Clutter in the Prayer Closet

Remember the last time you couldn't find something? First you looked in the obvious places where the object should be, then you moved on to the last place you remember using or seeing it, then it gets real serious and you start digging for it...and digging long...and hard! You mean you're going to find what you're looking for. You've all been there, and before you know it you're in the bottom of some closet throwing everything away!!! :D You're frustrated that you can't find what you're looking for, and you're sick of all the junk that you never use that is getting in the way of you finding what you're looking for.

I was in my closet yesterday. For a very long time, mind you. It ended with about 6 trash bags full of junk sitting outside my bedroom. Needless to say, after about 3 hours of cleaning, the whole room looked 100 percent better! My hard-working brother, Aaron, and I are both completely pleased with the result.

But it's those times where you need something that you realize all the junk that stops you from getting to it. It's the time that you need something important that emphasizes all the junk that's in your closet.

The back door of the Maynard house is where the laundry room is. I remember about 3 years ago, during a campmeeting at our church, we were extremely busy! Consequently, the laundry got so backed up that the whole room was being overcome by our laundry! :D I then had the unenviable task of getting out the back door for some reason I can't remember! What a feat! To climb over all of that laundry for something simple that I needed.

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:" Psalm 66:18

The key is the word "regard." It does not say "perform" or "act upon."

Regard - "Attention of the mind." Noah Websters 1828

Simply the "thought of foolishness is sin," according to Proverbs. Regarding iniquity in your heart is just as sinful as committing the act--they're both sin! Regarding iniquity also leads to the iniquity itself when not properly checked. What is regarded in your heart will be performed in you members. Mark it down. You cannot separate the preparation from the action. You will do that which you have prepared your heart to do, which is why Rehoboam messed up the way he did: "And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD." 2 Chronicles 12:14.

"Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny." -Author Unknown

That unknown author had it right. Paul knew it too! That's why he told those Corinthians:

"(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" 2 Cor. 10:4-5

It's also why he advised in Phillipians:

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Phil. 4:8

What you regard in your heart affects what you do; what you regard is based a lot upon what you put into your mind from books, music, videos, etc.

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:" Psalm 66:18

It does not say the Lord will always say no. It doesn't even say the Lord will not answer. It says he will not even hear you. What a statement to make! How many deafened prayers have you prayed that never made it past the ceiling because of the iniquity of your heart? How many times has God simply never even heard you when you prayed? Isn't that scary? I serve a God that I not only trust, and have faith in, and want. I serve a God that I need!!

That's where the closet clutter comes in. Is your closet full of clutter? Not just the physical clutter, but the spiritual clutter. The clutter that raises the stench of sin from you prayer closet, causing God to turn away in disgust!

As I cleaned out my closet yesterday, I realized that it would have been a lot easier had I kept the clutter out to start with! It's the same way with your prayer closet. Don't let the clutter pile up in there! Go dig it out! Pull it out before God, throw it in trash bags, do whatever you need to, but don't let it still be there when tragedy hits, in the moments of your life where you need God the most! Wouldn't it be terrible for something tragic to happen in your life, and when you begin to pray, you begin to search for God through a pile of clutter? I would hate to think that someones life hanging in the balance was lost, simply because I couldn't get to God for all the clutter of my prayer closet.

It could be that a decision will need to be made, and you need to be in touch with God to make a God-honoring decision, but there's just too much clutter!

"God help me to keep my spiritual closet clean, so that when I need you, I know you hear me! For my prayer closet is a place where we can always meet, free of this worlds clutter! ...oh, and I guess keeping the physical one clean isn't a bad idea either!" :D