CLOSET CHRISTIANS

TEXT:  "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 6:6

It is almost a daily occurrence to hear of some notorious person that "comes out of the closet."  The public boldness of those proclaiming their sinful practices is sad and disgraceful.  While the world cheers such behavior, the Bible-believing Christian mourns and weeps over the sinner who shamelessly reveals his or her wicked lifestyle. 

For some time, I've said that it is time that all Christians come out of the closet and let it be known publicly where we stand.  We need to be publicly bold about our faith and our Lord.  We should be vocal in our opposition to the sinful erosion of our nation, but we should be even more vocal about the answer to this nation's woes, Jesus Christ.

Here's the problem:  many believers aren't coming out of the closet to publicly stand for Jesus.  I think I know one of the reasons.  Although we need to come out of the closet and publicly stand for truth, righteousness and justice, we aren't spending any time in another closet, the closet that matters most ... the prayer closet.

At the end of this month, the Kendrick Brother's new movie, WAR ROOM will be opening in theaters.  This past week, I finished listening to the audio book, WAR ROOM, which is based on the movie.  I won't go into details about the story (go see the movie yourself), but I will let you know that the prayer closet is the main emphasis of the movie.

The prayer closet is a location where we meet secretly with God.  The fact is that many need to spiritually clean their closet before much communion can occur. 

Jesus told us to get alone with the Heavenly Father and spend time talking with Him.  It may be that you need to literally go into a closet to pray.  For another, it may be that a walk through the woods accomplishes the same thing.  Some find that kneeling beside the bed in the privacy of the bedroom gives them enough seclusion to meet with God.  Regardless of the location, we need to have private time with God.

We live in a busy world.  The pace of life is often hectic.  Time limits and other constraints make it difficult to carve out sections of time to meet with God.  For many Christians, there is a temptation to say, "I don't have time to pray," or "I'm too busy to pray."  Actually, you're too busy NOT to pray.  The stress of time is an extra reason to seek the face of God.

Let me share a few things about making the most of your prayer closet.

1.         PRAY DELIBERATELY

First of all, we must deliberately seek the face of God.  Jesus said, "... when thou prayest," not "if thou prayest."   Prayer is not just a religious exercise, it is a time of holy communion with God.

2.         PRAY SECRETLY

Jesus does not condemn public prayer but He does criticize public prayers that are hypocritical.  Jesus stresses the importance of private prayer.  It was not uncommon for Jesus to get alone and talk with the Father.  We need that private time with the Father ourselves.

3.         PRAY EXPECTANTLY

In our text, Jesus promised that the Father would hear and reward us when we pray secretly.  Pray with faith.  Although God may not give us the answers we want, we can pray with assurance that God will answer.

4.         PRAY SPECIFICALLY

If you want specific answers to prayer, then pray specifically.  Make a prayer list and consult it as you pray.  Don't just pray for yourself.  Pray for others.  Learn from the Apostle Paul and focus primarily on the spiritual needs of others when you pray. 

5.         PRAY REGULARLY

Schedule a time to meet with God daily.  It is true that we should pray throughout the day.  There will be moments of spontaneous prayer.  However, it is vital to set and keep an appointment with God every day.  I suggest that you begin your day with the Lord.  It may be five minutes, fifteen minutes, an hour or even more.  Meet with God daily.

Yes, we need to come out of the closet and voice our opposition to the "political correctness," and sinful agenda that the world seeks to shove down our throats.  However, we need to also come out of the closet and let others know the Gospel --- the only real hope this world has.  While we need to come out of the closet concerning our faith, we need to stay in the closet when it comes to prayer. 

Whatever you may refer to as your "prayer closet," God will meet you there and will change your life.  So stay in the prayer closet!

We need to be closet Christians!