Don’t Let The Flies In
“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”— Matthew 6:6
Growing up, if I were coming in or going out of the house too slow, my mother would shout, “Shut the door before the flies come in.”
Thought: Really, I haven’t seen not one fly, fly past me.
But sure enough, minutes later, a fly would go zooming by looking for a place to land.
How could something so small and unsuspecting make its way by someone with pretty good vision?
And yet, it happens to the best of us.
Those unsuspecting insects always seem to find their way into places they are not wanted — especially those annoying mosquitoes and gnats.
So, what does this writer’s opinion on insects have to do with our thought for today?
Let me share my revelation.
In Matthew 12:24, the Pharisees refer to Satan as Beelzebul. Beelzebul is derived from Baal-Zebub, which means “lord of the fly.”[1] So, prophetically speaking, closing the door to your prayer room keeps Satan, lord of the flies, and his imps out of your secret place.
Behind closed doors, you find protection — protection from distractions, the attack of the enemy, naysayers, and those annoying insects. Behind closed doors, our prayer time takes on a patient-doctor confidentiality role where nothing is disclosed without the patient’s permission.
Psalm 91:1 reads, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” The shadow of the Almighty is a place of refuge; it’s a place we can retreat to and share our deepest desires and concerns with the Father. Furthermore, in the secret place, we can have a one-on-one conversation with Abba and then sit and listen to the monologue that returns.
To sum it all up, our prayer closet is the basis for a private foundation established for public reward.
So, when you pray, go into your room, and shut the door. You don’t want to let the flies in.
Join me next week for Coffee on The Couch.
[1] “What are the Names of Satan?,” Got Questions Ministries, accessed September 12, 2022, https://www.gotquestions.org/names-of-Satan.html