Before you answered, I would tell you the stories of others who have traveled to to this land...
- A Judge, who has been called upon to make an important decision, while pressure is threatening him, withdraws into his inner office to be alone with God. He later witnessed that this is the only thing that is keeping him sane during his most strenuous days.
- An Arbitrator, who is part of a negotiating team between management and labor, uses his lunch hour to be alone with God and is empowered to come into the meeting with such a spirit as to change the whole atmosphere.
- A Clerk, who has been pressured by an irritated boss, withdraws to a closet to pray. She comes back calm in the knowledge that the Lord will give her patience and skill to do the job at hand.
- A harassed mother, who feels that if one more thing goes wrong in her household, she will "blow up," is persuaded to join a small group for prayer, and returns to her house so changed that her children wonder what has happened to her.
The place I'm referring to is PRAYERVILLE...it also has another name....PRAYER CLOSET.
- Matthew 6:6 "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."
Perhaps at this point we should say a word about some things prayer isn't...
- It is not a magic formula that will put a Mercedes in your driveway when the Lord knows that a Honda would enable you to be a better steward and eliminate the strain from your budget.
- It is not an easy way of escape from living where God has placed you (or where you in your willfulness have chosen to be).
- It is not a drug to dull your senses to the needs and calamities about you.
On the contrary...
- It is a discernment that brings values into their right perspective.
- It is the power that helps us to face life's difficulties with courage and hope.
- It is the means by which we can see the world as it is and be guided into the "how" of being a part of the solution rather than the problem.
When we pray, we "prime" the Holy Spirit! We bring to God's well, as we turn to Him in prayer, a cup of our faith. Then the miracle happens. His living water flows freely into our souls to quench the thirst that nothing else can satisfy.
Jesus spent time in PRAYERVILLE. Both before and after performing miracles, Jesus retreated alone to a place of prayer.
- Mark 1:35 "And in the morning, a great while before dawn, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed."
- He had been in the synagogue teaching.
- While there, a man with an unclean spirit confronted Him. Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and the man was made whole.
- From the synagogue, Jesus and His disciples had gone to Simon's house where Peter's mother-in-law lay ill of a fever. Jesus took her by the hand and healed her so that she was able to minister to them.
But this day was not yet ended, for we are told that in the evening, after sunset, they brought to Him all who were ill and possessed of devils.
Yet - or should we say, so - He arose early the next morning to PRAY!
Prayer is an essential part of our day. When we commune with God, we are transported to a place of peace!
More to come....