Nancy Taylor Tate
Though for years this has been at the heart of my walk with the Lord, the Lord has been impressing upon me our need to spend time in the “secret place,” as never before.
We are to live every moment of every day in fellowship with the Lord. I often call this “practicing His presence.” We also are to have quality times apart with the Lord, times of fellowship where we become quiet and focused on Him.
Recently, someone spoke of how when my dad’s day “was what it was,” what really, really mattered is that afterwards, he would get the blanket he liked to put over his lap and sit in his prayer chair as he realigned his spirit, soul and body with the Holy Spirit, then continued to go onward and upward in his intimacy with the Lord. As this person shared, I could picture it clearly, because I saw my dad do that many, many times. Throughout the day, it was where he liked to spend his time as often as he could, in that quiet place alone with the Lord.
We all face pressures in this life. Pressures are increasing as time goes on. It is so important that we learn how to get quiet and form the habit of “going into the secret place” to commune with the Lord and receive His enabling grace, direction and wisdom.
As we maintain an open and receptive spirit toward the Lord, we can not only receive His divine enablement, but we can also hear what the Holy Spirit is saying. As Hattie Hammond always said, “True prayer is born of the spirit.” It is the Holy Spirit who helps us to pray according to the will of God. As we become quiet and yielded, we can respond to the Holy Spirit as He prays through us according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-28)
Today, whatever we might be facing, may we be able to say along with the Psalmist, “You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.” (Psalm 32:7 NKJV)
Psalm 91:1 promises us that “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Then he goes on to say, “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” (v. 2)
May the Lord draw us as never before, into intimate times of communion with Him. May He enlarge our spiritual hunger and our spiritual capacity, giving us listening ears and an open heart, that we might become more yielded to His workings and stirring within. How we need the Lord! We are always telling Him everything we know. He knows so much more!
May the Lord surround you with songs of deliverance! May He bless, encourage and strengthen you today, as He continues to draw you ever closer to Himself.