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But you, when you pray, enter into your inner chamber, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. In praying, don't use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking. Matthew 6:6–7 WEB.

As the speaker walked up to the pulpit, I could feel the hair on the back of my neck rising. I just knew that he would call on me to pray in front of the whole church again. The pastor always asked someone to open the service with prayer, and lately, he had been targeting me. Some people had long, beautiful prayers. Not me. I avoided PDP (Public displays of prayer) as much as possible.

As I came to know the Lord better, I realized that the fear of praying in public wasn't right. Yet, making a performance out of it wasn't right either. God doesn't care if I have a stutter when I pray. Moses had a speech impediment, yet he was the one God chose. Jesus said, "When you give... When you pray... When you fast..." but you never do any of those things to impress others. If you do, you already have your reward, the praise of men.

It's not the quantity of prayer either, but the quality. Leave the long beautiful public speeches to the politicians. When you really want to connect with God, get somewhere quiet, pray, and listen. Talk to Him as you would a friend. After all, He knows you better than anyone else, and nothing you do or say is in secret. He hears the way you talk around your friends. He can read your texts.

Also, never, ever, ever be ashamed of Jesus Christ. When you get backed into a corner on your faith, that's when you need to take a stand and say: "Yes, I love Jesus!" Not like Peter, who said, "I do not know the Man." Jesus said, "For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in his glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the Holy Angels" (Luke 9:26).

James wrote, "The effective, earnest prayer of a righteous man is powerfully effective. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn't rain on the earth for three years and six months. He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit" (James 5:16–18).

Prayer is very powerful, and we often have not because we never asked God for it. So make your needs known to Him. Don't be afraid of praying anywhere. Be ready at any time. God loves you, and He wants to hear from you today.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for today. I welcome You to be a part of my life. Please guide me, teach me, and mold me into a better person. I yield my will to You. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: For those who would like to join us, today we will be hosting our RHM Live Online church service. This is a special time of interactive worship, prayer, fellowship and an inspiring message. All are welcome! The service starts at 10am EST. Here is the link to join: RHM Live. As always, if you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network.