The Christian life has some elements that are private, and some public. Jesus points out here that our prayers should not bring attention to ourselves. Jesus illustrated the necessity of this several times in His time on earth. There are times to pray publicly in agreement with other believers, and other times that should be private and solely between you and Jesus. When Jesus commanded that you go into your room to pray, He was saying that it is crucial for you to separate yourself from everything else to spend time with Him. Just as you get alone to do your homework so you can focus, your time with God should be intimate and unhindered by distractions.

• Do you have a place where you spend time with God in prayer? How much time do you spend there?
• Are your prayers sincere and from the heart, or are they rehearsed with years of repetition?