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[b]The Absolute Necessity of Secret Prayer[/b]
[i]by John R. Mott[/i]
The Importance of Secret Prayer
Secret prayer is essential as a preparation for public prayer. The power of all social or public prayer lies in the hidden springs of secret prayer. Without a very real secret prayer-life there is a danger of us in our public praying of becoming more conscious of the presence of men than of God.
Its importance is also seen in the fact that each man has his own individual needs, temptations, besetting sins, soul struggles, and longings which he can lay before God with far greater freedom in secret than in the presence of others. More importantly, to become Christ like, which should be the ambition of every true Christian; we must practice the presence of God
To live the abiding life which Christ has commanded, the secret prayer life is implied. It is impossible to be consciously abiding in Christ without real and frequent secret communion. In a word, secret prayer is prayer at its best. It is prayer most free from all insincerity. It is the true gauge of our prayer-life; for it is the standard by which God judges it.
The Hindrances to Secret Prayer
Those things which spoil our secret communion with God need only be mentioned in order to be recognized. Idleness and laziness is a decided hindrance to secret prayer. Real prayer is the most intense act a man performs. More important than the most earnest thinking upon a problem, more important than a personal interview to influence an individual, more important than addressing and swaying an audiencefar more important than these and all other forms of activity is that of coming into vital communion with the great God of the universe and wielding the forces of the prayer-kingdom. Surely this demands our best. David was able to say, I give myself unto prayer. Let us not be satisfied with bringing to this supremely important work only a part of our being.
Haste is equally an enemy to secret prayer. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, not whose mind simply now and then turns to Thee. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, not they that glance at Him and run away. This passage is even better rendered: They that wait upon the Lord shall change their strength, that is, they that spend enough time in actual communion with God to become really conscious of their absolute dependence on Him, shall exchange the energy of the flesh for the power of God. It takes time to accomplish this transfer.
In many instances formality is a hindrance to prayer. Have we not often found ourselves upon our knees, nominally and religiously in the act of prayer, yet not conscious of the words we are uttering; worse than this, not conscious of what our words involve; and still worse, not conscious of Him to Whom we are addressing our words? This is formality, a hindrance which multiplies iniquity and cuts the nerve of all prayer. Has God ever been known to hear a prayer from a heart in which any form of iniquity was fostered or tolerated? It is the supplication of a righteous man which avails much in its working.
The Place for Secret Prayer
Moslems tell us that one prayer offered in Mecca is worth 80,000 prayers offered anywhere else. The followers of some other religions entertain similar beliefs. A few months ago, as we traveled along the base of Mount Gerizim, the words of Christ in this connection were brought vividly to memory: Believe me, the hour will come, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father
But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth---wherever they may be. Yet Christ clearly taught that there is a place for prayer to which He attaches special importance. Where is that place? It is the secret place. But when you pray, enter into your inner chamber, and having shut the door, pray to your Father which is in secret, and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you. In this short passage, by a threefold reiteration, He strongly emphasizes the importance of the secret place.
Is there not a need of emphasizing the advantage and need of solitude in this age of so many organizations and social movements? There is no danger today that men will spend too much time alone with God. When a man says that he obtains more help from public prayer than from secret prayer, is he not in spiritual peril? There is danger that he is depending more upon the presence and faith of others than upon a personal and vital contact and communion with his God.
The Time for Secret Prayer
Each person should have a regularly scheduled time for private prayer. We shall remember that Daniel had three such seasons. One reference would lead us to infer that David, during a part of his life had at least seven regular seasons for prayer each day. Each one must decide for himself the number and the distribution of the times we will give to these spiritual exercises. It would seem that we all might agree upon the importance of having a regular prayer season three times a day. Surely the most appropriate way to begin the day is with God; it is the only fitting way to close the day; and what is more needful or helpful than to slow down the machinery at mid-day that we may hold close communion with God? But we would plead not only for regular, but also for special seasons for secret prayer.
Such was the custom of Christ. We all remember His special and prolonged prayer before the choosing of the twelve; how He went apart for special prayer at the time of great temptation, when the people wished to make Him king; and how He nerved Himself for the final crisis of His life. The time we give to special prayer will be determined by the special emergencies, temptations, difficulties, and opportunities which confront us in our daily experience. In speaking of special seasons for secret prayer, the importance of spontaneous prayer cannot be too strongly urged. This means the looking up to God many, many times in the day, no matter where we are, whether alone or in a crowd. He who has not learned what spontaneous prayer means has not learned the principal secret of overcoming temptation or of living the life most pleasing to God.
One of the most helpful features in several conventions recently attended has been the holding of a quiet day by the delegates assembled together. Why not carry out this same idea personally in secret? One of the most Christ-like young men I have ever met in the colleges had a habit of spending almost an entire day at the beginning of each month in communion with God. What time in the day should we devote especially to secret prayer? It would seem that Robert Murray McCheyne has answered this question in the best way possible: I ought to spend the best hours of the day in communion with God. It is my noblest and most fruitful employment and is not, therefore, to be thrust into any corner.
It is possible for a Christian to accomplish more for the Kingdom of Christ through faithful secret prayer than by the most active public life without it. What mighty triumphs the Church would witness if individual Christians everywhere would recognize the possibilities of their priesthood unto God, and humbly fulfill their responsibilities. How much time shall we devote to secret prayer?
Time is the most expensive coin which we can pay, and yet God requires us to use this kind of coin. Without a doubt it takes time to become spiritual. It will pay us to cut down anywhere else rather than in the time we devote to prayer. Did you ever know of a man who regretted spending too much time alone with God? At the close of his wonderfully spiritual life, Henry Martyn mourned that he had devoted too much time to public works and too little to private communion with God. It is indeed true that He that saves his time from prayer shall lose it. And he that loses his time for communion with God shall find it again in added blessing, and power, and fruitfulness.
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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
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