Tools for The Secret Place
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. Matthew 6:6
Here are some tools to use as you pray. There are more than these, of course, and the only necessity is a Bible. This will explain how some of these tools might be used in your daily time with the Lord.
A Place
When we meet the Lord each day, the first thing we need is a place. The scripture alludes to a private room, which is ideal but not always practical. Finding a consistent place that you meet with the Lord is the important thing. A consistent place is a reminder of why you are there each day, a place to keep your supplies for your quiet time, and creates a habit. If you do not have a space that is private, use a bathroom, your car, a closet, an outdoor space, or go to a private space each day. Even if it is not an ideal place right now, God sees your heart and will meet you wherever you make the time for Him.
A Time
Schedule your prayer time. It’s proven that the things we schedule for & around get accomplished at a much greater consistency. Don’t let life’s schedule rule over you, be the ruler of your schedule. Set an alarm and make the appointment with the Lord the most important appointment on you schedule each day. An hour with the Lord is ideal to start your day, but if certain days you have less time, plan on more time when you are off work or on more flexible days. As you begin to reap the rewards of your time with the Lord, it will become easier to prioritize it.
The Scriptures
The Word of God is our primary source of His voice and leadership for our lives. You may have a digital Bible, to read multiple translations for clarity, or a few different translations of paper Bibles in your home. We read the Word of God to learn the ways of God, to know Him and His personality and plans. We don’t read the Word, primarily, for knowledge, but to grow in our relationship with God. The scriptures are alive. They are speaking every time we open them. They are applicable today and forever. They will evolve as your revelation of the Lord grows. They are life-giving and life-changing! We want to “eat the scroll” (Ez. 3:1, Jer. 15:16, Rev. 10:9). We take it in, digest it, acquire a taste for it’s depth, and we begin to crave it! If you do not naturally enjoy reading, begin to thank God for giving you a hunger for His Word, a desire to read beyond what you have prior.
A Journal(s)
Writing things down is biblical and common sense. We remember better when we write it down. Write down and record the dates of anything you believe is from God - scripture He highlights to you, dreams, encounters with people during your day, answers to prayer, things Holy Spirit whispers to you throughout the day and night, quotes from others…. As humans, we will forget these things no matter how significant they are to us in the moment. God is writing a story in our lives, and we want to be able to connect the dots, decade after decade. We will need to know the promises He gave us when times get tough. We will want to remind ourselves of His hand in our lives when we are in a hard season. It is our personal testimony of the goodness of God in our generation!
You may want multiple journals. If you love to organize, you might enjoy ‘promises from God’, ‘answered prayers’, ‘dreams’….and other categories. A digital journal on your phone or computer is the easiest way to harvest a previous journal entry. You can search a word, a date, a name, a scripture from your entire journal, and it will pull up your entries for you. Written journals are fine also, they just take much more effort to go back and find specific things when you need them. Either format you choose is better than not recording God’s personal work in your life.
Some days the Lord may just want you to listen and record what He is saying to you in that moment. Listening prayer is a powerful tool that we must learn and practice.
A Prayer List
Jesus is interceding right now (Rm. 8:34, John 2:1, Heb. 7:25). We want to make intercession, praying for others, a routine part of our lives. Start small with a prayer list of situations going on around you in your family, workplace, community, and church. Ask The Lord for a scripture that pertains to the situation and pray that scripture. His Word, declared over our circumstances, changes outcomes. Build on our list as the Lord leads, add and remove items from your list, add daily declarations to your list, and ask God what He wants YOU to be praying for.
Worship Music
Worship music is a tool to use in our time with the Lord that focuses our minds and hearts on what is important - Him! Choose songs that glorify, praise, and thank our God for who He is. Music moves our emotions and unlocks us when we are stuck and don’t know what to say, discouraged, feeling defeated, or overwhelmed with the day. Praise and thanksgiving are how we come into His presence each day (Ps. 100:4-5). God is worthy of our private worship, and it gives our hearts confidence of His greatness!
Communion
Jesus encouraged His disciples to take the bread and wine often and remember Him as we partake (Lk. 22:19-20, Matt. 26: 26-28, 1 Cor. 11:23-25). Beginning the day with the power and victory of the cross is a good thing! The work of the cross is our victory for the day. Victory over sickness, sorry, anxiety, finances, relationships, and sin. Reminding ourselves that the cross is the very reason we can enter into our prayer time with the Lord is something we must never forget. Jesus paid the price for our personal relationship with Him and our Heavenly Father.
Having all of these tools in your secret place facilitates your time with the Lord. The next post will give you ideas how to use these tools to have a fruitful time with Jesus each day.
