Quote from the book, What
Happens When Women (We) Pray:
by Evelyn Christenson
Where we Pray
Page 79-80
Private Prayer—Public
Praying
Do you have a secret place
for private prayer, a certain corner, a particular chair, or a room set apart
where you can spend time alone with God?
A “closet” where you daily shut the door to pray to your Father in
secret? The group concept of prayer is
important, and we do need to pray with one another, “not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves together” (see Hebrews 10:25). But the drawing apart to pray in secret is
perhaps the most vital type of prayer in which we engage. It is also an indicator of the kind of prayer
group participant we really are, for it is our private praying that determines
the quality and validity of our public praying.
Other Closets
I can hear you saying, “I
can’t spend great periods of my time in a closet.” No, neither can I, but I have found another
kind of closet praying. It’s just
drawing apart to God wherever I am—at the kitchen sink, at a desk, or even in a
room filled with people.
Even a plane seat can be a
prayer closet.
I remember when I first had
the desire to spend time alone with God.
I was a young mother with small children. It was challenging trying to find that alone
time to read my Bible and pray, but like anything good, it began slowly. I made a commitment to begin with 5 minutes a
day. That time quickly grew because when
I made time for God, I felt so much better.
I longed to spend time with him.
Then I soon realized that I
was creating my own quiet place to get alone with God. I called it My LISTENING Room. Where ever I lived I would design a small
area in my home, (even a walk in closet, see picture to the right) with the
things that motivated me to spend time with God. Doing this gave me great motivation to STOP
and speak and listen to God.
When we Pray
Page 86
Give ear to my words, O
LORD, consider my meditation. Hearken
unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God:
for unto thee will I pray. My
voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my
prayer unto thee, and will look up” (Psalms 5:1-3)
It doesn’t say that hours
of prayer time are necessary, but at least we must say “Good morning” to the
Lord and give Him our day. So whether
you are a lark or an owl, God’s Word says early in the morning, before the
tyranny of the urgent, before breakfast, before the school buses, before anyone
says a word to you, “Early in the morning, Lord, I will look up, and pray unto
you.”
I learned to be an early
riser while living in the Philippines
While living in the States,
my time with God was regularly in the morning and I loved it, but living in the
Philippines
There were
people at our door very early in the morning.
Our days were so full and my time with God began to fade. I did not like how I changed
when my time with God disappeared, so I prayed about it. I asked God to show me a time that I could
spend with him. I never believed that he
would answer my prayer in such a clear way.
One morning I woke up at
4:00. I looked at the clock and then
thought, “No, not now God”, but I could not go back to sleep, so I finally got
up and had a wonderful time reading my Bible and praying. I began to wake up every morning at the same
time and honestly, I had more energy than when I would sleep in.
Finding time with God is
challenging, so make it a time that works best for you.
To Whom We Pray
Page 96
Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you. Draw nigh to God,
and He will draw nigh to you. James
4:7-8
An often overlooked but
very important part of prayer is the drawing nigh to God. Before we are ready to start our intercessory
prayers, we need to wait before God until we know we have established
communication with Him. This is a time
of silence when we are shutting out every other thought and distraction around
us. This is not talking to God, just a
complete mental drawing to Him, and then, as He has promised, He will draw nigh
to us.
Wow, the words of this
chapter hit me. Oh, my gosh! I am so
anxious to begin my prayers with praising him that I have not been waiting
before God until I know we have communication.
This is really important. How
could I have neglected this?
I am going to take this week
and begin waiting on God and see what happens.
Will I know that communication is open?
You can try it yourself, but I will share my experiences next week.
Also next week, we will finish the
last two chapters of this wonderful book.
They are........ The Horizontal Dimension of Prayer—Results and Telephone Prayer
Chains.
This has been a wonderful
year of remembering my dear Sister in Christ, Evelyn. I have thought about the times we talked together. Honestly, she is in heaven now, but she has
taught me so much this year. I wanted to
finish all of her books this year, but think I still have three left. I want to finish them all. I hope you will continue this Incredible
Journey with Evelyn in 2014.
The three books left:
November-December What Happens When God Answers
January - February Battling
the Prince of Darkness
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