THE SECRET PLACE

Daniel 11:32 says: “But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

There is a  place where we get the “knowing”; where we get melded together with God. There is a secret place  where we become irradiated with God’s favor and grace through deep fellowship, communion, and  inter-relationship with him. We may not emerge a miracle worker or one that has many apparent and  openly visible gifts and abilities. But we emerge from his presence a people that have a persistent and  embedded state of grace by which we are enshrouded with his goodwill and favor.

I recall when the great Prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and said to him: ‘Thus saith the LORD, Set  thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live” (Isaiah 38:1). Now, Hezekiah didn’t pick a fight with the man of God for giving him a negative message – like some people might be prone to do. Hezekiah
didn’t whine and complain to others not involved in that matter in an attempt to rubbish the integrity of the man of God or curry sympathy for himself. He didn’t look to men -- rather Hezekiah looked to God and prayed. Hezekiah was able to do this naturally because he knew by way of practical experience the
way to the secret place. He went there often. For all intents and purposes that is where he dwelt.

And the Bible holds a promise in Psalm 91:1 that says: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Reading on down to the end of that Psalm the Psalmist expands further on what it means to dwell “under the shadow of the Almighty” and describes the various protections and favors that entail.
Hezekiah was not a prophet. Even if he had been, he was not a prophet like Isaiah. He was no miracle worker like Isaiah. But he dwelt in the secret place of God nonetheless – like Isaiah did.

As a result, before Isaiah could exit from the large palace grounds he heard a Voice from above asking him to turn around and go back. Isaiah obeyed, and when he came again into the presence of the king the Word of the Lord came to him: “Thus saith the Lord: You shall not die but live; I have added 15 more years to
your life.” It is good and proper that we go to the elders of the Church or a man of God for prayer when we are in need, for that is in accordance with the Scriptures. But God’s perfect will for us is that we each might be able to find our own way to the secret place where we can get ‘credentials’ of our own and not always operate under the context of the grace flowing out from another. The secret place is a place of prayer. It
is a place of seclusion; not a place where we go to become popular. Popularity will come later (if it must), after we have tarried in the presence of God and got credentials of our own.

When we then emerge from the secret place and open our mouths to speak, people will take note and comment like they did when they heard Jesus’ disciples speak: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).

The secret place is a place of prayer. If you want to be great then learn how to pray. Learn how to pray and get an answer from God. Learn how to move Heaven, how to overcome the Divine inertia and move God’s hand. The Bible says: “Elijah was a man of like passions like we are, and he prayed…” (James 5:17).
It’s remarkable that the first we hear about Elijah in the Bible is AFTER he finished praying and emerged from the secret place – not before. That is when he became ‘popular’ if we can use the word. Elijah is joined to the Bible narrative by one word, a conjunction: “And”.

“AND Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” (1 Kings 17:1).
Prior to this moment, we hear nothing about Elijah; not wealth he did or did not inherit; not the schools he did or didn’t attend. We hear nothing about his past history – whether he had succeeded or failed at ventures he had embarked upon. Whether he married or not, etc. All that is relevant from Heaven’s standpoint and the standpoint of the Spirit of God is that he emerged from the secret place of prayer
and communion with God and bound the future of Israel and its wayward King to his word: “there shall not be dew nor rain these years EXCEPT BY MY WORD.”

A lot of the things slated to happen at the Second Coming of Christ will only happen when a people arise who know the way and dwell in the secret place of God. As our Lord commanded, these people will pray what we describe as Our Lord’s Prayer, which says (among other things): “Thy Kingdom come; Thy will
be done on earth – as it is in Heaven.” This is a powerful prayer that will become a way of life for these saints and they will be instrumental in kicking off that great series of events we know as the Coming of the Lord. These will be simple people, many of whom may not be household names. But they dwell in the secret place day and night. Some of them may remain largely unknown until, like John the Baptist, they emerge and begin to do exploits – “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the
deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel” (Luke 1:80).
Will you be among that number?
May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.