What if there was a place so secure that your identity in God was unshakable? What if there was a place so safe that you could tell God your most grievous sins, and it would be met with overwhelming mercy? What if there was a place you could go where there was power available to you that would allow you to withstand any trial, situation, or circumstance? What if there was a place you could go where you could experience the tangible presence of God? Would you go there?

When I first heard that question asked by John Tyson from The City Church in New York, my first thought was, “There is actually a place like that?” And if there is, “How come no one has ever told me about that place or invited me to such a place?”

The reality is that Jesus not only knew this place but consistently visited this place and invited his followers and us to join Him there.  Just a few places in scripture are worth noting.

Mark 1:35 NKJV

35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

Luke 5:15-16 NKJV

15 However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. 16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

Luke 9:28 NKJV

28 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.

Matthew 14:22-23 NKJV

22 Immediately Jesus [a]made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.

Luke 6:12 NKJV

12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

Matthew 26:36 NKJV

36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.”

The way that Jesus was able to withstand the pressures of public ministry, the fear of man, and the chaos of the culture was that He had a place, a Secret Place. Jesus had a consistent rhythm in His life of pulling away to the Secret Place where he would meet with His Father in prayer.  If Jesus who was God on earth needed power from the Secret Place maybe we may also need a little help.

The solution to your ministry is not going to be found in a new strategy, a new ministry tool, or attending a new conference. Those things can be helpful, BUT the ultimate solution is found in the Secret Place, where ABBA wants to give you His strategy. Furthermore, Jesus shows us that the only way to sustain public ministry is to draw strength from a private place.

While Jesus teaches His disciples and us “how” to pray, He also teaches them and us “where” to pray in Matthew 6:

Matthew 6:6 NKJV

6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Here in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gives us the secret to the secret place.  He gives us the key to the secret place. Author Bob Sorge, in his book “Secrets to the Secret Place,” says it this way:

There is a guaranteed way to get into God’s presence. There is a sure-fire, 100% guaranteed way to have instant intimacy with the Father, and Jesus Himself gave us the key. Jesus gave us this secret in the above verse when He said, “Your Father who is in the secret place.” Jesus is saying,

“Your Father is already in the secret place. He has gone ahead of you; He is waiting for you. The moment you get to the secret place, you are in the immediate presence of your Father.”

The secret to the secret place is that ABBA is already there waiting for you.  This is good news because it means there is no pressure to strive, try harder, or work harder to be in your Father’s presence.  He is already there.  I will say it again: He is already there.  His invitation, then, is not to strive BUT instead to yield.  Yield to His invitation. Yield to His love.  Yield to His mercy. Yield to His grace. Yield to His rest. Yield to His power and presence.  Yield to union with Abba. Yield in intimacy with the Father.

I believe you know this already, but it is worth stating again.  You are not enough to sustain you. You cannot pull from you to sustain you.  The flesh is not enough to keep you going. You must have another place to pull from, and Jesus has shown us and given us the place to pull from.  It is not a public place.  It is a secret place. My encouragement for you is simple. Get to the Secret Place.

Everything of God flows out of the secret place. Everything good and lasting — everything that survives the ultimate test is born in the secret place. — Floyd McClung

Taken from Area B Mission Newsletter March 15th, 2024

By Rev. Ben Gonzales
Area B Mission Strategist | District Discipleship Development