Have you ever wondered why your prayers seem unanswered? Or that God appears to be distant and that your attempts to serve Him go unnoticed? Christ gave us the command to Practice Secret Disciplines as a key to make a “distant God” very real and personal!

In Matthew 6:1–18, Jesus commands us to give, pray and fast in secret. Why in secret? When we do something in secret, no one sees besides God. This allows Him to be the only One glorified and gives Him the opportunity to reward us openly. But, if we do things to receive praise from man, we lose God’s reward. And not only this, but we give up an opportunity to develop greater intimacy in our fellowship with Him.

If a believer desires deeper intimacy with God and the reward of Biblical disciplines, they must learn to pursue God in secret. God has promised He will reward us openly if we obey Him secretly. Seeking God through practicing secret disciplines is not only rewarding, it is fulfilling. It is through these disciplines that we can further cultivate a deeper intimacy and fellowship with the Lord.

Q: Since God requires openness and honesty in all of our dealings, why did He bless Esther and Mordecai for withholding her true identity from the one whom she married?

A: Esther lived during the reign of Ahasuerus. He ruled the vast Persian Empire from 486–465 B.C. His dominion extended from India to Ethiopia and included 127 provinces.

The Jewish people had been carried away from the Promised Land as captives and were living throughout his kingdom. They were generally despised by the people around them and had many enemies. Their enemies were well represented by Haman, who had the confidence of the king, and planned the destruction of all the Jews.

Haman knew that Mordecai was a Jew and made careful plans to destroy him. If Haman had known that Esther was also Jewish, he would no doubt have planned to destroy her as well. By withholding the identity of her Jewish heritage, Esther demonstrated both obedience and discretion. Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known, and the reasons for not doing so became obvious as the story unfolded.

Esther committed herself to serving the king in whatever ways she could through her marriage to him. Mordecai arranged his daily schedule to watch out for the welfare of the king and Esther. In the process of his surveillance, he discovered a plot against the life of the king and reported it to him through Esther.

When Mordecai and Esther learned of Haman’s wicked plot to kill all of the Jews in the empire, they spent time in fervent prayer and fasting. (See Esther 4:16.) Their selflessness in protecting the king and serving him, in spite of who his top advisor was, paved the way for Esther’s appeal on behalf of her people.

With their lives, character, and deeds, Esther and Mordecai won the respect and favor of the king. Therefore, the king was committed to helping them preserve their people during a time of crisis. The net result of God’s working through their righteous actions was that the entire kingdom honored the Jews and the God whom they served.