This post is of one of my favorite of all the blogs I have written in over a year as a blogger. It was in response to a writing challenge. The challenge was to make a meaningful post, using the word closet in the first sentence and the last sentence, and it had to have at least 300 words.
Jesus says that my prayers need to be said in the closet. He made this assertion in what is called The Sermon on the Mount. That sermon is recorded in the fifth, sixth and seventh chapters of the Gospel of Matthew. This public proclamation is filled with some of the best known and loved teachings of the Nazarene. Those who heard it first were absolutely amazed at the power, authority and practicality of the teachings.
Right in the middle of the sermon, there is a section that deals with prayer (Matthew 6:5-15). One of the abuses of religion addressed in this passage was the practice of praying in public to show off one’s piety. Jesus proclaimed that those who pray on the street corners to be seen by others will receive no reward for their efforts, other than that they were seen by others. I believe it is the peacock practices of some who claim to be Christians that are so resented by so many non-believers.
That idea is followed by the admonition to seclude oneself and pray in private when you want to communicate with God and let Him know what is on your heart. He assures us that God will hear the petitions made in private and He will reward the one who offers such prayers.
The next segment calls on those who pray not to go on and on, as though God likes to hear long prayers. It is an indication that you do not know God, who knows what you need before you ask. Jesus then provides the much loved and recited example of effective prayers, “Our Father Who Art In Heaven…”
One of the most lacking attributes of a life of faith in many individual Christians is their personal prayer life. Many have been drawn to the services of mega-churches that offer as much entertainment as they do spiritual nourishment from the meat of the Word. Assembly of the body is expected of us, but it is not all there is to being a genuine disciple of Christ.
Many have no understanding of the need for taking time to focus on building a relationship with God. That is best done by being alone with Him in a quiet place, sharing big dreams and the little inconsequential details of the daily routine with Him. So to shut out the noise and distractions that are so much a part of our world today, turn off the television and the cell phone, and spend time in prayer talking to God. He is waiting for you in the closet.
Believin tagged me and said she wanted to know how I seek balance. And quite frankly it’s not even a question I’ve ever asked myself, at least not in those terms. I recall a few years ago when I developed with the doctor diagnosed as benign positional vertigo. For few weeks I couldn’t lay down, sit up, stand up without feeling that I would fall over. When the doctor made his diagnosis I asked him what to do to avoid the feelings. He said, “Don’t put your head in those positions that make you dizzy.” Thanks, Doc!
Generally speaking I am a happy guy, optimistic even when things around don’t seem to make any sense or weigh so much I can carry them myself. And I am a people guy; I absorb energy from those around me. I go stir crazy when I am not able to be with people for long periods of time.
It’s sort of funny in that while I generally think of the people around me as those who provide balance, I also realize that quite often they are the ones to throw me off balance. I have long believed that the proper way to conduct my life and discipleship to Christ is to love and serve other people. I try to do that; I even enjoy doing that, for the most part.
Sometimes I need to be apart from the masses and comforted by those that are truly close to me. There are times when Jesus took his closest disciples into places of quiet to be rejuvenated. For Jesus that included Peter, James, and John. For me sometimes that includes my immediate family, but most often it is only my wife that I need and want to be with. In a physical and emotional sense there is no other place that I turn for balance. When she is there I seldom stumble, but when something’s wrong with her I am most insecure.
Of course there are some things that are neither physical nor emotional, they are spiritual. In those times when I’m dealing with personal spiritual imbalance, I have a few passages of Scripture that I go to as reminders of God’s love and provision.
My immedediate family is my number one concern. They are my greatest joy and my chief worry. I want that bunch to have all the best life has to offer. And not just the physical aspects and creature comforts, but also emotional and spiritual security.
I want each precious one to develop a good sense of self worth, a capacity to see good and enjoy people and moments they experience, along with a sense of humor, an awareness of their talents, as well as their responsibilities. I want them to respect and to be respected, to have friends and to be friends.
I want the members of my family to know the God who created them and allowed me to be a part of their lives. I want to spend eternity in Heaven with them, without exception
This is my prayer through Jesus
1 Timothy 5:8 NASB “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
