My Prayer Closet

Jesus is up against it now. The scribes and Pharisees come at him with guns ablazing to trip him up and find a fault they can use to discredit him among the common people. His miraculous healings have drawn considerable attention, the latest being the healing of a leper. The doctors of the law have come from all over to watch and observe and then to criticize. 

A man suffering from a long-time paralysis is brought to Jesus. Knowing His enemies are present, Jesus administers to the man first by telling him his sins are given. Jesus's statement has its calculated effect, driving the Pharisees into an angry frenzy. "Who can forgive sins but God alone," they mutter. Jesus responds by asking, "Which is harder to do, forgive a man's sins or heal a man's illness. But just so you know I have authority from God—" Jesus then removes the paralysis, and the man walks away.

The Pharisees next encounter Jesus enjoying himself at a feast to which tax collectors and other social outcasts have been invited. The detractors are afraid to approach Jesus directly because He has bested them at every turn. So, they jump on the disciples. "Does your master know he is eating with sinners?" Jesus hears the accusation and is quick to reply, "They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick."

Unable to deflect the confrontation with Jesus directly, they address their next accusation to Him. They cleverly maneuver their criticism, however, to reflect on Jesus's disciples rather than on the Master himself: 

And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?
--Luke 5:33

I assume to make a prayer means to prayer together, and probably in public or in prayer meetings. The point of this complaint by the Lord's detractors is that He and His disciples do not hold regular fast and prayer meetings. And it is true that the New Testament provides practically no accounts of Jesus and His disciples praying together, other than the instructional Lord's Prayer and the great Intercessory Prayer. 

Jesus certainly prayed often but usually alone. Nevertheless, He did not condemn group prayer, but it was apparently not necessary while He was among his disciples, or at least He did not intend to make a public display of it.

On another occasion, He taught: 

But 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

My prayers, likewise, are a private matter between me and my God. I participate in open prayers, as in Church meetings and family prayers in my home. But when I really want to talk to God, I want to be alone with Him. 

Prayer is an intimate expression. An Israelite placed the prayer shawl, or Tallit, over his head and drew it around his face to pray. The closed shawl became his personal closet, drawing the Lord so close as to place God's ear next to the man's mouth. "From my lips to God's ears" is a common Jewish expression. It indicates the closeness into which we draw to the Lord when we are in our prayer closet.

I testify our Heavenly Father wants us to approach Him and come close to Him. We are each His child, an individual whom He knows and loves. He wants to hear from us, one on one, directly, personally, privately. I look forward each day to my closet time with my Father.