May 2002
Archive
Closet Praying
W. Clyde Martin
adapted from a message given on 3/3/02 in Beaverdam, Va
Matthew 6:6 "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet
and when thou hath shut the door, pray to the Father which is in secret,
and thy Father, which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
There is a confession that I must make before I preach to you today. It
is an inadequacy in prayer that I am unable to completely be rid of. It
is indeed a very serious sin and it is not pleasant for me to confess it
from the pulpit. I do not know how to pray properly! I am still
learning to pray.
I stumble in my approach to God. I stammer and I hesitate in speech,
but I have experienced some of the sweetest times of fellowship with God
that a mortal man can possible have.
Therefore, as I stand to preach, I stand as a student of prayer,
searching and ever pursuing the proper way to pray. This one thing I
know; a child of God cannot live without praying.
I have prayed with some truly great saints of God. I have prayed with
Robert G. Lee, W. A. Criswell, J. Harold Smith. I have knelt in prayer
with Vance Havner, Billy Graham, John R. Rice. I have prayed with
Adrian Rogers and Jack Taylor. I have prayed with the great evangelist
Eddie Martin and many more. All of these great men of prayer humbly
confessed before God, "Lord, I do not know how to pray. Teach me to
pray."
There is a pamphlet called HOW TO PRAY written by Dr. Vander Warner Jr. I
urge you to read it. It is indeed a classic piece of writing in which
he states, "The number one lesson in the school of prayer is, We need to
be taught."
LIVING HOLY
It has become evident to me that if we who live in these days just prior
to the return of our Lord, are to be holy as God demands us to be, it
must be accomplished through the closet. The concept of sin and
holiness has been lost in the Church. I observe this everywhere in my
travels. I detect it even in conservative congregations. The concept
of sin and holiness has been lost in the average New Testament local
church. It is only in that secret place, after we have shut the door
and are alone with God that we can learn again the way of holiness.
My personal position of holiness is the fact that Christ, the Holy One,
is in the Holy Father and He is in me. Jesus said, "I am in the father,
I am in you and you are in me." As a child of God I am to abide in
Christ. As Christians we are in Christ. Hold that position! You are
in a position which allows you to establish a phase of praying that
will perhaps go beyond anything you have experienced before.
From the closet we learn to practice God's holiness in daily living.
Peter exhorts us to be holy in conversation. (1 Peter 1:15)
Paul says, " He will make our hearts unblameable in holiness." ( I
Thess. 3:13 )
CAN THE HUMAN BE HOLY?
God commands holiness. Holiness is the absence of sin. Holiness is
something that God expects of you and me; yet you and I know that we
cannot come up to that expectation because we are still in the carnal
flesh. We cannot live above sin. We desire and must strive for
perfection, yet this fleshly body will not allow us to live holy. Our
prayer must be as McCheyne prayed, "Lord make me as holy as it is
possible for man to be on this side of heaven."
ABIDING IN CHRIST
Paul talks about a state of being set aside. Sanctification is a
progressive act of God which sets us aside from the old life. When we accept
Christ as our personal Saviour, we are placed in Christ. We are in
Christ, Christ is in the Father, Christ is in me and I am in Him. (John
14:20 ) In this secure position we are to stay. Abiding means to stay
where you are.
Jesus assures us that as we abide in Him and His Words abide in us, then
we may ask whatsoever we will and He will do it.
If we are abiding in Him and His words are abiding in us, then our
desire is controlled by our being in Him; therefore, as we pray in the
center of God's will, we know our prayers are answered.
IN THE CLOSET
From the closet we learn to practice this thing of holiness. I must be
very open and honest with you. Some of you in this congregation may
never reach this stage of praying. This is most unfortunate. Some of
you may be happy with your present prayer life. There is a price to be
paid for a deeper, more intimate prayer life. As long as you remain
satisfied, nothing I may say will persuade you to engage in this deeper
phase of praying. It is for that certain few who are willing to
sacrifice and seek new things about Jesus. I urge you to consider a
closet prayer life. There is an intimacy with Jesus that can only be
had in closet praying.
What is closet praying? It is when you go into a special place of
solitude and pray in secret. Allow me to give you a description of my
closet. I live on one of the highest peaks just outside the Smoky
Mountain National Park. I am high above everything else. On my
mountain there is above my house a higher peak where I have built a
small one room building. This building is my closet. It has been
appropriately named by my wife, "Higher Ground". When I climb that
graded path and enter, I close the door. Here alone with God I pray in
secret.
Perhaps you also have established a prayer closet. If so, you have no
doubt
discovered the peaceful joy of talking and listening to God in secret.
CLOSET PRAYER IS SINCERE
Closet prayer is a time of sincerity. In our text we are warned against
hypocrisy in prayer. ( Matt. 6:7 ) Closet prayer eliminates the
necessity to impress other men. When we are called upon to lead in
public prayer, we immediately lock our mind into a protective mode. We
dare not speak openly to God because we are aware that our words are
falling on the ears of others and we become hypocritical. If there is
anything that will bring out hypocrisy in a sincere Christian, it is
public praying. Being alone with God in your closet you speak openly
and in secret. There is no need for repetition of words.
Verse eight of our text ( Matt. 6:8 ) tells us that He knows what we
need long before we ask for it. So why pray? If God knows my needs,
why should I have a closet? Why should I have a time of praying in my
life at all? What is the need of praying? There is a reason for
prayer. There is a need for collective praying and there is a need for
closet praying. In the early Church, they met for collective prayer. (
Acts 2, 12, 13, 14, 20 ) The Church must congregate for the purpose of
praying. In open assembly we prayerfully worship in obedience to His
command.
There is also a reason for closet prayer. It is a time when we are
alone with God. It is a secret time. It is a time of Divine intimacy.
In the closet you develop an intimacy with Christ that goes almost
beyond description. You who have witnessed such know of which I speak.
It is an innermost familiarity. It is often informal with no need of
vain repetitions. It is a time when we speak sweet, tender affections
of adoration. It is a time when we speak to and listen to God. Alone
with Him you can say, "Jesus I love you" and hear Him call your name and
say, " I love you, too." You can share every little secret. It is a
time when I can discuss all my shortcomings and faults without them
falling on the ears of my enemies.
I have an altar in my closet and I use it occasionally, but I have
discovered that when I enter my closet and close the door, I am
automatically ( in my mind and heart ) on my knees before God. In my
closet I can walk about while talking with Him. I can walk and talk and
listen to Him. It is a conversation much like husbands and wives ought
to have, but very few do. It is a time of real intimacy without
interference from others. Such fellowship has a way of developing into
hours upon hours.
For certain He already knows our needs but ask Him anyway because it is
that time of conversing and fellowship with almighty God. Many times I
find myself saying, Lord you know I need this and I name the need only
to hear Him say, "You've got it!" Then there are things that really may
not be in the category of need but desire. I say to Him in secret,
"Lord Jesus, do you think I could have this? Sometimes He says, "Yes".
Sometimes He says "no"; sometimes He says, like my daddy used to say,
"we'll talk about that later, son."
In your closet you can learn more about your Master everyday. This is
not the kind of praying that you do on your knees with others. Group
praying is wonderful and I participate in many prayer meetings
in the course of a day. I have favorite prayer partners and I love to
agree and claim God's promises together with them.
However, nothing takes the place of closet praying where periods of
silence means something. Moments of meditation mean something in a
prayer closet. Speaking face to face with Him and waiting for Him to
speak to you is to know the full joy of His presence.
Today I am preaching to some who have never yet experienced this phase
of prayer. O' my dear Christian, you must, you must without delay
establish a prayer closet or you may not survive these days of terror.
In order to stand up against the pressures of world terror you must have
a hiding place.
Isaiah 26:20,21 is somewhat akin to my New Testament text. "Come, my
people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut the door about thee.
Hide thyself, as it were, for a little while, a little moment, until the
indignation be overpast. For behold, the Lord cometh out of the place
to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth
also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain."
I have a notation written in the margin of my Bible, "September 11,
2001." What a tragic day for our nation! There are times when you
must go and hide away until God's indignation is performed and judged
upon this world. Dear Christian, there shall be more instances like
this one. The first thing that came to my mind on 9/11/2001 was, I must
go to Higher Ground, I must enter my closet. God's protracted judgement
was set in motion on that infamous day of September 11, 2001, a day
which effected every nation upon this globe. May we never think that
this act of terror was not the judgement of God upon a nation and world
that has turned away from God.
The closet is a precious hiding place. A God-fearing man needs a place
to hide. When the storms of life surround us we need to enter our
closet. How often I run to my closet and ask God to hold me in His
arms. In your closet you can look upon the face of God and loose all
fears of life. In the closet I can say, "Jesus, I'm scared, would you
just hug me?" Like a loving parent, God says to me, "Come here son", and
with His mighty arms about me He says, "Don't worry I'm here."
Some are thinking, such intimacy can not be had with the creator of this
world. Oh, but it can and you must have such closeness with Him or you
shall not survive these days of terror.
I climax this message with the thought that I must not challenge you to
a closet life, without telling you of the transforming power
that conditions your heart for salvation. There is no closet for the
unconverted sinner. If you do not know my Lord, you have nowhere on
earth to hide; You have no place to run for safety.
I must preach to you God's love that carried Jesus to the cross where He
shed His redeeming blood. Christ our Saviour died for your sin, and was
buried, and was resurrected from the grave by the power of God. Today
He is at the right hand of the heavenly Father. You must have a
personal saving grace experience with Him before you can have a prayer
closet. There is no closet of prayer for the lost soul.
If you have never accepted Christ as your personal Saviour, please do it
now. (click here for instructions) How To Become A Christian.
To all born again children of God, I challenge you to establish a closet
of prayer. I challenge you to develop an intimacy with your Saviour the
Lord Jesus Christ. It is so easy to do. Simply enter into a place of
solitude and close the door and pray in secret and He will hear your
prayer in secret and reward you openly.
The Kind of
Revival We Need
by Charles Haddon Spurgeon
IT IS GOOD for us to draw nigh unto God in prayer. Our minds are grieved to see so little attention given to united prayer by many churches.
How can we expect a blessing if we are too idle to ask for it? How can we look for a Pentecost if we never meet with one another, in one place, to wait upon the Lord? Brethren, we shall never see much change for the better in our churches till the prayer meeting occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians.
But now that we have come together, how shall we pray? Let us not degenerate into formality, or we shall be dead while we think we live. Let us not waiver through unbelief, or we shall pray in vain. Oh, for great faith with which to offer great prayers!
We have been mingling praise and prayer together as a delicious compound of spices, fit to be presented upon the altar of incense through Christ our Lord; may we not at this time offer some special far-reaching petition? It is suggested to me that we pray for a true and genuine revival of religion throughout the world.
A Real and Lasting Revival
I am glad of any signs of life, even if they should be feverish and transient, and I am slow to judge any well intended movement, but I am very fearful that many so called revivals in the long run wrought more harm than good. A species of religious gambling has fascinated many men, and given them a distaste for the sober business of true godliness.
But if I would nail down counterfeits upon the counter, I do not therefore undervalue true gold. Far from it. It is to be desired beyond measure that the Lord would send a real and lasting revival of spiritual life.
We need a work of the Holy Spirit of a supernatural kind, putting power into the preaching of the Word, inspiring all believers with heavenly energy, and solemnly affecting the hearts of the careless, so that they turn to God and live. We would not be drunk with the wine of carnal excitement, but we would be filled with the Spirit. We would behold the fire descending from heaven in answer to the effectual fervent prayers of righteous men. Can we not entreat the Lord our God to make bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the people in this day of declension and vanity?
Old-fashioned Doctrine
We want a revival of old-fashioned doctrine. I know not a single doctrine which is not at this hour studiously undermined by those who ought to be its defenders. There is not a truth that is precious to the soul which is not now denied by those whose profession it is to proclaim it. To me it is clear that we need a revival of old-fashioned gospel preaching like that of Whitefield and Wesley.
The Scriptures must be made the infallible foundation of all teaching; the ruin, redemption and regeneration of mankind must be set forth in unmistakable terms.
Personal Godliness
Urgently do we need a revival of personal godliness. This is, indeed, the secret of church prosperity. When individuals fall from their steadfastness, the church is tossed to and fro; when personal faith is steadfast, the church abides true to her Lord.
It is upon the truly godly and spiritual that the future of religion depends in the hand of God. Oh, for more truly holy men, quickened and filled with the Holy Spirit, consecrated to the Lord and sanctified by His truth.
Brethren, we must each one live if the church is to be alive; we must live unto God if we expect to see the pleasure of the Lord prospering in our hands. Sanctified men are the salt of society and the saviours of the race.
Domestic Religion
We deeply want a revival of domestic religion. The Christian family was the bulwark of godliness in the days of the puritans, but in these evil times hundreds of families of so-called Christians have no family worship, no restraint upon growing sons, and no wholesome instruction or discipline. How can we hope to see the kingdom of our Lord advance when His own disciples do not teach His gospel to their own children?
Oh, Christian men and women, be thorough in what you do and know and teach! Let your families be trained in the fear of God and be yourselves "holiness unto the Lord"; so shall you stand like a rock amid the surging waves of error and ungodliness which rage around us.
Vigorous, Consecrated Strength
We want also a revival of vigorous, consecrated strength. I have pleaded for true piety; I now beg for one of the highest results of it. We need saints. We need gracious minds trained to a high form of spiritual life by much converse with God in solitude.
Saints acquire nobility from their constant resort to the place where the Lord meets with them. There they also acquire that power in prayer which we so greatly need. Oh, that we had more men like John Knox, whose prayers were more terrible to Queen Mary than 10,000 men! Oh, that we had more Elijahs by whose faith the windows of heavens should be shut or opened!
This power comes not by a sudden effort; it is the outcome of a life devoted to the God of Israel! If our life is all in public, it will be a frothy, vapoury ineffectual existence; but if we hold high converse with God in secret, we shall be mighty for good. He that is a prince with God will take high rank with men, after the true measure of nobility.
Beware of being a lean-to; endeavour to rest on your own walls of real faith in the Lord Jesus. May none of us fall into a mean, poverty-stricken dependence on man! We want among us believers like those solid, substantial family mansions which stand from generation to generation as landmarks of the country; no lath-and-plaster fabrics, but edifices solidly constructed to bear all weathers, and defy time itself.
Given a host of men who are steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, the glory of God's grace will be clearly manifested, not only in them, but in those round about them. The Lord send us a revival of consecrated strength, and heavenly energy!
Preach by your hands if you cannot preach by your tongues. When our church members show the fruits of true godliness, we shall soon have inquiries for the tree which bears such a crop.
Oh the coming together of the saints is the first part of Pentecost, and the ingathering of sinners is the second. It began with "only a prayer meeting", but it ended with a grand baptism of thousands of converts. Oh that the prayers of believers may act as lode stones to sinners! Oh that every gathering of faithful men might be a lure to attract others to Jesus! May many souls fly to Him because they see others speeding in that direction.
"Lord, we turn from these poor foolish procrastinators to thyself, and we plead for them with thine all-wise and gracious spirit! Lord, turn them and they shall be turned! By their conversion, pray that a true revival has commenced tonight! Let it spread through all our households, and then run from church to church till the whole of christendom shall be ablaze with a heaven-descended fire!"
A TIME OF PRAYER
by W. Clyde Martin
Late in the evening, while recently driving on I-40, I pulled off the interstate to attend Wednesday night prayer meeting.
“Let’s have a time of prayer”, the Pastor said, as he led the congregation in the weekly Wednesday night service and he called upon me to pray. My mind had already been challenged by his unique statement, “a time of prayer”, and now I must determine how long I should pray. I prayed a respectable time and closed with my usual “amen”. Much to my pleasant surprise, the congregation remained with heads bowed and someone else began to pray aloud; and then another, and then another, until a very lengthy time had passed. Great! I thought, how refreshing to visit a prayer service that took time to pray.
Entering my automobile and pulling out on the hi-way to continue my journey, the thought “a time of prayer” continued to stick in my mind. Is the length of time in prayer important? Does lengthy prayer effect God? Probably not. Does lengthy prayer effect the person who prays? Most definitely yes.
Before God created the world, time did not exist. God has no need for the time element. God created the time element for the convenience of man. A time of prayer is important. There can be no communion with God unless we set time to pray. Andrew Murray stated, “there can be no communion with a holy God, no fellowship between Heaven and earth, no power for the salvation of the souls of others unless much time is set apart for it.”
Surely everything in life depends on the time we are willing to give to prayer each day. I know of several men of God who spend three or more hours in the closet every day.
The Prayer Life
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