Daily Reflections ...

Everyone wants. Riches, prosperity and health are all normal for people to want. And it’s alright, in God’s eyes, to desire these things. But God knows that the most profound abundance that could be attained in this life is like a rusty nail compared to the treasure in store for us in heaven. Thirty billion dollars and everything that it could buy is like a rusty nail, compared to heaven. How amazing is that?!

God reveals to us that the only truly good thing is him. Reality, known through faith, is that true and lasting richness, wealth and prosperity are only found in God.

In the Gospel today Jesus discourages his followers from praying just for esteem. But he encourages this secret prayer life that only God sees. This is not to hide their devotion; on the contrary, he says to be, “like a city set on a hill” (Matthew 5:14) and to let your good deeds be seen (Matthew 5:15). We know that Jesus’ followers are meant to be public in their faith.

Rather, praying in secret is about protecting the pure motives of your own spiritual life. God knows that humans have mixed motives, and by keeping our prayer life private and personal, in the same way that our room is our own, we protect the relationship that prayer is meant to foster: the relationship between God and us.

by David Kruse