One secret of a life of prayer is that we must learn to pray without a sideward glance to see if anyone is watching. We must, as Jesus counsels, go into our room, close the door, and pray to our Father in secret. This entering into our room and closing the door is something we must do even when we are praying in public, even when we are praying with others, and maybe especially then. Otherwise, like King Claudius in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, we cry out, “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below, / Words without thoughts never to Heaven go.” If our words are calculated to please others or to impress them, or if we use our prayer to bolster our own egos before others, then our thoughts remain below. Our concentration must be on God, who lifts us up and out of ourselves. If our thoughts during prayer are truly on God, then we will be accepted and admired by others. For then, and only then, will we be independent enough of our fellow human beings and dependent enough on God to be truly ourselves. And when we are truly ourselves, we are loveable enough to be loved.
