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 men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 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.
As Radical Jesus walks us closer and closer to the cross, we find him challenging every aspect of our lives of faith. He not-so-gently turns the spotlight of our practices of our ourselves and onto His Father, where it belongs. We’re jarred by this since it contradicts everything we have known. Everyone knows that those closest to God wail the loudest and use the most words during prayer meetings, don’t they?
Who are you when you are alone with God, Jesus asks us to consider. Do your prayers have the same vibrancy that they exhibit in public? Are the same number of words necessary when it’s just you and your Father? It is a radical challenge to move the focus of our prayer back to where it belongs rather than using prayer to gain attention. It’s there that we meet the unseen Father, the one who craves our heart to heart relationship with Him.
Will your concept of God be radically changed when Easter is celebrated? Are you willing to let your life be radically changed by Jesus today, this week, this month, or will His sacrifice go unnoticed?
LOVE | ACCEPT | FORGIVE 