Focus: The Treasure-room Of Prayer

Text: Mt.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."

Prayer is the divinely established medium of interaction or communication between God and His children. By means of prayer born again believers relate with their Heavenly Father. We do it simply, freely, gladly, genuinely and sincerely.

There is a collective, public prayer. It is the aspect of prayer which our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to pray, "Our Father…" It is the public prayer of the church. There is also the personal, private prayer. It is the aspect of prayer in which the Lord Jesus Christ said, "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." This prayer is between you and your God. It is intentionally private and intensely personal, and it is done in the closet. 

The word in the Greek for 'closet' is 'tameion.' It means an inner chamber where treasures were kept or stored. In Palestine, such a place is often located at the top of the house, a sort of penthouse, and sometimes too, it is constructed within the ground floor. Precious things are stored there. It serves as a storage, magazine or dispensary. From there needed things were taken out for use or for distribution. In Luke 12:24, the word 'tameion' is translated as 'storehouse.' And that is the place where the Lord Jesus Christ requires the believer to retire for intense and earnest private prayer.

It is a secluded, solitary, secret, interior, or private spot.

Just imagine entering into the prayer room where spiritual treasures are already stored and waiting for your arrival! There are treasures to be found in the solitary space of prayer.

The Lord Jesus Christ says, "Pray to thy Father which IS IN secret…thy Father which SEETH in secret shall REWARD thee OPENLY." Our God is the God of the secret place of prayer. He lives there. He is found or located in the secret place. In the secret place of prayer you will discover the presence and reality of God. God, who is in heaven, in a remarkable way manifests Himself in the prayer closet.

What are some of these treasures? I believe they are the:

*Presence of God

*Resources of grace

*Anointing of the Spirit

*Yes and amen of God's promises

*Enforcement of Christ's victory in your life

*Revelation and refreshing of the Spirit

In the prayer closet we find spiritual treasures. Right there, God sees and hears us. It is encouraging and inspiring to know that our prayer is never a wasted effort, but a rewarding exercise. We pray to God in the quiet place, and He rewards us openly. God drops on us in visible ways the effects of our private prayer life.

Prayer is more than doing something; it is being someone. By means of prayer the believer is in touch with heaven. By means of prayer we breathe in the air of God's life, encounter His revelations, and experience His awesome presence.

The place of prayer is the place where your life is divinely altered. We never come out of the prayer place without experiencing changes of a supernatural kind, except we did not truly pray. There's always an inward change.

God has heaped up for us great treasures in the secret place of prayer. There are no less than nine Hebrew words for prayer, one of which is 'pâlal.' It means, among other things, 'to judge, distinguish or discern.' In the place of prayer we join God to pass or execute judgment on certain things. In the prayer place we decide and determine things. We discern things. We make the right separations. We make things happen. We approve or disapprove of things. What a privilege to pray! For by it we align with God to decide for God's will to be done in our lives, and decide against the enemy. Hallelujah! Every believer has a treasure-room of prayer. Use it, and experience the reality of God in your life!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter