After supper, I asked to be excused early (as in, instead of helping Mom do the dishes). Daddy said I could, so I went up to my room. I closed the door behind me; then, I walked to my closet, stepped inside, and closed the door behind me.
Here's what the Lord said about prayer:
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:5-6
For that reason, I've set up half of my room-length closet as a place for prayer. If you want to set up a prayer closet, you'll need either an overhead light or a lamp; pictures of the people you will be praying for regularly; a throw pillow for kneeling; a prayer journal (to keep track of your prayers and what happens after); and a Bible (in book form). What you don't need is any electronics; too distracting.
To help get my head in the right place, I started with some Bible reading. I usually open my Bible to a random page, and read the first verse I come across. On this night, I found myself reading John 8:44:
"You are of your father the Devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
Oh-kay. That maybe wasn't as inspirational as I'd hoped.
Setting my Bible aside, I flipped through my prayer journal, seeing how the Lord had responded to my prayers. After that Bible verse, I needed reassurance.
Now I came to the prayer part. I use the acronym ACTS as my guide: Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. First, I praised Him; then, I confessed my sins to Him; then, I thanked Him for all that was good in my life.
Lastly came the time to bring my requests before the Lord; and you can pretty much guess what was at the top of the list: "Lord, today, I learned who my father is, and what he is. He has promised to come to me in his time, and reveal what he wants of me. Lord, I have been Your servant for as long as I can remember; and I wish to continue serving You. Please, guide my feet upon Your path, that I may not lose my way. Let all be as You desire, Lord. In Jesus's Name; Amen."
When I finished praying, I left my closet, and resumed my life, even if it no longer seemed so ordinary to me.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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