In My Prayer Closet
My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. Psalm 62:5
Solitude Get alone with God Just as Jesus did. Pencil in some time with Him On your daily grid. Silence Turn off all the noises As you come to Him to meet; So you can be tuned in to Him, Hearing God’s heartbeat. Serenity When you’re quiet before the Lord, A sense of peace will descend. You’ll hear the still small voice of God Calling from deep within.
In the last post I wrote, Being a Mary, I talked about finding the Mary inside you. Once you’ve “found” her, you’ll need to carve out a time and space to sit with God. There are many Bible verses about going off by ourselves to pray. Jesus was a great example of this practice. (And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed. Mark 1:35)
First, you need to find solitude. (But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Matthew 6:6) Some people refer to it as their prayer closet, but it doesn’t have to be an actual closet. There’s a story about John Wesley’s mother, Susanna, who would stop in the middle of whatever she was doing and pull an apron over her head to pray. Her children knew not to disturb her, because she was in her “prayer closet”. (With a dozen kids around, she had to get creative!) So find a place where you won’t be disturbed. Years ago, when we moved into our home, my husband built me a vanity so I had room for all my accessories. As a mother of young children, I didn’t have a lot of “me time,” and finding time alone with God was sporadic. I got a nudging from the Lord to use the vanity as my prayer closet. As I would get ready in the morning, I would read my devotional and pray. Like the Wesley children, my kids knew not to disturb me while I was sitting at my vanity.
Second, you need silence. Our world is a noisy place and sometimes sitting in silence isn’t easy. Do your best to remove any distractions, including your phone. That’s a hard one! It’s so tempting to check it when it buzzes, even while reading scripture or praying. But, when we put all our focus on God, we hear Him speaking to us. So, prepare your body, mind, heart, and spirit to sit with the Lord. Get comfortable. Clear your mind. (I often recite scripture such as Isaiah 26:3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.) Cleanse your heart. (Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10) Lift up your spirit to Him. (What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. 1 Corinthians 14:15 ) As you read scripture or a devotional, keep your heart and mind open to what God is saying to you through these words. Ponder them as another Mary in the Bible did. (But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19)
Lastly, experience serenity. When I spend time with God, whether it’s 10 minutes, an hour, or somewhere in between, I walk away with such a sense of peace. I don’t always get an immediate answer to a prayer or a solution for a decision, but I feel loved, comforted, and heard. (“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12-13) May you find that same peace in your own prayer closet.
Jesus, thank you for showing me the importance of praying in solitude. As I go before You and the Father, may the Holy Spirit guide me in my prayer time to draw close to You. Speak to me, Lord. Your servant is listening. Amen