Scripture

But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

~Matthew 6:6, LSB

Quote

The closet {private prayer place} is the only place where you are able to tell the Father everything you are feeling.

~Calvin Miller

Public prayer is difficult because it is hard to lose consciousness of those around you. Prayer is conversation between us and the Father, but when people pray in public, they many times talk about God, rather than to Him. Some of this stems from the fact that we don’t do very much private intercession. The rules for divine intimacy are pretty much the same as with humans. When a man wants to be intimate with his wife, they find a private place. Intimacy has to be between him and her, a third-party changes intimacy into obscenity. This is one of the things which makes pornography so obscene; it always involves a third party. Everyone needs a private place; a closet, a room, a tool shed, basement…a place where you can be alone.

I love my private place. It is my refuge, my hiding place. I feel safe and secure in my quiet place. There is no pressure there to please people and no danger that I will offend or hurt someone with a careless word. About the only temptation is to stay hidden in my safe place. I never have road rage in my hiding place. I never get angry or fly off the handle. I guess it’s like Peter, James and John on the mount of transfiguration, we want to pitch a tent and stay but there is ministry to be done down in the valley. I used to think that Monks were crazy for cloistering themselves and shutting out the world but at times, it seems very appealing. David said in Psalm 55:6, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.” In a way, that is what I do. Of course, I do not have the wings of a dove and I cannot fly completely away from trouble, but I can take a short walk to my little building and have some time alone with Jesus. Time alone with Him is sweet rest. As the song says, “I may have doubts and fears, my eyes be filled with tears, but just a little talk with Jesus makes it right.” So let us have a little talk with Jesus; let us tell all about our sorrow; He will hear our faintest cry and He will answer by and by.

Extra

TGIF, at least for the grands. It is hard for anyone not to like Fridays. I hope you have a great weekend and thanks for reading the blog.