According to the Bible, there are different types of prayer. I want to speak about two of them: prayer in the prayer closet and prayer in the secret place of the Most High.
PRAYER IN THE PRAYER CLOSET
The prayer of the godly in their prayer closet is described in Matthew 6:6, “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.” People open their heart before the Lord of lords in their prayer closet. They cry out to God, bringing before Him different things that trouble them. Sometimes it is about relationships or offense; other times it is about everyday issues or finances; and in some cases, it can even be a matter of life and death. They pour out their sorrow before the Lord, waiting for help, and sometimes even suggest God how to act on their behalf.
Even in the prayer closet, it is difficult for people to break away from earthly things, because their cries come from their needs. This is natural, and this corresponds to the Word of God, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (Jn. 14:14). And the Lord responds to their needs not out of pity, but when He hears a prayer of faith. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6).
PRAYER OF THE ONE WHO DWELLS IN THE SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH
I want to speak in more detail about the second type of prayer that can be called Prayer of the one who dwells in the secret place of the Most High. This prayer in the secret place of the Lord is composed of humbling oneself and silence. A person breaks away from earthly things, enters into the heavenly realm and waits in silence for a word from the Lord. In this case, you have not come to tell Him about your cares, but to know what the Lord has to say and what is the desire of His heart.
Jesus lived this way. Prophet Isaiah says about Him, “His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears” (Is. 11:3). Jesus Himself confirms this, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner” (Jn. 5:19). Saying this is one thing; living this out is quite another thing.
Moses used to encounter the Lord and speak to Him face to face, “…My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face…” (Num. 12:7-8). However, there was an instance when he received a word from the Lord, but when he went out to the people, he acted according to his flesh. God told him to speak to the rock and it would give water, but he struck it with a rod, as he had done before. Because of this, he did not reveal the glory of the Lord and did not enter the Land of Canaan. “Because you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin… yet you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there…” (Deut. 32:51-52).
Each person must consider with utter reverence the opportunity to receive a word from the Lord and the requirement of fulfilling it accurately. “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments…” (Deut. 28:1). If a person does this, they will be blessed; if not, they will have to face the judgment of God. “With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd” (Ps. 18:26).
Jesus was totally focused on seeing what was in God’s heart and doing it. He was not ashamed before people; He was not pleasing people; at the same time, He loved people and never mocked or dishonored them. He spoke the things He received from the Father, and the Father confirmed with His actions that each word and deed of Jesus was from Him. The priests were terrified; they tried to discredit Jesus and make His actions look contrary to God’s will. Envy and limited mentality did not allow them to understand, that, for example, it was possible to do good works on Sabbath, that God was the Lord of Sabbath, and that Jesus acted in obedience to the will of the Lord. “‘For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath’… There was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’ Then He said to them, ‘What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.’ Then He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other” (Mt. 12:8-13).
People must follow through their words and actions, which they spoke and did in the name of the Lord. If they ever see any contradiction between their own words or deeds and the actual reality, they must stop right then and never try to justify themselves, but humble themselves before the Lord and receive guidance from Him. Most probably, they were mistaken, by having ascribed their own thoughts and actions to the work of the Holy Spirit. Maybe they even heard it correctly from Him, but interpreted it in a fleshy way and faced a contradiction. When the Lord speaks, the word that comes out of His mouth always come true, regardless of circumstances. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Mt. 24:35).
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH
In the secret place of the Most High, people do not remember the storms of their lives, but enjoy the holiness, goodness and love of the Lord. They see the Lord anew, the way they never thought about Him. That is why angels sing in the eternity, “Holy, holy, holy…” (Is. 6:3), and their worship never stops, because they are constantly seeing Him anew.
In the presence of the Lord, people receive assignments to carry out on this earth, and if they do it completely in accordance to what the Lord says, they see in their lives what the Psalmist describes:
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.’ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.” (Ps. 91:1-13).
Jesus was persecuted and mocked, and they tried to discredit Him… however, indifferent to it all, He was focused on doing what the Lord commanded Him. Jesus did not justify Himself and did not waste time to prove the validity of His actions. He knew that at that moment, people would not believe Him, but a day would come, when they, willing or not, would see that all His actions were from God.
Jesus used to begin a dialogue with people. Once a woman who was caught in adultery was brought to her, and they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” (Jn. 8:4-5). Jesus did not rebuke those who wanted to stone her by saying, “Stop! Look at yourselves! How dare you to stone her!” He replied to their stern question with a suggestion, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” When they heard it, they were convicted by their conscience and left one by one. The one who dwells in the secret place of the Lord can stop the enraged crowd that way.
The one who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, and is not just a visitor, enjoys complete protection. The visitor receives assignments in the presence of the Lord, but then returns home and lives like the world, while the one who dwells in the secret place of the Most High always experiences the presence of the Lord, and holy fear does not allow them to walk out of the will of the Lord. Under the shelter of the Almighty, there is no place for problems and needs; only the Lord in His majesty and man are there.
When a person dwells in the secret place of the Most High, the Lord Himself fights for them. The Lord justifies them and gives them victory, as those who pursue them cannot reach the secret place of the Most High; they stumble and fall. They took Jesus to a hill to throw Him down from it, but the Father saved Him, “And [they] rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way” (Lk. 4:29-30).
Jesus came with a divine purpose that would affect the whole mankind, and according to the will of the Father, His work was to be done in Jerusalem and throughout the territory of Israel of those days. “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt. 15:24). No treacherous action and no plot could move Jesus from His calling and from the region that was already decided by the Father for His ministry. He lived, served and worshipped the Father in the land He was placed and in the calling He was given according to the will of the Lord. “I am God, and there is no other… Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure’… Indeed, I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it” (Is. 46:9-11).
The calling of a person is given for a specific church and geographical location. No man can dictate the One Who called them in which church and country they want to fulfill it. And no one can justify themselves by saying that others did not allow them to enter into their calling, that they were envied, received a stab in the back or were slandered. Unfortunately, such things do happen, but to be protected from them and to manifest God’s glory, we need to always dwell in the secret place of the Most High.
Jesus overcame, and through Him, every person that trusts Him can overcome. “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation” (Ps. 91:14-16).