by Doug Fortune
"And it came to pass,
that, as He was praying in a CERTAIN PLACE, when He ceased, one of his
disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray..." (Luke 11:1) First off, we see that Jesus was praying
in a CERTAIN place. Isn't it funny how sometimes a seemingly unimportant word
in the Scripture just jumps out at you? He was NOT praying in an UNCERTAIN
place, He was praying in a CERTAIN place. How many times have you felt like you
were praying in an UNCERTAIN place, like your prayer was just a last-ditch
effort filled with weakness and uncertainty?
I
am encouraged by Isaiah 40:31 as it declares, "But they that WAIT UPON the LORD shall
renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run,
and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." The word
translated as "they that wait upon" is qavah in Hebrew, it means to
BIND TOGETHER perhaps by twisting, to expect, to gather together. I want to be
so bound together and twisted/ woven together with the Lord that our hearts and
desires are ONE. When my heart and desire is one with His then my prayers will
be His prayers. THAT is a place of certainty!
I love the visual imagery
of binding together by twisting!
I
believe there is a certain place in prayer we must tap into, a place of
CERTAINTY and authority! A CERTAIN place in prayer is a place filled with
unfolding destiny and expectation of answered prayer. "I ANSWERED thee in the secret place of
thunder... Selah." (Psalms 81:7) I believe that the CERTAIN
place in prayer, the place of ANSWERED prayer IS the "secret place of
thunder."
It
is a SECRET place, it is a place of intense intimacy where we are bound
together, woven together with the Lord, a place of being "naked and not
ashamed" before the Lover of your soul. "But thou, when thou prayest,
enter into thy CLOSET, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father
which is in SECRET; and thy Father which seeth in SECRET shall reward thee
openly." (Matthew 6:6) The place He is to be found is a SECRET place.
We
are instructed to enter into our closet. The word translated as closet is
tameion in Greek. Its' meanings include, a storage chamber, storeroom, a
chamber- especially an inner chamber, a secret room. Friend, there is a storage
chamber, a storeroom filled with the purpose and blessing of God that is
waiting for us to enter into. I believe that every time we access this
storeroom by prayer that it is automatically filled up again with a never
ceasing supply! It is especially an INNER chamber, and like the verse says, as
we enter we must "shut our door" to all outside and circumstantial
influences. I believe that if we do not "shut our door" to
circumstantial influences when we access this storeroom by prayer, we could end
up "praying" from a mindset of fear or self-interests.
This is a SECRET place, or
a place of "secrets."
A
secret is not common knowledge, it is something few people know. Father wants
to let us in on His SECRETS, His mysteries. His "secrets" usually are
OPPOSED to the common knowledge and circumstantial influences we are surrounded
by. It is time to "shut our door" of discouragement from
circumstantial influences and open the "inner storehouse" of Father's
divine intention!
I
believe that the place of answered prayer is the "secret place of
THUNDER." In Biblical symbolism, thunder speaks of mysteries that can only
be discerned in hearing the "higher frequencies" of the Voice of the
Lord as He whispers "secrets" in our ears. "Then came there a
VOICE from heaven... The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said
that it thundered: others said, An angel SPAKE to him." (John 12:28-29)
Here we have two groups of people who apparently heard the same sound. However,
it would seem that some heard a voice- the distinction of words, and some just
heard thunder, an indecipherable rumbling. Some had "ears to hear,"
some were "dull of hearing." Even today, not all have ears to hear.
Some just hear the thunder as an indecipherable rumbling... Some hear the
Thunder as the Voice of the Lord.
"And it came to pass,
that, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of his
disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us TO pray..." (Luke 11:1) Notice it does not say, teach us HOW to pray,
rather it says, teach us TO pray. Oh, that prayer would be given its' rightful
place in our lives! If someone were writing about our life, which statement
would be more accurate- "AS he was praying" or "IF he was
praying." I am afraid that for many in the Church today it would be
"IF he was praying" rather than "AS he was praying." We
must understand that prayer is the "currency" of heaven, without it
we find ourselves bankrupt. Prayer must become that which sustains us, it is as
necessary as our breath... in fact it IS our breath, because HE is our breath.
Quotes of Others on Prayer:
"What
a man is on his knees before God, that he is, and nothing more."-Robert
Murray M'Cheyn
"Prayer
is the exercise of drawing on the grace of God."-Oswald Chambers
"The
angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the
angel."-Thomas Watson
"Prayer
is not monologue, but dialogue; God's voice is its most essential part.
Listening to God's voice is the secret of the assurance that He will listen to
mine."-Andrew Murray
"Prayer
is surrender-surrender to the will of God and cooperation with that will. If I
throw out a boat-hook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I
pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling
God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God."-Eli
Stanley Jones
"I
have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I
had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me seemed insufficient
for the day."-Abraham Lincoln
Notice
also that is says, "And it CAME TO PASS, that, AS HE WAS PRAYING." I
believe that things indeed come to pass AS we are praying. "Then said he
unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the FIRST DAY that thou didst set thine
heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, THY WORDS WERE
HEARD, and I am come FOR THY WORDS." (Daniel 10:12) Things are generally
wrought in the Spirit before they actually begin to manifest in the natural
realm. Even though we may or may not see an immediate result, things DO come to
pass AS we are praying.