A secret place is a wonderful place to be.
Somewhere where we can be alone to be with our own thoughts, peaceful and quiet, the ideal escape from the world. In our secret place, we can be who we want to be. We can think of things we want to think of. We can work out situations and we can reflect on times gone by. Often leaving our secret place, we feel much more calm and secure.
Jesus, when teaching us how to pray, says this in Mat 6:6, “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you”.
So… where is the secret place?
The secret place is different for each of us. It could be a physical place, a room, a closet or even a church building – wherever we find solace and peace and can literally ‘shut the world out’.
It could also be a private spiritual place. Somewhere which is not physical, but deep within our most inner being. So deep that only us and the Lord know the goings on in such an amazing place.
We see in the book of Geneses that God breathed into Adam “the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Gen.2:7).
God had formed the inner most part of mankind – the secret place.
This secret place is very different to a physical secret place. The physical secret place can only be accessed if it is readily available. If we have certain times of the day to go there, will it be convenient or will life pull us away. Is there something more important to deal with?… “oh well, we’ll just have to try again later”… sound familiar? It is then that the accuser will have his say… “You’ve missed your quiet time again… what sort of a Christian are you?”
Our personal secret place is not subject to the same weaknesses. Why? Because it is within – not without! Our innermost being travels with us wherever we go, all day and even when we sleep. Anytime and ALL the time, we can communicate with the Lord. As we grow in strength in our relationship with the Lord, we learn to ‘shut out’ the things of the world and talk with God. I once heard of a young man who would purposefully go and pray in a children’s playground to practice talking with God in times of chaos.
God meets with us in the secret place as He did in the old testament times, where He was present in the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest was permitted to go into the inner most sanctuary to be in the presence of God. Nobody else could hear or see what was taking place in that very hallowed area. The precious work that Jesus did on the cross tore the veil of the Holy of Holies and God is now present with us in our secret place – the spirit of man. Pro.20:27 “The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the innermost parts of his being”. Zec.12:1 “…Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him”.
In our secret place, no one else knows what is taking place. Deep within our spirit, there is two way communication – we meet with God and God meets with us:-
1. When we meet with the Lord. We ask Him about the things we need. We discuss with Him our very deepest joys and disappointments. We tell Him our opinions and it is there that we worship Him – “Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls…” (Psa. 42:7).
2. When God meets with us. He points out the things we do which don’t please Him. He suggests paths for us that will please Him. It is here that God shows us our true nature and here that He begins to change us. “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor.4:16).
Let us have courage today to go to the secret place and hear what God will share with us. We may not always like what He tells us, but He knows how to help us change. Go there now…right in the business of your day or in the still of the night… the Lord waits for us… “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man…” (Eph.3:16).
From: “…time with the Master…”