Re:Verse passage – Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18 (day seven)
But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father. Vs 6
Go pray. There is intentionality in the “Go.” Jesus both taught and demonstrated the importance going off to pray. By going and getting away, it removes the temptation of it becoming a showcase of our righteousness, but it also removes the distractions that might interrupt our connection with the Father.
When you were a teenager, do you remember taking a phone call from a friend and going as far away as possible so others couldn’t hear? In today’s age, that is a little easier with cellular phones, but some of y’all reading this had to get really creative with those calls. You didn’t want to showcase your call for the whole house to hear, nor did you want anyone interrupting that call. When was the last time you made that type of effort to connect with the Father in prayer? How often are there distractions around us that interrupt our time with Him? If Jesus, who is One with the Father, made intentional effort to connect with Him, how much more effort should we be putting forth?
The correlation between conversations on old-style landlines and our conversations with God is brilliant! I recall snaking one of those long coiled cords under a door in order to talk to friends out of earshot of two pesky younger brothers. And warning them not to pick up one of the extensions to listen in. I wanted private, uninterrupted interaction with my friends. Thanks for this reminder to guard my interactions with God with equal fervor!
But you seem way too young to have experienced this!