The Hidden Life
July 23
The Hidden Life
"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."
— Matthew 6:6
Today's Story
Thomas à Kempis, the fifteenth-century monk whose Imitation of Christ has been read continuously for six centuries, wrote: 'Beloved, what doth it profit thee to enter into deep discussion concerning the Holy Trinity, if thou lack humility?' And: 'Better of a surety is a lowly peasant who serveth God, than a proud philosopher who watcheth the stars and neglecteth the knowledge of himself.' His entire project was the recovery of the hidden, interior life — the secret room of prayer where God alone is the audience. He suspected that much of public religious activity was performance. The secret room was the antidote.
Reflection
Jesus' instruction about secret prayer in Matthew 6:6 stands between warnings about performing generosity (verses 1-4) and performing fasting (verses 16-18) for public approval. The pattern is consistent: the religious life performed for human audiences has already received its reward. The religious life lived for an audience of One — seen only by the Father — receives the Father's reward. The 'secret room' is not a literal requirement for only praying alone; it is a description of prayer's essential character: addressed to God, not to observers. The hidden prayer life is what sustains the visible Christian life. What you are in secret is what you actually are. What do you do when no one is watching?
Today's Prayer
Father, I come to the secret room — away from audience and performance. Just You and me. Receive this prayer that no one else will see. Let the hidden life be my real life. Amen.
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