Secret Conversations with the Father

"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. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

Prayer wasn’t apparently designed to be a public spectacle, done by a large adoring audience with millions of people at the same time uttering the same words or some flashy person praying at length with impressive intonations.

Apparently, God designed it as two-way communication between himself and individuals. Not that it can’t be done in public or by groups. But that would be the exception and not the everyday. In the everyday prayer is the secret conversation with the adoring father who loves to hear the whispers and thoughts and hopes and cares of his child. He hangs on every word and every utterance and perhaps chuckles at certain parts and maybe even wells with emotion over certain parts.

The secret conversation is like the look of the little child to the parent, learning to talk to the parent, conveying little things that seem important to the child but often seem not so important in the adult world and yet the parent longs to hear the voice of their child. When the child speaks the parent watches their face as their mouth tries to form the words, listens carefully to try to understand what their child is trying to say, and enjoys every minute of the time with their child.

When the child expresses a hurt to the parent, the parent holds the child tenderly to soothe it. When a joy is expressed, the parent smiles broadly and strokes the child’s hair and gives them an encouraging hug. When a need is expressed the parent considers the rightness of the need and responds with the appropriate answer. “Here you go,” “Not now,” or “Sorry, that wouldn’t be good for you.”

Those are private conversations, not often communicated with others participating. They’re between the child and the parent. The secret conversations, those that are when the child and the parent are alone together, are the dearest. These are the ones that the parent holds in their heart.

These are the earthly conversations between child and parent. How much more does our heavenly Father want the secret conversations with his children. And what joy and sorry and response they must bring when he sees that the conversation is not for the benefit of others who are watching, but simply because the child wants to have a secret conversation with their Father.