“…Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house.” 2 Samuel 7:11

My House of Prayer

None of the homes I’ve lived in have had a mudroom, and I was always a little jealous of my friends whose homes had mudrooms. They could come indoors from playing outside and take off their shoes or boots, jackets, wet bathing suits and towels, dump it all there, and go on into the house without mom yelling about the mess. It just seemed fun and necessary and quirky.

Over the years, I’ve been asked various times what my devotional time with the Lord looks like. The other day, this analogy came to me, and I share it with you now.

Each day when I enter my “house of prayer,” I first enter a sort of mudroom where I unload any dirt I’ve picked up. I confess sins I’m aware of and ask for cleansing. It’s a good place to consider yesterday and make things right with God.

From there, I’m conscious of entering His presence as if it was a chapel. It is where I enter into a time of worship and praise. I may kneel, bow, or sit before Him during this time, not only speaking praises for His character and His work, but also listening for Him to speak. Often I raise my hands in submission and worship.

After the chapel, I feel as if I am entering a schoolroom. This is when I open my Bible and notebook, get my pens, and ask Him to teach me from His Word. The Holy Spirit is my teacher during this time. I ask questions and search for answers in the Bible, writing down what I am thinking and what I find. Each notebook is filled with a record of what I am taught, and I can go back and re-learn what I have forgotten over the years. Every day I am alone in the schoolroom; when I go to church, it is a full classroom, with other students coming alongside so we can learn together.

Then, it is off to the living room, which is where I live—where life happens. Sometimes the room is empty—nothing out of the ordinary, no real plans, just living my day as it comes. Other times the room is full of people and plans, and I must negotiate the furniture and corners, the dangers and the certainties, the sorrows and the joys.

I can’t take my dirt into the presence of a holy God. It must be left in the mudroom. I can’t enter the schoolroom until I have spent time in the chapel, remembering the greatness and goodness of the Lord, and giving myself a chance to meditate on Him in solitude. I can’t enter the living room until I’ve learned my lessons each day in the schoolroom. After a day spent in the living room, I have new dirt to be cleansed in the mudroom.

If you’re unfocused during prayer, perhaps this little trip through my devotional house will give you a workable plan to get you started.

Father, You abide with us always. We pray that each room in our tabernacle welcomes you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.