PRAYER -- BATTLE IN THE SECRET PLACE

One of the things that I have struggled with most of my Christian life, is consistency in my PERSONAL prayer life. It has become easier for me to pray with others, both face to face and even over the phone. However, my own PRIVATE prayer life has been a struggle. I purpose to get alone to pray, and yet when I do, my mind starts to wander all over the place, and the next thing I know, I am bogged down with a project or on to something else.

In my quiet time this morning, Oswald Chambers addresses the battle so precisely as he writes: "Prayer is an effort of the will. After we have entered our secret place and shut the door, the most difficult thing to do is to pray. We cannot seem to get our minds into good working order,
and the first thing we have to fight is wandering thoughts. The great battle in private prayer is overcoming the problem of our idle and wandering thinking. We have to learn to discipline our minds and concentrate on willful, deliberate prayer.

Having a secret stillness before God means deliberately shutting the door on our emotions and remembering Him. God is in secret, and He sees us from 'the secret place' -- He does not see us as other people do, or as we see ourselves. When we truly live in the 'secret place,' it becomes impossible for us to doubt God. We become more sure of Him than of anyone or anything else. Enter into 'the secret place,' and you will find that God was right in the middle of your everyday circumstances all the time. Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything! Unless we learn to open the door of our lives completely and let God in from our first waking moment of each new day, we will be working on the wrong level throughout the day. But if we will swing the door our our lives fully open and 'pray to our Father who is in the secret place,' every public thing in our lives will be marked with the lasting imprint of the presence of God." Check out Matthew 6:6 "When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you
openly."

Good words that I needed to hear today. Good words for you to ponder and apply.