July 18
Verse of the Day for July 18
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.Matthew 6:6 KJV
The Key of Devotion · Day 18 of 31
Reflection · 3 min read
Prayer When the Answer Is No
Jesus says something unsettling about the people who prayed on street corners. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. They wanted to be seen, and they were seen. Their prayer got exactly what it was aiming at.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Sometimes a yes is the poorest answer there is. To be admired by people for an afternoon and miss the Father altogether is a yes nobody should want.
The alternative is the closet, the small inner room, when thou hast shut thy door. There you pray to thy Father which is in secret. Not a judge, not a machine, a Father. And Jesus warns against vain repetitions, praying as if many words could force an answer out of heaven.
That room is where a no can be heard without despair. A no from a machine would mean it was broken. A no from a Father who seeth in secret means he has seen something we have not. It still hurts, and Jesus does not ask us to pretend otherwise. But it is spoken by someone who loves us and is still in the room.
If you have been asking for months and the answer seems to be no, take it somewhere quiet, a bedroom with the door closed, the bathroom if that is all you have. Say it was hard. Then stay a while with the Father who saw.
A no from a machine means it is broken.A no from a Father means he saw something.
You cannot talk God into an answer by saying more.
The Father who says no is still in the room with you.
Carry this today
Can you tell your Father honestly how the no feels, without trying to change his mind with more words?
Pray
Read Matthew 6:5–7
5And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Keep praying
Reflection by Collins Asein, from the daily devotionals in the PrayerKey app. Bible text: King James Version.