by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

The Scriptures speak to us about the secret place and the secret things of God. The secret place is where we take refuge, and where we learn of the hidden things of God. ‘The secret things belong to the Lord our God. But the things revealed belong to us and our sons forever’. Deut 29:29. We set our hearts to possess the things revealed. But more so, we desire to apprehend the secret things of the Lord.

Scattered throughout the psalms are the enquiries of King David who had evidently set his heart to seek the Lord from his youth. ‘One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate, or to enquire, in His Temple.’ Psa 27:4. The Lord wants to draw you into the secret place. He wants to take you into the place in the cleft of the rock. This is the same secret place where He took Moses. Moses was hidden in the cleft of the rock and covered by God’s hand as He passed by. Ex 33:20-23.

Are you troubled? Is the Lord troubling you? Are you troubled because you are troubling yourself? ‘For in the day of trouble, He will hide me in the secret place of His Tabernacle, in the secret place of His tent, He will hide me. He will lift me up upon a rock.’ Psa 27:5. Be consoled and be comforted, for in the day of trouble, He will hide you in the secret place of His Tabernacle. And more so, King David proclaimed, ‘How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear You, You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, before the sons of men. You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of men. You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord’.  Psa 31:19-21. Where are you taking refuge? Is it in the secret place? If so, you are hidden from the conniving, from the manipulating, from the scheming and planning of men. You need not fear in your workplace, in your home, in your family or out there in the wider community of the world. You need not fear conspiracies and evil thinking in people. No one can hurt you and no one can touch you, if you dwell in the secret place.

We ought to receive all things from the hand of the Lord. I refuse to receive anything as attributed from the hand of men or from Satan. God is not guilty of the sin of omission. Like Job, we may experience the permissive will of God. The Lord allowed Satan to touch Job’s life in a limited way. Nevertheless, Job himself attributed all that came upon him as from the hand of the Lord, not from Satan. Where do you begin and where do you end if you attribute things to the hand of men? Is God guilty of omission? Is He not watching over you? Is He not hiding you? Is He not keeping you? I do not agree with the theology that promotes the authority of Satan. Why would people run about rebuking Satan, and arguing the point, as if Satan is only a little smaller and a little less strong than God Himself. I don’t believe it. Satan may be the ruler of this earth, but God is sovereign over all things.

So how do we find the secret place? What is the activity of the secret place? In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us there are three ways to approach the Father in the secret place. There are three ways we can access Him and receive from Him an open reward. Going to our Father in the secret place involves almsgiving or offering, prayer, and fasting.

Offering

The first work of the secret place is to give. ‘When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.’ Matt 6:3-4. When you make offering, you are in the secret place and you are hidden away from the conspiracies of men. You are hidden away from trouble. He spreads His wings over you. That’s what confines you and makes the secret place. In the book of Ruth, Boaz said, ‘I am going to spread my garment over you’. Ruth 3:9. That is, I am going to make you my wife. The literal Hebrew says, ‘I will spread my wings over you’. This is fulfilled in the book of Revelation when it says, ‘He will spread His tabernacle over them’. Rev 7:15. Remember that woven into the tabernacle covering were the wings of the cherubim. He brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, and He rested them on His wings. He lifts us up to the secret place. And He keeps us under the shadow of His wings. The book of Revelation says, ‘The sun shall beat down on them no more. Neither shall they hunger and thirst, because He spreads His tabernacle [or He spreads His wings] over them’. Rev 7:15, 16.

‘When you give alms, do not sound the trumpet as the hypocrites do … truly they have their reward.’ Matt 6:2. The activity of the secret place is not conspiring to be secretive, nor manipulating your own privacy. Nor is it making your own plans without consultation. However, we must not be self promoting when we give alms. We must live in the dignity of the presence of the Lord. The Scripture says, ‘When you give alms, let your offering be in secret and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you’. Matt 6:4. The King James version says, ‘He will reward you openly’.

What was Jesus’ first evident work in the secret place? He offered Himself ‘to God as a fragrant aroma’. Eph 5:2. Jesus didn’t firstly offer Himself for us. Firstly, He offered Himself to the Father, and the Father then offered Him for us. Jesus offered Himself to the secret place. He gave Himself to the Father. He gave alms, not of tangible goods, but of Himself.

Prayer

The second work of the secret place is prayer. ‘When you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.’ Matt 6:6. I like to model my life on Daniel who faced Jerusalem and prayed three times a day. We are not looking to a city in the Middle East. However, like Daniel, I like to rise early in the morning and meditate. Then, I like to go into a time of devotion. And through the course of the day, I pray. When you pray, ‘go into your inner room’. I love the practicality of this. Where is the secret place? Concerning prayer, it is wherever you decide to pray. It says when you go in, shut the door. Take some time to close yourself off from everything else. You can do that anywhere, even when you are driving in a car.

Proceeding then to the Lord’s Prayer, forgiveness is an activity of the secret place of prayer. We ought to pray, ‘Father forgive us our trespasses, forgive us our debts ... If you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions’. Matt 6:12,14. Have you noticed it is very hard to abide in the secret place of prayer and hold a grudge? If you have un-forgiveness in your heart, the Father will be convicting you, by the Spirit, to forgive. It is very hard to remain in the secret place and not  forgive.

Whatever season of life you find yourself in, draw near to the secret place of prayer. The book of Acts tells us that 120 brethren were gathered together, including the mother of Jesus and all the women, in the upper room waiting for the Day of Pentecost. They were continually devoted and waiting on God in prayer. I want to encourage you in this season to wait on God in prayer. Let Him hide you from the conspiracies of men and hide you in the day of trouble. Draw near into the secret place. Let Him speak to you the secret that He wants to reveal to you. Don’t let your spirit be agitated. Don’t be frustrated by the season you are in, but draw near to the secret place.

Fasting

The third work of the secret place is fasting. I would like to encourage those whose hearts are seeking the Lord to dedicate a season to fasting. If you are a physical worker, you will need to plan your fasting carefully. Don’t make it a religious exercise. If you can’t think straight, you won’t do your work properly. The nature of the prophet Daniel’s fast was that he abstained from delicacies. You may decide to dedicate one day each week, one day a fortnight or a day a month. Your commitment is between you and the Lord. Fasting is the deprivation of the flesh while you knock on the door of heaven. It’s in the secret place where you ask Him to render the heavens and come down to meet you. Fasting is the bold activity of the person of faith. Moses said to the Lord, ‘If your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here’. Of course, He was referring to the passage of the children of Israel to the land of promise. It would appear on the surface that Moses was nearly defiant! But he was not defiant. He knew his limit. He knew what he could do and what he couldn’t do. He knew what he could say before the Lord. Moses knew to go any further would be presumptuous. King David understood this critical matter also when He said, ‘Keep me back from presumptuous sins’. Psa 19:13. If you learn to give alms and offer, pray and fast, you won’t be presumptuous and scheming. The only reason you will be scheming is if you are afraid of the conspiracies of men, afraid of trouble, afraid that your life won’t work for you. Go into the secret place and you will know comfort, and you will know the goodness of God.

‘His soul abides in prosperity and his descendants will inherit the land. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him.’ Psa 25:13-14. Remember the words of the apostle: ‘By these great and magnificent promises He has granted to us that we might be partakers of the divine nature’. 2 Pet 1:4. Everything that He has, He wants to give to you. He wants to give to you the fullness of the divine nature. You will never be God, but you can touch the fullness of Christ in the secret place.

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
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