From the archives of Oral Roberts
Have you ever wondered why Jesus said, “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father… in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly (Matthew 6:6)?”
In Bible times, homes in the East had little privacy. Often several families lived in the same house, usually with only one room. While one person would be praying, other family members might be talking or eating, or the children might be playing in the room. If there was another room, it was atop the house and served as a cooling-off place and playground toward sundown. Privacy could be found only in a small storeroom just off the main room where the family valuables were kept. This was probably the “closet” to which the Scripture refers.
Today it is still difficult to find the time and the place for private prayer. The Lord’s emphasis seems to be on being shut in with God in our hearts and thoughts. The object of prayer is not merely going into seclusion, but communion with God. We can pray in secret wherever we may be, for it is not our place of prayer that God regards, but our heart and our sincerity.
The secret closet of prayer is that place where you can withdraw your thoughts into an aloneness with God and there worship and commune with the One who knows and reads all hearts. I’ve found that you don’t have to use a bunch of high-sounding words to talk to God. He hears the simplest prayer and answers according to His will.
