Part 3: Build Your Closet
Most Christians hear the idea of a private prayer life and nod their head. We all believe prayer is important. Every Christian from every walk of life would tell you every day prayer matters. But if you asked them where they meet with God alone, when they meet with God alone, and what they actually do when they get there, most would not have a clear answer.
Unfortunately, I have been that Christian and Believed the truth of the closet without actually building one.
So this last blog is not more doctrine. It is a practical walk through what a real closet looks like for a Christian today.
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.”
The closet is not a metaphor. It is a real place, at a real time, with a real door that closes.
A Place
Every Christian needs a place. A physical location where you meet with God alone.
Jesus had places He went. Solitary places, wildernesses, mountains, and gardens. He was never rigid about which one, but He always had one. When He needed to be alone with the Father, He had a spot in mind.
Your spot does not need to be beautiful. It just needs to be yours. A chair in the corner of a bedroom, a spot at the kitchen table before the family wakes up, a specific pew at the church during the week, a rocking chair on the back porch, a spare bedroom nobody uses or the garage. A closet.
The point of the place is that your body learns to associate it with prayer. When you sit in that chair, your mind knows what happens there. Over time the place itself begins to help you pray, because the habit of meeting God there has trained your soul to settle down when you sit down.
Pick a place today.
A Time
Every Christian needs a time. Everyone has given a general commitment to “pray more.” But that’s not what you need. You need specific hour and minute when you will meet with God.
The biblical pattern is clear that early morning is where God’s people show up in Scripture.
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.”
Psalm 5:3 “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”
Psalm 63:1 “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee.”
Jesus prayed early.
The pattern of Scripture is a man who meets God before he meets anyone else. Before you touch your phone. Before open the email. Before the kids wake up. Before the workday and before the noise of the world drowns out the still small voice.
That does not mean God only hears morning prayers. David also said in Psalm 55:17 “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.” Daniel prayed three times a day.
Paul also said we are to always pray. Having a habit of talking to God is wonderful. This stems from having a regular time we meet with Him.
That is the reason the Bible keeps pointing to the morning. The morning is when we have not yet been shaped by the world and our hearts are still soft. The morning is when we can give God our first thoughts instead of our leftover ones. This will lead to talking to God the rest of your day.
Set a time and defend it!
A Rhythm
Every Christian needs a rhythm.
Daniel 6:10 “He kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”
Daniel had been doing this for so long that praying three times a day was just what he did. It was the rhythm of his life.
The Christian closet only works when it is daily. A prayer life you visit once a week is like a friendship you visit once a year. There is no depth, no history, and there is no rhythm of hearing and being heard.
Start small if you have to. Five minutes every day beats an hour once a week. God is not asking for you to perform for Him. He simply wants to hear from you.
And He will meet you every time.
What To Actually Do In The Closet
Once you have a place, a time, and a rhythm, the last question is what to actually do when you get there? Here is a simple framework built from Scripture.
1. Open the Bible.
Prayer without the Word becomes disconnected feelings. The Bible is God speaking to us. Open it everyday and let Him talk to you.
2. Confess sin openly.
Do not skip this step because it is where real fellowship starts. Tell God what He already knows. Do this every day. Keep a short account with God. If you can, confess your sins in the moment as you notice them.
Psalm 32:5 “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
3. Pray for others.
Job’s fortunes turned when he prayed for his friends. Samuel said it was a sin to stop praying for the people God had given him. Praying for others softens the heart faster than praying for yourself.
Job 42:10 “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends.”
1 Samuel 12:23 “Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you.”
4. Bring your requests.
Ask God for what you need. He wants to hear it. Paul said in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
5. Write Down Your Prayers.
I have a list of prayers I work through. Sometimes I use it. But other times I just need to talk with God about one specific thing. Other times I feel the need to pour out gratitude for all He’s done. Obviously, prayer shouldn’t just be a list we read everyday. Ask God for wisdom and He will guide you on how to speak to Him.
The closet is not a place you master. It is a place you keep returning to faithfully.
The Reward Jesus Promised
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.”
The Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly.
The reward is not always what we expect.
But the pattern of Scripture is unmistakable. Private prayer produces public power. The Father sees what happens behind your closed door, and He answers in front of the whole world.
The closet is where the fire is born. That is where the power comes from. That is where God shapes a Christian into the kind of person He can trust with three-word prayers that move heaven.
The Lord is nigh to every Christian who calls upon Him in truth. And He is waiting for you in the closet.
