Hi Everyone,
I am send this fwd, because I think this is a most important word.   Also, 
since most are probably not subscrigbed to this list, you wouldn't have 
another way of getting this.

Vinny



> ---
>
> Times Square Church Pulpit Series
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
>
> Praying in the Closet
> A Call to Prayer in These Troubled Times
>
> by David Wilkerson
>
>
> October 23, 2006
>
>
> I have a question for you: What can God's people do in times
> of impending judgment to move the heart of the Lord?
>
> We're seeing natural calamities on such a scale as never
> before: tidal waves, hurricanes, fires, floods, droughts. I
> think of the world-shaking devastation wrought by the
> tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, earthquakes in India and
> Pakistan.
>
> I think also of the fear and despair caused by manmade
> calamities: the events of September 11, 2001, the conflict
> between Israel and Lebanon, nuclear weapons in the hands
> of madmen. Even the most skeptical commentators say we're
> already seeing the beginnings of World War III.
>
> Even now, Islamics in nation after nation are threatening
> they'll destroy Christianity. When I was in London
> recently, I heard two young Islamic men say in a radio
> interview: "Our religion is not like Christianity. We won't
> turn the other cheek. We'll cut your head off."
>
> I ask you: in perilous times like these, is the church
> powerless to do anything? Are we to sit and wait for Christ
> to return? Or, are we called to take drastic action of some
> kind? When all around us the world is trembling, with men's
> hearts failing them for fear, are we called to take up
> spiritual weapons and do battle with the adversary?
>
> All over the globe, there is a sense it's futile to try to
> solve the mounting problems. Many feel the world has
> reached a zenith of hopelessness. Alcoholism is on the
> increase worldwide, and more young people than ever are
> binge drinking. I see an equally disturbing trend in the
> church, as Christians turn to materialism. The message
> their lives preach is, "There's no hope left. God has given
> up."
>
> Tell me, should this be the role of God's people in dark
> times? Are Christ's followers supposed to fall in line with
> the rest of the world, grabbing for a slice of the pie? No,
> never!
>
> The prophet Joel saw a similar
> day approaching Israel, one of
> "thick darkness and gloom."
>
> According to Joel, the day of darkness that was approaching
> Israel would be one such as never seen in their history.
> The prophet cried, "Alas for the day! For the day of the
> Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from Almighty shall
> it come" (Joel 1:15).
>
> What was Joel's counsel to Israel in that dark hour? He
> brought this word: "Therefore...saith the Lord, Turn ye even
> to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with
> weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not
> your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is
> gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great
> kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he
> will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him...?"
> (2:12-14).
>
> As I read this passage, I am most struck by two words:
> "Even now." As gross darkness fell over Israel, God
> appealed to his people: "Even now, at the hour of my
> vengeance - when you've pushed me out of your society,
> when mercy seems impossible, when humankind has mocked my
> warnings, when fear and gloom are covering the land - even
> now, I urge you to come back to me. I am slow to anger, and
> I have been known to hold back my judgments for a season,
> as I did for Josiah. My people can pray and propitiate my
> mercy. But the world won't repent if you say there is no
> mercy."
>
> Do you see God's message to us in this? As his people, we
> can plead in prayer, and he will hear us. We can propitiate
> him and know he will answer the sincere, effectual, fervent
> prayers of his saints.
>
> I have a word of warning to the church at this moment:
> Beware! Satan comes precisely at such a dark hour when
> nuclear disaster looms over the earth, when the heathen
> rage and terrorize nations. The devil knows we're
> vulnerable, and he throws out this lie: "What good can you
> do? Why try to evangelize Islamics, when they want to kill
> you? You can't change anything. You might as well give up
> on the sin-saturated world. There's no use praying for an
> outpouring of the Spirit. All your repenting is futile."
>
> But God comes to us with this word from Joel: "There is
> hope and mercy, even now. I am of great kindness and slow
> to anger. And now is the time for you to turn to me in
> prayer. I may hold back my judgments and even bring
> blessing to you."
>
> Even now - in a time of murderous Islamic extremism, of
> militant homosexuality, when our nation has lost its moral
> compass, when courts are driving God out of society, when
> fear grips the whole earth - it is time to turn to the Lord
> in prayer. Though his judgments fall all around, with vials
> of wrath being poured out, the Holy Spirit is still wooing
> and calling to humankind, right up to the final minute of
> the very last day.
>
> What exactly are we to pray
> in such times as these?
>
> Here was Joel's prescription for Israel in that day of
> gloom and darkness: "Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a
> fast, call a solemn assembly: gather the people, sanctify
> the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children...
> Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between
> the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy
> people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach,
> that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should
> they say among the people, Where is their God?" (Joel
> 2:15-17).
>
> Here was the call to the church: "Don't be discouraged or
> give in to despair. You are not to believe the devil's
> lies that there is no hope for an awakening." Instead,
> according to Joel, the people's cry was to be, "Lord, stop
> this reproach on Your name. Don't let your church be mocked
> any longer. Stop the heathen from lording it over us,
> taunting and asking, "Where is your God?'"
>
> You may think, "What God promises here is only a
> possibility. He says he might hold back his judgment.
> That's nothing more than a 'perhaps,' a 'maybe.' Everything
> he calls for from his people could be in vain."
>
> I don't believe God tantalizes his church. And he won't
> send his people out on a fool's mission. When Abraham
> prayed for God to spare Sodom (where his nephew Lot lived),
> the Lord's heart was moved to save that city even if only
> ten righteous people lived there. And Abraham prayed this
> as destroying angels were walking into the city. I'm
> convinced God's people today are to propitiate the Lord in
> the same way.
>
> Zechariah tells us God has assigned three places where his
> people are to petition him in prayer.
>
> According to Zechariah, there are three places where prayer
> is to be made: (1) God's house (the church), (2) every
> home, and (3) the secret closet. The Lord told Zechariah:
> "I will pour upon the house of David... the spirit of grace
> and of supplications... And the land shall mourn, every
> family apart; the family of the house of David apart
> [signifying the church]...the family of the house of Levi
> apart [the family or home], and their wives apart
> [individuals]" (Zechariah 12:10, 12-13, my italics).
>
> As Zechariah spoke this, Israel was surrounded by enemies
> bent on destroying them. There was great trembling and
> fear, but in the midst of it came this wonderful word: "God
> is coming to deal with those evil powers who are against
> you. So, start earnestly praying in the sanctuary. Start
> praying in your home. And pray in your secret closet. The
> Holy Spirit is coming, and he will supply you with the
> spirit of supplication and grace, enabling you to pray."
>
> Do you see God's message to us in this passage? He is
> telling his church in every age, "In times of terror and
> trembling, I want to pour out my Spirit on you. But I must
> have a praying people upon whom to pour it."
>
> 1. Prayer begins in the house
> of God.
>
> All the Old Testament prophets called God's people to
> corporate prayer. Jesus himself declared, "It is written,
> My house shall be called the house of prayer" (Matthew
> 21:13). The fact is, world history has been shaped by the
> prayers of Christ's church.
>
> Think of it: the Holy Spirit was  first given in God's
> house, at the Upper Room. There the disciples had
> "continued with one accord in prayer" (Acts 1:14). We're
> told that Peter was released from prison by an angel, while
> "many were gathered together praying" (12:12). Corporate
> prayer had been made continually for Peter's release.
>
> Clearly, God releases much power because of the prayers of
> his church. Thus, the call to such prayer cannot be
> underestimated. We know the church has been commissioned to
> win souls, to do charity, to serve as the gathering place
> for God's Word to be preached. But first and foremost, the
> church is to be a house of prayer. This is its primary
> calling, since all these other aspects of church life are
> birthed in prayer.
>
> Yet corporate prayer is limited. It is limited to time
> schedules and to the types of prayer God calls us to. For
> example, the church isn't the place for crying out our
> prayers of failure and anguish, where we name our lusts
> before the Lord and repent of them. Sometimes corporate
> prayer can become an excuse for avoiding this kind of
> private prayer, where heart examination takes place. Some
> may claim, "I have just come from a two-hour prayer
> meeting," or, "I've been fasting with my church for the
> past three days." But that isn't the only kind of prayer
> the Lord desires of us.
>
> 2. Our homes are also to be
> a place of prayer.
>
> "If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing
> that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father
> which is in heaven" (Matthew 18:19). Some Christians call
> this "agreement praying." You are deeply blessed if you
> have a devoted brother or sister to pray with. Indeed, the
> most powerful intercessors I've known have come in twos
> and threes. If God has blessed me at all in this life  -
> if he has used me for his glory - I know it is because of a
> few mighty intercessors who pray daily for me.
>
> The place where this kind of prayer takes place most
> powerfully is the home. My wife, Gwen, and I pray together
> daily, and I believe it holds our family together. We
> prayed for each of our children during their growing up
> years, that not one of them would be lost. We prayed about
> their friendships and relationships, that God would send
> away boyfriends or girlfriends if they had been sent as
> traps. We also prayed for their future mates, and now we're
> doing the same with our grandchildren.
>
> Sadly, very few Christian families take time for prayer in
> the home. I personally can testify that I'm in the ministry
> today because of the power of family prayer. Every day, no
> matter where my siblings and I were playing, in the front
> yard or down the street, my mother would call out the front
> door of our home, "David, Jerry, Juanita, Ruth, it's prayer
> time!" (My baby brother Don wasn't born yet.)
>
> The whole neighborhood knew about our family prayer time.
> Sometimes I hated to hear that call, and I griped and
> groaned about it. But something clearly happened in those
> times of prayer, with the Spirit moving amid our family and
> touching our souls.
>
> Maybe you can't see yourself holding family prayer. Maybe
> you have a spouse who isn't cooperative or a child who's
> rebellious. Beloved, it doesn't matter who chooses not to
> be involved. You can still come to the kitchen table and
> bow your head and pray. That will serve as your household's
> prayer time, and every family member will know it.
>
> 3. The third place of prayer is
> one that Jesus practiced and
> recommended to his disciples:
> closet prayer.
>
> Closet praying happens when we're alone, in secret. "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).
>
> Lately, the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me about this
> kind of prayer. In the past I've taught that because of the
> demands of making a living, we may have a "secret closet
> of prayer" anywhere: in the car, on the bus, during a break
> at work. In measure, this is true.
>
> But there is more to it. The Greek word for "closet" in
> this verse means "a private room, a secret place." This was
> clear to Jesus' listeners, because the homes in their
> culture had an inner room that served as a sort of storage
> closet. Jesus' command was to go into that secret closet
> and shut the door behind you. And it's a command to
> individuals, not the kind that can happen in church or with
> a prayer partner.
>
> Jesus set the example for this, as he went to private
> places to pray. Over and over Scripture tells us he "went
> aside" to spend time in prayer. No one had a busier life,
> as he was constantly pressed by the needs of those around
> him, with so little time to himself. Yet, we're told, "In
> the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went
> out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed"
> (Mark 1:35). "When he had sent the multitudes away, he went
> up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was
> come, he was there alone" (Matthew 14:23).
>
> Consider the command Saul was given in Acts. When Christ
> apprehended this persecutor of the church, Saul wasn't sent
> to a corporate church meeting, or to Ananias, the great
> prayer warrior. No, Saul was to spend three days alone and
> apart, praying and getting to know Jesus.
>
> We all have excuses for why we don't pray in secret, in a
> special place alone. We say we have no such private place,
> or no time to do it. Thomas Manton, a godly Puritan writer,
> says this on the subject: "We say we have no time to pray
> secretly. We yet have time for all else: time to eat, to
> drink, for children, yet no time for what sustains all
> else. We say we have no private place, but Jesus found a
> mountain, Peter a rooftop, the prophets a wilderness. If
> you love someone, you will find a place to be alone."
>
> According to Scripture, God
> often afflicts us to bring us
> back to the prayer closet.
>
> David testifies, "Before I was afflicted I went astray: but
> now have I kept thy word" (Psalm 119:67). He was
> acknowledging that when all is calm and serene, and we face
> few troubles, we're bent toward growing cold or lukewarm
> about prayer. We say we love God, but in our good times we
> may in effect apostatize, neglecting communion with the
> Lord. So, at times, God allows sharp arrows of affliction
> to wake us up.
>
> Many godly church fathers have addressed this subject. John
> Calvin said we never offer obedience to God until we're
> compelled to do so by his chastening. And C.S. Lewis wrote,
> "God whispers to us in our pleasures but shouts in our
> pain. It is his megaphone to wake up a deaf world. Pain
> removes the veil."
>
> Sometimes we take prayer too casually. But in times of
> trouble we find ourselves wrestling with the Lord in prayer
> every day, until we are assured in our spirit that he has
> everything under control. The more we want to be reminded
> of that assurance, the more we go to our prayer closet.
>
> The truth is, God never allows an affliction in our lives
> except as an act of love. We see this illustrated in the
> tribe of Ephraim in Israel. The people had fallen into
> great affliction, and they cried out to God in grief. He
> responded, "I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself
> thus" (Jeremiah 31:18).
>
> Like David, Ephraim testified, "Thou has chastised me...as a
> bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, for thou
> art the Lord my God" (31:18). In other words: "Lord, you
> chastened us for a reason. We were like a young, untrained
> bull, full of energy, but you chastened us to tame us for
> your service. You brought our wildness under control."
>
> You see, God had great plans for Ephraim, fruitful,
> satisfying plans. But first they had to be instructed and
> trained. Thus, Ephraim declared, "I repented; and after
> that I was instructed" (31:19). They said, in effect: "In
> the past, when God had us in the classroom preparing us for
> his service, we couldn't take correction. We ran away,
> crying, 'It's too hard.' We were stubborn, constantly
> slipping out of the yoke he put upon us. Then God put on us
> a tighter yoke, and he used his loving rod to break our
> stubborn will. Now, we yield to his yoke."
>
> We also are like Ephraim: young, self-centered bulls that
> don't want to be put under a yoke. We avoid the discipline
> of plowing, experiencing pain, being under the rod. And we
> expect to have everything now - victory, blessing,
> fruitfulness - by merely claiming God's promises, or
> "taking them by faith." We chafe at being trained in secret
> prayer, at having to wrestle with God until his promises
> are fulfilled in our lives. Then, when affliction comes, we
> think, "We're God's choice people. Why is this happening?"
>
> The prayer closet is our schoolroom. And if we don't have
> that "alone time" with Jesus - if we've eased off from
> intimacy with him - we won't be ready when the flood comes.
>
>
> Not all afflictions in our lives
> are God's chastenings.
>
> There are other reasons for our afflictions that are far
> beyond our understanding. Yet, we know his love is always
> at work in our afflictions. God says to us, "Through all
> your suffering, I have you on my mind. You are my precious
> child. I feel your pain, and I will surely have mercy on
> you."
>
> Most importantly, in our worst afflictions he sends the
> Comforter to us: "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost...
> shall bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I
> have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give
> unto you" (John 14:26-27).
>
> How does the Lord bring us comfort and peace in our
> affliction? He leads us to the secret closet of intimacy
> with him. It is there, Jesus reminds us, the Father touches
> us personally: "When you pray, go into your closet and shut
> the door. Pray to your Father, who sees you in secret. And
> he will reward you openly" (Matthew 6:6, my paraphrase).
>
> Recently, a dear friend of mine - the bishop over the
> Pentecostal movement in Hungary - was tragically killed in
> a freak accident. His cooking grill caught fire and he was
> burned badly. He was treated and thought to be okay, but a
> few days later he died suddenly from blood clots that had
> formed.
>
> Friends around the world are standing with his widow in
> prayer and support. Yet true comfort for her will come from
> above. No psychologist can help her through her deepest
> pain. The Comforter is faithful to meet her in her secret
> place with him.
>
> I know a precious minister and his wife who run an
> orphanage in Central America. A few years ago they took in
> a baby boy who was virtually half dead. That precious boy
> became the beloved "little prince" of the orphanage. Then
> recently, in a freak accident, a gear shifted in a parked
> van and the little boy was run over and killed.
>
> That couple is in despair over their loss. The other
> children in the orphanage, who saw the accident happen,
> have been inconsolable also. What can be said to them that
> will touch their deep pain? Nothing from my fifty years of
> ministry can touch such a place in these dear friends. They
> have loving arms around them, but true comfort will come
> from the Father, who sees their pain in secret.
>
> I realize I can't reach the thousands of hurting believers
> who write to us. We received a letter from a pregnant wife
> who is married to a pastor. She has just discovered that
> her husband is a pedophile. She writes, "I don't know what
> to do. I believe I have to divorce my husband. I don't want
> him molesting our child."
>
> There is one thing every hurting brother and sister can do:
> Take it all to Jesus, shut themselves in with him and find
> comfort in his presence. The Lord says, "I have satiated
> the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful
> soul" (Jeremiah 31:25). How does God do this? He meets them
> there in the secret place: "He that dwelleth in the secret
> place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the
> Almighty" (Psalm 91:1).
>
> Do you see the importance of setting your heart to pray in
> a secret place? It is not about legalism or bondage, but
> about love. It is about God's goodness toward us. He sees
> what's ahead and knows we need tremendous resources, daily
> replenishing. All of that is found in the secret place with
> him.
>
> You may think you don't know how to pray. But you can begin
> by simply praising him. What matters is that you are there
> by faith, by obedient love, and your Father will see you
> there. He will reveal his love to you in secret, and he'll
> reward you openly with the fruit of his kingdom. The Holy
> Spirit will pray through you and give you expression.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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