Until now, we have learned and studied examples of prayers of praise, confession, petition, intercession, and Kingdom advancement. We could call these the What’s of prayer. But for these final three days, let’s look together at what God’s word says about the Who, Where, and When of praying.
Let’s begin by reading Matthew 6:1-6, particularly focusing on the last two verses. Christ is instructing us to avoid the temptation to impress others with our prayers. While not all of us struggle with praying loudly in synagogues or on street corners in particular, many of us do struggle with the synagogues of the 21st century – the social media street corners that affirm our righteousness in the language of “likes” and hearts.
Eesh.
I write humbly today as a guilty sister, having publicly used His name for my own glory.
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them…” (Matthew 6:1, emphasis added)
It’s all about the heart here, sisters. Whether it’s on Instagram or as a guest at your neighbor’s table, each time we call out His name publicly, we must carefully examine: am I doing this to be impressive, or am I doing this because He’s impressive?
And the answer to that question is between you and Him. In the quiet times.
Our Lord is calling us to quiet prayer so that we can give Him our undivided attention, free of any ulterior motives, free to hear Him and to speak humbly to Him.
But, it doesn’t end here. Private prayer should not be the only praying we do.
James 5:16 charges us to confess our sins to one another and to pray for one another.
Acts 2:42 shows us the fellowship of the believers in the early church devoting themselves to breaking bread and praying together.
And in Acts 20, we see Paul preparing to leave Ephesus, his goodbye flowing naturally from thanks, to warning, to quoting Christ’s own words, and finally into a time of prayer and embracing in Christian community.
Why?
Because the Christian life is personal, but it is not private.
God requires pure motives and contrite spirits when we go before Him. He also loves to see His people come together to come to Him – corporately seeking His face, lifting one another up in intercession, praising Him for His works.
Christ Himself invited His disciples to join Him as He talked to the Father (can you imagine???) in Luke 9:28, John 17, and of course in Gethsemane (Mark 14:32).
The simple “Who” of prayer is first you and Him, alone and unimpressive; and second, believers together before Him, corporately praising, confessing, petitioning, interceding, and asking that His Kingdome come and His will be done.
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29 thoughts on "private + corporate praying"
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This is something I too, am guilty of and something God has brought to my attention. There is such a fine line between trying to be helpful or useful, and then the grasping for recognition or trying to be “The One” in control. How do we realize we are doing this? Hopefully, God will keep nudging my heart to be the humble servant he needs.
Today’s devotional hit me right where I am. I am in the midst of praying about starting a new blog. And while it may not sound like something huge to dwell on, I have had previous experiences where blogging becomes an idol and full of selfish ambition. I believe God has put it on my heart to share my story, and to create a place where His daughters can be real and encouraged in their faith. But there is always that lingering in the back of my mind. Am I truly doing this for Him? Or am i doing it to gain recognition for myself? It is also difficult because my husband is not overly supportive of blogging in general. But we have talked about it, and if it is truly from God then he is 100% supportive. I just am continuing to pray that God would reveal His plan to me, along with any selfishness that may be hiding in my heart. I trust that He will reveal the answers in His timing.
Bless you sisters!
I think Carolynmimi wrapped it up for us! I have never read a post here that seemed like it was self-seeking or vain glorious, only truthful words to help one another learn from life experiences and to ultimately give God the glory!! As to Facebook or Instagram, I don’t know as I don’t post much. I do post items that leave no doubt that I am an active Christian, such as a poem or a beautiful picture quoting Scripture. I’m always happy to see a “like” as most of my former classmates and friends are not saved! I guess I could be guilty of not professing my faith enough…
“praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:47 NIV
I also think it’s simply human nature to want someone to “like” or appreciate the sometimes personal or painful things we share. To know we might have been helpful or know that someone knows we care enough to reach out, that they’re not alone or that their prayer request is acknowledged- I don’t think that’s for our glory. It’s being a kind , hopefully helpful Christian showing love and concern toward one another…
I’ve never seen or been a part of such a God inspired community ever before! This is a group of women reading, studying,
LIVING His word daily. Loving the Lord first and foremost, and spreading His word is what it’s all about! It is a privilege and I’m thankful to all my sisters for sharing their experiences and thoughts. You’ve been a tremendous help in my walk with the Lord! You’ve taught me a lot.
Blessings to each of you today! :)
Another layer of "self" is being exposed this morning. Thank you Raechel for putting it out there!
My heart's cry is that God can somehow use the words I write to bless another individual. I want my life to count for SOMETHING. I have fought so hard to live this life so that it could mean something, great or small, for the Kingdom. All the pain, adversity and struggle…please Lord, let it not be all for vanity!
Yet, vanity it is, when I come back and forth looking to be approved with a "like", an "amen" or some other kind of man-made score that makes me seem "okay," to others. Yes, it feels good to be a blessing to someone, or to make someone's day better. But, I have to continually keep my pride in check.
Am I doing ____ to make myself shine? Or do I want to point people to the TRUE LIGHT of the world – Jesus?
Where is that fine line? And how close am I to going over it?
Lots to chew on this morning sisters. God bless you all!
Thanks for the hard truth today. It is so hard to be a person and live with other people and not attempt to make ourselves look good. I wrote about Proverbs 3:5-6 yesterday on my blog and how being whole hearted is so, so difficult. Our image is another place where being completely honest is nearly impossible. Pure motives are what I am looking for. The Audience of One!
The internet is such an interesting place as far as honesty. I think more people try to be who they are not, but it also allows some people to lose the facade and be real.
I am so thankful for today's devo…Much Grace Ladies
I am guilty! Not news to God, but takes me right back to confession prayer, which shouldn't surprise me. Praise, Confession, Petition, Kingdom Extension…everyday. I just shared Ibukun's comments from yesterday with my Facebook friends and asked them to pray. The question, I asked myself before God is this: what was my motive ? After careful examination in light of the scripture today, the greater motive was pure, but there was a smudge or two of Carolyn in the background, which I acknowledged before the Throne.
I have to go to the Acts 2 passage and exhort all of us who visit this site to dwell there for just a moment:
"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42, 46, 47 NIV)"
We come here to learn, to fellowship, to commune with each other and with our Lord, we come to pray and to do so in a public forum, opening of ourselves before God and this community. We do this regularly, some daily, some several times a day. "Together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God, and enjoying the favor of the people." ( wish I could underline that).
Why do we do it? So, that fellow believers are encourage, so we each are blessed, and the Kingdom is extended, "The
Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. "
Yes, we need to examine our motives and confess our sins, but SISTERS, Don't let Satan steal the joy of the sharing our prayers.
As Raechel put it:
"Because the Christian life is personal, but it is not private."
Be blessed today, SRT Sisters!
I don't think I can say enough how much I love this SRT community.
How great is it that today's message struck on the community we have in believers? Praying for all of you today. I wish there were someway we could all pray together.
Pray that each of us would feel convicted if there is more of us and less of God happening in our lives, but also that we would know the freedom we have in Him.
Why couldn't we all pray together? Couldn't we find two or three common times in the day to all sit down, turn everything else off, and just pray together. I know we are all over the world in different time zones – which is so cool – but if we chose two or three times in the same 24 hour span, wouldn't we hit on a time that everyone could be available at least once to pray together? Raechel & SRT leaders/writers – could this work? It could be a monthly thing – SRT Community Prayer or something like that. Either to pray on a specific need/praise/petition/etc or just open prayer? Could we all log on to SRT at the same time to see a written prayer or scripture verse, and then we all pray it together in that moment. How powerful would that be? I would love to do that, but have no idea how to really make it happen.
Guilty as charged.
Wow! What a Godly smack in the face this devotional was this morning! I have never even thought about my motives when I post a scripture or anything to facebook or twitter, but now I will certainly think twice, and maybe once more after that!
It's YOUR glory, Lord Jesus, not mine. Keep me humble and seeking your face at all times throughout the day. And Holy Spirit, convict me of anything you DON'T want me to post, or anything that NEEDS to be put on any social media site, in Jesus' name, amen.
I definitely struggle with this, mostly because I know that, at times, I am still trying to "earn" my way back to God, when that's not how God works at all. I want to do amazing things for God, but I have to step back sometimes and remind myself that sometimes doing amazing things for God involves even the smallest, most un-noticeable acts.
I have a lot of feelings about today's devotion, but mostly conviction. But that's a good thing.
Confessing I’m guilty of this as well. Thanks, Raechel, for the thought provoking devo. Thanks, Stephanie, for your post…great questions to ask one’s self. Thanks to all you sisters for sharing. Prayers for us all.
I echo Ibukun's and Amy Kelly's post this morning and wouldn't even post if Raechel had left off James 5:16, "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other that you may be healed…" :)
I think we do genuinely hope that we have helped someone by something that we have said but the flesh in us sure does enjoy those little accolades and pats-on-the-back. God help me!
If I get a chance to read in the afternoons, I will go through and purposely "like" each post so no one will feel left out. Isn't that silly?! That's how much we have become dependent upon those little buttons!
Less of me, more of THEE!!
U r not alone. Oh confession is good for the soul!
I love going back through all of this and bringing back up things that I have let go astray. I literally daily pray that my pride dies and to be humble. I used to post things every day on my social sites, without thinking about why I am posting them. It did help others, but I had to check my motives. I am now more selective about what I post and when I do it is because I feel it in my spirit. I no longer care if someone likes it or not. The funny thing is usually the person it is meant to help is not the one who likes it and I usually don't find out how much it helped them until later. I give God the glory.
Today's devotion, specifically James 5:16, made me realize something that was missing in my life. When I was in undergrad I had an Accountability Group. It was 5 of us from various backgrounds and ages. We met once a month to hold each other accountable for our actions and our walk with God. We were able to confess to each other without judgement and pray for one another. There are some things that I am struggling with and I realize that I need that accountability once again.
wowza! another doozy of a devo today.. thank you sisters for sharing so honestly. i'm guilty too.
I, too, am convicted this morning. I often post something—genuinely from the heart as it may be– and negate the genuineness of my action by looking back to see how many people "liked" it or responded to it.
Ibukun, thanks for pointing out the Message's translation. That really brings it home!
I must say that I am torn on this one. And because I’m torn I probably have been guilty.
I don’t think I’ve ever prayed to be better, at least not intentionally. When I lead and I’m often called to do so much is factored in. The Holy spirit first and then my training. The occassion, how long have I been given, sometimes even the audience..
I do admit that there are days that I pull out the ole laptop and visit the SRT site, the laptop allows me to see the likes/dislikes on your daily posting whereas my smartphone does not. I tell myself that I go back and check if I’ve had any replies to see if I have been effective, if possible I might have empowered or inspired in Jesus name.
The only time that I m free from thinking or have no restraints is when it is jesus and me.
I relish those times.
As always SRT, Racheal, you have given me much to consider, much to look inward on. Thank you.
I will be reading the other posts today.
Ladies, let’s be thristy as well as thankful on this Thursday.
I am the same way. I am trying to see what god is saying to me on this today, because I really don't feel I pray to look better. If someone sends me a prayer request, I reply by praying and writing it out to them. it's not because I want to look god. it's because if I don't do that, I will not do it right away and then not do it at all. it's my way of ensuring I pray for the request normally. but there must be some area I am doing this, because we all do it and I know I am selfish, so I am still looking at this and will ponder it.
This devotion can't be more true for me, and my heart.
Posting my Bible study on instagram, facebook, or wherever else… where are my motives? Are they to gain reward from men? Or is it to truly get the Word out to my brothers and sisters?
Where is my heart? Where are my motives?
Oh Lord, examine me. Wash my eyes clean from false worship. Allow my heart and mind and soul to truly only desire reward from You, and You alone Christ. Nothing on this earth compares to Your glory… I'm sorry for using Your Holy, sacred, precious name, for MY glory.
Praise God this morning! Haven’t slept much last nite. Sending kingdom prayers out to West, Tx
This is in my back yard. The people, the town… ladies please pray for these dear people…
Joining in prayer. Terrible tragedy!
Praying also
The news has been so distressing this week. We desperately need the Kingdom come. Praying for Boston, West, people affected by the wild weather patterns/storms & flooding, protection of our leaders against disturbed people sending poison through the mail and the mail carriers who handled it, guidance to our representatives who need to make decisions regarding our public safety. I've felt overwhelmed at times this week by all the bad that seems to be going on in our country – on top of all of our private concerns and struggles we each carry. Praying for the strength of us all to take our personal faith out into the public to be His Kingdom, not for our own gain. We can make a difference.
Today’s devotional put a knife through my fleshy heart. Oh heaven knows I’m guilty of wanting to look good when I pray on social media. Concerned more about what people think than what God thinks. Oh dear, the Message translation of Matthew 6:1 is absolutely wonderful. It says ” “Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding.”
I will be meditating on this throughout today. It is very sobering and convicting. God help me.
And then this did things to my insides too “Because the Christian life is personal but it is not private”
Blessings on all you sweet women today. My prayers are for YOU.
So well put. The Message translation you shared was extremely convicting and I also caught my breath reading the line in the blog today about personal vs. private. Thank you Ibukun. I hope you had a wonderful day.
I had a great day, Lau! Hope your day was awesome too