“But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for Himself. The Lord will hear when I call unto Him”.(Psalm 4:3)
“You can be sure of this:The Lord set apart the godly for himself.The Lord will answer when I call to him”.(NLT)
“...When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy father which is in secret, and thy father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” ( Matthew 6:6)
“But when you pray, go away by yourself, all alone, and shut the door behind you and pray to your Father secretly, and your Father, who knows your secrets,will reward you.” (TLB)
“But when you pray, go into your [most] private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.” (AMP)
Prayer is necessary both in secret and in the public places or congregational gathering. When you pray in the secret, you are applying and observing scriptural principle in your life. God’s secrets are made known to those who abide in their closets and His will are equally revealed to those who fear Him.
The Psalmist says; “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will shew them His covenant”(Psalm 25:14)
Again, He cried; “O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come” (Psalm 65:2)
God answers prayer that is prayed anywhere-in the closets, church, assembly, market-place, post office, open quarters etc. Again, because we are serving a prayer-answering God, you should pray in the secret to feel His presence personally, to receive His favor, protection and success in your life and business. At times, it may be a moment to lock the door for days or hours and talk to Him alone. God sees in secret and it is also at your secret that you can receive His victory and heavenly blessings before you appear in public. Any battle won in the closet can be celebrated outside. God’s will and power becomes clearer to you in the secret. Also. You can understand His voice well in the secret more than any other place. Remember, the key that opens the door of the problem of the world’s situation today can be received at the secret places of an available life.
When you are at the secret place praying to your Heavenly father, it is a place of absolute solitude. Nothing distracts and attention undivided. There, it is you and your God. So you are easily concentrated.
You can approach His throne with all humility and sincerity of heart in a total reverence to His holy name. You adore and cherish His Divine presence because the secret place is a place you can have Him nearer you as you diligently commune with Him.
His voice and message sounds clearer in the secret place!
At the secret place, you should not hurry to leave His presence. You should wait and take reply from Him. He may say “Yes,Not now or No” to certain requests, but what you shouldn't forget is that in your secret place, when you call in faith and humility, He answers and when He gives you back, you receive. So, it is always the place that will wake up your consciousness that He delights in you and what you ask from Him, you receive immediately as you recognize the power of His Divine presence.
The secret place can be your little apartment, office, bedroom,little corner in your dormitory etc. It is a place where you can be alone in the presence of the Lord. The Bible says that He is everywhere and He answers prayer.
Again, remember the words of the Psalmist;
“Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness
hideth not from thee;but the night shineth as the day. The darkness and the light are both alike to thee” (Psalm 139:7-12)
The scripture made us to understand that the presence of the Almighty God is everywhere. It is clear both in heavens, earth, ocean, sea, morning or night, darkness or light. All of them equally reveals His goodness and majesty. As it is in the secret place, is in the open. So you should always address Him as you are talking to Him in person.
Because God is with you always, He listens to every of your conversation, utterance and petition made to Him inside your closet. He knows your voice and this gives you the confidence for your victory in all situations.
Jesus is our perfect example!
He knew how to talk to His father in the secret during His earthly ministry. The Word of God said that He left us an example in all conditions.
“For even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2: 21)
Child of God, understanding what the Lord said to you in your secret prayer chamber and believing in what He can do gives you a great assurance of His strength and support for your life. Jesus tells us that when we pray in the secret, the Lord who sees beyond the realm of the physical shall reward us openly.
What a great word of assurance!
Mere words and vain repetitions are great hindrance to prayer offered in the secret place. This should be eschewed. The Lord is never pleased with them.
The wisest man who ever lived wrote; “Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth... (Ecclesiastes 5:2)
In your secret place, you should always monitor your words and utterance. You should allow the Spirit of the Lord to guide you on how to channel your prayers or how to pray aright and make your requests so that the Lord should be interested in what you are saying.
Prayer should be meaning to you and at the same time meaningful to God who is in heaven.
Finally, you should remember that the secret of prayer is praying secretly. So love to pray secretly and your answer is inevitable for the secret things of the Lord can be manifest and obtained in the secret place or abiding place.
