Pray Always

Matt. 5: 14-16 

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

and

Matt.6: 5-6

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

For a long time, these two passages seemed to me to be saying the opposite of each other. Do your good deeds so others could see them, yet pray in secret and be rewarded in secret.  Then one day I either read or heard something that shed a new light on them.

I had always thought of my light as being like a glowing body. I guess that’s from watching too many movies. However, our light is more like the light from a flashlight held by someone leading us in the darkness. The light doesn’t shine on the person holding the light but shines on the path before us to lead us safely through the darkness. Or, it’s like a lamp whose purpose is not to shine on itself but to light the area so that we can move around safely. Or, maybe, like the lighthouse that shines out into the darkness to help ships know where they are and avoid danger.

While our individual lights may be small and the darkness around us is large, without our light, there may be portions of the path that are dark or not clear. There are other lights that overlap ours, and their lights overlap still others to continue lighting the safe path. Together, we can make a difference. The trick is to always make sure our light is not shining on us or on the wrong path but that it shines on the path that Jesus showed us through his words and deeds.

Prayer

God, may this day of my life be a light that shows the right path to those I meet along the way. Amen.

This devotional was written by Alvin Jenkins and read by Joey Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.