The Secret Place
Rest & RenewalPsalm 91:1
Intimacy With God and the Life of Abiding Presence
By Matthew (Tolu) Olowoyeye
"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.",
The secret place is not a technique. It is not a prayer format, a quiet-time schedule, or a spiritual discipline to be optimised. It is a dwelling, a place you live, not visit. The Hebrew word for "dwelleth" is yashab: to sit down, to remain, to make your home. The promise of is not for the one who visits the secret place. It is for the one who lives there.
Insight Jesus withdrew. Repeatedly. After miracles, before decisions, before and after the most intense moments of ministry. He withdrew to pray (). He rose early (). He spent entire nights in prayer (). The ministry that flowed from Jesus was powered by what happened in the secret place, and He was the Son of God. What does that say about the rest of us?
The minister who has been in the presence of God recently carries something tangible. People can feel the difference. Not the performance of holiness, the actuality of it. Moses came down from Sinai with his face shining. He did not know it. The presence leaves its mark. The public ministry is the overflow of the private encounter.
Insight The shadow of the Almighty. To be under a shadow, you must be close. The further you stand from a person, the less their shadow covers you. Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty is the intimate nearness of someone standing right beside God, close enough that His presence is the first thing between you and what is coming.
The secret place is waiting. The invitation is always open. What are you waiting for?
Prayer Lord, call me back to the secret place. Not as a duty, as a delight. As a dwelling. I want to live there, not just visit. Let the overflow of private encounter be so real that what I carry publicly could only have come from time spent with You. I come. I sit. I remain. Amen.
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