The Secret Place
[ Preached by Pastor Kenneth Chin at Acts Church Malaysia – 26 March 2017 ]
Psalms 91:1-16 (NKJV) speaks about the wonderful and faithful promises of God, but to see them all fully realised, we need to find Him where He dwells, in a ‘secret place’.
Psalms 91:1
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty”
Matthew 6:6 also quotes the existence of this ‘secret place’ and a clear connection between finding this spot and prayer is established here.
Where is this secret place?
You might be asking yourself, is it a physical space? A room perhaps? How do we get there?
More importantly, why is it paramount that we seek God there? For does not the Word says that God can be everywhere at once?
All of us have an address to a physical home. Every night you drive there to return to your loved ones. However, if you fail to return one night, what do you think would happen? Your loved ones, who were expecting you, would grow anxious and search high and low for you.
They would not rest until you were found. Every day they will wait at that physical address, just in case you return.
Our Father is in the same situation, waiting for us at the address of our secret place. He is there waiting for us to return and to seek Him with earnest yearning. He is indeed in every aspect of our lives, but that secret place is a private moment between us and God, away from the busyness of our lives.
How do we get into the secret place?
Devoid of distractions, in that secret place you find immense love in His presence.
That is why in Matthew 6:6, the writer tells us when we pray we must ‘close the door’. This is an intimate time between you and God – nothing else should matter.
However, it is not just the physical doors that need closing; the doors in our mind should not be left ajar either. Otherwise the cares of the world, our schedules, disappointments, anger, fears and all other worldly distractions can sneak in and fill our minds with noise.
This is a great litmus test to determine whether or not you are in your secret place. No other voices should exist but yours and God’s. It should be a place where no one sees or hears us, and we see and hear none but Him.
This secret place is indeed a spiritual place, but one we can reach wherever we are. It can be found when you are praying at home, when you are in the car worshipping or even when you are at work doing your quiet time.
What matters most is that we purposefully and consistently seek Him every day at this place, and over time, it gets easier to find. The beauty is that even as we grow closer to Him in secret, He will see our needs and prayers, and He will bless and reward us openly, for all to see.
Beyond your to-do-list and the cares of life, seek to meet God daily at the secret place where He will always be patiently waiting to be found by you, His dear Child.