“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
When your feet hit the floor in the morning, what is your first thought? At my age it is, “What hurts?” followed by, “Must have caffeine!” From a young age, I struggled with mornings, taking longer than most to wake up and get going. It wasn’t until our girls were out on their own that mornings became my favorite time of day. Except for the sounds of nature waking up just outside my window, the house is at its quietest which allows me uninterrupted time with the Lord before starting to work in my home office. With full calendars and the pressures of the day weighing on us, we all have days when it is a luxury to have a quiet time. Someone once said that we wouldn’t dare leave the house without performing the necessary morning ritual of brushing our teeth. How much more essential is it for us to arm ourselves each day with God’s Word and prayer!
Jesus made prayer a priority, going off to quiet places to be alone with the Father. Jesus’ instruction in today’s verse translates appropriately to modern day – go into a room, shut the door and pray! He must have had a great sense of urgency, knowing His time on earth was limited and each moment counted for eternity. Do we have that same sense of urgency? There are some days like that for me, when the Lord places on my heart a great sense of urgency for time to seek His face, to praise, confess, plead, cry out, offer thanks and then, most importantly, to listen. I find my heart yearning to spend even more time with Him as He prepares my heart for writing devotions. Perhaps you have that same yearning. Think of it this way—when we spend time in the Word, filling our souls daily with the things of God and, in particular, spending time in prayer, we are establishing not only communion with the Father but also a storehouse of Biblical truth, scripture verses, answered prayers and the good fruit of the Spirit when we need it most.
May this poem, “The Difference,” encourage you today:
I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish that I didn’t have time to pray.
Problems just tumbled about me and heavier came each task;
“Why doesn’t God help me?” I wondered. He answered, “You didn’t ask”
I wanted to see joy and beauty but the day toiled on, gray and bleak;
I wondered why God didn’t show me, He said, “But you didn’t seek.”
I tried to come into God’s presence; I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided, “My child, you didn’t knock.”
I woke up early this morning and paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray.
~ Unknown author
Heavenly Father, before we get into the busyness of our day, please remind us, we pray, of the importance of beginning each day with You, especially during this Lenten season. If need be, instill a sense of urgency in our hearts to always seek, knock and ask. In Your name we pray, Amen.
