DEVELOPING THE DIVINE ROMANCE
by Lemuel Niere
“But thou, when thou prays, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy
Father which is in secret; and thy Father which teeth in secret shall reward thee openly”
Matthew 6:6.
If you would like to know the Holy Spirit more intimately, it is important for you to understand what Jesus said in our text for today. When Jesus said that you are to “enter into thy closet,” was He actually telling you to get up every morning, open the closet door, shove all your shoes and clothes to the side, crawl inside that dark room, shut the door, and pray? Of course not!
The word “closet” is taken from the Greek word tameion, an old word that has an interesting history. In New Testament times, the word first depicted a secret place where one hid his prized possessions. Then it evolved to refer to a secure place such as a safety deposit box or a vault at the bank. Finally, it came to describe a bedroom.
Because a bedroom is a secret place where a treasured relationship takes place between a husband and a wife, it makes perfect sense that the word tameion would eventually describe this most private place. Intimate moments shared between husband and wife occur in the bedroom. Although the husband and wife love their children in nearly every other sphere of their lives, this is one sphere that isn’t available to anyone else. It is a private place and experience to be shared only between husband and wife.
Thus, the verse could actually be translated:“When it’s time for you to pray, enter into your bedchamber, and when you have shut the door behind you and secured a place of privacy, then pray…”
The verse conveys the idea of intimacy with God in prayer. Jesus was figuratively saying, “Just as a husband and wife enter into their bedroom and shut the door so they can bare their hearts and souls to each other in intimacy, so also you should have a relationship with God that is so tender, so special, and so intimate that it is shared only between you and Him and no one else. Therefore, find a secure place where you can go to share your heart and soul with God in prayer.” Wow, is this not a lovely picture of having that intimate time with God?
Jesus portrays prayer as something so precious that it should occur in a bedroom with the door shut. This does not literally mean you must pray in the bedroom any more than it means you must pray in a closet. The concept of a bedroom is only used to convey the idea of an isolated and solitary place where you can be alone with the Lord.
When we enter into a time of prayer, it should be done at a place and time when we are not interrupted so the Holy Spirit can speak to our hearts and we can bare our hearts to Him. It should be a time of sweet mingling together of human spirit with the divine Spirit.
