URC Daily Devotion 5 November 2025
Wednesday, 5 November 2025
St Matthew 6: 5 – 8
Jesus said: ‘And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ‘When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that 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.
Reflection
Jesus says, “whenever you pray”. Not “if” but “whenever”. Is our prayer life, I wonder, part of our regular “when” rather than our occasional “if”? Most, if not all of us, are at risk of regarding prayer as “for emergency use only” rather than being as basic as breathing. By spotlighting the act of praying in the public gaze and with “many words” we are also alerted to the further danger of limiting our prayer life to those occasions when we gather for public worship. By contrast Jesus urges us to pray within the personal and private space of our own homes and with the honest vocabulary of those for whom prayer is the regular and natural conversation with God as loving parent.
There is value, of course, in the formal prayers of the Church, gathered for public worship and I am among those who are grateful for those whose written prayers enhance our worship – including the URC’s annual Prayer Handbook. But if in any other relationship we only communicated with one another when out together in public that relationship would be a very limited one. In today’s gospel reading we are encouraged to resist the notion that our prayer life is judged by its length and fluency or that “heaping up” prayers will benefit our cause. We are reassured that God expects nothing more than what we are prepared to say when no one else is listening apart from God alone.
One of the most beautiful prayers I have ever heard was offered at the close of the prayer I had said to conclude a meeting. One of those attending interjected and prayed a prayer for me and ended it with, “Sorry, God, I know the words could be improved but given that Geoffrey has prayed for each of us I wanted to pray for him too”. Ultimately it is not about perfection of vocabulary but heartfelt intention.
Prayer
We dare to believe, dearest Lord,
that you know our every need.
We thank you for the assurance
that however much we might struggle to find the right words
in Christ you encourage us to make space for prayer
and to close the door to all but your gaze upon us.
We offer to you what is on our hearts and minds,
asking that those for whom we pray might know strength and peace.
In Christ’s name, Amen.