Personal Prayer Coaching: Creating the Prayer Closet and the Garden of Intimacy
Educational Resources and Supporting Materials for Personal Prayer Coaching
Personal Prayer Coaching Level I begins with Lesson ONE, titled "The Prayer Closet – Creating a Place for Prayer." This instructional series is part of PROJECT PRAY and was developed by P. Douglas Small. Students can access further information through the websites www.projectpray.org and www.projectpraypublications.org. These notes are derived from a presentation produced by Alive Publications in association with PROJECT PRAY.
To enhance the learning experience, several additional support materials are available. These include a Full Power Point Set, the book "Prayer Closet," a Companion Teaching Guide, and a Video Series. All these resources can be acquired through the official Project Pray Publications website. These materials are intended to provide a comprehensive curriculum for understanding the significance of private prayer.
Legal Usage Limitations and Copyright Information
The materials provided in this presentation are copyrighted by P. Douglas Small and Project Pray Publications, which is a division of Alive Ministries, Inc. The purchase and use of these materials are subject to specific legal and moral guidelines. A purchase constitutes a 'single user license,' meaning the content cannot be legally or morally copied, reproduced, or sold, either in part or in whole. This license is granted for a single entity for the purpose of teaching use.
Images included in the slides are also subject to copyright laws and are used by permission specifically for this authorized presentation. Project Pray Publications does not have the authorization to extend those usage privileges beyond this specific publication. While purchasers may use the material in part or whole for personal teaching or training purposes within the holistic approach presented, unauthorized duplication or exportation of component parts is strictly illegal. The organization is located at PO Box 1245, Kannapolis, NC .
The Psychological Framework for Creating a Habit of Prayer
Establishing a prayer life requires understanding how habits are formed. Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon, originally theorized that it took days for a change to reach the threshold of a habit. However, more recent research by Phillippa Lally, a psychology researcher at University College London, suggests that this process typically takes longer than three weeks. Her findings, published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, indicate that it takes an average of days for a new behavior to become automatic.
The time required for habit formation varies significantly between individuals. Some people may adapt to a new behavior in as little as days, while others may require up to days, which is almost nine months. This research emphasizes that persistence beyond the initial three weeks is essential for establishing a permanent prayer discipline.
The Three Great Enemies and the Misprioritization of Ministry
The spiritual journey faces three significant enemies: Worldliness, Pragmatism, and Narcissism. These obstacles often lead to a fundamental misprioritization in the lives of believers. While disciples are called to be "with Him" as a primary vocation, modern believers often focus on public activities at the expense of private intimacy. The speaker highlights Christ's question to Peter—"Peter, do you love me? Then feed my sheep!"—to illustrate that service must flow from love for the Lord.
A common error in the Church is majoring in public ministry on behalf of the Lord while minoring in private ministry directly to the Lord. We are instructed to love the Church for which Christ died and to value ministry, but we must not be "in love" with ministry itself. Our primary devotion must be to God. We have the matter backward; the most essential part of our service is the time spent in private communion.
Defining the Prayer Closet: The Greek Context and Tameion
In Matthew , Jesus instructs, "When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father." The Greek word translated as "room" or "closet" is tameion. Greek authors used this term in three distinct ways. First, it refers to a secret chamber, which is a closed and locked room. Second, it describes a safe or a cupboard used for keeping essentials. Third, it can refer to a locked chest or cupboard where a treasure is safely stored.
Jesus' instruction to "enter" the closet suggests the first meaning: a secret, secluded space or chamber. In the context of a first-century home, the tameion was often the household pantry or storage room. It was typically the only room in a small house that had a door, offering a place to be shut-in and concealed from the outside world. This room was used to store utensils, supplies, and food, making it the most practical space for someone to seek total privacy and separation from the world for the purpose of prayer.
The Wedding Canopy: The Hebrew Concept of Chuppah
The Hebrew understanding of the "closet" introduces a different but consistent imagery. The word used is chuppah, which comes from the root chaphah, meaning to cover, conceal, or provide a canopy. In Hebrew culture, the chuppah refers to a tent or a special room set apart to conceal a bride. Thus, the prayer closet can be seen as a bridal chamber.
This bridal imagery suggests that the prayer closet is a dressing room where we prepare to meet Christ. We do not know the day or the hour of His return, so in the closet, we put on our wedding garments and await the call of the bridegroom. To ignore prayer is to fail to signal to heaven that we are ready, radiant, and living with an ear turned toward God. The chuppah serves as a daily canopy we enter each morning, functioning as both a place of communion and a "defense" or protection.
The Legal Significance of the Chuppah in Jewish Tradition
In Jewish tradition, the chuppah is more than a charming wedding custom; it has a definitive legal meaning. It is the place where the legal transition from a single state to a married state occurs. The moments spent under the canopy represent the heart of the marriage process where the bridegroom takes possession of the bride and they belong to each other. Under this covering, the couple recites their vows and enters the protection of God.
By following this analogy, every time we step into the prayer closet, we are stepping under an invisible chuppah into the privilege of communion. It is there that we declare our love for the Lord, trim our lamps, and declare our readiness for His return. The time in prayer is an encounter out of which we live our daily lives. Just as a groom traditionally sets up the chuppah for his bride, Christ has gone to prepare a place for us. He made intimacy possible through the cross and His resurrection, yet He waits for us to enter the closet and invite Him into our lives daily.
Cether: The Secret Place of Formation and Protection
The concept of the "secret place" appears numerous times across both the Old and New Testaments. In Hebrew, this is translated from the word cether, which means a shelter, covering, dwelling, or a place to hide and be concealed. Psalm notes that we were made "in the secret place," such as a mother's womb, which establishes the prayer closet as a place of formation.
In Psalm , the psalmist declares, "You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." This suggests that in the secret place of prayer, God Himself sings over us and to us during times of distress. The secret place is not merely a location but a state of being protected and surrounded by the presence of God.
Returning to the Garden: The Original Enclosure for Prayer
After creating the world, God's final act was planting an orchard and a garden. This garden, referred to as Eden, was the original "wedding gift" to Adam and Eve. The Hebrew term for garden is gan, derived from ganan, which refers to an enclosure that is covered, surrounded, or hidden. By design, the garden was a place that was meant to be defended and protected, but it was also a place that provided protection for those within it.
There is a profound connection between the garden, the chuppah, and the secret place: they are all metaphors for privacy, protection, and the "Most Holy Place." While Adam and Eve were placed there to grow as individuals, the garden itself was expansive and beautiful. Jesus, having no home of His own, often sought out these open natural spaces and gardens, such as the Garden of Gethsemane, to maintain His prayer life. The principle is that if you protect your prayer life, your prayer life will protect you.
The Two Wonder Trees and the Stewardship of Man
In the center of the Garden of Eden stood two special trees: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. These trees represented the choice between pure life and a knowledge polluted by evil. Man was placed in the garden with a dual mandate: to work it (to grow or cultivate) and to take care of it (to guard or watch). The Hebrew words for these tasks are tied to the center of the garden where the trees and the river were located.
Adam was called to be both a gardener and a guardian (a watchman). The heart of prayer is communion with God (pleasure), while the edge of prayer is intercession (duty, watching, and guarding). Adam was intended to be the intercessor who stood between God and the globe. His task was to protect the entire planet by being watchful in the garden. His failure to guard the garden led to enslavement, illustrating that healthy prayer exists in the tension between delight and duty.
Moral Discernment and the Serpent's Strategy
The fall of man was marked by a corruption of moral discernment. The "poison tree" (the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil) became a "question tree." The Serpent did not focus on the vast abundance of the garden but instead focused on the one prohibition. He introduced doubt by asking, "Did God say?" and focused on the boundaries as limitations of freedom rather than protections for the blessing.
This narrative mirrors the modern age's emphasis on unlimited personal rights and the rejection of boundaries or restraint. The Serpent offered access to "superior knowledge" apart from God, which is the opposite of true wisdom. True wisdom begins with the "fear of the LORD" (reverence) and the disclosures of the Holy Spirit. Knowledge answers "what" questions and is superficial, while wisdom answers "why" questions and addresses motives. Wisdom is viewed as a metaphor for God Himself.
The Absence of Gratitude and the Rejection of Worship
A striking feature of the Genesis narrative is the total absence of gratitude. Despite being given life in the image of God, dominion over the earth, and re-creative capacities that even angels do not possess, Adam and Eve did not offer thanks or worship. G. K. Chesterton described thanks as "the highest form of thought" and gratitude as "happiness doubled by wonder."
Instead of gratitude, the first humans chose grasping and doubting. They disregarded sacred boundaries and failed to trust God's character. By opening a dialogue with the Serpent and ignoring the Creator, they abandoned the posture of a worshiper. This lack of gratitude was a central component of the fall.
The River of Eden and Its Global Reach
Eden is considered a paradise, and the garden was located specifically within it. A spring, or an underground river, surfaced in Eden and flowed into and through the garden to water it. After leaving the garden, the river divided into four distinct branches that reached the globe:
The Pishon: This river compassed the land of Havilah, a place of good gold, bdellium (translated by the NIV as aromatic resin and by the NET as pearls), and onyx (sometimes translated as emerald).
The Gihon: This river encircled the land of Ethiopia.
The Hiddekel: This river flowed toward Assyria.
The Euphrates: This is the fourth branch mentioned in Genesis.
The names and descriptions of these rivers suggest an increasing intensity of water flow: a spring giving way to a spreading field (Pishon), a bursting or bubbling artesian flow (Gihon), coursing rapids (Hiddekel), and finally a flow that breaks forth to create fruitfulness (Euphrates). Prayer is the environment where this river flows to and through the believer, with its impact multiplying as it reaches outward.
Scriptural Connections: The Temple and the New Jerusalem
The imagery of the river in the Garden of Eden is connected to the visions of the Temple and the New Jerusalem. In Ezekiel , the prophet saw a river flowing from the restored temple. It started as a shallow stream (ankle-deep) and intensified until it was a swimmable river (chest-deep) that brought healing wherever it flowed. This river produced an abundance of fish and a harvest, symbolizing the force of a prayer garden that leads to a harvest of souls.
Finally, Revelation describes a "pure river of water of life, clear as crystal," proceeding from the throne of God and the Lamb in the new Eden. Jesus is the ultimate river flowing into the garden of prayer. He stated in John , "He that believes on me… out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water," referring to the Holy Spirit. Believers are the channels through which the single river of God's presence becomes many rivers of influence in the world.
Questions & Discussion
Question: Is the 21-day rule for habit formation actually accurate according to current science? Response: While Dr. Maxwell Maltz theorized days, new research by Phillippa Lally published in the European Journal of Social Psychology indicates it takes longer. On average, it takes days for a behavior to become automatic, with a range stretching from to days.
Question: What does the Greek word for the prayer closet, tameion, specifically refer to in a historical context? Response: It was used to describe a secret chamber or locked room, a safe for essentials, or a locked chest for treasure. In first-century homes, it was most often the storage room or pantry, which was the only room with a door.
Question: How does the Hebrew word chuppah relate to prayer? Response: The chuppah is a wedding canopy or a bridal chamber. It suggests that prayer is like a dressing room where we prepare for the return of the Bridegroom (Christ). It also refers to a covering and a defense.
Question: What are the names of the four rivers that flowed out of Eden? Response: The rivers are the Pishon (associated with gold and bdellium), the Gihon (encircling Ethiopia), the Hiddekel (flowing toward Assyria), and the Euphrates.