On March 3, 2019, Lee County, Alabama experienced the deadliest tornado since the Moore, Oklahoma tornadoes in 2013.

The E4-rated cyclone moved with winds around 170 mph and at least 23 people, including some children, died.

The visuals of the devastation poured across the airwaves and internet feeds. Perhaps that is why a picture of a prayer closet that remained standing through it all has gone viral.

Chaplin Jason Smith from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, a group of dedicated volunteers who respond to natural disaster almost as fast as first responders, took a picture of what was left of one family’s home and shared it on his Facebook feed.

“Listen to me, please. I just left a family who survived the tornado in this house, and the only thing left standing is this closet. It’s the grandmother’s prayer closet, and the whole family survived. Are you kidding me!!! My God is awesome!!! Shout somebody!” he wrote.

In Matthew 6:5-6 Jesus admonished his disciples not to make a big show about their prayer life, as if that earned them a special reward somehow. Instead, he instructed them to “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.” Some take this literally and create special places within their home for prayer.

In the Kendrick Brothers’ movie, “War Room” this was a theme throughout, and the popularity of prayer closets seemed to go through a revival of sorts.

Do you have a prayer closet?