The place of prayer

There is no place where prayer may or may not be made. We do not have to face a certain direction, or be in a holy ‘building’ to pray. As with posture being one of humility and faith of the heart rather than position of the body, so the place is ‘in the spirit’, not a physical location. Pastor Andy Elmes of Family church, Portsmouth, relates it this way. He says that the ‘secret place’ is not a location, but a desire of the heart. The hungry heart will always find somewhere to pray and fellowship with God. The Scriptures do suggest if possible that we should however have a ‘place of prayer’; somewhere we retire to seek God. Jesus, for example, would often withdraw to the mountains, the desert, or even the Garden in Gethsemane. These were some of His favoured locations to fellowship with His Father.

Other places prayer is made in the Bible include:

i. In the desert/ a solitary place (Mark 1:35)

ii. On a roof (Acts 10:9)

iii. Up a mountain (Matt 14:23)

iv. Apart from others/alone (Matt 14:23)

v. In a room or chamber alone with God (Matthew 6:6; Daniel 6:10)

vi. In secret (Matthew 6:6)

vii. In the assembly place of the saints (Acts 1:14; 12:5; 20:36)

viii. In prison (Acts 16:25)

ix. In every place (John 4:20-24)

x. In the belly of a whale!

(Jonah 2:1)

As has been said, prayer can be made anywhere, and a hungry heart will always find somewhere to seek God. This may be in the car, a shed, a wardrobe, a warehouse, a bedroom, a kitchen, a church building, a beach…anywhere that allows the believer to retreat from the crowd and seek the heart of his or her Father in heaven.