Sermon Part 2A: "Praying In Secret With God Moves You From, A Man or Woman of God, To The Man or Woman of God!"
Foundational Scripture: Amplified Version of Psalm 91:1. It reads:
"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no Foe can withstand]."
Last Sunday, we examined the first of three keys to God rewarding you openly, which is, giving to the poor in secret. (See Sept. 25, 2022 Sermon) In Parts 2A and 2B, we will examine the second key, which is praying with God in secret. (Matt. 6: 5-15)
I want to start today’s Lesson by advancing to you a mighty truth we have in God in Christ Jesus. That is, a life of prayer in secret with God, moves the born-again Christian from, "A Man or Woman of God," to "The Man or Woman of God." Just as God expects us to move from being “placed” to “dwellers” in the secret place of the Most High God, God wants us to move from being. “A Man or Woman of God, to “The Man or Woman of God.
In the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, and throughout the Old Testament, Moses is regarded as, "The Man of God." (Deut. 33:1; Josh. 14:6; Ezra 3:2; Ps. 90:1-17 [See caption heading, it reads: “A Prayer of Moses the man of God.”]; 1 Chron. 23:14; 2 Chron. 30:16).
I believe what made Moses so special, and the apple of God's eye, was his all-consuming desire to get to know God and dwell in the “secret place” with God in prayer, and his love for the children of Israel. From the day Moses saw the burning bush that could not be extinguished on the holy mountain of God at Horeb, until the day he breathed his last breath after viewing the promised-land God covenanted to give to Abraham and his seed atop mount Nebo, Moses had an insatiable desire to dwell in the secret place with God in prayer. (Ex.3:1-4 & Deut. 34:1-5)
Oh yes, God and Moses had a very deep and abiding love connection, as they both desired for the children of Israel to be delivered from the bondage and afflictions of Egypt, and brought into the promised land of Canaan—a good and large land, flowing with milk and honey. (Ex. 3:7-8 & Heb. 11:24-27)
God spoke unto Moses, “face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” "Umm as a “Friend." As friends, God and Moses had “mouth to mouth conversations. (Ex.33:7 & Num.12:6-8) In the Hebrew language the word friend means, “constant companion.” Child of God, let me tell you, it is one thing to have God as your constant companion. But, it is altogether another thing to be called the constant companion of God!
The relationship between God and Moses became so close, that when God spoke, Moses spoke, and when Moses spoke, God spoke. When God gave the law to Moses, it became Moses’ law—known throughout the Bible as, “The Law of Moses”—because Moses talked with God in the secret place of the Most High God!
At Exodus 34:28, it says Moses was with God for 40-days and nights. Umm, what were they conversing about? The answer is God’s Agenda! God was sharing with Moses the “Word” of God. God was conversing with Moses about the Law—talking about Jesus, who is the Law. (John 5:46) Jesus Christ is the only man whose feet walked on earth that kept all of the Law perfectly, having never sinned. (II Cor. 5:21 & I Peter 2:22) It was the Law given to Moses that served to strengthen sin and showed every man that no matter how hard he tried, he could not keep all of the Law. The Law served to prove that all men were sinners and in need of a Savior. (Ps. 19:7-14, Romans 3:23, & I Cor. 15:56)
Oh what a friendship Moses had with God. When you can offer advice and admonishment to God on how to handle matters, as Moses did, you really are tight with God. (See Ex 32:7-14, 30-35, 33:1-6, 12-17 & Numbers 12:1-16) Truly, Moses had it going on with God, as he interceded for the nation of Israel, as well as for his siblings, even as they all sought to do evil against God and Moses, in the sight of the Lord!
And, at the end of Moses' life, as one last mighty work of God, Moses stretched forth his hands and blessed the tribes of Israel—empowering the tribes with safety, security, health, and prosperity. (Deut. 33:1-29) Moses was so beloved of God that at his death, God Himself buried the remains of Moses privately and secretly in a valley in Moab, where no man will ever find it. (Deut. 34:5-7)
Now, let’s fast forward over to the New Testament. After the death, burial and resurrection, ascension, and seating of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the right hand of God—we all have been made to sit together in God in Christ Jesus, and joint heirs with Christ. (Eph. 2:1-6 & Rom. 8:17) It is very interesting to note, that the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy the following words, at II Timothy 3:16-17 it reads:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; That the man of God may be perfect thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Now that we are in God in Christ Jesus, the Word, (Jesus Christ) has been given to every born-again Christian for study and application so that we may be transformed from, “a Man or Woman of God,” into “The Man or Woman of God,” So that, “The Man or Woman of God” may be perfect and fully equipped to do every good work of God.
Isn’t that awesome? Jesus Christ sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the dead made it possible, for every Christian to be equipped with the Word of God. If you will—just like God equipped Moses with the Word of God. So that “The Man or Woman of God” can be the “Friend of God.” So that when God speaks, The Man or Woman of God speaks, and can do all of the mighty works of God. Even more miracles than Moses did, because as believers in Jesus Christ, we do the same works and greater works than Jesus Christ performed, if we believe in Him. (John 14:12)
God has respect for faith and not the stature, personality, nor comeliness of men. (Rom. 2:11) Anyone who will submit their lives completely to God, talk, and walk with God, can and will do all of the works of God!
This is what happens when a Man or Woman of God dwells in the secret place of prayer with God—they become "God's Man, or God’s Woman." He or she becomes fit to accomplish every task God has created and ordained for them to do, from the foundations of the world. (Eph. 2:10)
A secret prayer life with God is the key. This was Moses’ secret success, he had a successful prayer life. Again, Moses simply was with God, and God with Moses. (Ex.34:28)
Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God, and consummate secret converser with God, said “men ought always to pray and not faint.” (Luke 18:1) Jesus is saying everyone who believes in Him is invited, and welcome, to become the “Friend” of God! (John 14:6) Therefore, we should study to learn to pray. We should ask ourselves have we learned how to pray?
There are many facets of prayer we can study, but I want us to cover the basics of prayer in this Lesson—what is prayer, its purpose, importance, and goals.
As your teacher, you know I like to test your knowledge and challenge your thinking. So I will ask you first, what is prayer?
A common mistake Christians make about prayer is thinking that prayer is “talking to God.” This is not a wrong answer, as much as it is an incomplete answer. And, because it is incomplete, Christians often have ineffective communication with God, which hinders their walk with God, as well as receiving the manifestation of the promises of God. Please make note of this.
Prayer is simply talking "with" God our Father, and listening for, and adhering to, His voice.
Prayer is not just talking "to God.” Rather, it’s talking “with God.” Prayer is all about having continual and effective communication "with" God.
Moses, as the “Friend” of God, did not talk to God, Moses always “talked with God.” From Exodus Chapter 3, going forward and throughout Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (the author of the books Moses) records that he and God conversed with each other. So much so that they became, “One Voice” in speaking to the children of Israel. (Lev.1:1-2, Num. 1:1, & Deut. 1:1).
Jesus Christ desires for all who will come, and follow after Him, to be called His “Friends,” and become One Voice with Him too. Jesus just doesn’t want to be your friend, He wants you to become His Friend—His constant companion. (John 15:15) Jesus promised, that if we abide in Him and His Word abides in us, we shall ask whatever we will and it shall be done. (John 15:7) When we petition God in prayer, it should be just as if Jesus Christ Himself made the request!
What I’m driving at here is that prayer is, first and foremost, talking with God about His Word—this is where we have our primary prayer life with God. (Luke 4:4) This is how we live—we live by every Word of God. Every time you hear the Word of God preached, just like now, in the “secret place” of your heart, God is speaking to you. God is trying to have “prayer-time” with you! He wants to have His conversations with you in the Word!
Let me move on further and say that, prayer has little or nothing to do with "bodily posture." Many Christians pay far too much attention to their physical posture in prayer. When prayer is made, many folks mechanically and automatically feel it’s necessary to bow to their knees, close their eyes, clasp their hands together, form groups and hold hands with others, or lay on the ground. None of these things are required of prayer.
I remember, as a Pastor, I use to find myself engaging in physical rituals when I prayed too. For example, whenever I was invited to speak at another Church, before taking my seat on the platform, I would kneel down and pray. Retrospectively, I started asking myself, why am I doing this? I would ask myself, where is it written in the Bible that before you sit down in a seat on the platform, you must first bow down and pray?
The immediate answer I came up with was, I was following what I had seen every other minister do—just going along with Church tradition. I was just being religious, having a form of godliness.
You see, in the Church denomination I grew up in, whenever a member of the clergy was invited to the platform, they always knelt and prayed before taking their seat. So it was like an unspoken rule that every minister had to kneel and pray before they sat down in the chair.
But, when I examined my thoughts more closely as to why I was doing this, it was because I wanted to be accepted and approved of by the other clergy present, and congregation. You see, I thought people were watching me and would become offended if I just walked up on the platform, and took my seat. I wanted them to think of me as being honorable, and most importantly, “a holy man of God!” In fact, I was more concerned about the way I looked to them, than I was about the content of my prayer as I knelt down.
Honestly, I do not know if I really ever prayed anything of substance when I knelt! I was just going through the motions in prayer. But, the bottom line is, I was just showing off! I wonder how many times when we pray, whether we are just going through the motions, or are we praying with God from the depths of our hearts?
God through the Holy Ghost began talking to me about it and said, “What are your motives for doing what you do? When you pray, what is your motive for praying?
So guess what? I made up my mind years ago, that I would only kneel and pray when I take the platform, if led by the Holy Ghost to do so. I now strive to always examine the motives of my heart for everything I do with God: in giving offerings, prayer, fasting, praising, preaching, witnessing Christ on the streets—everything!
As Christians we are chock-full of rituals when we pray. When, for example, the preacher says let us pray, and immediately everybody bows their heads and closes their eyes. Why do we do this? I know that often times, it’s because as preachers, we tell our congregations to prepare for prayer, by saying “every head bowed and eye closed.”
I know that in prayer, as a sign of reverence and humility to God, we assume this physical posture. But, I want you to understand that the Bible does not require it of us. There is nothing wrong with doing these things, but we must be mindful not to make bodily movements a ritual in prayer, instead of something borne out of our hearts to do. We are the “Sons of God,” therefore, we are to be led by the Spirit of God, and not the traditions of men. (Rom. 8:14)
I can also remember a time when I was asked to say the Prayer of Comfort at a Home Going Celebration. When I began to pray, I asked everyone to raise and stretch forth their hands toward heaven, and give thanks unto God. Do you know what happened? Instead, everybody, including the clergy present, assumed the religious posture of bowing their heads, closing their eyes, kept their mouths’ shut, and sat and listened to me thank God. Can you image it? For about 3 to 5 minutes, I was the only one in the Church thanking God aloud.
The congregation did not know that this is exactly what God had commanded me to do for the Prayer of Comfort, and to tell them to do likewise. God wanted to do something special in their presence at the funeral, through the lifting up of holy hands in praise of Him. But because of their religious tradition of bowing their heads and closing eyes in silent prayer—in which, there is no such thing as silent prayer—they missed out on the miraculous!
Tell me something, why do you close your eyes when you pray? What do you see with your physical eyes when you close them? If you are praying from your heart, what difference does it make, if your eyes are open, or closed?
When do you ever close your eyes while having a conversation with another person? Why, then must your eyes be closed to talk with God? Again, I know this is learned behavior taught to us by our parents and Church folks. But it’s not a Bible requirement to do so.
Having your head bowed and eyes closed has nothing to do with the effectiveness of prayer. Prayer is made by faith; from the hidden parts of your heart (soul and spirit). It is the prayer of faith in Jesus Christ that saves and heals—not bowed heads and closed eyelids. (Eph. 2:8 & James 5:14-15) We are so full of religion. If, for example, a person leading prayer, has their eyes completely open-wide for the entire prayer, many Christians would not even consider that the person is praying.
Prayer is an A and B conversation, between you and God, in which you must always be open, honest, and yourself with God. (Ps. 51:6 John 4:23-24) For born-again Christians, prayer is an internal communication with God and not external—whether we are called on to pray in public or in private.
If you will, God sits on two thrones: His Majestic and all Powerful throne in the Third Heaven, and through Jesus Christ, God our Father sits on the throne of the deepest part of our regenerated spirits. (Ps. 11:4, Is. 6:1, Rev. 4:2, & I John 4:15) God dialogs with us through the Holy Ghost, the Third Person of God. (John 16:13-15) So we can have our conversations with God 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
Next, let’s understand the purpose of prayer. Make special note of the highlighted text that follows:
God created prayer (talking with God) as a tool for His children to receive His "Best." The best gift God desires to give to us, is All of Himself—the fullness of God! (Eph. 2:14-19)
That’s right, God desires to pour all of Himself into you, and to do it in secret—in the "secret place" of the Most High God—so He can reward you openly! As discussed many times before in this Series: God desires to openly, reveal to you, more and more of His nature, which is Love.
You see, through prayer, the work God wants to perform with you, is to get rid of all of yourself, (carnality wrapped in the wickedness of this world) so you can receive all of God's Self. This is what God accomplished with Moses, and he became, “The Man of God.”
This is the quest, journey, course, race, and the high calling of God for every born-again Christian: To become completely, "THE MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD," or I could say, "GOD'S MAN OR GOD'S WOMAN," recreated in Christ Jesus to do the good works ordained by God from the foundations of the world. (Eph. 2:10)
God desires to be your "life" and "length of your days." But, He will never force Himself on you. No Sir, No Mam, it’s your choice to make alone! (Josh. 24:15 & II Peter 1:10) From the day God planned and created Adam, He created prayer to be the vehicle for voluntary intimate fellowship with Himself.
Even when man (Adam) would sin and separate himself from God, God’s gift of prayer remained available for all mankind! (Gen. 1:26-28, 2:15-17, 3:8-9 & Is.1:18-19) Prayer is the vehicle used to lift every person out their horrible pit, and bring them into a wealthy place in Jesus Christ!
Please understand that this gift of prayer does not bring God to you, but you to God! God says you draw near to me and I will draw near to you. (Gal. 5:6) God says He is a rewarder to those who diligently seek Him. (Heb. 11:6)
The vital necessity of continual prayer with God cannot be overstated. The Christian that does not have a regular prayer life with God, will never be full of God. (Love) Without continual prayer with God, the Christian will become "religious," cold hearted, insensitive, dull of hearing, slow to recognize the “Voice” of God, disobedient to God, fail to obtain their inheritance, and most likely and perhaps unknowingly fall into worship of false gods.
While the purpose of prayer is for God to transform the born-again Christian into God Himself (Love), the ultimate goal of prayer is to bring the Christian into true worship of God. Please make special note of this:
Worship is the continual action of obedience to God and His Word borne out of the conversations (prayer life) you have with God. Worship of God, like prayer with God, is not based on physical posture. Worship is your “duty undertaken and fulfilled.”
We Worship God when we hear what God says do, and then respond in kind, by doing what He said do. Jesus Christ is our example of perfect worship before God, as He only did what he both heard and saw His Father God do. (John 5:19 & 12:49)
Yes, hearing and doing only what God instructs is called, “True Worship Service!” A Church cannot have Worship Service, if the congregation refuses to hear the Word of God, and do what God says! That’s called "False Worship” or Self-Service." As born-again Christians, we should ask ourselves after every Church Service, whether we had Worship Service, or Self-Service? If you come out of Church without an, “I need to do list from God,” then you attended Self-Service!
The true worshipper of God, goes about fulfilling the goals of prayer with God. The true worshipper is prepared and goes about introducing other people to Almighty God through Jesus Christ, and they demonstrate the love and supernatural power of God to them. No person can speak with clarity, depth, and integrity from the heart, about another person who they have not spent significant time with, to experience and know for themselves.
The true worshipper abides in the “secret place” of the Most High God. They know God because their relationship is fostered through prayer with God. The true worshipper can see and goes about doing whatever they see God doing, and they only say whatever they have heard the Lord say—as they are, “The Man or Woman of God.” As such, we can say that true worshippers, reveal God through Jesus Christ to others, so that others may come to God and become the “Friend” of God!
Now, I want to say a few things about this nation and gun violence in particular. When these wicked mass-murders, or murders of any kind take place in our churches, schools, subways, and community at large the nation's heart brakes and prayer is made from many places. All murder is evil, demonic in nature, and comes from the wicked one the devil. (John 10:10)
Almost immediately after these despicable shootings occur, our elected political leaders, social media, and many of the people in our society lament that more action is needed to stop gun violence. They often say that “thoughts and prayers are nice, but action is needed by our leaders in government, the court system, the health care system, and law enforcement to diminish or resolve gun violence in America. Also, in anger, many people even quip that they are “tired of thoughts and prayers and want action,”—and act as if prayer is of little, or no value.
But, I’m here to tell you, there is no weapon created in the history of the world and mankind that can change evil in this world, as prayer with God can do. In fact, I would say as a “Nation,” we need to put far more emphasis on prayer! When I say as a Nation, I’m talking about the Holy and Royal Nation of God—the body of Christ, the Church, the Priesthood—not the human population/society of the United States.
Only “Prayer with God” made by the Royal Nation of God has the ability to fix the problems we face in the world today; even everything that seems impossible to change for the better. (Mark 9:23) Saints of God, prayer is not broken, it’s the people of God who are broken!
Prayer is still and always will be far more effective than any man-made solution that can be formulated and implemented. America can write all the laws it will and deploy all the law enforcement assets and mental health resources it thinks it needs to combat gun violence, and still violence will grow stronger. Mankind has never had the answers to the way it should go. (Jer.10:23) No one can solve problems as our Father God!
God through Jesus Christ is able and willing to take the wheels completely off of gun-violence—to silence every gun-maker, distributor, seller, purchaser, and would be shot-taker! Just as God fought for and delivered the children of Israel out of the hands of Egypt and Pharaoh, He can and will fight and deliver us from mass- murderers.
It was God Himself who took the wheels of the chariots of Pharaoh’s army in the midst of the Red Sea and drowned them all by mornings light. (Exodus 14:13-31). All Israel did was hold their peace and watch God work!
And, after the bodies of Pharaoh’s dead men washed up on the shore, in Chapter 15, Moses and the children of Israel sang a song unto God. (Ex.15:1-12) That is what God’s people are to do—to give thanks to God for the victory over our enemies.
All of this goodness and mercy that God heaped up on Israel was because, “The Man of God,” Moses dwelled in the “secret place” of the Most High of God—whose power no foe can withstand! In the place of prayer, Moses loved God and loved Israel, and God rewarded Him openly—seeing His enemies scattered and destroyed!
As God’s Royal Nation, the Church, we don’t need to rely on the government, law enforcement, nor politicians to resolve mass-murders, Covid-19, Hurricanes, or any other plague. If God be for us, who can be against us, and stand?
In II Chronicles 7:14, God, our Father, tells us why prayers go unanswered. God says:
If my people that are called by my name would humble themselves and pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and heal their land.
The body of Christ, the Church, is not praying as “One” with God. The Church, sorely lacks humility and unification. But even more problematic our prayers go largely unanswered because the Church is not praying with God. When prayer is made, we are praying to God, rather than with God—listening to what God has to say, and doing what God says do, to fix the problems!
Many Christian folks have the habit of praying, crying out to God, and then they stop praying. Their whole prayer life is about saying a prayer to God. But, when you pray, God wants to drop a word into your heart and ears to do. But, we have plugged-up our ears so we cannot hear His Voice. God says we are to call unto Him and He will answer. (Ps. 91:15) If you don’t hear an answer at first, keep on knocking and seeking until you do! (Matt. 7:7-8)
Then, I would also comment about the lack of prayer made by the people in America, many of which are Christians. A recent Pew Study of religious practices reported—that of adults in the USA surveyed, only 55 percent said they pray daily, and 16 percent once per week. Again, Jesus Christ said we should always pray! (Luke 18:1) While six percent say they pray once a week, and 23 percent indicated they almost never pray. But, regardless of how often prayer is made, the most important thing is what do we hear God say, and are we doing what He said?
Now, with this understanding of prayer, I want to close with the instructions Jesus Christ gave to His followers regarding prayer, as recorded at Matthew 6:5-8. Jesus tells us what we should not do, and what we are to do in prayer with God. The Table below highlights the Master's Instructions. I am using the New International Version of the Bible.
The Master's Instructions on Prayer on Prayer with God. (Matt. 6: 5-8)
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What not to do when you pray |
What to do when you pray |
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v. 5 And 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. |
v. 6 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. |
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v. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
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v. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
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What then shall we say to the things we have just read and heard? Jesus is saying to us, in prayer, do not be a show-off and/or a babbler. Rather, our prayers are to be private conversations, in secret, between you and God alone. Then God who sees what is done in secret shall reward you openly. Umm, in other words, when you pray with God—in secret—He reveals something to you in secret for you to do. As you are obedient and go and do what He told you to do, God watches you do it in secret, and rewards you openly. I love it!
We will talk more about Jesus Christ’s instructions for prayer next week. Remember, in prayer with God, “the motives of your heart” matter far more than “bodily motions.” Start today having daily talks “with God, in the Person of the Holy Ghost,” listen to what you hear Him say, and then without fanfare, go do whatever He tells you to do. God will transform you into “The Man or Woman of God,” and take you deeper into the fullness of His love.
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Should the Lord tarry, see you next week!