Andrew Murray's Daily Meditations
Alone with God
“Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.”
It is not the duration that matters; it is the door. Shut the door — on the world, on the demands, on yourself. For one quarter of an hour, be only with your Father.
The great enemy of prayer is not opposition; it is hurry. We pray as those running through. We have not closed the door; we have only paused in the hallway. And our Father, who waits to give us himself, finds us already glancing at our watch.
This day, shut the door. Even five minutes, fully closed, are worth more than an hour ajar. Your Father is in secret; meet him in secret. He sees what is done there, and he himself becomes your reward.
From With Christ in the School of Prayer