A lot of the work in the Christian life is secret. You will hear many a Christian say “How will people know that I’m a believer if I am not telling people about Jesus.” On the other hand you will hear many a Christian say, “My faith is personal and the Lord knows my heart. I don’t have to prove it to anyone but Him.” 

However, the former and the latter may both struggle with the secret work. Why? For the former, it may be because they need the affirmation of fellow believers that their work is actually accomplishing anything. This idea of accomplishment comes very much from an industrial mindset, which says, “If I can’t see the effects of my work, then I am not accomplishing anything.” How untrue of spiritual work! The Bible tells us that we ought not set our minds on things of this earth, but on SPIRITUAL things. How can our minds be set on things we can’t see? We must get our “hands dirty” in unseeable work.  

The latter will struggle with discouragement and laziness. While the Lord will encourage this reclusive soul in his or her own heart, He may show the believer that their work can not be complete without further confirmation from another believer. “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!” says Psalm 107. Without the encouragement and accountability of another believer or two, what was personal faith, may turn into a sleeping, quiet , lonely existence. 

Honestly, the quiet and secret prayers of the believer are more powerful and more strongly opposed than any other form of faith, in this day and age. Many of us need the encouragement to press on with our prayers that have not seemed heard. Let us set our minds on thing above and not on earthly things. Jesus said “Blessed are you who believe yet have not seen.” I believe that the Lord will reward this secret work in greater ways than we can imagine.