You’re Not Stuck. You’re Just Hiding.

Happy Tuesday, Mars Hill Family,

Last Sunday, we walked into a room most people avoid — the Prayer Closet.

The lights were off. Not because God left. Because we stopped showing up as ourselves.

We have been performing presence instead of practicing it. We have been managing the distance instead of closing it.

This email is for the person who left Sunday thinking, “That was about me.” It was. And this week, we are doing something about it.

Here’s what’s inside:

• Recap of Sunday’s message with key takeaways
• This week’s practice (it’s only 15 minutes)
• Featured article that goes deeper on the hiding problem
• Next Sunday’s service info
• A question I want you to reply to

This Sunday’s Message: You Don’t Have a Prayer Problem. You Have a Hiding Problem.

Big Idea: The distance you feel from God is not a prayer problem. It is a hiding problem. The Prayer Closet is where you stop performing and start being found.

Scripture: Psalm 51:10-12; James 4:8; 1 John 1:9 (NLT)

Key Takeaways:

⓵ You are not far from God because you stopped praying. You stopped praying because you feel too far from God. The hiding came first.

⓶ James 4:8 does not say God moves when you get it together. It says come close and He comes close. The movement is yours to start.

⓷ 1 John 1:9 is not a shame verse. It is a freedom verse. Confession is not the courtroom. It is the light switch.

This Week’s Practice: Set a 15-minute timer. Go to your Prayer Closet, literally or figuratively. No performance. No polished words. Just show up. Let Him find you.

👉 Watch the Full Sermon Replay →

This Week on the Podcast: When Heaven Goes Quiet

You have been praying. And praying. And praying. And the only thing coming back is your own breathing.

That is where Episode 52 starts. And it connects directly to where we are in PREPARE THE HOUSE.

Sunday we dealt with hiding. This week on the podcast we go into the silence that follows. The season when God feels far and prayer feels empty and you start to wonder if you did something wrong.

In this episode I walk through three things:

⓵ Why God’s silence is not His absence. He is doing the deepest work in the quietest season.

⓶ The one question shift that changed everything for me after we lost the Mars Hill building. Stop asking why. Start asking what.

⓷ Why Nehemiah started rebuilding with rubble and no finished plan, and what that means for your next step right now.

This is for the person who is doing everything right and still hearing nothing. If that is you, this episode is your next 20 minutes.

Also available on Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts. Search: The Clarence Stowers Leadership Podcast.

​Watch on YouTube →​

​Listen on Apple Podcasts →​

⏰ NEW TIME: New episode drops every Tuesday, LIVE at 7:00 PM CST on YouTube and Facebook Live.

🗓️ Announcements

Life Groups

Life Groups are now in session. This is where real connection happens. If you want to go deeper, text LIFEGROUP to 33777 to join.Year-End Giving

This Sunday: March Weekend Worship – Pull Up In Person

Embrace the New Season bring your friends, or come as you are.

This is our monthly in-person service, and I want to see YOU in that room. Not your screen. Not your comments. You in person, worshipping together in a new season.

We are in Week 2 of PREPARE THE HOUSE. We step into the Relationship Room on Sunday. This message is one you need to hear in community, not alone.

📅 Sunday, March 15, 2026
⏰ 10:30 AM Central
📍 7941 47th St., McCook, IL

Bring someone with you. A friend who stopped coming. A family member who is on the fence. This is the right Sunday to pull up.

Can’t make it in person? We will stream live simultaneously:

​Watch on YouTube | Watch on Facebook​

Support Mars Hill

Everything we do the online services, the resources, the community runs because people like you choose to invest in it.

Give Securely

Support the mission securely at marshillchicago.org/giving, in our mobile app, or by texting MHGIVE to 33777. You can also mail checks to:

Mars Hill Baptist Church
PO Box 6159
River Forest, IL 60305

I meant what I said Sunday: God is not the one who created the distance.

This week, I am asking you to take the 15 minutes. Not to have a perfect prayer time. Not to feel something dramatic. Just to show up and let Him find you.

That is how the house gets prepared. One room at a time. One decision at a time.

🔥 Your Move This Week

Until next week, remember: you are stronger together than they ever wanted you to know.

Walking with you,

Pastor Clarence E. Stowers, Jr.

P.S. I want to know something. Not what you think I want to hear the real answer.

What have you been hiding from? It does not have to be spiritual. It could be a conversation you have been avoiding. A decision you keep delaying. A room in your own house you have not walked into.

Hit reply and tell me. I read every one. This is a conversation, not a broadcast.