There is a Reward
I heard a message from Chuck Swindoll in which he referred to many people in the Bible about whom we know very little, including their names. His point was that their names weren’t the important thing; it was what they did, and that they did it with a heart to help others. While his message was meant to strengthen all those who are in the ministry of helps, he specifically talked about those who regularly pray for his whole pastoral staff, not just for him. He knows their prayers are what make the way possible for wise decisions to be made in running the church, for the services to remain vital, for the preaching to be clear and effective, etc. While he may personally know some of the people by name who minister in prayer in his church, he probably doesn’t know them all. Beyond that church, they are probably all completely unknown, just as it is throughout the entire body of Christ. People pray and affect change, dramatic change, for the kingdom of God in people’s lives and in entire nations every day, but does anyone know who they are? Where is their reward? Where is ours?
Matthew 6:5-6 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 men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 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.” NIV
Recognition by man is not to be the motivation for praying. See if you fit into this scenario as I have, more times than I care to count. You see the visible answer to a prayer that you prayed, either alone or with a group of people, and you are thrilled! Beyond the initial offering of praise to the Lord, you find yourself telling others that this is what we prayed for, and it happened. The emphasis is focused almost as much on what we did as on what God did. We have just made ourselves “seen by men,” like the hypocrites of whom Jesus spoke in the above Scripture. Let’s also consider this from a slightly different angle. Maybe some of you are known in your churches as the ones who pray. If that’s what the Lord has called you to, there’s nothing wrong with that identity, unless the recognition feeds your pride, rather than leading you to humble yourself still further as you recognize your prayers are nothing without the Holy Spirit. If either of these is the case, we have received all the reward we are due – the recognition of men on earth. In light of God and all eternity, that’s really a pathetic reward, isn’t it? On the other hand, if we will pray in secret, we may not know when or how, but we can count on the Truth that the Father will reward us, every time, because He has promised. And He never lies!
In actuality, it’s not because of our great prayers, but what the Holy Spirit prays through us, and because of Who He is. It’s because of the power of His Word, and the power of His blood. If you think about it, it is really amazing that God chooses to pray through people at all in order to activate His answers. Since He does, though, our part is simply to rejoice in His answer, before we see it and after it is visible, without pointing to ourselves at all. We will then go from place of prayer to place of prayer, expecting the abundant rewards that the Father will bring us, in the here or the hereafter!
© Copyright 2007 Kay V. Stocking
