My War Room

Have you seen the movie "War Room"?  We just watched it this week, and I only wish I had seen it sooner.  It's one of those movies that make you see your life just a little differently.

I have to admit that I was a little dejected at first after watching it.  You see, the "war room" in the movie is a clothes closet, made over into a prayer closet.  Now, I've heard people say "when you're in your prayer closet" before, but this really took that concept literally!  I was inspired to make my own war room.  The problem is, our house boasts a total of three small closets shared by four people for all of our clothes.  No chance of a war room there.

I read in a blog since then that you can take a spot in your bedroom, "not your bed," put down a pillow, a chair, a lamp, and make yourself a nice quiet place to sit and pray...  Ummm... not likely.

You see, I don't have a room of my own.  I share every room in the house with at least one other person and cannot count on any of them being available for my private use consistently.

So you can imagine my frustration.

Okay.  That's nothing but the devil talking, isn't it?  Is God concerned about where we pray?  Are we supposed to wait until we have the perfect spot fixed up?  I'm thinking not.  I'm also thinking it's a convenient excuse to not spend time with our Heavenly Father.

So I stepped a little outside the box.  Are you ready for the big reveal of my war room?  (Drum roll, please).  My War Room Is............

..............A book.

Yep.  A cheap lined journal.  Actually, a partially written in cheap lined journal.  It won't pass the Pinterest test, but it works.  Here's how.  First of all, it's portable,so I can use it in any room whether or not it already has another person in it.

Second of all, it's quiet.  Part of my problem is that I can't be praying out loud like in the movie.  Maybe I could, but sometimes I pray things that are meant to be private, just between me and God, you know?  As a result, my prayers tend to go on inside my head, but then I tend to get off track and think about what to have for dinner or whether the kids got their schoolwork done.  So I decided to write out my prayers.  No one else can hear what I'm writing, and it keeps me on track.

So far, I have spent time in my War Room on my bed (sorry, blog person),  on the couch, and at the kitchen table. And you know what?  Once I start praying, it doesn't matter where I am physically.  I am spiritually in the presence of God.

I write down Bible verses that come to me, write what they mean to me, and then write out my prayer.  I think it will be a great help actually to look back and see what I've prayed for, instead of forgetting almost instantly.  I'll be better able to see God's hand in my life.

If you haven't seen the movie, I would highly recommend it.  But don't take it too literally!  If God didn't give you a huge walk-in closet, it doesn't mean he doesn't want to spend time with you.  Use whatever God has given you.  It's worth it!