Closet Prayer by Editor

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 7, 1859

Closet Prayer.

By Editor

“When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.” Matt. vi, 6. These are the words, this is the advice of the best friend you ever had. How did he show his love for men? By leaving a blissful heaven, for a world of sin and sorrow; the bosom of his Father, for a cross of agony and shame; a crown of glory, for a crown of thorns; the songs of angels, for the silence of the tomb. Yes! He knew the value of the soul of man whether man knows it or not: we learn the value which he puts upon it, by the costly price which he paid for its redemption: for “ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ.” 1 Peter i, 18, 19. It was love to the soul that, made the Son of God a man of sorrows; fastened him to the cross; laid him in the grave! And love to the soul led him to give the counsel, “Enter into thy closet, and pray.”

Do you say “I have no closet; I have no room which I can call my own; into which I can retire whenever I please; and where I can be as long as I please? Well! you are probably not more unfavorably situated in this respect than many of our Lord’s disciples were; and certainly not more so than their Master was, who said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” Matt. viii, 20. He came not only to suffer for us as an atoning sacrifice for sin, but to leave us “an example, that we should follow in his steps.” 1 Peter ii, 21. He has left us an example of secret prayer; an example exactly suited to the circumstances of those who cannot command a room of their own. He made a mountain his place of private prayer. Mark vi, 46. Wherever we can be alone with God, wherever we can pray to him—whether it be on the sea-shore, in the field, the shop, the bed-room—there we may have a closet.

A minister of the Gospel, “whose praise is in all the churches,” was once spending the night at a large inn. “It is my custom,” said he to the mistress of the inn, “wherever I am, to have family worship. I am now going to have it with my wife, and I shall be glad if you, and as many of your servants as can come in, will join us.” “I shall be very happy,” was the reply; “and all the servants, shall come in.” Accordingly, she gave her directions to this effect; and all the servants, waiters, chambermaids, ostlers, and postillions, attended. The minister before he prayed, expounded a portion of Scripture; and at the close of his exposition, with much affectionate and earnest solemnity, exhorted his hearers to pray for the Holy Spirit. About a year after, he was traveling the same road. As he drew near the inn, he was accosted by a post-boy, “Sir, do you remember me?” “No, my friend, I cannot say that I do.” “Well, sir, I recollect you. You were here some time ago, and had us all into your room in the house, and explained a chapter in the Bible, and prayed for us. And when you were explaining the chapter, you told us if we had not been accustomed to pray, to begin at once, and to pray, ‘Lord give me thy Holy Spirit. Lord convert my soul.’ I thought much of those words, and was determined to follow your advice. But then I was at a loss for a place in which I could be alone to pray the Lord to give me his Spirit. At last I thought of the stable; and I used to take the key, and lock myself in, and kneel down, and pray that the Lord would convert my soul. And I bless God, I have reason to believe that he has heard and answered my prayers; that he has given me his Spirit, and converted my soul.” This shows the truth of the old saying, that, “where there is a will, there is a way.” The God of grace had given the poor post-boy the will to pray, and he found a closet in a stable. Remember, that wherever you are, there God is.

Those who neglect secret prayer, are in the most awful condition in which any can be on this side of eternity. A prayerless state is a graceless state. To live without prayer, is to live without God. But can you do without God? Can you do without his blessing, without his favor, without his grace, without his guidance, without his guardianship? And will he not “be inquired of for these things?” We have a very clear direction, and very strong encouragement in the divine promise; “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.” Matt. vii, 7. But if we do not ask, we have no right to expect that we shall receive; if we do not seek, we must not wonder if we never find; if we do not knock at the door of mercy now, we may knock too late hereafter, and receive only the answer, “Verily, I say unto you, I know you not.”

Is it not a rich mercy, an unspeakable privilege, that we are permitted at all times, and under all circumstances, to approach, and to hold converse with the God of heaven and earth; to “cast all” our “care upon him,” in the delightful assurance that “he careth for us;” in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, to let our requests be made known unto him! Phil. iv, 6. See how the servants of God, in the days of old, realized this, their blessed privilege. Jacob was “greatly afraid and distressed,” when he heard that his brother Esau was coming to meet him, as he had every reason to believe, with the thoughts and the feelings of a bitter and revengeful enemy. Encumbered with a train of women, children, servants and cattle, he knew, that as far as human strength and human means were concerned, he was no match for Esau and his four hundred armed warriors. But he knew also, that “in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength;” he knew that “man’s extremity was God’s opportunity;” that there are no dangers, from which the Lord cannot rescue; no enemies, from which he cannot deliver. Accordingly, he went into the closet; not that he had any room at hand, in which he could shut himself up for the purpose of prayer to God; the bare earth was his floor; the broad canopy of heaven was his roof; he had sent his family over the brook; “Jacob was left alone;” (Gen. xxxii, 24.) and there he wrestled and prevailed. The psalmist pursued the same course, and met with the same success. “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.” Psal. xviii, 6. And how many can, from their own experience, bear a like testimony!

Do not think it enough that you pray in the sanctuary. It is, indeed, “good to be there.” Many a true Christian has there been filled with joy unspeakable. Every true Christian loves the habitation of the Lord’s house, and the place where his honor dwelleth. But the sanctuary does not render the closet unnecessary. This “ought you to do, and not to leave the other undone.” If the closet is unfrequented, if secret prayer is neglected, you will be like Samson when his hair was shorn, and his strength gone; you will be an easy prey to your spiritual enemies. If you would not be entangled in the snares, by which you are on every side surrounded, in a world which “lieth in wickedness;” if you would not yield to the temptations to which you are continually exposed; if you would “fight the good fight” against sin, Satan, and the world, “not as one that beateth the air;” if you would so “run the race that is set before you,” as to win and to wear the “incorruptible crown;” it is in secret prayer that you must especially seek the needful supplies of strength.

But perhaps you say, “I find nothing so difficult as secret prayer. When I attempt it, my heart is so cold, my thoughts are so prone to wander, that I am discouraged, and obliged to give it up, hoping that I shall be in a better frame at another time.” Oh! beware of this: when you are thus induced to give it up, you are just affording the great enemy of your soul the advantage over you, which he so earnestly desires and seeks. It is his great aim to keep you from private prayer. If he can accomplish this, he accomplishes all.

No wonder, therefore, that when you enter your closet you find him there, ready to fill your mind with vain, and wandering, and worldly thoughts. No wonder that you are tempted to leave the closet at this time, hoping to enter it in a better frame at another. Say, when the thought rises in your mind, “this is the suggestion of my great enemy.” Be not “ignorant of his devices.” Listen not to his pernicious counsels. Call earnestly upon God to give you his Holy Spirit, and to strengthen you against the insidious attacks of the tempter. Let your watch-word be, PERSEVERANCE. Let your resolution be that of Jacob the successful wrestler, “I will not let thee go except thou bless me.”—Sel.