Do you find it difficult to spend time with the Lord in the secret place?
Psalm 91:1 depicts the secret place as place to abide in Him through intimacy: He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty (KJV). The secret place is your invitation to cultivate a secret history with God. However, oftentimes we stumble our way to the secret place. Hence, it feels as if no progress is being made. Doubts start to creep in: Is this really going to work for me?
As we seek Him in the secret place, the process of maturation shifts the central focus from us to Him. We learn to bow low in humility, born out of true revelation of His character—and not from a veneer of religiosity.
Can I share with you what I’ve learned in the secret place before the audience of One?
- If needed, confess any known sins, and receive cleansing from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9)—plead the Blood over your mind, emotions and will.
- Take authority over your own mind, emotions and will as you submit them to the Father (James 4:7)—do so verbally, aloud!
- Tell the Father, “I can’t seek You as You so deserve unless You help me!”—allow the Holy Spirit to cause a groundswell of holy desperation to well up within your heart.
- Thank the Father for the struggles you have in pursuing Him in the secret place as you think of every hindrance you’ve experienced in this pursuit—and thank Him for the breakthroughs that will come!
- Surrender your own agenda—my needs, desires, self-obsession, and wants, as you receive His grace to focus on Him. (These are often legit needs that the Father does want to meet, but we become so fixated upon ourselves that we’re unable to set our gaze steadily upon the Father.)
- As a son or daughter of God, exercise faith in the promise of Hebrews 4:16, that we can come confidently to His throne to receive what we need in the secret place—Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
- Meditate on a passage centered upon worship (such as Revelation 4)—use the text to gaze upon the Father through the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit; and allow it to give you language to express to the Father in worship.
Great post, Brian. Thanks for the practical wisdom here.
Thanks Brad! I’ve been doing a 21 DAYS TO BREAKTHROUGH IN PRAYER (though it has extended beyond 21 days since I’m writing the daily devotions as we go and haven’t been able to keep up). Anyways, there are seven phases within the 21 days where we focus on each for three days. As devotionals, they’re quite inspirational and I felt that I needed to somehow bring in the practical side of things. Yesterday I had an eureka moment that for each phase to comprise a 7 KEYS with one sentence for each of the practical keys. It’ll help the readers along. I’ve had over 150 sign up and it has been an amazing experience.
Hi Brian, great post! I need to do a 21 day breakthrough in prayer myself…….have been soooo distracted & it needs to change! What is the title of the material you used & where can it be purchased? I am in Australia……loving your posts by the way……God bless,
Sharon, thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog postings. And what a joy it is to connect with brothers and sisters in Australia. My heart has exploded for those in Down Under as a result of carrying this word.
To answer your question concerning the material for the 21 Days to Breakthrough, I actually wrote the series myself in devotional format. It forced me to discipline myself and get it done with tight deadlines. I’m now taking the material and expanding it into a book called Breakthrough in the Secret Place. We will be doing another 21 Days to Breakthrough shortly. The first time around we had over 150 sign up for it. It was quite remarkable. Out of it emerged a Breakthrough Tribe. As I write this, I’m wondering if we should do one to focus exclusively on Australia and tie it into this word? I think this might be the Lord!
Thank you Brian for some great messages on prayer!
And thank you for sharing your heart to know him and encourage others to do the same. May we all have eyes to see and ears to hear by the Holy Spirit! Blessings upon you & your family!
Shalom! Shalom!
Thank you so much Brenda for taking the time to read my blog postings. My heart does burn to know Him! I’m grateful for the leadership you provide in the area of prayer for the body of Christ.
I really enjoyed reading these practical and encouragaging steps.
Blessings,
Jennifer
Thank you so much Jennifer! I know you aspire to write too. If you have anything you’d like to write that would be suitable for our audience, I’ll share it on my blog. OK. Blessings!
It’s like all the odds are against me, need a miracle and GOD’S favour
Alex, I just saw your comment. Thank you for visiting my website. I apologize for the delayed response. I trust the Lord has met with you in the secret place as you pour out your heart to Him. I’m reminded of a simple verse that I’m sure you’ve read before.
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
I feel the same way now. I need God to Answer my prayers because I know He will. I know God is able to do anything…only Him, I can’t trust anyone else
Bless you, Tammy. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post on the secret place. Grace to you as you continue to draw closer to the heart of God.
Hi Brian, what I blessing that I found your post. I felt frustrated with my time in the secret place and the Holy Spirit led me to your post. It’s a great help for me.
Paulette, I’m so grateful that the Lord directed you to this post simply to provide just the encouragement that you need in this moment. That blessed me.
You are welcomed to join my Facebook group: Brian Francis Hume.
Last night we kicked off a series on The Call of God as we’ll examine the lives of Moses and Samuel in the coming weeks. You are welcome to participate. Each week at 9pm EST, we’ll meet together. It’ll be a message no longer than 30 minutes followed by prayer and prophetic ministry.
Bless you!
Thank u for this I feel like I’m in the middle of a storm and I’m the only one not getting swept into it but trying to stand firm against it.again thank u
Marcia, thank you for taking the time to read through this blog post on the secret place. I trust that in spite of the adversity you’re walking through in this season, that you’re able to experience His tender love in the midst of it. Know that I am praying for you today. Grace to you, precious woman of God.
Funny how the Lord works. I saw your comment on will riddle Facebook about Alabama. I have seen your name so I clicked on your Facebook page. Then saw this article. I am preaching at a Mennonite church this morning on the secret place!!
Matthew, thank you for sharing this neat, little confirmation for you as you embarked on your preaching assignment. Reminds me of the time when I was in route to preach at a church that met in a barn. While praying the Lord changed my message and instructed me to preach on Isaiah 66:2 instead. I’m not always comfortable with that. However, it is a verse dear to my heart so I tried to listen to the Lord as to how to structure the message. As we pulled into the parking lot, my phone ding. It was a message from a friend who sends out daily scripture verses. When I saw it, I remember having the thought, “Lord, could it be a confirmation?” I quickly clicked on it and to my amazement (and gratitude), it was Isaiah 66:2. I went into that service ready to rumble.
Lastly, I would love to hear how your message went. And I’m curious to know how this invitation came about for you.
Bless you, Matthew!
“Thank God for your struggles in pursuing Him in the secret place,
Thank God for the breakthrough that is to come”
My greatest takeaway
God bless you,
Amen
Thank you for taking the time to read this particular clog post. I trust all is well as you continue to walk with Christ, day by day, moment by moment. Shalom!
God bless you, from Uganda
What a joy it is to have visit this blog from Uganda. Grace to you in this season as you continue to seek Him in the secret place. May the Spirit of God breathe afresh upon Psalm 37:4 as you draw near to Him. God bless you!