And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, Matthew 14:23
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:6
What we do when no one is watching is closer to who we really are than what we do when we among others. This is especially true with Christians and those in the institutional Church. We tend to try and be who others want us to be, or what we think we should be when around others. We seem to be always performing. But when we’re alone there is no need to perform, we can just be ourselves. Jesus often went off to be alone with the Father in prayer. How often do we purpose to go off alone to be with Him? Is it in your daily practice? Have you learned to listen to Him in that place of solitude? Do you worship Him in that place as well? Do you sing and make melody in your heart in that secret place when you’re alone? Is your heart full of joy when you’re only with Him? Or is that solitude with Him a dreaded place? Why?
Do your seek out a place to pray daily in solitude, or is your prayer time just stuffed into brief moments that you have available for Him, driving, walking, in-between events, if anything? Yes you should always be conversing with Him throughout your day, but there also needs to be a priority set for an appointment to meet with Him regularly, daily, alone.
If you want His power to reside in you more, for healing, or purpose, or creativity, then you will only get it from the time you’ve spent in that …secret place with Him. Investment in the secret place yields harvests that can’t come any other way. Jesus obviously knew this, as He was constantly going off to be alone with His Father.
We are all coming to a day and time when that time spent in the secret place with Him, will determine how we ‘ride through’ the circumstances raining down upon us. Will we have anything to give when we’re called upon? The well of the secret place is deep. Digging in the secret place for His wisdom and guidance is where our answers will come.
Let’s read King David…in Psalms 91
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress:
my God; in him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler,
and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers,
and under his wings shalt thou trust:
his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night;
nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness;
nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side,
and ten thousand at thy right hand;
but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold
and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge,
even the most High, thy habitation;
there shall no evil befall thee,
neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee,
to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands,
lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:
the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him:
I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him, and honour him.
With long life will I satisfy him,
and shew him my salvation.
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Find your secret place with Him. And to that I say “selah”.