The Secret Place
In this article, we will explore the importance of the secret place in our relationship with God. As a church, we are one year in, and if we want to see God do all that He desires in this Valley, we must be fully committed to Him. It's not enough to have a half-hearted Christianity where we show up once a month. We need to be a group of people who are all in, dedicating our time, talent, and resources to building God's kingdom. This blog is based off yesterdays message which you can find here.
Why is the secret place so crucial? It's because there is nothing more powerful and important than knowing God in a deep way and building His kingdom. Our possessions and achievements in this world will not accompany us to eternity. But we can live a life that impacts eternity by connecting with God in the secret place.
No matter what we are pursuing in life, whether it's wisdom, business success, or healthy relationships, the key is to go to the secret place first. In this place of intimacy with God , we receive His purpose and power to fulfill our calling. Just as Jesus frequently withdrew to lonely places to pray, we too must prioritize our time with God.
Luke 5:16 tells us that "Jesus withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Mark 1:35 also emphasizes the importance of early morning prayer, stating that "very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a lonely place where he prayed." These verses show us that Jesus prioritized His time with God, even when He was surrounded by crowds and demands.
In Luke 5:15-16, we see that as the news about Jesus spread and crowds of people came to hear Him and be healed, He still made it a priority to withdraw to lonely places and pray. Jesus understood the need to recharge and receive power from God in order to fulfill His purpose.
Jesus' example teaches us that the secret place is not just a one-time visit, but a frequent habit. In Luke 6, we read that "one of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray." And in Luke 22:39, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples and said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." Jesus often withdrew to the secret place to connect with God.
We must follow Jesus' example and make the secret place a priority in our lives. It may look different for each person depending on their life stage and responsibilities, but the key is to carve out intentional time to connect with God. Whether it's finding a quiet corner in your home, going for a walk in nature, or setting aside time in your car during your commute, find a place where you can be alone with God.
The secret place is where we receive power, direction, and clarity for our lives. It's where we align ourselves with God's purposes and allow Him to work through us. When we spend time in the secret place, we are filled with God's presence and His Spirit empowers us to live out our calling.
Pastor John Tyson shares a helpful chart that illustrates the process of receiving purpose from God and then withdrawing to the secret place to receive power. This chart reminds us that we need to regularly withdraw to the secret place to recharge and receive the power we need to fulfill God's purposes for our lives.
If you're unsure of your purpose or how God has wired you, the church offers a Growth Track program that can help you discover your spiritual gifts and get plugged into serving. It's important to know your purpose so that you can effectively live it out with God's power.
Satan's greatest goal is to distract us from accessing the secret place. He wants to keep us busy with pleasure, work, relationships, and anything else that will prevent us from connecting with God. But we must not let him succeed. We need to prioritize our time with God and resist the distractions that come our way.
Even if we feel busy with school, jobs, or parenting, we must remember that our kids and our families need us to have a strong prayer life and a powerful relationship with God. Our prayers have the potential to change the course of history, just like Susanna Wesley's prayers did. She had 19 kids and limited time, but she would put her apron over her head in the kitchen to signal that she was in the secret place with God. Her prayers raised children who loved Jesus and made a significant impact in the world.
Hudson Taylor, a missionary in China, also understood the importance of the secret place. Despite his busy schedule, he would wake up at 2 a.m. every morning to spend time with God. His dedication to the secret place allowed God to use him to bring about a great movement of people coming to know Christ.
We must not underestimate the power of the secret place. It is where we connect with God, receive His power, and experience His presence in our lives. It is where we find direction, purpose, and clarity. The secret place is not just a physical location, but a state of heart and mind where we intentionally set aside time to be alone with God.
In the secret place, we can pour out our hearts to God, share our struggles and burdens, and seek His guidance and wisdom. It is a place of vulnerability and surrender, where we lay down our own agendas and desires and align ourselves with God's will. It is in this place of intimacy that we can experience the fullness of God's love and grace.