“But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6, LSB)
It was the day everything went wrong. It was a Sunday. Henry Cooper woke up in bed to see his wife turning blue. She was struggling to breathe. He did his best to help her while dialing 911. As emergency vehicles sped to the scene, Henry monitored his wife’s breathing. Her fingernails were blue. Her face was white as a bedsheet. Her breathing was rapid and shallow. She was going in and out of consciousness. By the time EMT’s arrived with the ambulance, Henry’s wife was wavering between life and death.
After the ambulance left his home, Henry followed in his car not far behind. He barely kept it together. His wife had never been very sick before. She never even had one single surgery in her life! What was going wrong? A thousand thoughts and worries spun through Henry’s mind.
Over the next two weeks, Henry spent as much time as he could with his wife. He sat by her bedside for hours. Because she was in ICU at the hospital, he was not allowed to be with her all day and night. He often found himself not sitting in the waiting area but instead gravitated toward the chapel, which was usually empty. There, Henry prayed, talked with God, even shed some needed tears. Over those two weeks, Henry had spent almost forty hours in the chapel. There, he found comfort being in God’s presence. It felt safe to open up to God in that special place. Though he could have prayed anywhere, it was the chapel where Henry felt God most. Henry even told me that those chapel moments kept him sane. After praying with God in the chapel, Henry felt more able to make crucial decisions. The prayer time in the chapel gave him the strength and courage to face each tenuous day.
Why was it that the chapel at the hospital was so important to Henry during this emergency?
I think the scripture for today gives us insight into some possible answers to this question. Matthew 6:6 contains some important words from Jesus about prayer. In this verse, Jesus advised godly people to “go into your inner room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Heavenly Father in secret.” Jesus was advocating that His followers have a special prayer area (an inner room) free from distractions. There, not worrying about who will see you there or what others might think, you will be free to talk to the Heavenly Father about whatever is on your mind. You can open up to God there. It will be easier to repent. You can listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit in the quiet. You can let down your guard. Distractions won’t pull you away or destroy the moment. It will be just you and God Almighty.
With these few words, we can see that Jesus was advocating for a special place to pray. This place would be most conducive to prayer. Nothing there would hinder your spiritual journey, nor hijack your attention. Nobody there would be able to judge you or question your motives. It would be just you and your Lord surrounded and enlightened by the Holy Spirit. You can be yourself. You can be honest with God. You can say what is deepest in your heart in the presence of God.
I don’t know anyone who prays with God often who doesn’t have a special place for prayer, an inner room of sorts, a sanctuary to meet with God, a safe place. When I was at my first church, we lived in a parsonage. On the second story of the parsonage was a sunroom. There, I could be alone. I could close the door and talk with my Lord God. My wife knew not to interrupt my prayer time there unless there was an emergency. I needed that time with God. I needed that place with God.
If you don’t have a prayer place that is just yours in your home or office or somewhere, make one. Find one. It is crucial. It is spiritually necessary. Jesus advocated for it. You will hunger for it. Some have chosen a den as their place of prayer. Some pray best in bed. You may find it best to walk through nature, just make sure you are alone and not distracted. I’ve met people who used a boat, a shed, a remodeled garage or attic… anyplace can become your inner room of prayer. Many people have a favorite chair or a little nook to call their own. You just need to find a place where you aren’t distracted from time alone with God. You can’t have dings from your iPad or cell phone to interrupt that moment. A computer screen brimming with ads could steal your attention. That prayer place, your inner room, will have one major purpose. It will be the place you meet with God to work through everything in your life.
At a spiritual retreat, I performed a test. I sent people into separate rooms to read a scripture and pray over it. Then, fifteen minutes later, I gathered everyone back together. I inquired what they prayed about and received many replies.
The next day, I printed up a corporate prayer for everyone to say together. It was a beautiful prayer. It was a prayer from a book on spiritual life. I passed out the printed prayer and we said it together. After finishing, I asked everyone to put away the prayer on paper. Then, I asked them to say specifically what some of the words were in that prayer. A few could rattle off the last line. A couple of people mentioned a couple of things about the prayer they remembered. But, for the most part, those who read the prayer together did not retain as much. Their minds seemed to switch off while reading the prayer together. They didn’t open up to God as much. They didn’t listen for the Spirit as completely. The typed-up prayer, said in a public gathering, did not nourish their souls with deep meaning. Those gathered didn’t feel as connected with God, listen for the Spirit well, or interact with as much passion as when alone with God. It was further proof that Jesus was right. It’s not that we don’t need corporate prayer and corporate worship. We do! However, our souls crave an “inner room”. We need time alone to pray with God in the Spirit without distractions.
This year, make sure you not only set aside time for God, set aside a place for God! Do you have a prayer sanctuary? Do you have that inner room? Do you have a place to go when you need to reconnect with God, open up with God, listen for God’s Spirit, and do some serious self-evaluation? If you ever want to have a passionate spiritual life and feel a closeness with God, you will need that special place with its special prayers. You will need time alone with God. Don’t neglect it. Don’t ignore it. Your soul is hungry for it. Your mind and heart can be at peace there. Your worries will disappear there. Judgment and guilt and regret can be voiced there. Forgiveness and grace can be found there. God will be with you in a special way in that special holy place.
When you are alone with God in prayer, do you feel the presence of the Almighty? Prayer time is precious. God is waiting. What do you and God need to work through together today?
After the ambulance left his home, Henry followed in his car not far behind. He barely kept it together. His wife had never been very sick before. She never even had one single surgery in her life! What was going wrong? A thousand thoughts and worries spun through Henry’s mind.
Over the next two weeks, Henry spent as much time as he could with his wife. He sat by her bedside for hours. Because she was in ICU at the hospital, he was not allowed to be with her all day and night. He often found himself not sitting in the waiting area but instead gravitated toward the chapel, which was usually empty. There, Henry prayed, talked with God, even shed some needed tears. Over those two weeks, Henry had spent almost forty hours in the chapel. There, he found comfort being in God’s presence. It felt safe to open up to God in that special place. Though he could have prayed anywhere, it was the chapel where Henry felt God most. Henry even told me that those chapel moments kept him sane. After praying with God in the chapel, Henry felt more able to make crucial decisions. The prayer time in the chapel gave him the strength and courage to face each tenuous day.
Why was it that the chapel at the hospital was so important to Henry during this emergency?
I think the scripture for today gives us insight into some possible answers to this question. Matthew 6:6 contains some important words from Jesus about prayer. In this verse, Jesus advised godly people to “go into your inner room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Heavenly Father in secret.” Jesus was advocating that His followers have a special prayer area (an inner room) free from distractions. There, not worrying about who will see you there or what others might think, you will be free to talk to the Heavenly Father about whatever is on your mind. You can open up to God there. It will be easier to repent. You can listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit in the quiet. You can let down your guard. Distractions won’t pull you away or destroy the moment. It will be just you and God Almighty.
With these few words, we can see that Jesus was advocating for a special place to pray. This place would be most conducive to prayer. Nothing there would hinder your spiritual journey, nor hijack your attention. Nobody there would be able to judge you or question your motives. It would be just you and your Lord surrounded and enlightened by the Holy Spirit. You can be yourself. You can be honest with God. You can say what is deepest in your heart in the presence of God.
I don’t know anyone who prays with God often who doesn’t have a special place for prayer, an inner room of sorts, a sanctuary to meet with God, a safe place. When I was at my first church, we lived in a parsonage. On the second story of the parsonage was a sunroom. There, I could be alone. I could close the door and talk with my Lord God. My wife knew not to interrupt my prayer time there unless there was an emergency. I needed that time with God. I needed that place with God.
If you don’t have a prayer place that is just yours in your home or office or somewhere, make one. Find one. It is crucial. It is spiritually necessary. Jesus advocated for it. You will hunger for it. Some have chosen a den as their place of prayer. Some pray best in bed. You may find it best to walk through nature, just make sure you are alone and not distracted. I’ve met people who used a boat, a shed, a remodeled garage or attic… anyplace can become your inner room of prayer. Many people have a favorite chair or a little nook to call their own. You just need to find a place where you aren’t distracted from time alone with God. You can’t have dings from your iPad or cell phone to interrupt that moment. A computer screen brimming with ads could steal your attention. That prayer place, your inner room, will have one major purpose. It will be the place you meet with God to work through everything in your life.
At a spiritual retreat, I performed a test. I sent people into separate rooms to read a scripture and pray over it. Then, fifteen minutes later, I gathered everyone back together. I inquired what they prayed about and received many replies.
The next day, I printed up a corporate prayer for everyone to say together. It was a beautiful prayer. It was a prayer from a book on spiritual life. I passed out the printed prayer and we said it together. After finishing, I asked everyone to put away the prayer on paper. Then, I asked them to say specifically what some of the words were in that prayer. A few could rattle off the last line. A couple of people mentioned a couple of things about the prayer they remembered. But, for the most part, those who read the prayer together did not retain as much. Their minds seemed to switch off while reading the prayer together. They didn’t open up to God as much. They didn’t listen for the Spirit as completely. The typed-up prayer, said in a public gathering, did not nourish their souls with deep meaning. Those gathered didn’t feel as connected with God, listen for the Spirit well, or interact with as much passion as when alone with God. It was further proof that Jesus was right. It’s not that we don’t need corporate prayer and corporate worship. We do! However, our souls crave an “inner room”. We need time alone to pray with God in the Spirit without distractions.
This year, make sure you not only set aside time for God, set aside a place for God! Do you have a prayer sanctuary? Do you have that inner room? Do you have a place to go when you need to reconnect with God, open up with God, listen for God’s Spirit, and do some serious self-evaluation? If you ever want to have a passionate spiritual life and feel a closeness with God, you will need that special place with its special prayers. You will need time alone with God. Don’t neglect it. Don’t ignore it. Your soul is hungry for it. Your mind and heart can be at peace there. Your worries will disappear there. Judgment and guilt and regret can be voiced there. Forgiveness and grace can be found there. God will be with you in a special way in that special holy place.
When you are alone with God in prayer, do you feel the presence of the Almighty? Prayer time is precious. God is waiting. What do you and God need to work through together today?