But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret." Matthew 6:6 | sermon by Father. Mungamuri Devadasu | Bible Mission

"But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret." Matthew 6:6

To attain mental stillness and spiritual focus, meditate deeply and practice the following three disciplines:

1. Let only the Lord come to mind.
2. Do not allow any other thoughts to enter.
3. Listen attentively to the teaching.

Prayer: O Lord, these three are not easy tasks. Yet, if we can quiet our minds, we can receive all that we truly need. Even acrobats and circus performers have mental focus. How much more should we, Your children, possess! Therefore, grant us divine courage and help us develop true mental stillness by Your grace.

Shut the Door – A Meditation on Focused Prayer

1. The First Step: Enter and Shut the Door

When you enter your prayer room, don’t just walk in—shut the door behind you.
What do you leave outside when you step into this sacred space? Your children, chores, noise, responsibilities, and the bustle of daily life.Yet, if you don’t shut the door, all that you left outside will find its way back in—the crow will caw in your mind,the chicken will cluck in your thoughts,the children’s cries, neighbors’ calls, even the clutter of household sounds—
they will all begin to echo inside your soul.You may say, “I told everyone not to disturb me,” or “I locked the door.”But unless you shut the door of your heart, distractions will still enter.
These are not merely sounds around you—they are disturbances within you.That’s why Jesus said,“When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” (Matthew 6:6)  The door must be shut—both outside and within.

2. The Second Door: The Heart

The first door is the visible one—the wooden door of your room.But the second door is more important: the door of your heart.Even with the room door shut, the noises of the world still enter through memory, imagination, and wandering thoughts.
You may hear the rooster crow or the children shout—not with your ears, but within your mind.Doubts may arise: “Is this working?” “Is this real?”—these thoughts come flooding in.So, close the door of your heart.If you leave it open, the “wild animals” of distraction—fear, anxiety, guilt, resentment, fantasy—will invade your sacred space.But once the heart is closed off to all else,only the Lord remains within.Then, even if storms rage outside, peace reigns inside.

What is the heart? And what does it mean to "shut it"?

While closing the door of a house is simple, the heart represents the mind—our inner space where thoughts arise. To shut the door of the heart means to prevent any external thoughts, distractions, or memories from entering the mind. It is to intentionally stop thinking about anything from the outside world. Though difficult at first, with discipline and practice, it becomes easier over time. For instance, there was once a hermit who heard the sound of women singing nearby. Immediately, he covered his ears to avoid distraction. At that very moment, a snake crawled across his foot, yet he didn’t even move. Because of his complete stillness and mental focus, the snake didn’t bite him. This example reflects the level of composure and single-minded attention needed to truly shut the door of the heart. When we succeed in doing so—when no stray thoughts or disturbances are allowed in—then and only then, the Heavenly Father enters. In fact, denying access to anything else is what makes room for God. In such moments of undisturbed stillness, we can speak freely and intimately with Him. But if worldly thoughts slip in, that sacred state is lost. Nothing should enter the mind except the Lord Himself. Once He fills that inner space, ask Him what is on your heart, and He will answer. Close your physical eyes, but open the eyes of your spirit—see the Lord, and commune with Him deeply. This is the essence of sacred, undistracted prayer.