A Private Place of Prayer

~ A Private Place of Prayer ~

"But when you pray, go into your inner room, and after closing your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will repay you." Matthew 6:6

In this scripture, Jesus is speaking about a place (it could be a room or a closet) "inside" a house. Calling it a “closet” could cause some people to miss the point that Jesus was making ... He simply meant to go into an inner room/place where no one would see you, so your devotions could be private and prayerfully accomplished hopefully without distraction.

In having a place to go to (not necessarily the same place each day), we follow Jesus’ example of withdrawing to a solitary place where we can sit, kneel stand or lie to pray to God, our Father.

"And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw away, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from Me. Nevertheless, let not My will, but Your will, be done.” Luke 22:41-46

Early in the morning is what sets the tone of peace and trust in God for me for my day. That seemed to often be the case for Jesus also ...

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.” Mark 1:35

In the book 33rd chapter of Jeremiah, verse 3 reads ...

"Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." These are such sweet words from our Awesome God telling us, His children to talk to Him, to call to Him and then we read why we should pray. What a beautiful invitation He gives to each and every one of us!

After walking through your abode and not finding a whole room or closet you can empty you might conclude that you cannot do this at all. Don't give up! If a space like this does not exist in your home, why not invent your own by creating an alternative one – perhaps there is enough space on the floor of your bedroom (not your bed - too easy to fall back to sleep), or living room, office, or porch where you could be alone. It just needs to be an electronics-free zone (no radios, iPads, Androids, iPhones, Laptops, etc.) as this time alone is not for research but relationship-building for you and me with our Awesome Father, our one and only God who loves us beyond measure!
Although we are not commanded in scripture to kneel to pray, doing so may help to prepare, focus and humble our hearts before God as we begin our time of worshipping Him. The verse from Psalms 95:6 says it this way ... "O enter! Let’s bow down and kneel; let’s kneel before Yahweh, our creator." God knows that some of our knees are not as good as they once were but He sees this and hears our prayers anyway, anywhere and any time!

Maybe the thought of spending extended time in prayer away from everything and everyone seems overwhelming to you. If so, perhaps you could set a kitchen timer or a watch and adjust the alarm to go off in a set amount of minutes. Maybe start with 10 minutes and then add more time from there. I think you’ll be surprised how fast time flies, once you really start talking to God about different people and situations in your life. I know I do! As I come to a close, I wanted to include a suggestion list of the pieces to include in your place of private prayer ...
A box of facial tissue
A songbook/words of worship Bible - the real paper book Prayer list (dated) Journal or notepad and pen A favourite book of prayers A timer or alarm clock Throw cushions Comfy Chair Lap desk Cozy Blanket Cuppa coffee If necessary for you, your 'prayer place' should be made portable/movable. This might be the only real issue holding you back from spending time alone seeking and listening to God. Maybe it is a chair you can easily move to a spot uninterrupted. Sometimes it might be your car. Out in your garden. On a secluded bench in a park. Pack a bag (a small luggage case works wonderfully well for this purpose, I have found) with your prayer pieces and begin.
Most importantly, I believe, is for us to take that first step and get ourselves into our 'prayer space/room/closet/place! Once you acknowledge that this part of your day along with the area and time is important to your health and growth (whole being - mind, strength, soul and spirit - Mark 12:29-31) it will be something we crave! With that accomplished talking, asking, praising, singing and listening to God comes easily and is soooo rewarding! Recognizing and detaching ourselves from life-robbing devices like TV, Facebook, multiple online platforms, etc. will be a challenge. I know this as a truth for I was a woman who rarely made room in my life for more than my bedtime and meal prayers for many years. Now, my prayer time is as essential and exciting to me as waking up each morning with His breath in my lungs! Halleluyah!!!

Prayer is a spiritual discipline and like all disciplines, it will necessarily take time, dedication, effort and energy.

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11

Personal places of prayer - I sure do need mine ...

T'is a place where I am reminded of Yahweh's great love and care for His creation, including you and me, dear friends. A place where I am strengthened to keep growing, setting down firmer roots, a wonderful place where I can sing out His praises and thank my God for sending Jesus, His Son and then His holy Spirit as He more deeply develops my prayer life through the great and unsearchable things He teaches me! Dear sisters and brothers, I pray that in our private time of prayer, our prayers as we grow in relationship with Yahweh, our Almighty God, would be from our hearts.

Let us remember that there is no need for fancy words or ones that go on and on.

Let us simply pour out our hearts to the One who loves us the most as we come before Him. Then let us be still and listen for the treasures that He surely will tell us that we do not know (Jeremiah 33:3). We pray in Jesus' name as we acknowledge that our access to God in prayer comes only through Jesus and the power holy spirit within us as sons and daughters of Adonai.

Friend, do you have a personal space for undistracted prayer for yourself? Is a prayer closet something that you can see yourself creating? Are there ways that you currently are protecting and preparing for your dedicated prayer time even without the use of a prayer closet?
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Take real good care, keep praying & growing, and sing out His praises!   
Rose Naomi

~ A Voice In His Garden Ministries ~
Growing Mind, Body, Soul & Spirit
~ Praise People Plants Possibilities ~
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"I will sing praise to ADONAI, my God, as long as I live." Psalm 104:33a