Growing up I didn’t have a “normal” home environment. My father became ill when I was young, which resulted in him going on disability. At this time, my mother had to amp up her business that she ran from home. Essentially, I had two stay-at-home parents. While this did financially strain my family, it taught me many valuable spiritual lessons. One in particular was this: 

• Time with the Lord should be protected at all costs. 

During a season when I was home-schooled, I would get to see a glimpse of how my parents started every morning in deep prayer. My parents were intentional about spending time alone in prayer. This taught me the value of daily time with Him. They had a clear need and desire to spend time with the Lord. For me, my parents displayed a Biblical view of when and where to pray.
 
In Matthew 6:5-6, Jesus says:

• “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

When we pray, we are to pray in private – not just in a public setting. We are to pray in a way that glorifies God and not ourselves. From the above verse, it’s clear that Jesus wants us to use prayer to connect with Him alone. My parents would not let the children around during their personal prayer time. This was not because they didn’t want to pray with us. They knew there was a time for that, but they wanted to connect with the Lord for themselves.

Where we pray should be a quiet place that is with Him alone. For me, it is usually my office. I aim to be in the office 45 minutes before I normally start work to spend time in prayer with the Lord. There are also times that my bedroom is my prayer place. If I’m feeling extra, it’s in the woods on a hike. It’s just somewhere that no one else is, so that I can be alone with Him. I feel this is what the Lord wants for us.
 
I believe time in prayer daily is a necessity. Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17. We are encouraged to constantly be in a state of prayer before the Lord. I would encourage you to pray daily. While I do the mornings, it doesn’t have to be that time of day. During college, I would spend time with the Lord in the evenings. Your personal time with Him can be whenever and wherever it can be fit in for you.

-Pastor Casey