Devotional: Matthew 6:6

I have always been trouble over the fact that is seems like Jesus contradicted Himself when He says in Matthew 6:6 that we are to pray alone and then in Matthew 18:19 apparently encourages public prayer.
I don’t personally condemn public prayer, however, when I was in the ministry as a pastor, I was always the logical choice to offer an invocation.   As I reflect on my many “Oh Lord” commercials it appears the only thing I accomplished was deciding whether or not my shoes needed a shine.
In examining ancient writings in Jewish literature, I ran across something interesting.  It talks of praying in silence.   The Greek word for “closet” is tameion which is a secret place, a treasure room or granary; it is a place that is well guarded.   However, the word “closet” was spoken in Aramaic and not Greek. In examining the Aramaic version of the Book of Matthew I find the word used is Tawanaah which is a room without windows, a room where valuables and supplies are restored.  Yet, the Aramaic also uses Tawanaah as a metaphor meaning ones heart.
One must ask what Jesus meant when He said that the Father is in secret and sees in secret.  Some render this as private or concealed.  Yet, the Greek word kypto matches the Aramaic word bakats quite closely and has the idea of secret inward parts.  Jesus is speaking like a good rabbi here where He is speaking something with a double meaning.  He is referring to closeting yourself away to share the intimate secrets of your heart as He shares the secrets of His heart.  This sharing of hearts is your reward, a reward you cannot get in public prayer. In public prayer you do not reveal the intimate secrets of your heart as you would in private.  A wife will share things only in private with her husband that she would never stand in front of a congregation, even just two or three others. For one thing there would be no reason to share her tender thoughts and feelings about her husband with anyone but her husband if those words are only meant to draw her closer to her husband and serve no other purpose.  Anyone else would simply say; “Why tell me; it has nothing to do with me.”   Public prayer are words which apply to everyone to benefit everyone joining the prayer.  Private prayer, as Jesus speaks about in Matthew 6:6 are words and expressions meant only for you and Him alone.
I believe what Jesus is saying here is that unless you are declaring a group hug with Him at the center, then keep your intimacy with Him, intimate and private; otherwise you are only drawing attention to yourself by saying: “Hey, look at me, I am intimate with Jesus, see how holy I am.  Here get your cell phone out and snap my picture and e-mail it to the Vatican so they can put it on a holy card.”
Jesus is cleverly doing a double speak here with the Aramaic word “Tawanaah” for He is not only referring to a hidden place to pray but  a hidden place where you can freely share your heart with Him.   But, soft, I also see something else in this word “Tawanaah.”   It is the word “silence.”
Practically every day I find I must drive by Morton West High School at 2:30 PM, just as the school lets out.  It is the tensest moment of my day as hundreds of teenagers gleefully run out of the school and they are, after all, teenagers who run out into the street.  You’re lucky to get through the next block without taking out a couple budding scholars.   The ones who scare me the most are the “Twinkies.”  You know, the boy and girl holding each other’s hands, staring into each other’s eyes and walking out in front of your vehicle without giving a thought to the fact that there is a real world out there with real cars that go bump.  As I pause watching them take their loving time to cross the street and not attempt to lose a second of the other’s goo goo eyes, I notice they are not saying a word to each other, they are just speaking with their eyes.   They are saying things to each other than no words in English could say. Those precious, tender moments are more important than any impending bump of my vehicle.  They worship each other in silence.
Somehow we tend to think that when we pray we have to keep talking.  It is sort of like that first date when you fear just a second of silence will doom your future together.  In such cases silence is like an empty sewer that exist only to be clogged.   So what’s wrong with silence for crying out loud?  If those two Twinkies can say more to each other in the few moments it takes to cross a street than Elizabeth Barrett Browning could say in a whole love poem to Robert why can’t we just keep our mouths shut and spend time making spiritual goo goo eyes with the God we love.
When you share your heart with someone, sometimes you can almost read their mind.  My parents were married for 67 years.  I used to listen with amazement to their conversations: “Do you think we should visit….”  “Yes, I would like to see them, but maybe later.”   “Yes, 6:00 would be a good time.”  If you truly share you heart with God in secret, He will share His heart with you and you sometimes don’t need to say a thing, your hearts will do all the talking.