But when you pray, go into your [most] private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open. (Matthew 6:6 Amplified)
I spent a few days at my daughter’s home helping with the kiddos and the housework when she gave birth to her fifth child. One day, we decided to clean out her downstairs closet,
Cleaning closets. This project proved to be one of Tara’s top priorities—don’t ask me why. She may have chosen to tackle this chore first since eight of us spent a few hours crammed into their downstairs bathroom during a tornado alert a few nights earlier.
Tara wanted to make their downstair’s walk-in closet a safe place for her crew during emergency weather alerts. So we emptied the space of everything, except winter coats, hats, and gloves. Tara also planned to hang some hooks on the closet wall for backpacks.
I decided to do a little housecleaning in my own home when I returned home. After I mentioned my organizational plans to Tara, she said, “When I feel discouraged about my housework, I just step into my hall closet now, and I feel happy!”
Old prayer closets. Tara’s comment reminded me of the many hours I’d spent in closets in my lifetime. Not only have they made fairly safe storm shelters, but I’ve found myself on my knees in my prayer closets at times, crying out to the Lord during the storms in my life. And I’m not just talking about the weather.
As a child, my special place to escape was the mimosa tree in our back yard. During my teen years, my bedroom was my refuge from everyone. After I got married, there were times when the bathroom was the only place I could lock the world out.
My son, Adam, still jokes about me locking myself in my bedroom closet and crying during some pretty rough times during his teen years. We laugh about those moments now, but they weren’t so funny back then. At least I don’t have to hide in the closet anymore, since my nest is fairly empty these days (until our grandchildren come over).
Safe places. Helping Tara clean out her closet reminded me of other places of refuge in my life. It’s important for me to remember all those times when I ran to the Lord with my needs. I learned to trust Him with those moments when life felt hopeless.
I’m glad I could help Tara clear out some space for her own storm closet. I’m sure she’ll need a safe place to hide in the future with five children. In fact, we may need to install a lock on that door when she needs to turn it into her prayer closet. What do you think?
Do you have a safe place you run to when life overwhelms you? A closet or bedroom? A place away from your home?
Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. (Matthew 6:6, The Message)
