Of all the places that you and I may visit, the "secret place" is undoubtedly the most wonderful, the most thrilling, and the most rewarding. It is my special pleasure and my privilege to draw your attention to this incredible place.
To introduce the subject of the secret place, let us consider the rendering of Psalm 91:1 as found in the King James Version of the Scriptures:
"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." (Ps 91:1 KJV)
What a promise! If we dwell in the "secret place," we have the sure guarantee that the Almighty is in close proximity – so close, in fact, that His shadow is falling over us. This is obviously a good place to be; and a very secure place indeed.
But just what is the secret place?
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It is "the secret place of communion" with God. (AA564.2) |
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It is "the secret place of prayer." (CC280.3) |
In other words, the secret place is that private spiritual "place in time" where you and God meet. It is that place where you and God spend time alone together. It is that intimate, secluded, exclusive place where you and God commune together, and where your love relationship with Him develops and finds its deepest fulfillment. It is that spiritual meeting "place" where you share your life, your dreams and your innermost secrets with God. It is that ultra-special "place" where you can get to know Him and where you can receive special instruction from Him.
In the simplest of terms, the secret place is the "soil" in which our spiritual person is nurtured and developed by Him. It is, in a deep spiritual sense, that holy place, provided by grace, where fallen human beings may enter into "the secret place" of His presence. (Psalms 31:20)
"In the secret place of prayer, where no eye but God's can see, no ear but His can hear, we may pour out our most hidden desires and longings to the Father of infinite pity, and in the hush and silence of the soul that voice which never fails to answer the cry of human need will speak to our hearts." (AG290.4)
Surely, it is one of the greatest provisions of Grace that fallen beings might have a secret meeting place with the Most High – a hiding place for the soul
The Keys to the Secret Place
Having contemplated the awesome significance of the secret place, let us now consider how we may gain access to this our precious, priceless, private and personal meeting place with God?
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When we pray in private, we enter into the secret place with God. |
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When we study the words of Inspiration in private, we enter into the secret place with the Most High. The book of Psalms is a brilliant secret place rendezvous. |
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When we engage in private Christian meditation, we enter into the secret place with the Almighty. |
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When we talk about God it is good, but it is when we talk to God in private that we enter into the secret place. |
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When we think about God it is good, but it is when we think with God that we enter the secret place. |
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When we sing about God it is good, but it is when we sing to God in private that we enter the secret place. |
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It is very good to work for God, but how much better to turn our work into an exciting secret place adventure by working with God. |
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When music draws our attention to the singer/s, and/or to the instrument/s being played, it may well be good music, but it is when music draws our minds to God in a spirit of quiet, worshipful communion with Him, and respectful adoration of Him, that we enter the secret place. |
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When we come away from a message full of praises for the speaker, it may well have been a good message, but when we come away from a message full of praises for God, we can rest assured that the message originates in the secret place. |
In short, it is in the secret place that our spiritual nature reaches the highest summit of Christian experience and privilege – and it is here, alone with God, that our life is moulded, our characters are changed, and our future is determined.
"In the secret place, alone, the eye sees Jesus [Christ] and the ear is opened to Jesus." (HP86.4)
Clearly, therefore, we have to rank our secret place experience as life’s highest priority:
"To talk of religion in a casual way, to pray without soul hunger and living faith, avails nothing. A nominal faith in Christ, which accepts Him merely as the Saviour of the world, can never bring healing to the soul. The faith that is unto salvation is not a mere intellectual assent to the truth . . . It is not enough to believe about Christ; we must believe in Him . . . Saving faith is a transaction by which those who receive Christ join themselves in covenant [binding] relation with God." (DA347.1)
"What food is to the body, Christ must be to the soul. Food cannot benefit us unless we eat it, unless it becomes a part of our being. So Christ is of no value to us if we do not know Him as a personal Saviour. A theoretical knowledge will do us no good. We must feed upon Him, receive Him into the heart, so that His life becomes our life. His love, His grace, must be assimilated [for] it is the grace of Christ that gives life to the soul." (DA389.3; DA181.2)
In later chapters we will further develop the concepts of believing "in Him," and of "knowing Him," but it is clear that the ultimate challenge that faces every one of us is to forge and to maintain a special one-on-one relationship with God, and the secret place of the Most High is the "place" appointed by Him where this relationship of all relationships is nurtured.
A Personal, Open, 24/7 Invite
With a yearning that we will never comprehend, the Lord invites every one of us to come, just as we are, and to dwell with Him in the secret place. This invite is etched in gold, it is personalized, and it calls on us to "dwell" with Him – alone.
Please take careful note that the invitation does not invite us to merely visit the secret place every now and then. God invites us to "dwell" in the secret place. Where our homes are our temporal "dwellings," the secret place is to be our spiritual dwelling. The word dwell as used in Psalm 91:1 implies "to settle in," or "to remain in." Thus the secret place is given us of God as our spiritual home address; it is the place where our spiritual person is to reside, and where our soul is to take root in God; it is that spiritually attractive, warm, cozy and exciting place where we meet with and confide in our very Best Friend.
By inviting us to "dwell" in the secret place, God is obviously inviting us to enter into an experience with Him that embraces far more than a brief bible study in the morning and a sleepy prayer just before we climb into bed at night.
"Pray in your closet, and as you go about your daily labor, let your heart be often uplifted to God. It was thus that Enoch walked with God. These silent prayers rise like precious incense before the throne of grace. Satan cannot overcome him whose heart is thus stayed upon God." (AG239.5)
"Through continual communion [Jesus] received life from God, that He might impart life to the world. His experience is to be ours. When every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God. He bids us, "Be still, and know that I am God." Ps. 46:10. Here alone can true rest be found. And this is the effectual preparation for all who labor for God." (DA363.1; 3)
"This is the privilege of every believer today. It is man dwelling with God, and God taking up His abode with man. It is not only the privilege but the duty of every follower of Christ to have Jesus enshrined in the heart, to carry Him with them in their lives; and they will indeed be fruit-bearing trees." (UL228.4)
"But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." (Matthew 6:6 NKJV)
