A Devotional by Pastor Cesar Castellanos
Today’s Bible Verse
“But when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly.”
Matthew 6:6
The Secret Place
“I don’t know how to pray!” “I can’t even pray for ten minutes without all kind of thoughts going through my mind.” “There are too many distractions!” I have dealt with hundreds of people who think like this. To be able to communicate with the Creator through prayer is one of the greatest privileges we can have. In fact it is the opportunity that God gives us to relate to Him in a direct way. Jesus didn’t teach His disciples to preach, but He did teach them how to pray. The writer of Hebrews says, “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22). “Teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples,” was the petition that the disciples made to the Lord. Prayer is a private conversation with God. This is why God said to go into a private room to have fellowship with Him. You can pray in any place and at all times, but Matthew teaches about a time of intimacy with God (Matthew 6:6). We must look for the right time to be alone in His presence. Some choose the morning hours, others choose the afternoon, while others prefer at night. What is important is that you set apart a regular time to talk with God. Remember that our God is Spirit and that He wants for us to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Something to Think About
Every believer needs a place where he or she can have a daily time of privacy with God; it could be in the study, the bedroom, the living room, or any other place. The Lord Jesus Christ, who didn’t have a specific place to pray, prayed in the open air at dawn (Mark 1:35). The Lord said through the prophet Isaiah, “Come, my people, enter into your chambers, and shut the doors about you: hide yourself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be past.” (Isaiah 26:20).
Prayer
“Lord Jesus, thank You for teaching us the value of prayer. I thank You because it is in the secret place that we can relate to the Father. Thank You because it is there that we can deposit our burdens and experience freedom. Thank You because it is in that place that we get the strength to overcome the winds that blow against us. Thank You because through prayer we can put on Your power and Your love.”
Today’s Declaration
“I love my prayer room, because it is where I relate with my heavenly Father.”
Today’s Bible Reading
- Old Testament: Deuteronomy 6-8; Psalm 64
- New Testament: Matthew 26:36-56; Romans 11:1-24
