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“Your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”
Let us look at what the Word of God says:
> “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
> so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
> (Matthew 6:3–4)
> “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
> (Matthew 6:1)
> “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.”
> (Matthew 6:6)
The central theme of these verses—and of the lyrics you have before you—is very clear:
God watches what we do in secret, and God rewards what we do in secret.
In this passage from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus sets before us a sharp contrast between two ways of living:
The song “In Secret, He Sees” is not just about giving money, or praying, or fasting. It is about the inner orientation of the heart:
Who am I really living for? Whose approval do I seek? Whose reward do I desire?
Jesus shows us that this issue is so serious that it can cancel or secure our eternal reward.
These words occur in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). Jesus is speaking primarily to Jewish disciples and crowds in Galilee. They are people who are very familiar with religious practice: synagogue attendance, almsgiving, fasting, public prayers, and the authority of the religious leaders.
In their world:
Over time, what God had given as genuine expressions of righteousness had been corrupted by pride and public display. The religious leaders—scribes and Pharisees—had largely moved from seeking God’s approval to seeking human recognition.
So in Matthew 6:1–18, Jesus exposes three main areas:
1. Giving to the needy (vv. 2–4)
2. Prayer (vv. 5–6)
3. Fasting (vv. 16–18)
In each case He gives the same warning and the same promise:
The lyrics echo this structure: giving, praying, fasting, and the contrast between public display and secret devotion.
Jesus is doing more than correcting external religious behavior. He is going to the root of the human heart—our craving for recognition, our desire for men’s applause, our fear of being overlooked. He exposes that this root, if left unchallenged, will rob us of heavenly reward.
The people He spoke to were deeply religious. Yet Jesus says of some of them, “They have already received their reward in full.” That is one of the most sobering statements in the New Testament. It means this:
If you live for the praise of men, the praise of men is all you will ever get.
To understand this passage more deeply, we will look at two key words in the Greek text.
### 1. “Hypocrites” – ὑποκριτής (hypokritēs)
In Matthew 6:2, Jesus says:
> “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do…”
The Greek word is hypokritēs. Originally, this word meant an actor on a stage, one who wore a mask. It described someone who played a role in the theater, not a person being himself.
So when Jesus calls these religious performers “hypocrites,” He is saying they are spiritual actors. Outwardly, they are performing righteousness. Inwardly, their motives are different.
The song captures this:
“Don’t sound a trumpet like the hypocrites do / In the streets and synagogues to be honored by others.”
They are not giving, praying, or fasting because they love God or love people. They are acting out a part to win the admiration of the audience. Their true god has become public opinion.
This teaches us something essential:
Hypocrisy is not first about doctrinal error, but about motive. It is righteousness for show, not righteousness for God.
### 2. “Reward” – μισθός (misthos)
Repeatedly, Jesus uses the word “reward”:
> “Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” (Matthew 6:2)
> “Your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:4, 6, 18)
The Greek word is misthos, which means:
Notice: Jesus is not embarrassed to speak about reward. This is not a side issue. He speaks about reward to motivate His disciples to live rightly. God is a rewarder (Hebrews 11:6).
When Jesus says, “They have received their reward in full,” the phrase indicates a transaction that is complete. The hypocrite has already been fully paid—in the currency he desired: public recognition. There will be nothing more from God.
But for the one who gives, prays, and fasts in secret, God Himself becomes the Paymaster. He will see, He will remember, and He will recompense in His time and in His way—both in this age and in the age to come.
The lyrics reflect this:
“Heaven’s reward will one day abound…
Live for the audience of One alone…
He sees in secret, He’ll reward in His time.”
Understanding misthos helps us recognize that every act of hidden obedience is a seed sown into God’s eternal accounting.
We will now move through the themes in the lyrics, aligning them with key biblical truths.
### A. Secret Giving: The Test of Motive
> “When you give to someone in need
> Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing
> Keep your giving quiet and private
> Don’t sound a trumpet like the hypocrites do…”
Jesus begins with almsgiving—giving to the needy. This was central in Jewish piety. But Jesus does not first address the amount given. He addresses the awareness of self in the act.
“Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3) is a powerful metaphor. It means: act with such simplicity and God-centeredness that you are not busy admiring yourself even in your own mind.
The temptation is twofold:
1. To want others to see what we have done.
2. To congratulate ourselves inwardly and build a secret pride.
The song says: “Keep your giving quiet and private.” That is the heart of it. Not for show, not for praise, but as an expression of the Father’s heart to the needy.
Other Scriptures confirm this principle:
When you give in secret, your transaction is with God, not with men.
God looks at the heart, not the publicity.
### B. Public Applause vs. Heavenly Reward
> “In the streets and synagogues to be honored by others
> They’ve already received their reward in full…”
> “The applause of people fades away so fast
> But what’s done in secret is built to last…”
This frames a fundamental choice in discipleship:
Will I seek immediate, visible, human approval, or delayed, often invisible, divine reward?
Scripture reinforces this contrast:
The religious hypocrite is motivated by the fear of man and the desire for honor from men. But whoever chooses the praise of men over the praise of God is trading eternal reward for temporary recognition.
The lyrics say: “The applause of people fades away so fast.” That is accurate theology. Human applause is short-lived, shallow, and unstable. But:
> “…what’s done in secret is built to last…”
Why? Because it is recorded in heaven. God is not unjust to forget your work (Hebrews 6:10). What is done for the Father, in the Father, by the grace of the Father, will be rewarded by the Father.
### C. Be Careful How You Practice Righteousness
> “Be careful not to practice your righteousness
> Just to be seen by others
> If you do, you’ll have no reward from your Father in heaven…”
This is a direct paraphrase of Matthew 6:1.
The phrase “practice your righteousness” shows that Jesus is not eliminating public works. Christians are called to let their light shine before others (Matthew 5:16). But they must shine “that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven,” not glorify you.
So the issue is not visibility. The issue is intent.
“Be careful,” Jesus says. That means this is a subtle danger. One can start out rightly and later be corrupted by the subtle desire for recognition.
The lyrics add:
“Whether giving, praying, or fasting—keep it real
Not for show, not for praise from the crowd
But for the eyes of the One who sees everything”
This is the essence of the fear of the Lord. To live as if God’s gaze is the only one that truly matters.
Scripture confirms this repeatedly:
God is not merely weighing actions. He is weighing motives.
### D. Secret Prayer: The Hidden Life with God
> “When you pray, go into your room
> Close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen
> He hears every word whispered in private…”
This takes us directly to Matthew 6:6. Jesus is not forbidding all public prayer (He Himself prayed publicly). He is forbidding prayer that is aimed at people, rather than at God.
The command to “go into your room” (Greek: tameion – inner room, storeroom) and “shut the door” stresses exclusion of distraction and freedom from human audience. There, in secret, you learn to know the Father as “your Father.”
Secret prayer is where intimacy with God is formed. It is where our motives are purified. It is where we are weaned from the addiction to human affirmation.
The Father is “unseen,” the lyrics say. Yet He hears “every word whispered in private.” That is the life of faith: dealing with the unseen God as real, present, and attentive.
Other Scriptures:
Secret prayer is an expression of this faith.
The secret place is the place of safety, covering, and authority.
### E. Fasting Without Show
> “When you fast, don’t look gloomy like the hypocrites
> Wash your face, anoint your head
> So only your Father sees what’s in your heart…”
Again, Jesus confronts hypocrisy. The hypocrites made their fasting visible—sad faces, neglected appearance—so that people would think them especially devout.
Jesus says the very opposite: groom yourself, look normal, and let your fasting be for God alone. Fasting is not a demonstration of spirituality for others to observe; it is a private transaction with God, dealing with the flesh and aligning the heart with the will of God.
Spiritual warfare is involved here. The flesh resists hidden obedience. The carnal nature craves recognition. When we fast in secret, we are not only humbling our body, we are crucifying our desire for man’s approval.
### F. The Audience of One
> “Live for the audience of One alone
> Every hidden act of kindness is known
> He sees in secret, He’ll reward in His time…”
This is the principle that unifies the whole passage. There is One ultimate Spectator, One ultimate Judge, One ultimate Rewarder: the Father in heaven.
To “live for the audience of One” is to be freed from slavery to human opinion. It is to be delivered from fear of man. It is to walk before God as Abraham did:
> “I am God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless.” (Genesis 17:1)
Notice the phrase: “He’ll reward in His time.” That requires faith and patience. Often, God delays visible reward precisely to test and purify our motives. Will we continue in secret obedience when there is no immediate recognition, no visible success, no public honor?
Scripture speaks to this:
This is the ultimate reward: not merely what He gives, but what He says.
The lyrics end with a simple, powerful exhortation:
“Give in secret—trust His promise is true.”
Faith takes Jesus at His word: “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
We will now make this very practical. How do we respond to this teaching? I will outline four steps.
### 1. Examine Your Motives Before God
First, we must bring our hearts into the light of God’s presence.
Ask the Holy Spirit to search you:
Use Scriptures like Psalm 139:23–24 as a prayer:
> “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
> See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Do not justify yourself. Agree with God. Confess any desire for human applause as sin—idolatry of man’s opinion.
### 2. Establish a Secret Life with God
Second, we must cultivate deliberate, hidden practices:
Make it your aim that there are things in your walk with God that no one else knows about—deeds, sacrifices, intercessions known only to the Father. This builds spiritual depth and authority.
### 3. Renounce the Fear of Man and the Craving for Applause
Third, we must decisively break agreement with the fear of man.
Say out loud, in the presence of God:
Stand on Scriptures such as:
This is spiritual warfare. You are breaking a stronghold in the mind and in the emotions. Persist until you sense a change.
### 4. Make Faith Proclamations About God’s Reward
Fourth, we must align our mouths with God’s promises.
Say, based on Matthew 6:
By proclaiming the Word, you are applying the truth to your own soul and resisting Satan’s lies—that your obedience is unnoticed, that your sacrifices are wasted, that you must promote yourself to be secure.
### Proclamation
Say this aloud, carefully and deliberately:
“I affirm today that my Father in heaven sees in secret and rewards in secret.
I renounce the fear of man and the desire for human applause.
I choose to give, to pray, and to fast not to be seen by others, but for the eyes of my Father alone.
I declare that every hidden act of obedience, every unseen sacrifice, and every secret prayer is known to God and remembered by Him.
I will live for the audience of One.
I will not trumpet my own righteousness.
My left hand will not know what my right hand is doing.
My security is not in human praise but in my Father’s approval.
Your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you—this is the word of the Lord, and I receive it as truth for my life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
### Prayer
“Father, in the name of Jesus, I come to You as the One who sees in secret and weighs the motives of every heart.
I confess that many times I have desired the praise of people more than Your praise. I acknowledge this as sin. I ask You to forgive me and to cleanse me by the blood of Jesus.
Holy Spirit, search my heart and expose every trace of hypocrisy, every craving for recognition, every fear of being overlooked. I lay these at the foot of the cross.
Father, teach me to give in secret, to pray in secret, and to fast in secret. Build in me a hidden life with You that is strong and deep and real. Deliver me from the fear of man. Establish in me the fear of the Lord.
I choose today to live for the audience of One. I trust Your promise that what I do in secret, for You, will be rewarded by You, in Your time and in Your way.
Let my life be a testimony that You are a rewarder of those who diligently seek You. I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
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