Sir Isaac Newton said: “I can take my telescope and look millions and millions of miles into space; but I can lay my telescope aside, go into my room and shut the door, get down on my knees in earnest prayer, and I see more of heaven and get closer to God than I can when assisted by all the telescopes and material agencies on earth.”

Here is a good rule for public and private praying: “Make public prayers short and private prayers long.” The person who prays in public to impress others will not abide by that rule. He sees an invitation to pray much like a call to preach. Often he lectures his listeners while supposedly communing with God. Like the Pharisee who went to the temple to pray, he prays with himself.

But the earnest child of God will spurn such carnal exhibitions and choose humility in public and genuine communication when alone with God. He will have a time each day when he “shuts the door” to pray to his Father who sees in secret. His companion there is likely to be an open Bible so that His Father can speak to him as he speaks to his Father.

The quiet place is the Christian’s source of power and victory. To neglect the closet is to invite daily defeat. We all need Newton’s long look through the telescope of prayer. Without it, spiritual anemia is sure to set in.

The closet is where the Father opens the door to His blessings!