Part 2: The Closet Behind The Fire
In Part 1 we walked through the shortest prayers in the Bible. Peter sinking with three words, the thief on the cross with one request, the publican in the temple with seven words, Elijah on Mount Carmel with three sentences that brought fire from heaven.
And we asked the question that has to be answered next.
What was behind those prayers?
The answer is not complicated. Every man and woman in Part 1 who prayed a short powerful prayer in public had prayed long in secret first.
Matthew 6:6 “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 6:7 “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”
Jesus put these two verses back to back and it was not by accident. Long in secret and short in public. The closet is where real prayer happens and the public is where God rewards it openly.
Jesus Was The Perfect Model
Nobody ever prayed longer in private than Jesus, and nobody prayed shorter in public with more power than Jesus. Every one of His most famous public prayers came out of hours of private prayer.
Mark 1:35 “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”
Luke 5:16 “And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.”
Luke 6:12 “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”
Matthew 14:23 “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.”
The Son of God prayed all night before choosing the twelve. He got up before dawn to be alone with the Father and He withdrew into the wilderness. He went up mountains alone.
And then when it was time to raise Lazarus, He prayed two sentences. When it was time to forgive His killers, He prayed nine words. When it was time to give up His spirit, He prayed seven words.
The longest private prayer life produced the shortest public prayers with the most power.
Elijah — Fire Was Lit In The Closet
Elijah is the story every Christian should study on this. Because the fire on Mount Carmel gets all the attention, but Mount Carmel was never possible without what happened before it.
Elijah spent years hidden by God before he ever stood on that mountain. God sent him to the brook Cherith where he was alone with only the ravens for company.
1 Kings 17:3-4 “Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I will command the ravens to feed thee there.”
Then God moved him to the widow of Zarephath’s house where he lived quietly and unseen. Years of hiddenness and of walking with God alone. Years of prayer nobody witnessed.
And when he finally stood on Mount Carmel and prayed three sentences, fire fell from heaven. Every ounce of that public power was built in the private years of solitude God had walked him through first.
James 5:16-17 “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.”
James says the effectual prayer of a righteous man does great things. Elijah was not righteous because he stood on Mount Carmel. He stood on Mount Carmel because he was righteous.
Daniel — Three Times A Day For Decades
Daniel is the other Christian’s example on this. His private life was the reason his public life was so powerful.
Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”
Three times a day, everyday, for decades he prayed. Daniel did not start praying when the decree was signed. He had been doing this his entire life. His private closet was not a reaction to a crisis, it was the daily routine that had made him who he was.
And when he finally prayed publicly in Daniel 9, God dispatched the angel Gabriel before Daniel even finished praying.
Daniel 9:23 “At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.”
At the beginning of thy supplications because Daniel had already been praying about this in secret for decades. The public prayer was simply the overflow.
The Warning Jesus Gave
Now watch what Jesus said about the opposite kind of Christian. The one who has no closet prayer but loves the stage.
Matthew 6:5 “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”
Mark 12:40 “Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.”
Jesus warned twice about the same thing. Long public prayers from men who did not pray in private. That is what He called hypocrisy. Not the length itself, but the disconnect and motive was His issue. A public prayer life with no private prayer life behind it.
This is why long public prayers can be powerful when they come from men who pray long in secret, and empty when they come from men who do not. Solomon prayed long publicly because he had prayed privately for wisdom.
Which One Are You?
Do you have a closet? A place where you actually meet with God alone. A daily place where you shut the door and pray to the Father who sees in secret.
If you do not, that is where the next blog is going. In Part 3 we are going to look at what building a closet actually looks like for us today. How to find the place? How to set the time? How to keep the rhythm? What to actually do when you get there?
Pray long where nobody sees. And when it is time to speak in front of others, God will do more with three sentences than three hours of vain repetition ever could.
