Shutting the Door...

Read Matthew 6:5-13

Several years ago, a man who was visiting the United States wanted to make a telephone call. He entered a phone booth but found it to be different from those in his own country. It was beginning to get dark, so he had difficulty finding the number in the directory. He saw a light in the ceiling but didn't know how to turn it on.
As the man tried again to find the number, a passerby noticed his plight and said, "Sir, if you want to turn the light on, you have to shut the door." To the visitor's amazement, when he closed the door, the booth was filled with light. He soon located the number and completed the call.
It is amazing how time seems to fly by without us being able to even catch our breath. I find that I arrive at work and the next thing I know it is time to go home, and then when I get home, it seems I blink for a moment and then am ready to return to work. In the midst of this life that is so busy, our schedules, errands, people, responsibilities and cares tend to darken our lives until we cannot seem to see where we are going.
We are like that man in the phone booth. We try and try to figure out where to go next, but it is just so hard to see because there doesn’t seem to be much light. However, in a similar way, when we draw aside to a quiet place to pray (Matthew 6:6); we have the opportunity to "shut the door" and block out our busy world. It is at that time, when we shut the door that the light of His Word can become that light unto our path. As we open our hearts to the Father, we receive the light of His wisdom. Our Lord often went to be alone with His heavenly Father for strength and guidance. Sometimes it was after a busy day of preaching and healing (Luke 5:12-16). At other times, it was before making a major decision (Luke 6:12-13).
We must remember that to "turn the light on," we must first "shut the door" by getting alone with God. Then, when we have shut the door, we can be confident that the Lord will light the path. One secret of effective prayer is prayer in secret.

“Prayer is commission. Out of the quietness with God, power is generated that turns the spiritual machinery of the world. When you pray, you begin to feel the sense of being sent, that the divine compulsion is upon you.”
- E. Stanley Jones