A CHILD’S CONFIDENCE

Isaiah our youngest child was about six years old at the time, I had been sharing with him and Evan who is two years older, regarding the verse in Matthew 6:6 – ” But you, when you pray, go into your {closet} inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. ”

One night Isaiah called me. He was in my bedroom. I walked in and saw the door opened and the light was on in the closet. Though I could not see him as I looked at the open door to the closet, Isaiah was calling me from inside the small closet. I walked into the closet and he was sitting on a  small box against the back wall, with coats and shirts hanging above him. He was beaming.”Close the door, close the door,” he said excitedly. Evan, had by this time walked into the bedroom and not wanting to miss out  when he heard Isaiah say,”close the door,” hurried in also. He did not want to miss out what was going on, whatever it may be!  With Evan, quickly cramming into the small closet as the two of us stood there looking down at Isaiah who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.  The door was now closed. What could it be that had him so excited and caused him to have such a big , wonderful smile on his face. With the door closed he excitedly announced ,…“Us three are going to be blessed…rewarded. Let’s Pray.”

CHILD-LIKE FAITH

Isaiah had taken the passage  I had shared with him and Evan from days earlier…literally!  He believed with all his heart, if you found  and went into a “closet” and prayed, God would hear you and He promised in His Word, the Bible-He sees what you are doing and He would reward you! This little boy, had taken God at His Word, in his own childlike faith. Ah, there we go, the phrase,”child-like faith.” Isn’t that what Jesus requires of us, to have the faith of a child. Faith to simply take what God says and act upon it! To hear and heed His Word. Aah, how sweet, how funny, you might think, such a lovely child, how sweet. But what has happened us. What is different between us and this little excited boy who hearing God sees and hears when you find a closet, literal closet to hear and reward your prayers?  How horrible sin is. We grow up and we often lose the innocence of a child. The faith to take God at His Word. Some of us may even have been highly “educated,” perhaps with letters behind our name, and sadly in may cases we have educated our hearts into ignorance of God and His ways. Oh to have the heart of a child that trusts God. No cluttering of our mind with arguments which are often but …unbelief. The willful refusal to take God at His Word.

The good news is that we do not have to find a closet. A literal closet for God to hear us and answer prayers… a “closet”  to reward us. A secret place a “closet” which Jesus speaks of is is a place of aloneness and can be wherever you are! You find a place for you to be alone with God. To shut out all other voices and distractions and to simply speak to your Heavenly Father who sees you. Oh the lies that inject our thinking that we too often embrace such as “my prayers don’t go higher than the ceiling.”Indeed they go higher. They are heard by God. You never pray alone in your “closet,” for your Heavenly Father sees you . The promise from the passage, Jesus says is that Your Heavenly Father who sees in secret will reward you OPENLY.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE REWARDS?

  1. The greatest REWARD is – Himself- Heb 11:6. “Those who come to Him must believe He is  and is a REWARDER of those who diligently seek Him.”
  2. The REWARD of seeing His Fame, His Name been honored and glorified when lives produce spiritual fruit- John 15:7-8- “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
  3. There is the “REWARD”of the ASSURANCE of answered prayer; “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”- 1 John 5:14-15

Matthew 6:6.- Isaiah had taken the Lord Jesus at His Word, do you?

Picture this little boy sitting on a box in a small closet, excitedly calling out to his daddy, as though he had found some great discovery, treasure and wanted to share. Oh that we would be so excited to know our Heavenly Father DOES hear us. He does hear you. You never pray alone. For your Heavenly Father who sees in secret… will reward you.! Pray on God is watching and listening.

PRAYING IN A CLOSET…

God grant us the anticipation, joy to CHOOSE to believe the Lord Jesus and spend time alone with our Heavenly Father, assured He sees us, He rewards…”close the door….us three are going to be blessed…rewarded.” Oh for the heart of a child. Child like faith. Today take Him at His Word and…. pray, expectantly, reverently…find a place to be alone, without distractions as your “secret” place, your “closet” wherever you are can be your closet! Pray on

Isaiah’s story is more than being “cute,” it is a picture of what child like faith looks like. The kind God wants in us all! Lessons from a child…

“Praying in a closet,” is more than a cute story it is a life lesson of child like faith, the kind our Heavenly Father seeks and Jesus exhorts us to.

How exciting you can find a place to be alone, any place and God your Heavenly Father sees you, hears and rewards those who do. We have the word and promise of the Lord Jesus on the matter. You never pray alone. Child-like faith  believes the promises of  the Lord Jesus. Let the praying begin…