“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” Matthew 6: 6

What a beautiful picture this scripture puts into my heart. Going into a room….into the quiet…the stillness…the peacefulness.  Moments or hours alone with the Lord, sending praise up to Him, given glory to His name and pouring out the joys and sorrows deep within our hearts. What a precious, sweet time that is….

I know. If you have a little blessing or two or seven running around your house, climbing on you right at this very moment, or…hmmm, I’ll wait while you go find where you 3 year  old is and what she did with the Sharpie.

I understand completely how difficult it can be to find a quiet place to have that time with the Lord. For me, some days it is an accomplishment to have bathroom privileges without a buddy. How will I manage to go into my room and join the Father in the secret place for an hour, 15 min or even 5?

Here is the truth. And I’m not sure how it will hit you, but it hit me hard. I heard the truth come out of my own mouth as I was talking to my children. Guess what I told them? I can’t remember what brought about the conversation, but someone hadn’t completed a task and gave the reasoning that he/she just didn’t have time.  My words of great motherly wisdom? If it was an activity that you truly wanted to do, you would have found the time. If it were a book you wanted to read, you would find the time. If you wanted to create notecards, you would have found the time. In the same way you could find the time to ……

Did you hear that? It was the 2×4 lovingly, encouragingly hitting on the back of the head. If I truly desired to seek the face of the Lord, if I truly desired to lift up praise and thanksgiving to His Name, if I truly desired to fall on my knees and cry out to the Lord for the salvation of my children and the forgiveness of my transgressions, I would make the time. It is that important, is it not?

I make the time to blog. I make the time to sit up until 2am reading a book of no eternal value. I make time to sit and drink my daily dose of Dr. Pepper. I make time to update my Facebook status. I make time for all these shallow, temporal things and can’t find 5 minutes behind a closed door with the Lord? Oh, Father forgive me for me blindness. Laziness. Forgive me for being satisfied with the stale and shallow.

I need to make meeting the Father in a secret place of top importance. Will I not become a better wife and a better mother because I have become a faithful daughter of my heavenly Father?

Will it always be easy? No. And how much more will I treasure that time when it was harder to come by. How will I find that time with seven children? Maybe I will rise up early and in the stillness of the morning, seek a quiet place to meet with the Lord. Maybe I’ll let my shower time  take an extra 10 minutes to hide behind that door. I am blessed with older children who can handle things while I step away for 15 minutes…or 30…. I have a husband, who if I just tell him that I haven’t had time to pray behind the door today that he will tell me to run, right then while he watches over the children.

If it was important to me, I would find a way, wouldn’t I? If it was important, I wouldn’t let anyone come between that precious time. I’d find a room, a couch, a corner to have a moment “behind the door” and meet the Father in that secret place. I encourage you to do the same.