Getting Into the Prayer Closet
I have found that the real secret to Christian growth is a close personal relationship with God. Spending time with God in private – reading His Word, and praying – that is how growth comes.
The Sacred Space of Solitude
In the old days, they used to talk about the prayer closet. This comes from the old version of Matthew 6:6 - the KJV says "But thou, 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." A modern translation says it this way: "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."
The prayer closet, or the secret place, is a term for your quiet place where you meet with God. Because it is in the quiet moments where you meet with God alone, that you get the most spiritual reward, and the most growth in your Christian life!
The Heart of Holiness
EM Bounds was perhaps the greatest author on the topic of prayer in the last century. In his book The Essentials of Prayer, he wrote this: "Prayerless people are strangers to anything like holiness of heart and cleanness of heart. Those who are unfamiliar with the prayer closet are not at all interested in consecration and holiness. Holiness thrives in the place of secret prayer."
Time alone with God should be non-negotiable in our daily lives. I heard a preacher once say that his motto is "no Bible, no breakfast... no read, no feed!" He so deeply wanted to connect with God, that he made a rule for himself: reading God's Word comes before my daily food. That's radical. But is it? Or is it a great idea?
Friends if you really want to grow spiritually this year, go deeper with God. Carve out time, in your busy schedule, to be alone with Him. Pray consistently and fervently.
It’s in the sacred quiet place, alone with God in prayer, that we fight life's greatest battles and achieve our mightiest victories. To be alone with God gives us strength, keeps us honest, removes distraction, and centers our thoughts on divine things. It makes us earnest and desperate and brings God wonderfully close to us.
Growth this year in our spiritual lives depends on time in that quiet place with God. Let’s not neglect it, but put it at the top of our priorities.
