking to approach the Throne of Grace in committed communion with God only to find your heart and mind either wandering away by the cares of the day or weighed down by conscience. The duty of prayer is tough.

We have the example of our Lord throughout the gospels where on many occasions, “rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed” (Mark 1:35). He was fond of praying alone. Consider how Matthew emphasizes Christ’s aloneness in one verse, “He sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone” (Matthew 14:23).

His example is of course a good reminder that in his earthly ministry he was so dependent upon his Father and sought Him constantly in prayer that upon further reflection we should ask ourselves: are we so self-sufficient that we need not seek our Father in private prayer like Christ? No, the example we see in Jesus ought to convict us of any lack of duty or zeal. As Mark Jones comments on Jesus’ prayer life, “Christ does not expect his people to carry out directives that he was not prepared himself to observe. This includes a vigorous prayer life in dependence upon God.”^[2]

But along with Christ’s example, we also have his instruction; perhaps no clearer than that found in Matthew 6:6. “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.” Here is a clear directive for every Christian to seek the Lord in private prayer.

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