The Imortance of a Prayer Closet

                      The Importance of a Prayer Closet

         Hello and welcome to My Little House of Prayer. I am your host Dayla Smith. What a wonderful time to live in. We are living in the last days. We are so much further into the last days than any of the apostles that lived in Jesus Christ’ day. Let’s open in prayer. 

                      I want to read Matthew chapter 6 with you. Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.6 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.7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.11 Give us this day our daily bread.12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

                      This subject is and always has been my favorite. Looking back, I realize that the call to prayer and a true relationship with the one true and living God, is the first awesome gift. I didn’t see the work that He was doing and calling me to until I gave the testimony concerning My Little House of Prayer. Man, I can say that my walk has truly paved in His Glory!!! I can’t express or define the wonderful work He has done in me. But, He could not have accomplished it without my cooperation with the Holy Spirit. You see, we desperately need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. We have no redemptive power in us alone. But, if we are obedient to the Spirit of God, who holds all redemptive power, we can accomplish much in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. I want to share a few of the many testimonies of the things He has taught me along the way.

                 The first kind of prayer the Lord wanted to teach me was the call to intercession. To me this is the greatest kind of prayer. But, you will hear me say this about each kind of prayer. Because, prayer opens the door to a relationship with the LORD. Prayer is a call to draw near to the one true and living God. Intercessory prayer is where the Lord will move on your heart to pray for others. Why not? He is always making intercession for us. Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Look at

Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. 

                  The Lord Jesus Christ was, is, and always will be interceding on our behalf. That we run the race gloriously. How do we do this? By reading our bible from front to back. Learning by His example how to navigate our walk in this world. Intercessory prayer is one way to train your spiritual ears to hear His voice. Because, you are no longer thinking of yourself but of someone else waiting to hear the voice of the Lord on how to pray. Get a prayer journal so that you can record the request. You can go into as much detail as you like. Date it. Then when it is manifested, you can add the date of the manifested answer.

                   Now, the Lord will only reveal only what He knows He can trust you with. Karen Mosely shared the story of David and Johnathan. Jonathan stripped himself of all of His defenses before David. At that moment, Jonathan was vulnerable to David. If David meant to harm him, he had the upper hand. Jonathan gave all of his defenses to David. She asked the question, “Can the Lord trust you with all of His secrets? Can He become completely vulnerable to you?” I'll tell you what. This woke up a desire in my heart to be that kind of person. That He could trust me completely. This is still my desire. That I am available or on call 24/7 to Him and that He can trust me with His secrets as I watch Him perform one miracle after another in others lives. This is the most greatest gift He could give me. That kind of relationship. And, believe you me, this doesn’t always go well with others. They don’t realize just how much that you are responsible for the truth you know. Not just His Words, but also His secrets. If He keeps ours, we are called to keep His.

             The next thing He taught me was the need for corporate prayer. We need each other. There are so many things that take place in corporate prayer. Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. 

Matthew 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

Psalm 133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

                    The Lord has been impressing upon me more and more the need for the brotherhood of the Lord Jesus Christ to come together in corporate prayer. To gather under His banner of love. To pull together. We need to gather together at every opportunity in corporate prayer as we are in the last days. As we gather together and pray for one another according to James 5:16 we draw strength in His name. Even King Solomon, in all of the Lord’s wisdom, said this. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12   9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Are you seeing what I have learned and am hearing? 

                While He was teaching me about intercessory and corporate prayer, He began to teach me about warfare. The first scripture that the Lord gave me was this, Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. In other words, this walk is a constant fight. Both in the natural and spiritual realm. Jesus Christ proved that when He was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness fasting and praying. It is also in this that I learned my desperate need for fasting and praying. It improves your hearing in the spiritual realm. It is a chance to draw near to God. There are way too many testimonies in this area. I have seen so many miracles. But,that is not what is so important. What is the most important is that it is in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, that we have the victory. We are no match for satan and his cohorts. But, we have a big brother that has already won the war. Jesus Christ of Nazareth! We need to know who we are in Christ! We have to have an absolute faith and belief in the Word of God.

             Here is a small testimony. I believe this is proof of the power of the prayer language that the Lord has given us. Why else would the enemy fight us so hard to get us not to want it or receive it? I was born again with the gift of tongues in the Holy Spirit. I had a friend who had bought a really old home. The recent owner fought with depression and was not a born again believer. So, the house was filled with the oppression of demonic spirits. It was really thick in the master bedroom. I immediately picked up on this through the Holy Spirit. So, one night I offered to come in agreement with the owner and pray throughout the home. I did this with full faith that the Lord was in full control and it was the Lord who wanted to clean up the home. I knew that the battle was in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, that is how I prayed. The Holy Spirit said to just stay in my prayer language. That the Lord God Almighty would do all of the fighting for us. 

                Well a few days later, another brother in the Lord who also was a prayer warrior, also came to the home. He came to clean the home spiritually. He walked throughout the home with a funny look on His face. When he got to the master bedroom his eyes popped out of his head. He turned to the new owner and said, “I don’t know who the person is, but they are very young in the Lord. They prayed in the name of the Lord. They have a lot of faith. This kind of faith cleared out your home. Most of the house wasn’t that hard to clear out. But it is in the Master bedroom where the fight was the hardest. But their faith cleared even the ruling spirits out of there! Whoever this person is, they have unsurmountable faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” So, you see, we have to have a relationship in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

                Ephesians 6:10-18    10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

                So, what is the importance of having a prayer closet? There are so many scriptures concerning the need for a prayer closet. This is the question that was presented to me. “Are you seeing things happen in your prayer life? How much devotion of your time do you give to Him? Are you desiring His presence to the point of giving him thanksgiving, praise, and worship to Him? I mean He is the creator of the universe, even your creator. He breathed His breath of life in you. When pressured, is there enough evidence that you are a Christian to  convict you?” 

             Me being a brand new Christian, this rocked my thought life. Luke 7:47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. You see, in my mind's eye, there were a lot of my sins that needed His great blood of forgiveness. I owed a debt I could not pay. Yet, this awesome beloved Savior paid the price that I could never repay. Twenty-nine years later I still look at my relationship to Him in this light. Does this question hit you like a ton of bricks like it does me even now?  

1 John 5:13-15    13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

                I hope this sparks a desire in your hearts to want to fellowhip with Him in your prayer closet. The quiet place where you and your savior meet to speak with each other. Where you see your prayers answered. Where you go to have a relationship with a living God that loves each and every one of us.

                    If you do not know the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Let me introduce you to Him. It is really simple. First you must acknowledge that He was born of a virgin, lived as God among us, was crucified, died, buried and rose again on the third day for the salvation of all creation. That you are a sinner in need of a savior according to the mirror of the law of the Lord. Ask Him for His forgiveness for all of your sins and call them out to Him. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Then, forgive those who have sinned or transgressed against you. Then, repent. Repent means to change your mind concerning sinful habits. Change your choice making decisions. Let Him influence your choice making decisions as you get in His Holy Word. Ask Him to be Lord over your life. I want to pray this prayer with you. But, this is just an outline. The real work begins after I pray with you because it is a very personal walk with the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth. 

                    Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. I acknowledged that you were born of a virgin, you lived as God among us, was crucified, died, and buried. You rose again on the third day for the salvation of all creation. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and for answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

                               If you have made the decision to give your life to Jesus, let me be one of the first to welcome you to the body of Christ. All of heaven is greatly rejoicing over your decision today. Please let me know of your decision today. I want to pray for you. If this message has brought up any questions or spoke to you in some way, or if you have any prayer requests; please let me know by commenting below, private messaging me, or you can email me at my1littleafmp@aol.com. I would greatly love to hear from you. Remember you are called for a purpose and you are loved. I love you with the Love of the Lord but Jesus will always love you more.

(close in prayer)