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                      The Power of the Secret Closet

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By David Wilkerson
March 29, 1992
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          " 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 6:5-6).

          When Jesus speaks of going into a secret closet to seek
          the Father, He is talking about something much greater
          than a physical closet. The Old Testament tells us God
          divided His people into two categories: "Those who
          sought Me - and those who sought Me not!" And God has
          two kinds of children today as well - those who
          regularly seek Him in their secret closet of prayer,
          and those who do not.

          When God became angry with Israel over their idolatry,
          Moses pitched his prayer tent outside the camp.
          Scripture says that afterward "it came to pass, that
          every one which sought the Lord went out unto the
          tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the
          camp" (Exodus 33:7). In the midst of all the idolatry
          taking place in Israel, there was still a people of God
          who took time and effort to seek the Lord with all
          their heart! This seeking remnant emerged from among
          the idolatrous millions in Israel. They knew they had
          to go outside the camp, lest they too fall into the
          apostasy sweeping over the people.

          Centuries later, the people under King Asa understood
          why God blessed and prospered them and kept them at
          peace with all their enemies: "Because we have sought
          the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he hath given
          us rest on every side. So they built and prospered" (2
          Chronicles 14:7).

          At one point during Asa's reign, an army of one million
          Ethiopians came against Israel. "And Asa cried unto the
          Lord his God, and said, ...O Lord, thou art our God;
          let not man prevail against thee. So the Lord smote the
          Ethiopians before Asa...and the Ethiopians fled...they
          were destroyed before the Lord" (verses 11-13). When
          Asa was attacked, he fell on his face and turned to God
          in prayer - and God answered with victory!

          Shortly after that triumph, however, Azariah the
          prophet came to Asa and said: "The Lord is with you,
          while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be
          found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake
          you" (15:2). In other words: "If you stop seeking after
          God - if you stop yearning after Him and calling on His
          name in all you do - He will forsake you!"

          Azariah knew that because of God's great deliverances,
          the king would be tempted to become proud and turn to
          the flesh. Indeed, every time Israel sought the Lord
          after that, God blessed them:

          "When Israel in their trouble did turn unto the Lord
          the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of
          them" (verse 4).

          The people knew where their power and victory had been
          found - in seeking God with their whole heart! "And
          they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of
          their fathers with all their heart and with all their
          soul...For they had sworn with all their heart, and
          sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of
          them and the Lord gave them rest round about" (2
          Chronicles 15:12, 15).

          Israel enjoyed rest when they sought God in prayer!
          That doesn't mean they didn't have any problems. But
          because they fell on their faces and cried out to God,
          turning to Him in total dependence, He always delivered
          them and gave them order and strength.

          It is written of King Uzziah, "As long as he sought the
          Lord, God made him to prosper.... And his name spread
          far abroad; for he was marvelously helped, till he was
          strong" (2 Chronicles 26:5, 15). Because Uzziah sought
          God, the Lord strengthened him and brought order to his
          kingdom. But in his prosperity, this king quit seeking
          God. Pride crept in and his heart was lifted up. Uzziah
          turned to the arm of the flesh - and he ended up a
          leper, dying in shame!

          Jeremiah prophesied that all shepherds who refuse to
          seek God in prayer will likewise fail: "For the pastors
          are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord:
          therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks
          shall be scattered" (Jeremiah 10:21).

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                      Only a Handful of Pastors Today
                         Truly Seek God in Prayer!

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          Indeed, the scene Jeremiah described is exactly what we
          are seeing today in the church of Jesus Christ. Many
          shepherds have become lazy and neglectful. They see
          their calling as only a job - a paycheck! They lean on
          the arm of their flesh, turning to books and
          commentaries for their sermons instead of seeking to
          know God's heart through prayer. They have lost all
          power to feed and keep the sheep in order - and the
          sheep are being scattered.

          The unity that once kept churches strong is now being
          broken up. Christians are starving for the gospel,
          running from one place to another just to find a little
          crumb to satisfy their heart's longing.

          Jeremiah said of his day: "My tabernacle is spoiled,
          and all my cords are broken" (10:20a). The cords he
          spoke of - the binding power of God that kept unity
          among the people - had been obliterated. "My children
          are gone forth of me, and they are not" (verse 20b).
          The flock was gone - scattered! "There is none to
          stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my
          curtains" (verse 20c). There was such uncleanness among
          the priesthood, no one dared to go near the holy things
          of God. No priest was worthy to touch the holy
          curtains!

          Perhaps you sit under the kind of shepherd Jeremiah
          describes. Maybe your pastor started out bold,
          dedicated to prayer, and God blessed and prospered him.
          There was unity in the church, because prayer creates
          unity. But now all is in ruin - God has had to turn His
          face away - because He has had to say of all lazy
          shepherds and Christians, "They no longer seek Me"! The
          Lord draws a sharp distinction between these kind of
          believers and those who seek Him in prayer. Now I want
          to address those who seek after God:

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                   The Power of the Secret Closet Comes,
                 First of All, in Having a Secret Closet!

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          Do you have a closet of prayer? I don't mean an actual
          clothes closet (though that could do) but, rather - do
          you have a habit of shutting yourself in with God?

          To have a "secret closet" means simply to be shut in
          with God anywhere, anytime - giving quality, chosen
          time to yearn after Him, seek Him and call on His name.

          "Prayer closet" means "prayer habit." Do you have a
          daily practice of getting alone with God? That is what
          the prayer closet is all about - practice. It is about
          disciplining yourself to come before God - to answer
          when the Spirit's wooing calls you. It means having a
          heart that says, "I must get alone with God - I must
          talk with my Father today!"

          Sometimes my secret closet is my car, when I'm alone.
          It is often my study at home. It is also a little
          country road in Pennsylvania, where I sometimes retreat
          to be with the Lord. It is walking the streets in New
          York City. A few weeks ago it was a Florida beach,
          where I walked for hours, shut in with God.

          The kind of prayer I'm talking about has to do with
          intimacy with God -- aloneness with Him! Jesus warned
          against hypocrisy in prayer. He drew a dramatic
          distinction between those who seek God in the secret
          closet, and those who pray so they can be seen by
          others as holy!

          Hypocrites are actors - people who act holy to receive
          the praises of others. Jesus said there are many such
          actors in His church: "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" (Matthew 6:5).

          Our flesh loves to be applauded and complimented. But
          God can't use our flesh - that is, our sinful nature -
          because our flesh can't be remodeled or sanctified.
          When we're born again, God does away with our flesh; He
          makes us new creatures in His Spirit. Our flesh has to
          be totally cast off and left to die!

          Yet the flesh can be seen at work in us when we do
          things for God but can't understand why others don't
          appreciate it. Our flesh wants our trumpet blown! "They
          [hypocrites] love to pray" - or so they want you to
          believe! They pray in church, they go to prayer
          meetings - but they have no prayer habit! They do not
          shut themselves up in prayer, alone with their Father.

          I remember hearing about one pastor's reputation as a
          man of prayer. People told me, "He prays eight hours a
          day." I thought, "Wow! He must be some preacher. I'd
          like to meet him!" I did meet this man - and I sensed
          nothing different about him whatsoever. Then it dawned
          on me: If he was spending eight hours a day in prayer,
          people would have known it simply by the changes in his
          character. But there were no changes! Obviously, they
          knew about his long vigils only because he had told
          them - he had, blown his own trumpet!

          Beloved, God does not hear even a word of the prayers
          of hypocrites -because those prayers were never meant
          for His ears! And Jesus says they have no reward from
          the Father! Yet in this message, I am not just talking
          about hypocrites - but about good, honest, believing
          Christians.

          I am truly shocked at how few believers do not practice
          a wonderful, daily communion with the Lord. The vast
          majority pray only in church and at meals, with perhaps
          a few quick words to God before going to bed. They have
          no habit of prayer - that is, until a crisis strikes,
          and then they are quick to bow their heads!

          I can't help but feel a holy anger rise up in me when
          someone says, "Brother Dave, you have to pray because
          it's your job. It's your calling as a preacher. But I'm
          not in the ministry - I'm not called to that."

          No! The habit of daily drawing near to God is meant for
          every one of us! The reason so many Christians don't
          have power in their lives is because they don't have a
          prayer life. They pray maybe once a week, or whenever
          they feel like it.

          Beloved. there is absolutely no power in haphazard
          on-again-off-again praying! "Thy Father...seeth in
          secret" (Matthew 6:6). God sees in secret - into the
          very depths of your heart! He sees your lack of
          interest. He sees you giving plenty of time to things
          you think are necessary - to friends, to wasting hours
          in front of a TV. And He sees you coming to Him as an
          afterthought - or only out of conviction or
          self-condemnation!

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                       The Secret Closet Is Any Place
                     Where a Child of God Shuts Out the
                     World - and Shuts Himself in Alone
                      With God, to Seek Him and Pray!

                      -------------------------------

          Jesus clearly said, "When thou prayest, enter into thy
          closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray"
          (Matthew 6:6). In other words, when you go into your
          closet, don't start praying until you shut the door!

          This means, don't talk to your Father with a cluttered
          mind. Shut out all the thoughts that keep you drifting
          away from Him. Be awake, focused, not wasting words,
          not thinking of something else. You can let your mind
          wander when you talk with friends, or when you're on
          the job or in school. But when you come into the
          presence of the King, the Bible says, "He sees in
          secret!"

          Many people pray for long hours, yet they are powerless
          in their daily walk. They wonder why answers do not
          come, why they don't have victory. It is because they
          pray with their closet door wide open! They leave open
          the door of distractions - and God does not answer
          halfhearted, insincere prayers!

          Do you go into the secret closet and pray haphazardly
          for hours, scatter-gun-style - never directing focused
          prayers, never hitting the target of God's ear, because
          you don't know what you want or need?

          Don't be deceived - it takes concentrated effort to
          pray! When you go into your secret closet, shut the
          door and take the telephone off the hook! Any child of
          God who sets his heart to seek the Father is going to
          face what I call "satanic interruptions." The devil
          will come to interrupt you - to get your mind onto
          anything except your heavenly Father.

          Beloved, this discipline is absolutely imperative. If
          we are to meet with God and be heard by Him, then we
          have to be where He is in secret! "Thy Father which is
          in secret shall reward thee" (Matthew 6:6). God has
          invited you to come boldly to His throne of grace - and
          it is behind closed doors!

          God's throne room is not like the federal courthouse in
          downtown Manhattan. I went to that court once, and I
          wondered how the judge kept his mind on the cases at
          hand. Court stenographers came and went, lawyers walked
          around talking - at times it was bedlam. Every so often
          the judge had to slam down his gavel and shout,
          "Silence!"

          But there is no such calamity in God's presence. There
          are no endless lines of people waiting to appear, no
          distracting souls walking about. When you walk into
          God's throne room and shut the door behind you, it's
          just you and the Father. You are alone in His presence
          - and you are His only concern!

          I must ask you: Do you act in your heavenly Father's
          presence in ways you would never dare to act before
          your mayor or governor or president? Let's say you were
          to ask the president for an hour of his time. Then,
          when you walked into his office, you sat there with
          your mind wandering, perhaps watching someone play
          tennis outside. How long do you think you'd last in his
          presence?

          When you go in to seek your Father in prayer shut the
          door so that nothing and no one can enter in -- no
          pride, no distractions! Shut it literally, shut it
          spiritually - and bring every thought into captivity to
          the obedience of Christ!

                      -------------------------------

                            A Prayer Closet Also
                           Implies Quality Time!

                      -------------------------------

          In the Old Testament, people couldn't approach the
          altar with a lamb that was blemished or blind or lame.
          They had to bring their very best to the Lord.

          I ask you - what kind of time do you bring into your
          closet? Is it your best time, your wide-awake time? Or,
          rather: Do you come to God weary and tired after a busy
          day dragging yourself into His presence with heavy
          eyelids? If your mind begins to wander because you're
          tired, simply be honest about it. Say, "Jesus, I'm too
          tired to pray tonight. I'm going to bed, and when I
          wake up I'll give You a better hour."

          Do you come to Him in the morning, to pray about holy
          things - but your mind is on the car that needs to be
          washed that day? Beloved, your mind and heart have to
          be where your lips are! Isaiah spoke of the kind of
          "burnt offerings and sacrifices...accepted upon mine
          altar; for mine house shall be called an house of
          prayer" (Isaiah 56:7). Those who bring acceptable
          sacrifices, God says, are those who "join themselves to
          the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the
          Lord" (verse 6).

          Dear saint. this is the only acceptable sacrifice to be
          made at God's altar! It is not a lame, halfhearted,
          sleepy-eyed sacrifice - a last-minute obligatory
          offering. No - it comes from a heart that is consumed
          with love for Jesus, one that constantly cries out,
          "God, I come to You today to know You. I want to be
          led, corrected and instructed by You. I want to learn
          obedience, to understand Your ways. I want more of
          You!"

          Those who bring such sacrifices, the Lord says, "I will
          bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my
          house of prayer" (verse 7). He will hear our prayers -
          and He will bring us to a place of holiness, joy and
          power!

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                     The Secret Closet Is a Place Where
                        We Come With All Our Heart!

                      -------------------------------

          "Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that
          seek him with the whole heart! (Psalm 119:2).

          Once you have established a habit (a prayer closet) and
          have shut out all distractions, God desires for you to
          seek Him with all your heart: "But if from thence thou
          shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if
          thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul"
          (Deuteronomy 4:29).

          These were Moses' dying words to Israel. He knew that
          great trials and tribulations were ahead for the people
          - and he was giving them the key to victory:

          "in the latter days...when thou art in tribulation, and
          all these things are come upon thee...if thou turn to
          the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
          (for the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) He will not
          forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the
          covenant of thy fathers which He sware unto them"
          (verses 30-31).

          Moses warned, "No matter what you're going through,
          don't murmur or complain. Don't turn to man or to the
          flesh. Turn to the Lord, and seek Him in prayer! He
          promises that if you'll just seek Him with all your
          heart, He will see you through."

          Being in the closet means coming before God for only
          one purpose: to pour yourself out! It means that
          everything in you reaches out to God - all your heart,
          soul, mind and strength. Sometimes you can do this
          without a word. All that matters to your heavenly
          Father is that you come to Him with your all!

                      -------------------------------

                          Jesus Promised a Reward:
                            Order to Your Life!

                      -------------------------------

          Jesus said that when we go to our secret closet -
          shutting out all distractions and opening ourselves
          totally to God - our Father will reward us openly. "Thy
          Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly"
          (Matthew 6:6).

          There are many rewards that come to us from the power
          of the secret closet. But there is one reward in
          particular the Holy Spirit has revealed to me - and I
          want you to know it!

          The Bible says of Jehoshaphat, "He sought the Lord with
          all his heart" (2 Chronicles 22:9) - and because he
          sought God, he enjoyed thirty-five years of order in
          his kingdom. He had power with God and power over all
          Israel's enemies. Even when attacks came from all
          sides, God quickly thwarted them - because the people
          began to seek the Lord immediately. There was always
          order, never chaos or confusion. Why? Because they
          sought the Lord!

          But then Jehoshaphat's son Ahaziah came to power - and
          he didn't seek the Lord. Ahaziah was slain by Jehu, and
          "so the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep still the
          kingdom" (verse 9). Ahaziah had no power to keep order
          as his father had - because he was prayerless!

          Dear saint, your kingdom is your home. And if you don't
          have a prayer closet - a daily habit of seeking God -
          then you have no power to bring order to your
          household. The devil can bring chaos to it all - to
          your job, your family, your relationships! You see, the
          power of the secret closet is power over all confusion
          and disorder - in your life, your family, your job,
          your church!

                      -------------------------------

                     There is a Good Word for Everyone
                    Who is Determined to seek the Lord!

                      -------------------------------

          God promises that if you will seek Him continually with
          all your heart, you will always have plenty of
          spiritual food:

          "And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley
          of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my
          people that have sought me" (Isaiah 65:10).

          Yet those who do not seek God will be empty, famished,
          dry - wandering about, looking for a shepherd, hungry
          and never satisfied. The Bible says they "shall be
          hungry ... thirsty ... ashamed" (verse 13) "(But) my
          servants shall eat ... drink ... rejoice ... sing for
          joy"(verses 13-14). Those who are shut in with God -
          pouring out their soul to Him, seeking Him in
          everything - will have power, authority, spiritual
          strength, food for soul and mind. They will be led by
          God into a place of spiritual rest and fullness!

          Yes, there is power to be found in seeking God - power
          to understand all that happens in your life: "They that
          seek the Lord understand all things" (Proverbs 28:5).
          Keep seeking, praying - and God will give you an
          understanding of what you are facing! "Your heart shall
          live [who] seek God" (Psalm 69:32).

          Psalm 91 is many believers' favorite passage of
          Scripture. What great promises are found here! The
          entire psalm is a revelation of the delivering, keeping
          power that comes from living in an attitude of seeking
          God. The person who lives in this habitation of prayer
          will have power over all demonic snares, all fear, all
          sickness and plague - power to prevail and bring forth
          results in prayer!

          But there is a condition for all this. It is found in
          verse 1: "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the
          most high shall abide under the shadow of the
          Almighty." "Dwell" means "to live." Do you live in your
          prayer closet - in the secret place of the Most High?
          Is it your home at any time of the day?

          You may wonder, "Does this mean I need to be shut in
          with God all the time?" In a manner of speaking, yes!
          Paul said we are to pray without ceasing. And David
          said, "Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face
          continually" (1 Chronicles 16:11).

          Dear saint, in your every waking hour, let your mind be
          stayed on God. Commune with Him. Yearn after Him at all
          times. All through the day, in everything, call upon
          Him in your spirit - and you will know His power and
          order in your every step! Amen!

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