"WHEN thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." [Matthew 6:6]
Note, this does not say that He will reward you in secret.
No; He sees you in secret, He hears you in secret; but He rewards you, He answers you, openly.
---Yet man's way is the reverse of this: he is inclined to be ever watching his open life, trying to correct a wrong impression here, to straighten a crooked influence there, all the while neglecting the secret life, of which these outward things are but the reflection.
Q: Can a crooked stick cast a straight shadow?
A: No more can a life that is crooked in secret be straight openly.
Q: When a crooked stick has cast its crooked shadow, is it the 
sensible thing to go to tinkering the shadow to make it straight?
A: No; correct the stick, make it straight; then there will be no difficulty with the shadow: all who see it will see that it is straight.
---No more is it sensible to be tinkering your outward life to have it straight; straighten the secret life, and God has certified that your open life shall be straight. Then put your time and attention upon your secret life; keep your time and attention there; spend much time with him who seeth in secret; and he will put his time and attention upon your open life." A.T. Jones
