Devotion 1: The Joy of the Secret Place
Josh Pool
Matthew 6:6
Note: Before reading this devotional, here’s a suggestion: Read Psalm 16 slowly—maybe even more than once. Ask God to show you himself as you read!
In Matthew 6:5-6, Jesus says, 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 others. 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. Here is the contrast between true and false prayer. Jesus combats false prayer—a ‘prayer’ that is made for the sake of others hearing you, seeing you, being impressed by you. Is it possible for my motive in prayer to be that I am highly esteemed by others? Certainly so! But Jesus calls it what it is: hypocrisy.
Think about what this says about the waywardness of the human heart. Even as we partake in the very act that should incite our humility before a holy God, pride finds its way in. Commenting on this, Martyn Lloyd-Jones[1] once said, ‘Sin…is something which follows us all the way, even into the very presence of God.’[2] Our sin nature will seek a way to intrude upon the holiest of moments—prayer!
In contrast, Jesus invites the disciples into the secret places with God. Rather than pray with sinful motives of others’ estimations of you, go to the One whose secret estimate means more. Go to God in the secret places, where no one can be and no one else will know.
Often the word secret can have a negative feel to it, right? What secrets are you keeping? What you do in secret will find you out. Etc, etc. But here, the connotation is gloriously positive. Not to vainly try to keep secrets from God, but to be in secret with God. This can be a room in your house, your bed, a walk in the neighborhood, your office—anywhere you can truly get alone with God. Remember the context: it is the place where, in contrast to the street corners, you will pray without eyes on you, without human ears listening to you. [By the way, this doesn’t mean we cannot ever meet with God when others are around. Currently being in a life stage where my 5 kids seem to be omnipresent, I have to remind myself that there are just going to be those days when kids may be nearby. And that’s okay! And yet, we should seek seclusion when we can find it!]
Ultimately, this secret place is about God himself being the focus, that place where our Father has our full attention. The secret place is about God being both the motive and the reward of our time in prayer.
My aim today is that we find the joy of being alone with God. David writes in Psalm 16.11, You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. What is this path of life David refers to? The path of knowing God, the path of being in his presence! At risk of oversimplifying it, David seems to be able to identify the ultimate reason for his life: to know God, to deeply commune with him, to find God’s presence irresistibly delightful.
Other psalms follow suit. Two examples among dozens more:
Psalm 26:8:
O LORD, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.
Psalm 27:4, 8:
One thing have I asked of the LORD, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple…You have said, Seek my face. My heart says to you, Your face, LORD, do I seek!
With Christ as our high priest, we have the privilege of entering God’s presence through prayer. And it begins with our own private, secret prayer. But how? For me, true joy in God is often lacking, even fleeting at times. How can we grow in our joy of God in the secret place? A few thoughts:
An unhurried heart in a discrete place
Joy in God is something that God will provide. But if you’re looking for practical tip #1 for how we participate in it, it’s this: don’t rush it. Just like love for my wife can’t be cooked in a microwave, love for God does not come when we hurry. Your busyness isn’t going anywhere. So you must fight it. You must find ways to slow down. A daily morning rhythm is what helps me most. Before the day gets away from me. Before the phone calls come in. Before the to-do list grows, sit down—kneel before!—your Maker in heaven. And do it somewhere where no one else will interfere.
A steady diet of God’s Word
Extraordinary joy in God will come in his ordinary means of grace. God has given us his inspired Word. The presence of God often rides upon the chariot of his Word. God will often meet us powerfully as we pursue him in this Word. But this pursuit must have an appropriate end…
A heart-level contemplation
Refuse to settle for increasing knowledge without increasing love. It is much easier and much more convenient for the flesh to grow in our knowledge of God in his Word while leaving our hearts unaffected. But remember: doctrine is the servant of doxology. We learn so that we might worship. So when you read his Word, be seeking how to cherish its truths in your heart, not only know them in your mind.
A prayer of adoration
Finally, turn this contemplation into prayers of praise and adoration. Don’t leave off that point of this secret place—prayer!
Here are a few prayer points for us as we go on with our day. Pray that:
God will give you a hunger for and delight in his presence. Ask God to make Ps 16.11 true in your heart.
God will use his Word to make him the joy of your life.
God will work in our church as a whole to make us a people that behold his glory in the secret place.
Footnotes
[1] Lloyd-Jones was a 20th century Congregationalist pastor in London, England. Iain Murray’s biographies of him are riveting. And Media Gratiae’s documentary Logic On Fire is worth a couple hours of your time!
[2] Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, vol. 2, chap. 2, ‘How to Pray.’