Pints With Aquinas - Your Father Who is in Secret | Bible Study W/ Aquinas

Episode Date: August 6, 2020

Today we'll take a look at what Thomas Aquinas has to say about our Lord's words in Matthew 6:6-7: But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases." GIVING Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mattfradd This show (and all the plans we have in store) wouldn't be possible without you. I can't thank those of you who support me enough. Seriously! Thanks for essentially being a co-producer coproducer of the show. LINKS  Website: https://pintswithaquinas.com/ Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/matt-fradd FREE 21 Day Detox From Porn Course: https://www.strive21.com/ SOCIAL  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattfradd Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattfradd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pints_w_aquinas/ MY BOOKS  Does God Exist: https://www.amazon.com/Does-God-Exist-Socratic-Dialogue-ebook/dp/B081ZGYJW3/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=fradd&qid=1586377974&sr=8-9 Marian Consecration With Aquinas: https://www.amazon.com/Marian-Consecration-Aquinas-Growing-Closer-ebook/dp/B083XRQMTF/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=fradd&qid=1586379026&sr=8-4 The Porn Myth: https://www.ignatius.com/The-Porn-Myth-P1985.aspx CONTACT Book me to speak: https://www.mattfradd.com/speakerrequestform

Hello and welcome to another Bible study with Aquinas. Last week we took a look at Matthew chapter 6 verses 5 where it says, And when you pray, you will not be as the hypocrites who love to stand and pray in the synagogues, etc., etc. Today, here's what we are going to look at. It's the next little bit and we'll see how much we can get through here. So starting in verse...

Go into your room, I guess is where we're going to go to. Yeah. Yeah. But when you pray, what's that? Verse six. But when you pray, go into your rooms and shut the door and pray to your father who is in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you. Now, I would like to say that we're going to keep going and get through that next verse, but I'm trying to keep these Bible studies to about 15 minutes for you. So we will see. But here's the next bit, just in case. And then it goes into the Our Father. I actually think this is really important here, because it does raise a very interesting philosophical question, right? Notice that Christ says, your Father knows what you need before you ask Him, so don't heap up empty words.

And that kind of raises the question, okay, well, if he knows what I need before I ask him, why do I need to use any words? And Aquinas spends a good deal of time talking about that. But as I said, we might not get to that. So why don't we just jump in here. But before we do, in order to kind of just prepare ourselves for this, why don't we make the sign of the cross in the name of the the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Okay. Therefore, Jesus says, when you will pray, that is, when you are disposed to pray, enter into your chamber.

Now, this language is a little different to what we're reading here in the English Standard Version. But, you know, go into your room, enter into your chamber, same basic idea. Go into your chamber. Now, Aquinas says that this is explained in three ways. What does he mean? What does Jesus Christ mean when he says, go into your room to pray, go into your chamber to pray? Aquinas says there are three things that we can understand through this. First, it is understood literally about a separate room. But do not those who go

to the church do the opposite? But it should be said that he speaks of private prayer, which is only to be done in a private place. And this for three reasons. So here we go to another three reasons before we get to the second reason, or the second way we can understand going into our chamber. So first, because it agrees with the faith, for then you confess that God is present everywhere. All right, so just, sorry, in case you missed that, we're talking about private prayer here, okay? Why should we do private prayer in a private place? These are the three reasons Aquinas gives.

Okay. Here's the first. Because it agrees with the faith. For then you confess that God is present everywhere. Second, because prayer, which in private is quiet, is hindered when with many others. And from Hosea 2.14, he cites, I will lead her into solitude and I will speak to her heart. Third, because vainglory is avoided.

And we read, And David went in so that he could pray before the Lord. 2 Samuel 7.18 Alone, that is, and having shut the door literally so that you exclude also the possibility of anyone coming in. All right, so there are the three reasons we pray in private. First, because God is omnipresent. He's not just present in the synagogue or the church, okay? Second, because it's easier to pray when you're on your own, and third, so that you'll avoid being prideful if somebody was there.

And he even goes so far as to say, like, shut the door. Like, actually shut it so that no one can come in and so that you won't experience that kind of vanity. Second, all right, so here's the second reason. All right, he's talking about entering into our chamber. By the chamber can be understood the secret interior of the heart, the things you say in your hearts. We read in Psalm 4.4. Door, mouth, make doors and bars to your mouth. Sirach 28, 28.

As though he said, pray silently. And this is for three reasons. And here we go with another subsection to the... I should put up numbers. It would be a lot easier. Okay, so why is he saying pray silently? Here's three reasons. First, because it attests to the faith, for then you confess that God knows the thoughts of your heart. All right, so earlier he said pray privately because you know God is everywhere. Here he's saying we can pray not just privately but quietly in our heart because God knows everything. in our heart because God knows everything. Second, because it is not appropriate that others know your petitions. Third, because if you speak aloud, you may impede others' prayer. Okay, but what will we say about public prayer? It should be said that the Lord speaks about private prayer in which the benefit of one person is sought. But in public prayer, the good of the multitude is also sought. And because some people are excited to devotion by sounds of this kind, chant was instituted. Hence Augustine says in the book of Confessions, But because before he converted,

blessed Augustine found chance very beneficial, he did not dare to speak against them, but approved them. All right, so there's like a different thing going on. If I'm praying in a public place versus praying in a private place, I have to take different things into consideration. If I'm praying publicly, it's not just about me, it's about the other people around me. By the way, this is why, you know, at a Roman church, at a Western church, when everybody kneels, even if I really do think, right, that even if you come from a different church that for some reason doesn't kneel during that time, please don't be the one guy standing in the middle of a sea of people kneeling. It's so distracting, right? This is not about you, right? This is about the congregation

in a sense. It's also about them. And so not wanting to be that awkward guy or girl standing up. I actually do think it's differently though. I do think it's different if you choose to kneel whenever else is standing, because I don't think it's as obvious. Okay. But a question arises, should someone praying in private say words or not? But here it should be distinguished that sometimes words arise from intention, sometimes from the impulse of the heart, for, as is said, who can withhold the words he has conceived? Job 4.2. Hence, by the impulse of the Spirit, some people are brought to the point of speaking words, and this is the whole effect. But words can be considered in two ways, either as ode, and then they should be said,

like the hours, the breviary, for example, the prayer of the church, or as useful for praying, and then a distinction should be made about the beginning and the end. For better is the end of a prayer than the beginning. Ecclesiasticus 7, 9. I think it's Ecclesiasticus. For if in the beginning of a prayer the affections are excited to devout prayer by words, then it is useful to bring in words. But when the affections are not excited by this,

then no words should be uttered and the affection should be shut up. For just as heat is diminished by evaporation, so affections are emptied out by words, as is also clear in expressing sorrow to others. All right, so it sounds like here's what he's saying. And this is something we kind of see our Christian brothers and sisters who are more of a kind of charismatic bent taking. And again, charismatic has so much baggage, but I think you know what I mean. When people come to prayer, you know, they'll praise God out loud. They'll tell God who he is. You are glorious. You are beautiful. You know, I am your son. You love me. You know, what we're doing there, it's almost like we're kind of like preparing the fire you know we're putting on the kindling in a sense we're arousing devotion within

us because we know that if we just went straight from our bed to our prayer corner or whatever and just started praying silently that we wouldn't arouse the same devotion that we would if we came from our bed to our prayer corner and started saying things out loud to God. Being a body, again, right? Body, soul composites, no need trying to be more spiritual than Jesus was who had a body, right? We have a body. And so using words can help. But it sounds like what he's saying here is once you've kind of used those words to stoke up devotion, then it's almost like an oven where you just like sit in it. And then you continue, then you are in a place to kind of converse with the Lord interiorly. Whereas if you were to just do vocal prayer, it sounds like you're saying that affection for our Lord, that desire for him would diminish. That's how I take it. If you've got a different

interpretation, let me know in the comments section below. This is how Chrysostom explains, but having shut the door. All right. That wasn't meant to be scare quotes. That was just meant to be quotes. In the third way, as Augustine explains, the chamber, the heart is meant by the door, the external senses, as well as the imagination. as well as the imagination. For such a person should enter his heart and close his senses and imagination, so that nothing comes in except what pertains to his prayer. And Cyprian assigns two reasons. First, because it is blameable if you do not attend to what you say when you speak with any king. That would make sense. Second, because how will God understand you if you do not understand

yourself? This is the door that is spoken of. And from Revelation 3.20, I stand at the door and knock. That is a powerful line, hey? I guess we could make it a little more colloquial and say, why should you expect God to listen to you and to understand you when you're not even listening or understanding yourself? That's really good. So I'll just, let's see, I'll read that again. How will God understand you if you do not understand yourself? If you're standing there babbling and not paying attention to your words, this is not a good thing. Okay, then Aquinas is talking about having shut the door, right? Go to your father. Here he assigns the reason.

For no one prays except to someone who sees him. But to God, all things are naked and open. And he says to do this in secret, whether of the heart or of place, and he will repay you. And when you are praying, here he teaches us to avoid the second vice, namely the verbosity of the Gentiles. And concerning this, he does three things. First, he teaches us to avoid the example of the Gentiles. Second, he sets down the intention. Third, he assigns the reason.

The second is at, for they think. The third at, be not therefore like them. Therefore, he says, when you are praying. And note that he does not say, do not pray a lot, for that is against what is said in Romans, constant prayer, Romans 12.2. And in Luke, in his agony, he prayed the longer, Luke 22.43. And also we read in Luke 6.12, he passed the whole night in prayer. But what does he say? He says, do not speak much. He doesn't say do not pray much. He says, do not speak much.

What does this mean? Well, Augustine in his book on prayer says, let there not be much speech, but much supplication, if a fervent intention is not lacking. But much and little, great and small are relative. For much can be said two ways in relation to prayer, which is a raising up to God. They speak much when, so what does it mean to speak much, right? Well, they speak much when the words go outside the prayer, and this can be in two ways, namely if the words are about

something illicit, if I'm praying to find another wife, or if you're praying that, you know, someone should die so that you inherit something, I don't know, this is harmful. And when there is no devotion, that's the other bad thing. Then man becomes rather bored and praying becomes hateful. thing. Then man becomes rather bored and praying becomes hateful. And thus Augustine says that the monks in Egypt had frequent but brief prayers, for they saw that devotion was necessary in the one praying, but it was emptied out by a multitude of words. And thus the church, in the church, it was established that different things are said at different hours. Speak not anything rashly. Augustine says, this matter, that is prayer, is... Check this out. This is really, really, really beautiful. Oh my gosh. Do you ever like have an experience and you think that nobody else has had that experience

and then somebody says it and you're like, yeah, I know it's what I've been thinking. This is what that just happened to me. Here's what Augustine says. This matter, that is prayer, is more in groaning than in words. More in groaning than in words. More in groaning than in words. So this perpetual prayer is this constant desire of the heart for the beloved.

And you've heard me talk about the Jesus prayer a lot, you know, where we breathe in, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, and we breathe out, have mercy upon me, a sinner. This is something that's prayed repeatedly. And it's at times, obviously, it's difficult to pay attention to every word. But I think what's more important than the words, although we want to be concentrating on the words, is this desire we have for our Lord, this yearning that we have for our Lord. we have for our Lord, this yearning that we have for our Lord. I remember back in my charismatic days when people would pray in tongues, and I don't think they were the sort of tongues that

could be interpreted in the sense that it was an actual language, but I think that's kind of what they're getting at, right? It's this groaning, this yearning to be with Christ. Okay, I'm going to pause there, and we are going to pick up next week. Because what do we see here? And when you're praying, do not speak as much as the heathens, for they think that they're speaking. Oh no, we didn't even get to that. Oh yeah, did we? I don't know. Yeah, just before as the heathens.

So we got to, and when you are praying, do not speak much. That's where we're going to leave it for now, because I think there was enough in there to sort of dwell on. And again, as I said earlier, I'm trying to keep these to 15 minutes, because I want these to be as accessible as possible to you. So I hope that that was a blessing to you. Thank you, Thomas Aquinas. Thank you, Augustine.

Thank you, Chrysostom. Thank you, our dear, blessed Savior, Jesus Christ. I would love to hear below from you what you got from this Bible study. If there was something that stuck out to you for the first time, anything you want to share with the group, I would love to read it. I don't always have time to comment under people's comments, but I will click a heart, you know, to show you that I've read it, if I found it especially insightful. So thank you so much for being here. Why don't we close by making the sign of the cross in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen. Thanks so much.