Bishop Guns - Prayer: It’s In The Closet

Matthew 6:6 ‘But when you pray, go into your [most] private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.’
 
The Discipline or Lifestyle of Prayer

We must embrace prayer as a lifestyle, not as a reaction to our circumstances.  Here's the definition of prayer:

"Prayer is the intentional act of connecting to God through Jesus Christ while purposefully disconnecting from the negative influences of your surroundings; an encounter with God."

We need to purposefully find that secret place spoken of in Psalm 91:1. We need to eliminate that which competes with God when communing with God.  Closing the door represents disconnecting from that which disconnects you from God.

2 ways to connect to God:

1. Entering a mental place where our mind is totally connected to the thoughts God
   
   1. Consecrated space with an uncluttered mind
      
      1. Worship

Don’t delight in the things of God but the God of the things.

2. Word

You’ve got to unclutter your mind – you have to create a world in your mind where God is centre!

2. You have to carve out physical space that is consecrated for the purposes of meeting with God.
   
   1. You need to build an altar in the place you live.
   2. The enemy tramples on your life because he doesn’t respect your space; you haven’t consecrated a space for God. Spirits don’t flirt with Holy places.

Jesus rarely prayed publicly. He always consecrated in desert places.   We all need to follow His example:

• Start today – go home and set up a place (an altar) in your home that is consecrated for prayer to God. Nothing else but prayer!
• Then, wherever you go, remember to consecrate the space.  Find a quiet place wherever you travel and seek the face of God.  The answer's in the closet.

The modern church does not respect the symbols of the church. They have devalued them.  Frat houses represent and have symbols that represent. Why does your house not represent?  Where are the symbols in your house that represent what you say you believe?

When the mental and the physical have intercourse, it creates the ‘Closet’.  The closet is a collaboration of the mental and the physical.

2 things you must do to have a successful prayer closet:

1. You must construct your life around your prayer commitment, not the other way around.
2. Consistently unclutter so connection to God is easy. He has dozens of hot spots or access points.
   
   1. The enemy purposefully puts distractions in your life to stop you from praying.
   2. He will reward you openly – promote you in a favourable way before others
      
      1. Release provisions so you live beyond the oppression of insufficiency

Closet = Storeroom = Pantry = Storehouse (Malachi 3)

Go into the closet – it’s all in the storehouse.  If you don’t go to the closet, you have to do it the way everyone else is doing it.  The world has to exert much effort to get to where they think they need or want to go and most times the either never get there or when they do get there, they find that "there" is the wrong place!

When you pray, God will honour your name. The enemy is trying to kill your name!  Your prayer life will beautify your name.  God wants to add value to your name because when your name has value, those who follow you will also walk in the authority of your name!