This is for publication
Ye servants of God, your master proclaim,
And publish abroad his wonderful name. Charles Wesley
Read Matthew 5:13—16
I know that a quiet time such as this, for prayer, for seeking God, for taking stock of my life and decisions, is quite in tune with Jesus’ own practice and with his formation of his disciples. He urged them to find the secret place for prayer.[1] This all comes, if from nowhere else, from his own desire to pray in uninterrupted quiet, and his need for more of it.[2] But, as much as my practice of prayer is to be a private matter, what is transacted between God and me will eventually reveal what is for publishing. What God reveals of himself is not for me alone. I don’t want to make a display of myself, but when God speaks to me this is not for burying under the carpet. Once I am convinced of this, and have turned myself over to him in the light of it, I can be fairly sure that along with what God gives me he will give me the way to share it with others.
Forgive me, gracious Father, if I have ever felt that your word spoken is some private affair. I would be fairly sure that this thought has come from my own fear, possibly my inertia, rather than your command. Everything that you tell me of your character, your purpose and your promise is infinitely precious. It is as real as your love for your Son, and I know it as I am in him. It can only ever be good news for anyone else to hear. So please move me by your Spirit, and prompt me to know just how and what I am to share, and with whom, out of all that you have spoken into my life.
[1] Matthew 6:6
[2] Luke 9:18,28; 11:1