OPENLY
But whenever 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.
Matthew
6:6
Some
renderings of this scripture read this way …will reward you openly. Openly. For me, my memory has recorded this verse
with the concluding word openly.
The word seems to serve as a guarantee that whether or not answers are
seen or known, the act of prayer itself is something God sees and hears. Prayer is the marvelous way to be in steady
relationship and intimacy with God.
Whatever the answers are, they will come along in God’s good way and
time. They will be open answers, however, they may not
come in human ways.
Openly
does not necessary mean answers will be seen in this lifetime. Some answers may be openly known in eternal
life. Impatient and wanting creatures as
we can be, this truth is not comforting.
But it is God’s best answer. God
is all wise, all knowing, and all goodness.
He loves each person and all of us the same. But since our lives—our hearts—are
unique and questions/desires different in our prayer lives, God guides His
steady stream of individual answers in ways that He knows is best for each of
us.
Similarly,
as we intercede for others in prayer, God may give us the grace to know
outcomes in the lives of others. He may
also withhold revelation to a time and place when other factors are in place
for an answered prayer to be openly known.
Moreover, God may never tell us the answer to prayers we pray for
someone else. Perhaps this may be God’s
way of keeping saints humble. God abhors
pride. He favors humility. Sometimes not knowing how far-reaching our
prayers are, keeps
us dependent on God—not only for answers but for sweet fellowship and intimacy
with Him.
Rewards
may come in the form of visible answers.
Or, they may not. Rewards may
take the form of peace within—no matter what is happening on the outside. Whatever form reward takes, God knows best what
the answers are. As we pray for
ourselves and as we intercede for others in prayer, it is comforting and
fortifying to know that God who sees everything will reward us openly—in this
life or in the glorious life to come.
Father, by Thy Spirit, help us to draw close to You in
prayer, and trust You for
answers seen and unseen.
Thank you for the fine reward inherent in the act of prayer—intimacy
with You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Chris
Ann Waters