Writing with a Reason

Consider that Satan is a very great enemy to secret prayer.

Every Christian knows this to be true, right?!  Thomas Brooks gives us more than a true statement. He helps us see deeper into this truth.

Here is:   Thomas Brooks and Private Prayer – 23

Secret prayer is a scourge, a hell to Satan. Every secret prayer adds to the devil’s torment, and every secret sigh adds to his torment, and every secret groan adds to his torment, and every secret tear adds to his torment. When a child of God is on his knees in his secret addresses to God, oh the strange thoughts, the earthly thoughts, the wandering thoughts, the distracted thoughts, the hideous thoughts, the blasphemous thoughts, that Satan often injects into his soul! and all to wean him from secret prayer. There is no one thing that many hundred Christians have more sadly lamented and bewailed, as many faithful ministers can witness, than the sad interruptions that they have met with from Satan, when they have been with God alone in a room, in a corner. Oh! how often have they been scared, affrighted, and amazed by noises and strange apparitions, at least to their fancies, when they have been alone with God in a corner.

Sometimes he [Satan] tells the soul, that it is in vain to seek God in secret; and at other times he tells the soul it is too late to seek God in secret; for the door of mercy is shut, and there is no hope, no help for the soul. Sometimes he tells the soul that it is enough to seek God in public; and at other times he tells the soul, that it is but a precise trick to seek the Lord in private. Sometimes he tells the soul, that it is not elected, and therefore all his secret prayers shall be rejected; and at other times he tells the soul, that it is sealed up unto the day of wrath, and therefore a secret prayer can never reverse that seal; and all this to dishearten and discourage a poor Christian in his secret retirements. Sometimes Satan will object to a poor Christian the greatness of his sins; and at other times he will object against a Christian the greatness of his unworthiness. Sometimes he will object against a Christian his want of grace; and at other times he will object against a Christian his want of gifts to manage such a duty as it should be managed. Sometimes he will object against a Christian his former straitenedness in secret prayer; and at other times he will object against a Christian the small yearnings that he makes of secret prayer; and all to work the soul out of love with secret prayer, yea, to work the soul to loathe secret prayer; so deadly an enemy is Satan to secret prayer.

Oh, the strange fears, fancies, and conceits, that Satan often raises in the spirits of Christians, when they are alone with God in a corner; and all to work them to cast off private prayer. It is none of Satan’s least designs to interrupt a Christian in his private trade with God. Satan watches all a Christian’s motions; so that he cannot turn into his closet, nor creep into any hole to converse privately with his God, but he follows him hard at heels, and will be still injecting one thing or another into the soul, or else objecting one thing or another against the soul. A Christian is as well able to tell the stars of heaven, and to number the sands of the sea, as he is able to number up the several devices and sleights that Satan uses to obstruct the soul’s private addresses to God.

Now from that great opposition that Satan makes against private prayer, a Christian may safely conclude these five things:

There are obvious conclusions we can be sure of from Satan’s furious fight to keep us from the secret place of prayer. We’ll give them in next week’s blog post.
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Brooks, T. (1866). The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks. (A. B. Grosart, Ed.) (Vol. 2, pp. 196–197). Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; G. Herbert.

Consider that God hath set a special mark of favour, honour, and observation, upon those that have prayed in secret.

As you may see in Moses, Exod. 34:28; and in Abraham, Gen. 21:33; and in Isaac, Gen. 24:63; and in Jacob, Gen. 32:24–29; and in David, Ps. 55:16, 17; and in Daniel, chap. 6:10; and in Paul, Acts 9:11; and in Cornelius, Acts 10:2, 4; and in Peter, Acts 10:9–12; and in Manasseh, 2 Chron. 33:18, 19. God hath put all these worthies that have exercised themselves in secret prayer upon record, to their everlasting fame and honour.

The Persians seldom write their king’s name but in characters of gold. God hath writ, as I may say, their names in characters of gold who have made conscience of exercising themselves in secret prayer. The precious names of those that have addicted themselves to closet-duties are as statues of gold, which the polluted breath of men can no ways stain; they are like so many shining suns that no clouds can darken; they are like so many sparkling diamonds that shine brightest in the darkest night. A Christian can never get into a hole, a corner, a closet, to pour out his soul before the Lord, but the Lord makes an honourable observation of him, and sets a secret mark of favour upon him, Ezek. 9:4–6. And how should this provoke all Christians to be much with God alone!

The Romans were very ambitious of obtaining a great name, a great report, in this world; and why should not Christians be as divinely ambitious of obtaining a good name, a good report, in the other world? Heb. 11:39. A good name is always better than a great name, and a name in heaven is infinitely better than a thousand names on earth; and the way to both these is to be much with God in secret.

The opening statement makes sense after Brooks you down Scripture and, yes, history. Here it is again. Believe this, and be excited about your next get away in the secret place.

Consider that God hath set a special mark of favour, honour, and observation, upon those that have prayed in secret.
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Brooks, T. (1866). The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks. (A. B. Grosart, Ed.) (Vol. 2, pp. 195–196). Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; G. Herbert.

Thomas Brooks’ description of his day in England is a description of our day in America.  The days that we live in give us much to pray about, and many to pray for.  I think it is easy for us (Christians) to separate ourselves from the injustice, wickedness, and immorality in our culture and just say under our breath:  “I thank my God that I am not like that.”  Those are the words from the religious leader who was rebuked and rejected by God (Luke 18:11).

I think of the prophet Daniel. His heart sought God and stood against ungodliness. Here was a man of character, the fear of God, and righteousness. Yet, when he prayed, he spoke in the third person. He did not separate himself from those who were rebellious and wicked (Daniel 9:3-8).

Daniel 9:5–6 (NKJV) “… we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.  Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land.”

Now consider the descriptive words and lesson of prayer from Thomas Brooks. Indeed, this life gives us ample reason to have a secret place to meet with the high and holy God.

Consider the times wherein we live call aloud for secret prayer.

Hell seems to be broke loose, and men turned into incarnate devils:1 land-destroying and soul-damning wickednesses walk up and down the streets with a whore’s forehead, without the least check or control: Jer. 3:3, ‘Thou hast a whore’s forehead, thou refusest to be ashamed;’ chap. 6:15, ‘Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush.’ They had sinned away shame, instead of being ashamed of sin. Custom in sin had quite banished all sense of sin and all shame for sin, so that they would not suffer nature to draw her veil of blushing before their great abominations. They were like to Caligula, a wicked emperor, who used to say of himself, that he loved nothing better in himself than that he could not be ashamed. The same words are repeated in chap. 8:12. How applicable these scriptures are to the present time I will leave the prudent reader to judge.

Oh weep in secret for their sins who openly glory in their sins, which should be their greatest shame. Oh blush in secret for them that are past all blushing for their sins; for who knows but that the whole land may fare the better for the sakes of a few that are mourners in secret? But however it goes with the nation, such as mourn in secret for the abominations of the times, may be confident that when sweeping judgments shall come upon the land, the Lord will hide them in the secret chambers of his providence, he will set a secret mark of deliverance upon their foreheads that mourn in secret for the crying sins of the present day, as he did upon theirs in Ezek. 9:4–6.

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Brooks, T. (1866). The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks. (A. B. Grosart, Ed.) (Vol. 2, p. 194). Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; G. Herbert.

Thomas Brooks wants us to contemplate an aspect of the nature of God, that is, that He is Omnipresent. Meaning, that God is everywhere present, all of time.  Have you ever given thought to this aspect of God? If so, have you overlaid His omnipresence onto the subject of prayer? We are familiar with the term, “shock and awe,” right? When I consider that God is omnipresent and its application in my prayers, and while in private prayer with Him, it is brings “shock and awe” to my soul. There is good reason why it does, and Brooks brings the “why” out clearly and beautifully.

A couple of thoughts:

1. I initially attempted to give a snippet from Brooks’ writing on this, but it is too rich. It would have been like giving you only one bite out of an oatmeal cookie.  Specifically, only one bite out of my famous home-made (secret recipe) oatmeal cookies. But … this is not a cookie blog so we won’t go down that path. Hummm, that’s an idea.
2. There are a number of great phrases that stand out in Brooks’ teaching that feed the mind and heart, and I don’t want you to miss any of them.
3. Brooks references a number of scriptures to support the omnipresence of God, here are some of them:
   Jer. 16:17; Job 34:21; Prov. 5:21; Jer. 32:19; Rev. 2:23; Lam. 3:56.

Enjoy.

Consider that God is omnipresent.1 We cannot get into any blind hole, or dark corner, or secret place, but the Lord hath an eye there, the Lord will keep us company there: Mat. 6:6, ‘And thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.’ So ver. 18. There is not the darkest, dirtiest hole in the world into which a saint creeps, but God hath a favourable eye there. God never wants an eye to see our secret tears, nor an ear to hear our secret cries and groans, nor a heart to grant our secret requests, and therefore we ought to pour out our souls to him in secret: Ps. 38:9, ‘Lord! all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.’

Though our private desires are never so confused, though our private requests are never so broken, and though our private groanings are never so much hidden from men, yet God eyes them all, God records them all, and God puts them all upon the file of heaven, and will one day crown them with glorious answers and returns. We cannot sigh out a prayer in secret, but he sees us; we cannot lift up our eyes to him at midnight, but he observes us.

The eye that God hath upon his people when they are in secret, is such a special tender eye of love, as opens his ear, his heart, and his hand, for their good: 1 Peter 3:12, ‘For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers;’ or, as the Greek hath it, ‘his ears are unto their prayers.’ If their prayers are so faint, that they cannot reach up as high as heaven, then God will bow the heavens and come down to their prayers.3 God’s eye is upon every secret sigh, and every secret groan, and every secret tear, and every secret desire, and every secret pant of love, and every secret breathing of soul, and every secret melting and working of heart; all which should encourage us to be much in secret duties, in closet services.

As a Christian is never out of the reach of God’s hand, so he is never out of the view of God’s eye. If a Christian cannot hide himself from the sun, which is God’s minister of light, how impossible will it be to hide himself from him whose eyes are ten thousand times brighter than the sun? In every private duty, a Christian is still under the eye of God’s omnisciency. When we are in the darkest hole, God hath windows into our breasts, and observes all the secret actings of our inward man, 1 Tim. 2:8. The eye of God is not confined to this place or that, to this company or that; God hath an eye upon his people as well when they are alone, as when they are among a multitude; as well when they are in a corner, as when they are in a crowd. Diana’s temple was burnt down when she was busy at Alexander’s birth, and could not be at two places together. But God is present both in paradise and in the wilderness, both in the family and in the closet, both in public and in private at the same time. God is an omnipresent God; he is everywhere. Non est ubi, ubi non est Deus.

As he is included in no place, so he is excluded from no place: Jer. 23:24, ‘Can any man hide himself in secret places, that I shall not see him, saith the Lord?’ Prov. 15:3, ‘The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good,’ or, ‘contemplating the evil and the good,’ as the Hebrew may be read. Now, to contemplate, is more than simply to behold; for contemplation addeth to a simple apprehension a deeper degree of knowledge, entering into the very inside of a matter; and so indeed doth God discern the very inward intentions of the heart, and the most secret motions of the spirit. God is an infinite and immense being, whose centre is everywhere, and whose circumference is nowhere. Now, if our God be omnipresent, then wheresoever we are, our God is present with us: if we are in prison alone with Joseph, our God is present with us there; or if we are in exile alone with David, our God is present with us there; or if we are alone in our closets, our God is present with us there. God seeth us in secret; and therefore let us seek his face in secret. Though heaven be God’s palace, yet it is not his prison.

I love the line that reminds us of His infinite nature:  “God is an infinite and immense being, whose centre is everywhere, and whose circumference is nowhere.”

This line reminds us that our God is not distant and kept in heaven away from us: “Though heaven be God’s palace, yet it is not his prison.”

Maybe it’s only me, but being mindful of His omnipresence in prayer is like manna to my soul. There are times when I feel weak and the heavens seem a million miles away, but God is ever-present … intimately with me! My feelings do not negate who God is and where He is.

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Brooks, T. (1866). The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks. (A. B. Grosart, Ed.) (Vol. 2, pp. 191–192). Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; G. Herbert.

If you are just jumping into this blog series, I’ve been pulling gems from my favorite book on prayer. It is by the puritan pastor, Thomas Brooks. Below is another reason and motive for a believer to escape to the proverbial prayer closet.

… in times of great straits and trials, in times of great afflictions and persecutions, private prayer is the Christian’s meat and drink; it is his chief city of refuge; it is his shelter and hiding-place in a stormy day. When the saints have been driven by violent persecutions into holes, and caves, and dens, and deserts, and howling wildernesses, private prayer hath been their meat and drink, and under Christ their only refuge. When Esau came forth with hostile intentions against Jacob, secret prayer was Jacob’s refuge: Gen. 32:6–9, 11

Living in America, we don’t face the persecution that many our brothers and sisters face in other countries.  These we should be praying for and supporting (I recommend looking into ministries such as The Voice of the Martyrs).  Yet though our lives may not be threatened, we still go through times of trails and affliction. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (AKA  ICE) is unable to keep the evil one and his demons outside the borders of our country, or our lives. We need to abide in and walk with the Great One–the Almighty One, who is our Savior, Shepherd, and Comforter.  I don’t know about you, but I am NOT going to stray away from abiding under the wing of the Almighty.
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Brooks, T. (1866). The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks. (A. B. Grosart, Ed.) (Vol. 2, p. 190). Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; G. Herbert.