Unlikely Prayer Closets

I  slept in later than normal last Saturday, and the first thing on my mind when I woke up was the mountain of clean clothes that was waiting  for me to fold them.

You see, my husband and I each  work full time, so we share the housework. In terms of the laundry, we both gather and sort, he puts them in the washer and dryer, and then I fold and put away.

Let's just say that on this particular Saturday morning, my part of the laundry duty was in arrears.  So I decided to have a brief  devotional time:  one cup of coffee and  one chapter of Bible reading. Then I went downstairs to tackle the mound of clean towels, sheets and t-shirts that awaited me.    

After changing the clothes from the washer to the dryer, and depositing a fresh load into the washing machine, I  began folding. It was quiet in the house, and I found the rythmic tumble of the dryer soothing.  After a little while, my thoughts drifted to the prayer time I'd cut short this morning.

Well, why not pray now? I thought.

 It's quiet and there are no distractions...

But you're folding laundry! You're doing a chore! How can you do something so earthy and try to be spiritual at the same time? 

This kind of internal discussion went on my mind for several minutes, but ultimately I decided to give it a try. 

•  I  folded the hand towels and prayed for my children, their spouses and my grandchildren remembering all the times they'd come for a visit and dried their hands on those very towels.
• And when I got to the washcloths I prayed for the missionaries and wondered how many of them do without such small conveniences as a clean washcloth.
• The freshly dried bedsheets made me think of covers, so I prayed  a covering of protection for all those I come in contact with.
• And as I folded my husband's blue jeans, it made me think of his work, because he mostly wears jeans to work. So I prayed for his job, his employees, and his clients.
• Then as I matched socks, I prayed for the beautiful feet of the ministry because Romans 10:15 says the feet of preachers are beautiful.

And you know what? The sweet presence of the Holy Spirit met with me in a very special way that day. I wept under God's power, and then rejoiced in gladness at the fresh anointing He poured upon me.

It's so nice to know that God will meet with us anywhere. We just have to have a heart turned towards Him. And what about you? Where do you pray? What unusual Prayer Closets have you had? Share with me! Share with all of us!

I'll leave you one to get you started. It's by Brother Lawrence, a seventeenth-century French monk who knew how to Practice the Presence of God:

"The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great a tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament."