To Grow in Prayer, Choose a Regular Place

Prayer, habitual prayer, should be thought of as an appointment with God. An appointment is not completely stated without a date, time and place.

 

This concept originated in the Bible. What we call Feasts of the Lord are designated as mo’edim (appointments) in the Bible. God had definte dates for these appointments. Passover was always on the 14th of Nissan, Pentecost  was always 50 days from the Sunday in the Passover week. the Feast of Trumpets was always on the 1st of Tishri, the Day of Atonement on the 10th of Tishri, and the Feast  of Tabernacles on the 15th of Tishri. Each Mo’ed had a definite date. The place was always the same. Jerusalem.Where God pitched His Tent before Solomon, and in the Temple after that.  A fixed date, a fixed place (two ingredients of an appointment).

 

Let’s say the date of your appoinent with God is daily. You still need to decide what time of day, and what place for your appointments with God.

 

Praying daily in the same place and at the same time, contributes to the formation of a habit of prayer. After 6 or 7 weeks of habitual prayer, the prayer habit will get to be so strong, you will not easily break the appointment, unless there is a very serious reason indeed.

 

This habit ensures that you do pray. Because remember:

 

Talking about prayer is not praying. Telling stories and testimonies about prayer is not praying. Reading books about prayer is not praying. Listening to sermons about prayer is not praying.

 

We suggest you decide on the PLACE first. Without a definite place to pray, the chances of forming the habit is reduced.

 

There are many places that will suffice to pray when you are not bent down in major intercession. You could spend part of all your  driving time praying. 

 

You can pray throughout the course of your day in every imaginable situation. If you are eating lunch alone, you can pray for a while. Anytime you are waiting, for whatever reasons (an appointment, an arrival, you name it), you can pray.

 

 

Do you have a place in your home where you can be alone? Consecrate it to daily prayer. Move the furniture around to facilitate your praying. 

 

But the most important thing is that you find a place where you can forget about everything else and be uninterrupted for whatever period of time that you need to pray.

 

My wife used to have a cane rocking chair which she devoted in this way to prayer.When we wanted to pray together, she and I used the livig room  praying from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. every day. My wife would sit pn a sofa with her Bible, while I would walk up and down and pray sometimes quietly, sometimes aloudin  morning prayer-meeing of three – my and my wife … and God. At that time in my life, I worked for an internaional ad agency. Our office was right next to a five-star hotel. I started toing to the coffee shop there at 9 a.m., and agreed with my office that no one was to call me on the phone till 10:30. I packed as much concrentrated creative work as I could during those 90 minutes during which I would sip a single cup of coffee The staff of the coffee shop thought I was some sort of celebrity, and indulged me with the occasional cookies on the house. They were fascinated that during all that time, my nose ws in a special note book that I used for my creative work.i At some point in my advertising career, the Lord saved me. From that point onward, that seat in a corner of the coffee shop, became my place of Bible reading and prayer. This was not lost on the staff, and gave occasion for evangelism of the staff and any guest who happened to be seated near me.

 

Those were defining moments in my career. I needed prayer so I could be a Daniel in the workplace, serving my clientele yet ensuring that my advertising did not exaggerate, or make false promises, or appeal to carnal motives (such as pride, one-upmanship, sexual lust, greed, and covetousness, but would simply serve to draw attention to facts about the product and what it could do for the buyer). Sometimes I had to take an unpopular stand within the office or with clients. It was those mornings of prayer that kept me serving God while serving my agency and clients.

 

That experience helped me learn the importance of prayer.  In a few months, I had established a prayet routine that wa well integrated into my work routine and became the cornerstone of my working life.Every time a major decision needed to be made, pray for direction in the coffee shop.. I can think of dozens of times when my choices or decisions were completely determined by an answer I received during those 90 minutes of prayer and devotional Bible reading.

 

I am telling you these things because I want you to see that can be made the cornerstone of the working and family life in the high-pressu hectic existence of an ad man. PRAYER CHANGES THINGS. In the beginning, the CEO thought I had “got religion, but before the year was out, at the annual appraisals, the CEO told me that contrary to his misgivings he had seen me grow in strength. I was promoted, and within the next two years, was conducting seminars for membrs of the agency in the entire Asia Pacific region.. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. God honors an honest pursuit of His will. And He will intervene.

 

My career demonstrated that one does not have to be in a church house to pray. It could be anywhere you find a place that can be sanctified unto prayer.

 

If if you are sincere about growing in prayer, and experiencing consistently the tranformaitonal power of prayer that changes things, then find a place. Any place.

 

Find a place to pray. Sit in a chair, lie on the floor, kneel by a bed, sit in a coffee shop,walk the living room floor, or whatever suits you. Just find your place to pray, and get started. Now is better than later.

 

Even as I type this, I am praying that the very next time you set out to seek the Lord in this fashion, you will find Him to be more real, more powerful and more wonderful than at any time before in your life.