WHY
THE CLOSET?
Matt
6:6
6
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.
Joel
2:16
16
Gather
the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the
children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his
chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
The
closet has long been understood to mean that place of undistracted
prayer. Even this morning so many things in my mind clamor for attention. Each
undone item shouts its demand for priority. Many are truly important enough to
be at the top of my list. This is why Jesus recommended a closet for prayer.
The
verse in Joel is more than interesting as I place it alongside the daily news.
A congregational meeting was called which included everyone from the elders to
the nursery children. In verse 18 the priests and ministers were crying out to
the Lord to be spared judgment. It was urgent enough to call all the people
together. No one was to be exempt including the groom and the anxious bride who
would be leaving her closet. The closet here means “a canopy; a chamber or
place where the bride would make herself ready for the wedding.
With
that in mind,
of course, we think of Revelation 19:7 which says: “Let us be
glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come,
and his wife hath made herself ready.”
The
world’s situation is becoming urgent and dangerous. We, the bride
and church, should make ourselves ready by entering our closet of prayer. When
the bridegroom comes – and He is coming soon – we will be able to answer the
call. “The bridegroom cometh! Go ye out to meet Him!”
Dear
Lord, many things bang upon the door of my mind. Let me closet myself for a
time of intimacy with you. Let me go forth to meet you from that closet with
rejoicing. AMEN
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