God’s “Secret Place”

We rarely change when we see the light. We change when we feel the heat.

PRAYER - "Pray Like A Dying Man"

People pray differently when they think they are dying. Our prayers are often too light-hearted; our intercessions fail to manifest urgency. But when we think we are dying, that changes. In the 1600s, a preacher named Richard Baxter was transformed by a series of grave illnesses. "As a dying man, my soul was the more brought to seriousness, and to preach as a dying man to dying men."

Psalms 88:2-3 - "Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry; For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave."

PRINCIPALS - "The Days Of Our Years Are Threescore-And-Ten"

Moses was 120 when he died. But in Moses' prayer (Psalm 90), the old prophet magnified God for being "our dwelling place in all generations. ...from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." As God is timeless, things on earth are increasingly short-lived - especially man. "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away."

Psalms 90:12 - "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

PRINCIPLES - "God's Angels Will Bear You Up"

What is it like in God's "secret place"? His shadow and "wings" cover you. He is your refuge and fortress. He delivers you from snares and pestilence. His shield protects you. Night terrors and flying arrows do not frighten you. When the LORD is your habitation, destruction comes to others, but "there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling."

Psalms 91:11 - "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone."

PROPHECIES - "God's Covenant With David"

God promised David, "Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations." Messiah will soon come and revive the throne of David. "His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. ...If his children forsake my law, ...Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, ...Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him." 

Psalms 89:34-36 - "My covenant will I not break, ...I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me."

• Gird yourself with truth, and you’re on guard from the word “go.”

• If we listen to God's voice, we'll only hear truths that cannot be twisted.

• The real test will come when the ideals and philosophies of our culture swing in the opposite direction, and yet we choose to stand strong and firm on the unchanging standard of God.

• Cut off your prayer life and the battle is lost.

• Prayer is to our spirit what air is to our bodies.

• Maintain the urgency of your daily prayer habit. To keep this at the forefront of your mind and schedule!

• God whispers to us in our pleasure, but he shouts to us in our pain.

• We rarely change when we see the light. We change when we feel the heat.

• You can’t control the pain you go through, but you can decide whether it’s going to make you bitter or better. You decide whether it’s going to be a stepping stone or a stumbling block. You have to remember that even in your pain, God is working for your good.