Time to come out of the closet, parents…
I remember hearing a phrase about the “prayer closet” as I was growing up in my “King James Only-Independent-Fundamental-washed in the blood-women only wear skirts” Baptist church.
It makes sense that I heard it there… cause the idea of a prayer closet is only clearly indicated in the King James Version. Here’s what it says,
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)
The idea of a prayer closet was weird to me then… but not so much now. Now I see the importance of personal, quiet, focused times of prayer.
Parents, you need to go into the closet.
Using that idea of a closet as an analogy for focused prayer, I think it’s a good idea that we parents figure out a way to pray consistently and regularly for our children. Prayer is important – for us and for them.
We need to make sure we are going into the closet, making the time to pray.
It’s hard.
It’s unnatural.
But it’s where our hearts are changed and God’s power is revealed.
Don’t you want some of that for your kids? I do.
Parents, you need to come out of the closet.
When I was a boy, I remember waking up early on occasion and walking into the kitchen. There sat my dear mother, her Bible open on the kitchen table and her head bowed in prayer. I knew, I just knew that she was praying for me… and it made a HUGE difference in how I viewed the importance of prayer.
Just as important as it is for you to go into times of focused prayer for your children, you need to do so in a way that they see you coming out of that prayer closet. They need to see your example… and know in their hearts that you are praying (at least in part) for them.
I know, I know… the very context of Matthew 6:6 is teaching us NOT to do our prayers for others to see.
But Jesus was talking about making not a religious show of it. Agreed – we are NOT to do that.
But praying so that your kids are aware of your prayer times, is not the same thing. That is about being an example to your kids, which the Bible encourages in multiple places.
As it was in my case, your children will benefit from knowing that you are dedicated to your times of prayer. It will show them how important it is, and set the stage for them taking it seriously as they mature.
How do you get started?
In some ways, it’s a “just do it” kind of thing, but there are some ideas and resources that can help you.
- Start here, most Christians don’t and struggle for far too long.
- Months back I wrote some posts on Quiet time tips, which you may find helpful.
- And here is a list of 30 things to pray for your children.
Whatever you do, as a parent, you need to be going into the closet and coming out again – for the sake of your children. Let me know how I can be of help.
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