Praying in private!

Luke 9: 18-22

18 Once when Jesus was praying by himself, and his disciples were nearby, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 They answered, “John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others that one of the prophets of long ago has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” 21 But he forcefully commanded them not to tell this to anyone, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Food for thought!

Do you ever do it? I mean PRIVATE prayer? Do you ever pray alone? Do you know how to pray alone, without the help of anyone or anything? And when you do pray alone, what do you pray? What are your prayers about? In today's gospel, Jesus replies to all these questions.

Today's gospel says that Jesus was praying by himself. It means that Jesus prayed by himself, that is, in private ! And as I always say, whatever Jesus did, whatever Jesus said, and whatever Jesus was, was intended to teach us. All was done and said because of us. Jesus prayed by himself to teach us to pray by ourselves.

And he prayed alone when his disciples were just by him! This time Jesus did not go to the hills to pray. It  means that we can pray both in the public and in the private; both in solitude and in the public. Both in the church and in the home. Yes, you too can pray even when you are on the Main Street, when you are in the Boardroom or classroom, or in the shop or in the office, or in the public transport or in the sitting room. That Jesus prayed is unquestionable. Look at these instances: Luke 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:28 - 29; 11:1; 22:41; 23:34 , 46.

Even when done in public, prayer is a personal affair. Why? Because there are things that need to be said in prayer that do not need to be said within earshot of others, including of the devil. When we pray in private, we can have liberty to declare our hearts to the Lord. We can pray about personal, private matters that would embarrass us if others heard. We can call out the names of people that burden us in our private time of prayer. We can be honest with the Lord. We can humble ourselves before Him. We can be who we really are, for in private prayer there is no one to impress. It is our time with God! Do you keep a regular time of private prayer with the Lord?

This said, we must note that there is nothing wrong with praying as a group. Notice that in Matthew 6:9 Jesus tells us to say “Our Father.” This implies corporate prayer. Jesus himself often went to the Synagogue to pray. In private prayer, we have time to say "My Father."

This literally means that God is everywhere, including within us. It means that in prayer we have direct access to this God who is so near us that He is within us. WE have within us a power that is greater than anything that we shall ever contact in the outer world, a power that can overcome every obstacle in our life and set us safe, satisfied and at peace, even in the midst of noise.

It means that in prayer we tap into this Power called God; in prayer we enter the place of the divine; we enter the “Holy of Holies” in Heaven, being still on earth. We do not have to have some human priest to stand in for us, but through Jesus Christ, the only priest, we have direct access to the very throne of our Father in heaven. We have the privilege, during our seasons of private prayer, to step out of this world for a time and to enter His presence to commune with Him. That is why private prayer is so precious and so powerful. It literally takes us into the presence of God and it brings God into our presence. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. (James 4:8)