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{"id":655,"date":"2022-09-28T22:56:32","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T03:56:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ordinaryisokay.com\/?p=655"},"modified":"2022-11-07T14:08:57","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T19:08:57","slug":"what-is-a-prayer-closet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ordinaryisokay.com\/what-is-a-prayer-closet\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a prayer closet?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
<\/p>\nMatthew 6:6<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Twenty years ago – when my first marriage was disintegrating, when my world was turning upside down, when I felt like I couldn’t get my breath, when I couldn’t see through the tears – I would sometimes shut myself in my closet and pray. Or, if I could muster it, I’d quietly sing a song or a hymn. For possibly the first time in my life I realized the value of spending time alone<\/em><\/strong> with the Lord! I needed Him to sustain me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The closet was technically a walk-in but at 5’x6′ and tightly packed with too many clothes, shoes and boxes of who know what it was difficult to find an empty spot. By pushing the pile of dirty clothes aside I could create enough room to sit on the floor. There was no room for a chair. It wasn’t particularly comfortable. But it was meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not sure when “prayer closets” actually become a thing. Some people refer to them as “war rooms”. I’m more of a peace-maker and that term sounds too in-your-face for me. Pinterest has all sorts of foo-foo room ideas for you (and what I have now may have a tiny bit of foo-foo), but let’s start with the basic definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what is a prayer closet?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The word “prayer closet” isn’t mentioned anywhere in the bible to my knowledge. I found this helpful article from gotquestions.org<\/a> that says the Greek term used in the original biblical text for Matthew 6:6 was likely referring to a “storage chamber or secret room”. My take is that God wants our prayer time with Him to be in a focused environment away from distractions, not on a busy street corner or somewhere that focuses the attention on us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what is a prayer closet? And do we really need one? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, anywhere can be your prayer closet. It could be your bathroom, your car on the way to work, your kitchen table, a bench at the local park, or even your garden (here in the Midwest that last one would be a poor choice eight months out of the year!). It might mean just sitting on your front step. What you need is a place where you can spend a few moments alone with the Lord each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I have a prayer closet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I know what you’re thinking. I just told you that you don’t need an actual “prayer closet” in your home, that any private place will work. And you are correct!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However…I am easily distracted. I still do my bible study homework at the kitchen table or in our finished basement family room, but there are lots of interruptions from our tween son or the dachshund who thinks I’m his girlfriend. While there are times I do well with my prayer life (when I was working I’d sometimes pray while walking over my lunch hour), there are others where I let my distractions, well…distract me…and I forget to pray. My intentions are good but my follow-through needs work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to create a habit of daily prayer and devotions and the best way to do that was to find a way to pull myself away from the distractions. Voil\u00e0! The prayer closet!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m fortunate that we had a third bedroom we were using for mostly for an office. It really should be a guest room but we don’t host many overnight guests and grandkids can sleep anywhere. The closet – a standard 6’x2′ with sliding doors – was housing overflow clothes and blankets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I found them a new home in the basement and enlisted the help of my husband to rip out the closet rod and shelf. I could see the concern in his eyes as we were tearing things out. Once I filled the holes in the wall and threw on a nice new coat of paint, I think his confidence in me started to return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best part of waking up…<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Is not Folgers in my cup. It might be my latte<\/a>. But that’s a separate post…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of a prayer closet, whatever form it may take, is a place to spend time praying to the Lord and worshipping HIM. We should not worship the prayer closet itself. Still, I wanted it to be a place where I was comfortable spending time. I’d like to believe one of the reasons Jesus chose to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane was because it was beautiful and peaceful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I spend time most mornings in my prayer closet while my steel-cut breakfast oats are simmering on the stove. This allows for a couple quick devotions as well as time for prayer. I use it occasionally at other times as well, but it is the morning time I’m trying to cultivate as a habit right now. Initially I struggled to make it happen consistently. Now I genuinely look forward to it each day! That precious time starts me out on the right foot. My family knows that when mom is in the prayer closet they are to leave her alone, unless they’re bleeding or the house is on fire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don’t already have a spot for quiet time with the Lord, I would encourage you to look for one. It doesn’t need to be a true closet or special room. It doesn’t need to happen in the morning. Just develop a habit of meeting with Him somewhere on a regular basis. You won’t regret it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My happy place<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Here’s what I used to turn the this 6’x2′ rectangular closet into my happy place. Most of it was stuff I had on hand already. Total spent on new things (excluding the paint because we painted the bedroom, too) was under $100!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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