Pray in the Window, Not the Street Corner
Table of Contents
DISCLAIMER
I’m worried that no matter what I write, how I write it, or how much context I provide, there will be some who read this article and misinterpret my words and respond rather negatively. I truly hope that my words are clear and that my heart is obvious to any who read.
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
Matthew 6:5
This idea first started bouncing around in my head a few months ago. I spent some time deciding the best way to express my thoughts but kept running into problems. First, it feels a bit disingenuous to post a public piece of writing that criticizes certain public demonstrations or expressions of virtue/outrage/fill in the blank. Am I just adding more noise and cutting my legs from underneath my own argument? I guess you’ll have to be the judge of that when you are finished reading. Second, I am always extremely hesitant to wade into any topic that even brushes up against politics. Political discourse rarely, if ever, brings out the best in us.
Street Corner Christianity
Even with those perfectly good reasons to abandon this topic before I get too far along, I have decided to stick it out and see if I can make something worthwhile of it. So, let’s get to the crux of the matter. Over the past few years, I’ve noticed a trend that has been slowly developing primarily on social media. It has been fully in vogue in secular settings but more recently, a version has taken root and is popping up more and more in Christian circles as well. We’re going to call it “Street Corner Christianity”.
This trend is typically connected to something political, which to me is an obvious red flag. Beyond that, there is the style, tone, and arbitrary manner in which the trend is deployed. In simplest form, it goes something like this: Politician A says or does something we find problematic. We rush to social media to denounce what Politician A said or did. We get some digital pats on the back, some dopamine hits, and we feel virtuous and noble and righteous.
And every bit of it feels performative at best and ugly and vainglorious at worst. Perhaps that is too harsh. I guess it depends on what side of the conversation one is on. Yet I go back to that opening passage of Scripture, and I feel like we are absolutely missing the mark. Our rush to denounce the awful thing Politician A said or did seems much more about making sure our social media friends and followers know we are “on the right side of history” than it does about defending truth and righteousness. Our “bold” stand feels like it is meant to be seen and applauded and that in itself feels off to me.
Now, before you sharpen your pitchforks, I know certain people are in positions of leadership or influence, and there are very special situations that call for them to publicly address these sorts of thorny issues. While I concede that is portion of these types of social media posts, I would estimate it is a very small percentage of the whole. It is comically rare how often anyone needs to know what I or Rambling Ever On think about the latest outrage caused by Politician A or Politician B. That same is likely true for you as well.
And I also hasten to add that if you have ever posted something of this nature on social media, I am not comparing you to the hypocrites in the passage above. I do not know your heart or motives. I do know my own heart and motives, though, and they have rarely been in the right place when I have been tempted to run to social media to speak out on some issue. In those cases, I have been more concerned with human validation than I have been with bringing honor and glory to God.
Pray in the window.
We are given another Biblical example on how to publicly live out our faith, and it couldn’t be more diametrically different than the Street Corner Christianity that is so often on display. We find it in the book of Daniel
But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.
Daniel 6:10
Daniel was a trusted and respected advisor to the king. His position made the other wise men (satraps) of the court jealous. They conspired to trap him by using the only thing they could find to hurt him – his faith. They convinced the king to pass a law that prohibited worship or prayer to anyone other than King Darius. They were convinced that Daniel would not deviate from his daily prayer time. They knew he would continue to live out his faith just as he always had. They knew he would pray in his window. It wasn’t showy or preachy, but it was consistent, spiritual discipline, lived out every day.
We know the rest of the story. As soon as Daniel heard the law had been signed, “he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open towards Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.”1 He didn’t go to the street corner to “prayerfully” denounce the king or the law. He did “as he had done previously” and he prayed in his home, in his window facing Jerusalem.2
Daniel’s habitual obedience, his exemplary service to the king, and his obvious faithfulness to God were on full display for anyone to see. He didn’t need to make bold pronouncements or pontificate in public for everyone to know exactly what mattered to him. His faith, and his prayer time, was not about location. Praying in the window was simply an extension of his lived-out faith. It was who he was, every day, every hour. Even though his prayer time was private, in his home, the text leaves no doubt that his enemies knew his character, faith, and convictions.
I’m afraid that much of modern, online Christianity has opted to follow the Pharisees lead because, quite frankly, it gets more attention and makes us feel better about ourselves. Praying in the window like Daniel feels boring and won’t get us nearly as many “likes”. Yet, the life of one of the most faithful and righteous men in all of Scripture gives a blueprint for how to live our lives.
And if there is anything I want us to take away from this article, it is that. There is a place for public denouncement of evil words or actions. I simply urge us all to guard our hearts and our motives when we feel the need to make our public condemnations. Are we truly following the prompting of the Holy Spirit when we publicly call out Politician A or B? Or do we have a selfish need for validation from others? Are we pridefully seeking to be seen as one of the “good guys”? Are we publicly thanking God we are not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this Politician or their supporters!
The way of Daniel is harder to live out and gets us considerably less “likes” and pats on the back. It’s day by day, hour by hour faithful service to our Savior. It is untethered from social media displays of virtue and righteousness. When we live like Daniel and we pray in the window, the focus of our worship and service is God alone. Seeking human validation will produce its own reward, one that is temporary and entirely earthly bound. Praying in our window means living lives of excellence, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. It is a daily crucifying of our flesh, our passions, and our desires.3
Final Thoughts on Social Media, Kingdom Living, and Praying in the Window
Social media can be a great way to connect with and encourage others. And it can be a wonderful place to find great recipes or follow your favorite bands or sports. But it can also feed some of our worst impulses, pulling us into ugly echo chambers or unproductive confrontations.
As brothers and sisters in Christ, we must be better than this. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God, adopted into the family of the King. I pray we spend our spiritual inheritance well, striving always to honor and glorify Jesus because only He is worthy of our praise. Look to men like Daniel for a better way. Get off the street corner and go pray in the window. I promise the view is better and the reward is much more satisfying.
- Daniel 6:10 ↩
- The jealous satraps caught Daniel and he was thrown into a den full of lions. God protected him and he was delivered. ↩
- Galatians 5:22-23 ↩
- Pray in the Window, Not the Street Corner - April 20, 2026
- Review: NEEDTOBREATHE – The Long Surrender - April 2, 2026
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Thanks for this reminder. I have been guilty of doing this, though my main motivation has usually been frustration at the current political climate where some people think Politician A can do no right while Politician B can do no wrong. It’s even more striking when Politician A supports something that person used to promote, but the person ignores that position now since they see supporting it as supporting Politician A. On the flip side, Politican B may oppose virtually everything that person supports, but the person takes on an angle of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. I fear we as a society have gone far past the polarization tipping point.
Well said, and I have struggled with this as well.
Thank you for having the courageous to gently address this issue.