CHAPTER ELEVEN
LIVING FROM THE SECRET PLACE
Making God's Presence Your Dwelling Place
“Psalms 91:1 AMP He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand].”
“Psalms 25:14 AMP The secret [of the wise counsel] of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will let them know His covenant and reveal to them [through His word] its [deep, inner] meaning. [John 7:17; 15:15]”
“Psalms 61:4 AMP Let me dwell in Your tent forever; Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings”. Selah.
“Psalms 27:4 AMP One thing I have asked of the Lord, and that I will seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, To gaze upon the beauty [the delightful loveliness and majestic grandeur] of the Lord And to meditate in His temple. [Ps 16:11; 18:6; 65:4; Luke 2:37]”
THE SECRET PLACE IS NOT A DESTINATION
As we come to this point in our journey, one truth has become unmistakably clear: the secret place is not the destination of the Christian life—it is the place from which the Christian life is lived.
Throughout this book, we have explored God's invitation to intimacy. We have climbed the mountain of prayer, discovered the hidden wisdom of God, learned the necessity of holiness, and seen how the Father prepares His people in secret before sending them into the world.
Yet there remains one important lesson.
God never intended the secret place to be somewhere we occasionally visit.
He intended it to become our dwelling place.
Many believers faithfully set aside time each day to pray and read the Scriptures. This is both necessary and commendable. However, if our relationship with God begins and ends within those moments, we have only touched the threshold of what He desires for us.
The Father is calling us into something much deeper.
He desires continual fellowship.
He desires that every moment of our lives be lived with the conscious awareness of His presence.
The secret place is not merely an appointment.
It is a lifestyle.
ABIDING IS GREATER THAN VISITING
One of the greatest invitations Jesus ever gave His disciples was not simply to follow Him but to abide in Him.
To abide is to remain.
To dwell.
To continue.
To make one's home.
This changes everything.
Many Christians become discouraged because they continually feel as though they are trying to find God.
The wonderful truth of the New Covenant is that we are no longer searching for a God who is hiding.
Through Jesus Christ, God has made His dwelling within us.
The Holy Spirit has taken up residence in every believer.
The Christian life, therefore, is not about occasionally entering God's presence.
It is about learning to live consciously in the presence of the One who already dwells within us.
The greatest transition in the believer's life comes when prayer ceases to be merely an activity and becomes continual communion.
There is a difference.
An activity has a beginning and an end.
Communion has neither.
Communion becomes the atmosphere of life.
PRESENCE MUST LEAVE THE PRAYER ROOM
There is little value in encountering God privately if His presence is absent from our public lives.
The purpose of the secret place is not escape.
It is transformation.
Every genuine encounter with God should leave visible evidence.
Moses descended from Mount Sinai carrying more than the tablets of the Law.
He carried the glory of God upon his countenance.
The apostles emerged from the Upper Room carrying the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Himself repeatedly withdrew to lonely places to pray, but He always returned to minister with compassion, wisdom, authority, and love.
The pattern never changes.
Private fellowship produces public fruitfulness.
The world should encounter Christ because we have first encountered Him.
Our homes should be different because we have been with Jesus.
Our workplaces should be different because we carry His peace.
Our churches should be different because His presence has transformed our hearts before we ever entered the building.
The measure of intimacy is not how deeply we worship behind closed doors.
It is how faithfully we reveal Christ when those doors open.
CARRYING HIS PRESENCE INTO EVERYDAY LIFE
One of the beautiful realities of walking with God is discovering that no part of life is too ordinary for His presence.
The secret place is not confined to early morning devotion.
It follows us throughout the day.
He is present while we drive.
Present while we work.
Present while we serve.
Present while we raise our children.
Present while we encourage a discouraged friend.
Present while we make difficult decisions.
The mature believer gradually learns to cultivate an ongoing conversation with the Holy Spirit.
He no longer waits until evening to acknowledge God.
He walks with Him continually.
Prayer becomes spontaneous.
Worship becomes natural.
Dependence becomes constant.
This is what Scripture means when it speaks of walking with God.
Enoch walked with God.
Noah walked with God.
Abraham walked before God.
These men did not merely experience isolated encounters.
Their lives became continual fellowship.
The Father still desires this kind of relationship with His children.
REMAINING DEPENDENT UPON THE HOLY SPIRIT
One of the greatest dangers facing mature believers is the temptation to become self-sufficient.
Experience can become a substitute for dependence.
Knowledge can replace humility.
Success can quietly produce independence.
The secret place protects us from these dangers.
Every fresh day reminds us that yesterday's grace is not sufficient for today's assignment.
Every new challenge requires fresh wisdom.
Every decision requires fresh guidance.
Every opportunity requires fresh strength.
The believer who continually lives in God's presence understands that apart from Christ he can do nothing.
This is not weakness.
It is wisdom.
The strongest Christians are not those who depend most upon themselves.
They are those who have learned complete dependence upon the Holy Spirit.
The more we mature, the more deeply we recognise our need for Him.
LIVING BEFORE THE FACE OF GOD
One of the greatest blessings of continual fellowship is that we gradually begin living before an audience of One.
The approval of people loses its controlling influence.
The fear of rejection diminishes.
The craving for recognition fades.
Our greatest desire becomes pleasing the Father.
This freedom cannot be manufactured.
It grows naturally in the secret place.
The more we behold Christ, the less fascinated we become with ourselves.
The more we experience His love, the less dependent we become upon the applause of others.
Our identity becomes settled.
Our purpose becomes clear.
Our joy becomes secure.
We no longer serve because we are seeking acceptance.
We serve because we have already been accepted in Christ.
This is the freedom of sons and daughters who know their Father.
THE SECRET PLACE BECOMES HOME
As believers grow in their relationship with God, something beautiful begins to happen.
The secret place no longer feels like a discipline.
It becomes home.
The soul naturally longs for God's presence.
Prayer is no longer maintained by guilt.
It is sustained by love.
The Scriptures are no longer merely studied.
They are treasured.
Silence before God becomes comfortable.
Waiting becomes joyful.
Listening becomes delightful.
The believer begins to discover that the greatest reward of the secret place is not answered prayer.
It is God Himself.
Everything else becomes secondary.
His presence becomes the greatest blessing.
His fellowship becomes life's greatest pursuit.
His voice becomes life's greatest treasure.
This is what David understood when he declared that one thing he desired above everything else was to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life.
The secret place had become his home.
BECOMING A LIVING SANCTUARY
Under the Old Covenant, people travelled to the Tabernacle because that was where God's glory dwelt.
Later, they journeyed to the Temple.
Today, under the New Covenant, something infinitely greater has taken place.
God has made His dwelling within His people.
We have become His living temple.
This truth should transform how we live.
Every conversation becomes sacred.
Every decision carries eternal significance.
Every relationship becomes an opportunity to reveal Christ.
The Holy Spirit is no longer visiting His people.
He has chosen to dwell within them.
Therefore, wherever we go, we become carriers of His presence.
We carry hope into hopeless places.
Peace into troubled places.
Light into dark places.
Healing into broken places.
Love into wounded hearts.
This is the life that flows from abiding in the secret place.