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The Priority of Private Worship
  • Firm Foundation (He Won't)
  • Graves Into Gardens
  • You Are My King (Amazing Love)
  • How Great Thou Art
  • Spirit Of The Sovereign Lord
  • How Great Is Our God
  • I Could Run Away
  • O The Blood Of Jesus
  • O The Blood
  • Gonna Be Alright
  • Imagine what David's life looked like in this moment.
    David is the king of Israel. He's established in Jerusalem. He has a palace. He has a throne. He has people around him. He has access to the place where God's people gathered to worship.
    But then everything changes.
    His own son, Absalom, has turned the hearts of the people against him. David receives the devastating news, “The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.”
    So David does something that must have been incredibly difficult. He leaves Jerusalem. He leaves his palace. He leaves his throne. He leaves behind the city where he had worshiped God.
    He crosses the Kidron Valley and begins heading into the wilderness. And there's something important about that moment that we can easily miss. David is physically separating himself from the normal environment of corporate worship.
    He's not walking into the temple. He's not gathering with the congregation. He's not surrounded by musicians. He's not standing among God's people.
    He's in the wilderness because his life is falling apart.
    And yet, somewhere in that wilderness, David begins to worship.
    Psalm 63 opens with these words:
    “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.”
    Think about that. David has lost his position. He's lost his comfort. He's lost his familiar surroundings. He's separated from the normal gathering place of God's people.
    But he hasn't lost his hunger for God.
    His worship didn't stop when the music stopped. His worship didn't stop when the crowd disappeared. His worship didn't stop when he couldn't get to the sanctuary.
    David discovered that worship wasn't something he did because of where he was. Worship was who he was because of who God was.
    And that's what I want us to talk about today:
    The Priority of Private Worship.
    Because it's easy to worship when everyone else is worshiping. It's easy to pray when the church is praying. It's easy to lift your hands when the worship team is leading you.
    But what happens when you're alone? What happens when there is no crowd? No music. No preacher. No Sunday morning atmosphere.
    Just you and God?
    That's where private worship matters.
    Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 to go into our room, close the door, and pray to our Father who sees what is done in secret.
    Because public strength comes from private worship.
    And David's wilderness reminds us of something we desperately need to understand: If your worship only works in public, eventually you will run dry in private. But when you've learned to worship God in private, you can worship Him anywhere.
    Today we're going to look at why the secret place matters, why consistency matters more than performance, and why intimacy with God must come before influence for God.

    1. Private Worship Reveals What You Really Want

    Go to Jesus’ famous sermon, the sermon on the mount in Matthew chapter 6. We will begin reading at verse 5. You can also hold your place at Psalm 63. We will read that in a little bit, but first let’s look at Matthew 6.
    Matthew 6:5–8 NIV
    5 “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. 6 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. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
    In Jesus’ day, the marketplace or public square was one of the busiest places in a community. It wasn't just a place to buy and sell—it was where people gathered, conversations happened, and everyone could see what was going on.
    The streets and open spaces around the synagogue and marketplace were natural places for people to be seen. Jesus says some religious people would stand and pray in these public places, not simply because they were praying, but because they wanted to be noticed praying.
    Their prayer had become a performance. They had taken something intended to draw them closer to God and turned it into a way of drawing attention to themselves. Jesus isn't condemning public prayer—He Himself prayed publicly. He's confronting the heart that says, “I want people to see how spiritual I am.”
    That is why Jesus tells His followers to go into their room, shut the door, and pray to their Father in secret. When the audience disappears, the performance has nothing left to perform.
    Public worship can sometimes tell us what we want other people to think about us.
    However, your private worship reveals what we actually desire.
    How do you worship when no one else is watching?
    Do you pray? Do you open God’s Word? Do you still worship? Do you still seek His presence? Do you still care about becoming more like Jesus?

    Public Worship can be influenced by the crowd. Private Worship exposes the heart.

    You can look spiritually strong on Sunday and spiritually empty on Monday. You can know how to lift your hands in church and still struggle to lift your heart to God when you're alone.
    Jesus says the Father sees what happens in secret.
    And that's important because God is more interested in who we are becoming than who we appear to be.
    I said, “God is more interested in who we are becoming than who we appear to be.
    That is why it is so important that we find our secret place. It is in that secret place where God deals with the person nobody else sees.

    2. Consistency Matters More Than Performance

    Jesus says…
    Matthew 6:7 NIV
    7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
    He's addressing empty repetition—the idea that if we say enough words, repeat the right phrases, or perform the right religious routine, we'll somehow manipulate God into responding.
    Christianity isn't about finding the perfect religious formula. It's about the relationship with the Father.
    Imagine a father whose son only talks to him when he needs something.
    The son calls: “Dad, can you help me pay this bill?” “Dad, can you help me fix my car?” “Dad, can you loan me some money?”
    And the father helps because he loves his son.
    But eventually the father says, “Son, I don't mind helping you. But I don't want our relationship to be built around what I can do for you. I want to hear from you because you're my son. I want to know how you're doing. I want to hear about your life. I want to spend time with you.”
    Then imagine the son starts calling every day—not because he needs something, but simply because he wants to talk to his dad.
    That changes everything.
    That's the difference between religious performance and relationship.
    Jesus says in Matthew 6:8 that our Father already knows what we need before we ask Him. So prayer isn't primarily about finding the right words to get God to give us the right things.
    Matthew 6:8 NIV
    8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
    Prayer is about knowing the Father.
    We don't come to God because we have discovered the right formula. We come because He's our Father, and we want to be with Him.
    And that's why private worship matters.
    God isn't looking for people who know how to perform religion. He's looking for sons and daughters who simply want to spend time with their Father.
    Let me give you examples of the differences between performance and relationship.
    Performance asks: "How did I sound?"
    Relationship asks: "Did I meet with God?"
    Performance asks: “Did people notice?"
    Relationship asks: “Did God change me?"
    Performance seeks applause. Private worship seeks transformation.
    God isn't looking for impressive prayers; He's looking for surrendered hearts.
    Jesus has shown us what private worship should look like. But there's a question that naturally follows: What does that kind of relationship actually look like when life gets difficult?
    We have been talking about worship, when it’s hard.
    That's where David comes in.
    Jesus gives us the principle in Matthew 6. David gives us a picture of it in Psalm 63.
    Remember what I told you at the beginning of this message. David isn't sitting in a comfortable room with everything going his way. He's in the wilderness. He's separated from Jerusalem. He's separated from the normal rhythms of corporate worship. His son has rebelled against him, his kingdom is in turmoil, and his future is uncertain.
    And yet, David says, “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you.”
    David shows us that private worship isn't just something we do when life is convenient.
    Private worship is what sustains us when life is anything but convenient.
    Let’s take a moment and walk into David's wilderness. Look at Psalm 63.
    Psalm 63:1–8 NIV
    1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. 2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. 3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. 4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. 6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. 7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. 8 I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.
    That brings me to my third point.

    3. Hunger for God Must Exist Beyond the Sanctuary

    David is in the wilderness, but his worship continues. That is one of the most powerful things about this Psalm. David doesn't need the perfect environment to seek God.
    He says, “I thirst for you…”
    Psalm 63:1 NIV
    1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
    That word picture is powerful.
    You don't have to convince a thirsty person to drink. Thirst creates pursuit. If I’m thirsting, I go to the sink or fridge and I get a drink of some cool refreshing water. You don’t have to tell me that I am thirsty. I know I am thirsty and that thirst creates within me a pursuit for that refreshing water.
    David isn't pursuing God because someone told him he should. He's pursuing God because he has discovered that nothing else satisfies.
    Like the old song says, “who can satisfy my soul like you, who on earth love me and comfort like you do, who could ever be more faithful truth. who can satisfy. Who can satisfy my soul. There is a fountain. Who is the king. Victorious warrior and lord of everything. My rock my shelter. My very own. blessed redeemer who reigns upon the throne.”
    Only God can quench that thirst that you have.
    Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with corporate worship. I love corporate worship. Next Sunday night we are having just a worship service.
    We need the church. We need one another. We need gathering. We need preaching. We need singing. We need communion.
    But Sunday worship was never designed to sustain a person who refuses to worship Monday through Saturday.
    The church gathering should fuel your private worship not replace it.
    Hear me clear on this. If the only time you seek God is when you're surrounded by people seeking God, eventually you'll discover that you don't know how to seek Him by yourself.

    4. Private Worship Builds Public Strength

    Let me read verses 5 - 8 again. I want you to see how David moves from hunger to satisfaction.
    Psalm 63:5–6 NIV
    5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. 6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
    This is private worship. No one is around. David is on the run. He is spending time with God as he is being pursued by his enemies.
    David's relationship with God has become so deeply rooted that he thinks about God when nobody else is around.
    Then he says in verse 7 & 8.
    Psalm 63:7–8 NIV
    7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. 8 I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.
    David's private devotion produces public strength. He's facing uncertainty. He's facing opposition. He's facing danger. But he has something deeper than circumstances, he knows God.
    What is cultivated in private becomes strength in public.
    The prayer you pray alone prepares you for the battle everyone sees. The Word you study alone prepares you for the temptation everyone sees. The worship you offer alone prepares you to worship when life becomes difficult. The time you spend with God when everything is peaceful prepares you to trust Him when everything falls apart.
    You cannot neglect the secret place.
    I spoke about it, when we talked about Elijah. Elijah was able to handle some of the hardest times in his life because he discovered the secret place.
    Let me give you one more point before we conclude this morning.

    5. Intimacy Must Come Before Influence

    Think about the word intimacy for a moment.
    We often define intimacy as simply being close to someone. But there's a phrase that can help us understand biblical intimacy:

    “Into me, see.”

    Think about that.
    True intimacy means allowing someone close enough to see what's really inside you.
    And that's what happens in the secret place.
    When we get alone with God, we aren't coming to impress Him. We're coming to let Him see us.
    We can fool people in public. We can put on the right clothes. We can say the right words. We can raise our hands at the right time. We can look like we've got everything together. But when we get alone with God, there's nowhere to hide.
    And that's not something to fear. It's something to welcome.
    Because God already knows what's inside us. The secret place simply gives us the opportunity to acknowledge what He already sees.
    David understood this kind of intimacy. He could say, “You, God, are my God.” There was a personal relationship there. David wasn't simply serving Israel's God. He knew God personally.
    And here's the connection to influence:
    Before God can effectively work through you, He wants to work in you. Before He gives you a platform, He wants to develop your character. Before He gives you influence, He wants intimacy. Before He uses your public life, He wants access to your private life.

    The secret place isn't where we go to hide from God. It's where we go and say, “God, into me, see.”

    Search me. Show me. Change me. Make me more like You.
    That is the kind of intimacy that producers genuine spiritual influence.
    Let me close with this.
    Build a secret place.
    Don’t make private worship complicated. This goal is not to create another religious obligation. The goal is to establish a consistent place where you meet with God.
    Let me close with this.
    Jeremiah 18 gives us a picture of what happens when we place ourselves in God's hands. He takes Jeremiah to a potter's house, and there Jeremiah watches a potter working at the wheel. The clay isn't finished. It's being formed. And God says, ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand.’
    When a potter places clay on the wheel, the clay doesn't tell the potter what it wants to become. The potter begins to work it, press it, shape it, stretch it, and mold it. Sometimes the pressure is gentle. Sometimes the pressure is uncomfortable. But every movement has a purpose.
    The clay has to remain on the wheel long enough for the potter to shape it into what he intends it to become.
    And I think that's a picture of what happens in the secret place.
    The secret place is God’s potter’s wheel.
    The secret place is where we place ourselves back on the wheel. It's where we stop trying to shape our own lives and allow the Potter to shape us.
    It's where we slow down long enough to let God work on us.
    It's where we say, “God, I'm not here to perform for You. I'm here to be formed by You.”
    And sometimes God has to press on things in our lives that we don't want Him to touch.
    He puts His finger on our attitudes. He exposes our pride. He challenges our priorities. He reveals our fears. He confronts our unforgiveness. He reshapes our desires.
    And our tendency is sometimes to get off the wheel.
    We say, “God, that's uncomfortable. I don't want You messing with that.”
    But the clay doesn't become what the potter designed it to be by leaving the wheel. It becomes what the potter intended by remaining in His hands.
    That's why the secret place matters. You don't go there simply to ask God to bless your plans. You go there and say, “God, shape me.” You don't simply say, “God, give me more influence.” You say, “God, make me more like Jesus.”
    You don't simply ask God to change your circumstances. You allow Him to change you.
    And maybe that's why some of us need to rediscover the secret place. Because we've been trying to find strength in public worship when God is calling us into private surrender.
    We've been asking God to use us publicly when He's trying to shape us privately. We've been looking for a platform when God is looking for a place on the wheel.
    So I want to ask you:

    Where is your secret place?

    Where is the place where you shut the door, silence the distractions, open God's Word, and simply get alone with Him?
    Because if you only worship publicly, eventually you'll run dry. But when you learn to meet God privately, something changes.
    Your public worship becomes the overflow of your private worship. Your public strength becomes the result of private surrender. Your influence becomes the overflow of intimacy. Your life begins to take the shape of the One who is molding you.
    Find the secret place. Get back on the wheel.
    And make this your prayer:
    “God, into me, see. Search me. Shape me. Mold me. Make me into everything You want me to be.”
    Pray that prayer, because public strength comes from private worship.
    This morning, I want you to find a place to pray. And I want you to pray that prayer. God, into me, see. Search me. Shape me. Mold me. Make me into everything You want me to be.
    Come now.

      • Matthew 6:5–8ESV

      • Matthew 6:7ESV

      • Matthew 6:8ESV

      • Psalm 63:1–8ESV

      • Psalm 63:1ESV

      • Psalm 63:5–6ESV

      • Psalm 63:7–8ESV

  • The Potter's Hand

      • Galatians 6:9–10ESV

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