About the ministry
Life in the Closet with Jesus
Meet
Israel Strong
Founder of Life in the Closet with Jesus Ministries — a woman who learned to pray in the quiet place and now invites others to come and pray.
The name
“Life in the Closet with Jesus” comes from the closet Jesus spoke of in Matthew 6:6 — the room with the door shut, where no one is watching and nothing is performed. It is not a hiding place from life. It is where life with Him actually happens: prayer, praise and pondering His Word, day after ordinary day.
Israel Strong’s journey with Jesus
This ministry did not begin with a plan or a platform. It began with a woman in a closet with her Bible, learning to talk to Jesus honestly and to listen. Through seasons of joy and seasons of hard things, that quiet place became the steadiest place — and the Lord met her there again and again.
Out of that closet came a calling that has never changed: He called me to pray for you.
“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.”
Matthew 6:6
Prayer, praise and pondering the Word
These three rhythms shape everything here. Prayer is the conversation. Praise turns our eyes back to who He is. Pondering the Word lets Scripture settle deep enough to change how we pray and how we live. Together they build a relationship, not a religion.
Growing since 2020
Beginning in 2020, as so many people found themselves isolated and afraid, the ministry grew. What had been personal became shared: prayer requests from people who needed someone to stand with them, gatherings online, teaching, and encouragement for anyone willing to pull up a chair.
Why we do this
The purpose is to help people meet Jesus — or to know Him more deeply than they do today — and to equip them to pray for themselves and for others. Nobody has to be eloquent. Nobody has to have it together. You only have to come.