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 (Matthew 6:6). (I’m intentionally using the King James Version today for emphasis on the word closet.)
The Father wants us to share our heart with Him. He wants to be our burden bearer. Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). Heart fellowship was the reason He created us. It’s the reason He redeemed us.
Jesus said that when we pray, we’re to go into our most private room. He called it a closet. This is a place of closeness. The Greek word here could be translated bedchamber, or bedroom. This is a place where a husband and wife share intimate moments. Life comes from that sharing.
The Father wants to be close to us. He wants us to share our secret thoughts with Him. Life will come out of those moments.
I want to encourage you to take time to develop closeness with the Father in your closet, your bedchamber. Find a place that is undisturbed, and just begin to talk to Him about the concerns of your life. Notice again Philippians 4:6 (JB Phillips Translation): Don’t worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.
I’m going to leave you today with Psalm 139: 1-18. The Father has used this passage to reveal to me how tenderly He thinks of me. Allow it to minister to you:
Psalm 139:1-18 (God’s Word Translation)
O Lord, you have examined me, and you know me. You alone know when I sit down and when I get up. You read my thoughts from far away. You watch me when I travel and when I rest. You are familiar with all my ways. Even before there is a single word on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord. You are all around me—in front of me and in back of me. You lay your hand on me. Such knowledge is beyond my grasp. It is so high I cannot reach it. Where can I go to get away from your Spirit? Where can I run to get away from you? If I go up to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in hell, you are there. If I climb upward on the rays of the morning sun or land on the most distant shore of the sea where the sun sets, even there your hand would guide me and your right hand would hold on to me. If I say, “Let the darkness hide me and let the light around me turn into night,” even the darkness is not too dark for you. Night is as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. You alone created my inner being. You knitted me together inside my mother. I will give thanks to you because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made. Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this. My bones were not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, when I was being skillfully woven in an underground workshop. Your eyes saw me when I was only a fetus. Every day of my life was recorded in your book before one of them had taken place. How precious are your thoughts concerning me, O God! How vast in number they are! If I try to count them, there would be more of them than there are grains of sand. When I wake up, I am still with you.