Formation in The Quiet Place
What would happen if, for just a few minutes, we set aside all of our reservations, all of our excuses, all of our hesitancies, and what if we got curious?
What if we simply asked the question, “Jesus, would you teach us to pray?”
What might we learn if we choose to sit at the feet of the Savior of the World? Perhaps each of us—whether agnostic, atheist, or apprentice to Jesus—could finish this post changed from the inside-out.
Are you willing to give him a chance?
The people of antiquity, the people who lived during the life of Jesus, they got curious. And they asked the question, “Jesus, would teach us to pray?”
And here’s how Jesus responded…
Matthew 6, beginning in verse 5:
“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans (people who worship secular gods), for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed or blessed or set apart be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one’
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:5-15, NIV).
Now, perhaps you’ve heard this before. Maybe this sounds vaguely familiar. And if so, that’s because this is what’s known as the, “Lord’s Prayer.” And in the Lord’s prayer, Jesus instructs us and shows us how to pray.
Furthermore, He specifically instructs us and shows us how to pray alone.
Right?
See, so often we overcomplicate Scripture. What is Jesus instructing us to do?
“Go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (v6-7).
Now, don’t mishear me on this. Jesus isn’t saying it’s not okay to pray with others. We should pray together as a church, as a community, as a family, etc. There’s plenty of Scripture backing up and modeling communal prayer. I’m not attempting to argue against that.
But what Jesus is saying here is that it’s also important to prioritize your personal relationship with Him. To commune and converse with God so that—as you spend time with Him—you become like him and are able to reflect him in your relationship with others.
We see Jesus model this all throughout Scripture. Mark 1:35 is just one example where it says, “And in the morning, a great while before dawn, he (Jesus) rose and went out to the èremos, to a lonely place, and there he prayed.”
Jesus models for us a life of faith that holds great space and places great value on developing a robust interior life. That out of the deep well of relationship cultivated with God comes a vibrant, fruitful life of service for God.
This is the life of an apprentice to Jesus. It’s not fame, fortune, or wellbeing. It’s suffering love. Devotion in difficulty, security in struggle, love in loss.
Prayer is the pathway to becoming the type of people that we long to be. The people whom we look up to most—people of patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, peace, hope, and love.
These attributes and more are cultivated in the quiet place. In the èremos. In communion with God, our Father.
So, this week, take some time to enter that quiet place. To be with God.
Get curious, and I think you’ll be surprised by not just what—but who—you find.
Be encouraged.
