“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” (Matthew 6:6).

What did our Lord mean when He said:
“Enter into your closet to pray?”

The word “closet” simply means somewhere-
– that you can shut the door on the world and open the windows to heaven.

As you study the life of Jesus-
– you’ll discover that Jesus sought times to be alone.

Sometimes He would go on a mountain, sometimes into the wilderness, and sometimes into a garden.

It is the secret place!
– that is the sacred place!!

When you enter your closet to pray-
Spend some time in silence!
Clear your mind.
Then, listen for His Words of edification, encouragement, and exhortation.

The mark of your prayer life is-
– not really how well you pray in public, but in private!

(PR)

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The moments that sustain us are-
– those moments invested in true devotion and fellowship with the Lord.

Moment of meditation on His Word-
– is the passport to wisdom, innumerable blessings, and unspeakable peace.

Yet at its foundation-
– it is a practical exercise!

Setting aside time.
It doesn’t matter the time of day; more important is your frame of mind.

Stillness.
Being still before God means minimizing distractions.
Turn off the television, the radio, and the phone.
Pray for God to quiet your spirit.

Silence.
Meditation involves active listening.
As you pray and read God’s Word-
– pause to think and listen for His still, small voice.

Seclusion.
It is important that you meditate alone-
– developing a personal relationship with your Father.

Self-control.
We have a responsibility to faithfully seek God, not legalistically but in earnest sincerity.
We do not have to answer impulses or rush to less important matters during our quiet time.

You will learn meditation has several effects!
Among other benefits, meditation-
– quiets your spirit,
– purifies your heart,
– produces a hunger for God and His Word,
– increases your view of God,
– increases your discernment,
– gives you a clear sense of direction for your life,
– and confirms or cautions you about counsel you’ve received.

(PR)

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If someone asks if you’re aware of God-
What will you say?

Maybe you’d reply, “I go to church, read my Bible, and pray all the time. I’m definitely aware of God.”

But the real question is this:
Are you aware of God’s presence and activity in your daily life?

This second question makes it a bit more personal, doesn’t it?
It refers to God being in our daily lives all the time.
We’d like to have that constant awareness of God’s presence.

But it’s difficult.
When hardships and trials come from nowhere, we sometimes feel confused.
We may feel like God has left us so alone.

During difficult times, we might pray even harder and longer.
We plead for help, but see little result.

The problem is that our prayers usually revolve around our desires.
Even when communicating with God, we may be aware only of ourselves, leaving the Lord out of the matter entirely.

At that point-
We may find we’re not really talking to the Father at all.
We’re talking to ourselves!

Soliloquy! (an act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers)

Perhaps we’re focusing on the problem and actually wishing for the ability to handle it on our own.

We can, in effect, become completely blind to how God may be working.

Read Second Kings 6:15-17.
You will get a clear picture of what happens when we remove our self-centered blinders and truly see God’s hand at work.

Open your eyes!
You may be shocked to discover the help God has already sent your way.

(PR)

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A faith line is what you need when you want God to do the “impossible” in your life. It’s what you need when you want to be firm in your faith and yet you keep wavering back and forth between your circumstances and God’s promises 
-believing first one, then the other.

Abraham had natural facts to deal with just like we do. He knew there was no natural way for God’s promise to him to come true.

Yet the Word says Abraham considered not his own body. In other words, Abraham ignored the natural evidence around him and believed only God’s promise. Somewhere he stepped across the line of faith. He made an irreversible decision to go with the Word of God. He made a final commitment. He chose to step past the point of no return.

Read Romans 4:13-21. “And being not weak in faith, [Abraham] considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Romans 4:19-20).

And if you and I are ever going to see God do the impossible in our lives-
We’re going to have to do the same thing!

How do you draw that faith line?
Begin with the Word! Search the promises of God and purposely believe what

He has said, and is saying, about your need. Meditate on those promises until faith rises and rests in your heart.

Then draw the line of faith! Draw it in your mind and heart. Draw it across the floor in your prayer room. Say, “In the presence of God, in the presence of all the angels in this room, and in the devils face, I am stepping across the line of faith. From this moment on, I consider this matter done. From this day forward, I give God the praise and the glory in the Name of Jesus, Amen!”

From that moment on, speak only as if your miracle has already happened. Turn your back on the problems, on the doubts, and turn your face toward Jesus.

God will do the impossible in your life! Dare to step across the faith line!

(PR)

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And He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed” (Matthew 26:39).

There are several instructive features: – in our Saviour’s prayer in His hour of trial!
It was a prayer in solitude! He withdrew even from His three favoured disciples.

Believer, be much in solitary prayer, especially in times of trial. Family prayer, social prayer, prayer in the Church, will not suffice, these are very precious! But the best beaten spice will smoke in your censer in your private devotions, where no ear hears but God’s.

It was a prayer of submission! Luke says He knelt, but another evangelist says He “fell on His face.” Are you a humble servant of the great Master? Humility gives us good foot-hold in prayer. There is no hope of prevalence with God unless we abase ourselves that He may exalt us in due time.

It was prayer with Sonship! “Abba, Father.”

You will find it a stronghold in the day of trial to plead your adoption. You have no rights as a subject, you have forfeited them by your treason; But nothing can forfeit a son’s right to a father’s protection. Be not afraid to say, “My Father, hear my cry.”
It was a prayer of steadfastness! He prayed three times.

Cease not until you prevail. Pray without ceasing! Be as the importunate widow, whose continual coming earned what her first supplication could not win. Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.

It was a prayer of surrender! “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

Let it be as God wills, and God will determine for the best. Be content to leave your prayer in His hands, who knows when to give, and how to give, and what to give, and what to withhold.

So pleading, earnestly, importunately, yet with humility and resignation, you shall surely prevail.

(PR)

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“So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain. And no man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain” (Exodus 34:2-3).

The morning watch is essential.
You must not face the day until you have faced God!

Nor look into the face of others until you have looked into His!!
You cannot expect to be victorious-
– if the day begins only in your own strength.

Face the work of every day with the influence of-
– quiet moments with your heart and God.

Do not meet other people-
– even those of your own home,
– until you have first met the great Guest and honoured Companion of your life.

Meet Him alone!
Meet Him regularly.
Meet Him with His open Book of counsel before you.

And face the regular and the irregular duties of each day-
– with the influence of His personality definitely controlling your every act.

Meet Him in the Morning!

(PR)

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“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10).

Prayer is not meant to change God’s mind.
But to change us and align our thinking with God’s.

When we begin our prayer with praise-
– we take the focus off of ourselves and put it on God.

When we pray for God’s will to be done-
– we take the focus off our desires and put it on God’s desires for our lives.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
For those who recite what we’ve come to know as the Lord’s Prayer on a regular basis, it is very important that we never take those words for granted or treat them like a doxology to a commonplace prayer.
It is the cornerstone, the focus, and the ultimate purpose of prayer.

Jesus, Himself, prayed for God’s will to be done.
In the Garden of Gethsemane , just before his arrest, Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me.”

His prayer was so intense, capillaries burst and droplets of blood trickled down his forehead.
And yet, as much as He would have welcomed redemption in a way other than the cross, Jesus prayed, “yet, not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

I am so thankful that God has not answered each of my requests with a “yes.”
My life would be much different than it is today – and I don’t mean for the better.

How thankful I am for my Heavenly Father Who knows what’s best for me!
He has plans that are “above and beyond all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

And in order to hear God speak through prayer, we must allow ourselves to think beyond our limited knowledge, to see beyond our limited vision, and to believe beyond our limited understanding.

Prayer turns our focus toward God and allows Him to rearrange our priorities.
It is more than unloading our burdens and enumerating our desires.

Prayer sets our agenda.
Did you ever notice that Jesus didn’t set His agenda and then ask God to bless it? No!

He did only what the Father told Him to do. He “had to go” to Samaria , to the next town, and to Zaccheus’ home for dinner.
He also had to delay his journey to see his ailing friend, Lazarus until he had been dead for three days.

Prayer is more than telling God what we want.
It is asking God what He wants and then following His lead.

(PR)

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Sometimes an unanswered prayer is the best thing for us!

The psalmist says, “And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul” (Psalm 106:15).

The Israelites had prayed selfishly! God was feeding them with manna from heaven, angel’s food, but they wanted meat. All they had to do every morning was step out of their tents, stoop down and pick up the precious, clean, sweet, life-giving manna. But after a while their old appetites came back. They said, “Oh, if somebody would give us some meat to eat.”

So God sent them meat, but while they were eating it, many of them died. (Num 11:31-33).
We can learn from this experience!

First, selfish prayers are dangerous. How dangerous it is to say, “Oh, God, I simply have to have this.” Such prayers are never beneficial.” You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3).

Second, prayer must change our character. The Israelites got their request, but it didn’t help their character. In fact, they were in worse shape spiritually after they got what they wanted. The prodigal son said, “Father, give me.” He got what he asked for, and it almost ruined him. Then he came home and said, “Father, make me” – and his character changed. He began to be a real son (Luke 15:19). Selfish praying erodes our character, but praying in the will of God builds our character.

Third, we must always pray for God’s will. The purpose of prayer, it has well been said, is not to get man’s will done in heaven but to get God’s will done on earth. Never be afraid to say, “Your will be done.”

God knows best how to answer your prayers – even whether or not to answer them! The psalmist has given three valuable guidelines for effective prayer. Do you apply these to your prayers? Let God use your prayer time to align you to His will and His point of view. Let Him prepare you for His answer!

(PR)

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“And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You” (Psalm 39:7).

What are you waiting for?
And how can you be sure that what you’re waiting for is going to come?

Biblical hope means complete confidence in God and His Word!
It’s a confidence, born of faith in God founded in His Word!

Faith, hope and love go together (1 Cor 13:13). When we have faith in God, we claim His promises, and they give us hope for the future.

Hope for the Christian is not a feeling of “I hope it’s going to happen.” It’s an exciting expectancy because God controls the future. When Jesus Christ is your Savior and your Lord, the future is your friend. You don’t have to worry.

Why is this hope so important?
When we lose hope, we lose joy in the present because we have no confidence for the future. We live on hope; it springs eternal in the human breast. But it’s more than a feeling down inside; it’s a confidence that God is in control, and we have nothing to fear.

What is the basis for our hope?
It is the character of God. We’ve been born again unto a living hope (1 Pet 1:3).
It’s not a dead hope that rots and falls apart but a living hope whose roots go deeper and whose fruits grow more wonderful. You can have encouragement and excitement today if you will remember that you have a living hope.

Make a mental list of His provision on your behalf during the past year–answered prayers, met needs and other blessings. God’s faithfulness in keeping His promises in the past gives you confident hope for the future.

(PR)

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“Hear me, O LORD, hear me.” (1 Kings 18:37)

“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit” (James 5:17, 18).

He got under a juniper tree, as you and I have often done; he complained and murmured, as we have often done; was unbelieving, as we have often been. But that was not the case when he really got into touch with God. Though “a man subject to like passions as we are,” “he prayed praying.” It is sublime in the original–not “earnestly,” but “he prayed in prayer.” He kept on praying.

What is the lesson here?
You must keep praying.

Come up on the top of Carmel, and see that remarkable parable of Faith and Sight.
It was not the descent of the fire that now was necessary, but the descent of the flood; and the man that can command the fire can command the flood by the same means and methods. We are told that he bowed himself to the ground with his face between his knees; that is, shutting out all sights and sounds. He was putting himself in a position where, beneath his mantle, he could neither see nor hear what was going forward.

He said to his servant, “Go and take an observation.” He went and came back, and said–how sublimely brief! one word–“Nothing!”

What do we do under such circumstances? We say, “It is just as I expected!” and we give up praying.
Did Elijah?

No, he said, “Go again.”
His servant again came back and said, “Nothing!”
“Go again.”
“Nothing!”

By and by he came back, and said, “There is a little cloud like a man’s hand.” A man’s hand-like cloud had been raised in supplication, and presently down came the rain; and Ahab had not time to get back to the gate of Samaria with all his fast steeds.

This is a parable of Faith and Sight–faith shutting itself up with God; sight taking observations and seeing nothing; faith going right on, and “praying in prayer,” with utterly hopeless reports from sight.

Do you know how to pray that way, how to pray prevailingly?

Let sight give as discouraging reports as it may, but pay no attention to these.

The living God is still in the heavens and even to delay is part of His goodness.

“Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by” (1 Kings 19:11).

(PR)

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