In the evenings, before I get in bed, I get comfortable and sit in the presence of God.

After I clean up and after I eat, I make up my couch and turn down the covers on my bed. Then, I turn the thermostat down so it’ll be nice and cool when I climb into bed. I go over to my bookshelf, and I grab my Bible and my favorite bright blue blanket that used to belong to my mother. I cover up and sit down in what I like to call my prayer chair.

Where is your prayer place? Some people have prayer closets; some people have a special chair or a special room they like to go to and pray; some people have prayer journals. Then there are some people who don’t have any particular place at all. I want to encourage you to find a place, a place just for you and the Lord. This may not even be a physical place, but maybe even a journal of sorts. Of course this shouldn’t be the only place you pray, but there is a certain satisfaction that comes from having a place reserved for your time with God. There’s satisfaction in the consistency and having a routine. When I go through my nightly routine, I’m priming myself for my time with God. The cool air, the clean-ness, a full stomach, even the color of my blanket—all work together to signal to my body, mind, and spirit that it’s time to go to my place and time to go before the Lord.

Sometimes I’ll sit in my chair, and I’ll remember evenings passed. There are times I’ll sit there with joy in my spirit, and I’ll remember nights I cried out to God in that very same place. Then I am reminded of the goodness and the faithfulness of God. On those nights of hurting, I find comfort in retreating to a place where I’ve experienced such joy because I’m reminded that more of those days are just beyond the horizon.

I prayed about whether or not to write about this. The last thing I ever want to seem like I’m doing is bragging about prayer. That was my fear in posting this—that someone would think that’s what I was doing. The truth is, I’m no better than anyone. Prayer has made my life better, and I want to share that with other people. We don’t pray because we are “good” or “better than”, we pray because we have realized our brokenness, our sinful nature, and our need for an almighty God.

As I prayed, God reminded me of what inspired me to even create a prayer place to begin with. It was the inspiration of another person who told me about their prayer place. Then I thought about how much my prayer life improved after creating that space.

No matter how good or bad my day has been, I look forward to this special time, this special place I’m able to go to at the end of the day. I hope this inspires you to create for yourself a place you too can go to, a place that you will cherish for days to come. And if one day God gives you the opportunity to tell someone about your prayer place, I hope that you do too.