My Secret Place

 

 

Matthew 11:28-30 ~”Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

 

When I need to get so close to God that I can hear His voice in my spirit, I go to my secret place. It is a place where the Father draws me in to His Grace and we talk like Dad to daughter.  I shut everything else around me out.  I begin to think about how many ways He loved me today.  His gentle way hits me like the feeling of sprinkling rain tingling my skin.  I am in His Presence.  In the quiet moments between the bubbling sounds of my tongues, I can hear Him.  When He begins to speak to me, God’s words fall into my heart covered in love and light.   Even when he corrects me, He does it with love.   The peace I feel is better than the best sleep I could ever have.

Sometimes I cry, laugh, sing, shout, or just be still in His amazing presence. 

 

In the secret place, God is waiting for you.  To show you great and mighty things you have never known or seen.  You can go to the secret place any time. 

 

Do you have one?  Your Secret place with God is where you build the precious relationship that brings you into the destiny He created you for since before you were born. 

 

How do you find that special place meant for you to soak in God’s presence?

 

For me there are three ways that I enter my secret place with God.  When I am hurting, need God’s guidance, or just long to be close to Him, I enter into the throne room of God.  I run to His throne and leap into His arms, resting my head on His shoulder and as I sit on His lap I tell Him (daughter to Father) what is weighing heavy on my heart.  Sometimes I make God laugh at my silliness.   Then, there are times when He cries with me and holds every tear.  My Dad, the Father tells me how He loves me and how beautiful I am.  God always fills me overflowing.  He pours out more than I expect every time.

 

Matthew 5:6 ~Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

 

When I want to worship and honor God, I enter into the throne room as well.  I move past other worshipers, dancers, and singers marveling at their awesome praise.  I bow before Him at the throne.  I want to be a sacrifice, an offering.  I take the finest perfume and anoint the Father as I pour it onto the tops of His feet.  I praise Him.  Singing songs out of my spirit, I tell God how I love Him.  Oh, How I love Him.  He is my God.  He is the one that I will choose no matter what.  No matter what the cost.  I will choose Him.  For in the moments of this complete closeness with God I realize that we are temporary agents on earth.  There is so much more to God than what we see in the natural.  Suddenly, I become more aware of the supernatural and wonder of all that He is.  I want to stay in His presence forever.

 

At times when I am in a battle and need to fight the enemy, I find myself walking hand in hand with God. Together we speak scripture and work as a team.  It is at these times that I can be in intercession crying out for someone’s salvation or healing.  When we are walking hand in hand by the River Of God, we are going deep into His presence as I seek His guidance.  He will say to me, “Get in the river, Hanah.”  God will, in my mind show me a situation or show me someone that needs prayer.  He encourages me by showing me the victory in each circumstance by an increase of faith in my spirit, a picture in my mind, or he will remind me of a scripture. 

 

Recently I attended an evening prayer and worship time at church.  I closed my eyes and just got lost in God.  I had been struggling with what direction God wanted me to go in a new business I started.  As I worshiped the Lord, He began to show me something.  I was on a light colored horse, riding bareback and holding tightly on to its mane.  The horse is guiding me through a thick forest.  The weather is cool in the forest as all the trees are hiding the warm sunlight.  I notice other people struggling through the woods as well.  Only they do not have a horse to help guide them through.  I have my head tucked down close to the horse’s neck as I do not want to get hit with any branches.  Suddenly, I see a clearing coming into view ahead.  I start to relax a little as I know that I should soon make it to the clearing.  The clearing becomes closer and I squint my eyes because the sun is bright.  We break through into the clearing.  I feel elated and strong, thankful.  The warmth of the sun is wonderful.  My thoughts turned quickly to the people still struggling in the woods.  They needed help to get out.  They needed to make it to the clearing and feel a breakthrough.  See, God was my horse guiding me through the thick forest.  Showing me that, with His mercy and grace, I can make it.  That He will help through tough times, when I need some direction, or when I need His strength to make it until the breakthrough comes.  It is in a testimony of a breakthrough that He can encourage others to look to Him for their answers, needs, or victory in trials. The Father will help you make it through life’s toughest challenges.  In your secret place with God, you could be in for a breakthrough!

 

God loves to work together with us.  He enjoys co-laboring with us as a team for His divine plan.  In this secret place with God, He will show me things that need to be exposed in my life and cast off.  His way is so loving I desire to become better and please my heavenly Father.  He is my friend and mentor guiding me in the right direction and in the best way for me to go.

 

Matthew 7:7 ~Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

 

Many times when we are together in the secret place, God will take me other places.  He will show me pictures in my mind that are encouraging and lead to revelation or answers I need in my life.  These picture images are moving and deposit the gift of faith in my life.  For hours or a few days after this type of experience, I will feel a new fire for God in my belly, lifting me to a new place in Him.  Every little picture movie God shows me I meditate on.  Going to His Word to make sure, it lines up in scripture.  God is so amazing that He will even at times give me a song or scripture that goes with the picture image He gave me. 

 

Psalm 40:3 ~He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.

 

Everyone is different.  God has a secret place just meant for you and Him.  Some individuals go into a prayer closet or quiet room to enter in to God’s presence.  There is a room in my house that I often go to for time with God.  Your secret place with God you can find anywhere just by closing your eyes and talking to Him.  Speaking in tongues in your secret place with God is another way that He will give you ideas or bring something to your attention.  Worship and praise to God are so important in leading us into His presence.

 

Take the God possible challenge today.  Seek God’s face.  Go to your secret place with Him. 

 

Maybe your secret place is sitting next to God on a riverbank.  Two friends, sitting in the grass on the riverbank with the warmth of the sun shining on your cheeks as you seek God’s wisdom.  God has awesome blessings for us as we enter into our secret place.  He could take us on a vision, give us a song, ideas, or even reveal more of Himself to us.  Who knows, you may just have a life-changing encounter with God.   He may just show up right before your very eyes.  That would be incredible!  God is a lot cooler than I ever realized growing up.  He is fun!  He even has a sense of humor. 

 

James 1:5 ~If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

 

If you do not have a secret place or struggle getting into God’s presence do not get discouraged.  Find a quiet spot.  Tell God you want to spend time with Him.  You want to get to know Him better and see His power in your life and the lives of others.  Ask Him to take you into His presence.  To cleanse your life of anything that does not please Him.  Close your eyes and go with what He puts in your mind.  Sing out to Him with your Spirit.  Let God take you away with Him and draw you close to Him.  He never disappoints. 

 

Let your adventure with God begin! 

 

 

God, I come to you right now.  I honor you God and all that you are doing in our lives.  Show us new things God as we draw close to you and enter in to your presence.  We love you and praise you.  Give us a special secret place where we go God, to get as close to you as we can.  We thank you Lord for being able to experience your presence and in your love for us, you always surprise us with blessings.  We love you!  In your mighty name, Amen. 

God is… Out of the Box!

The atmosphere around us is changing. A Religious spirit is not our friend. Haven’t you heard people say that the only limitations we have in life are limits we place on ourselves? Many times I have agreed with that. It has brought me to a clear revelation in the last three years that many churches have for so long placed God in a box. In placing God in a box we have judged others and placed them and their God given gifts in a box as well. I would have to say that the only limits we have with God are the ones we place on Him.

Mark 11:22-24 ~ And Jesus, replying, said to them, have faith in God constantly. Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, be lifted up and thrown into the sea! And does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place; it will be done for him. For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that it is granted to you and you will get it.

Jeremiah 31:3 ~ …Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you and continued my faithfulness to you.

Out of the Box with love!

Gods love is pouring out on the earth in ways people have never experienced before. Is it because God is pouring out more love? No, it’s because true believers of having a relationship with God are seeing past people’s imperfections and looking at them with grace and love. The effect is literally life transforming. It is contagious! When you love someone looking beyond what you think are there faults, you can open your heart to see them as God sees them. Everyone is created different. God knew us before we were born and he sees us for all we are in His Kingdom. The Kingdom is now. With such a burning desire in the people of God growing, those living with a “Heaven on Earth” mentality are literally finding themselves in the Glory of God. This is such a powerful time. How incredible is it that you could be walking down the street talking to God and be so in his presence that next thing you know you are in heaven walking down the streets of gold! God could be right next to you as you are talking to him face to face. Watch out! You could just slip into Heaven. How cool would that be?

1 John 3:1 ~ See what an incredible love the Father has given us that we should be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are!

Out of the Box with religious thinking!

Loving someone the same way God loves them breaks off strongholds of the enemy. People are set free in God’s love. I have seen many occasions where people have made rules and set up religious guidelines for others. That has always boggled my mind. I have even fallen prey in some instances to believing some of these manmade ideas and rules. Only to ask myself later, “how does that fit into God’s Word and message of love”?

At one point in my life, when I was working in the church, I saw the world one way. There was much discussion going on with some leaders who felt that if you had been divorced or had a child out of wedlock that you could not teach a Sunday school class or be involved in any type of ministry within the church. You could attend church and be ministered to, but to work in any type of leadership capacity, absolutely not. Could that possibly be God’s vision? I don’t believe so. If there is a believer in our midst with an obvious life changing testimony, then they have the ability to bear fruit. That person could be walking in God’s presence and God could be using them and moving through them. Who are we to limit them or deny that vessel of the Holy Spirit by quieting their excitement and passion to share the message of the gospel. Do we really have the right or authority to say, “I’m sorry but you must really prove yourself first and wait until God is ready to place you in a place of ministering to others?” Wow. Talk about keeping God in a box. I say we give them a shot and see what the Holy Spirit does through them. This is just one example of how putting God in a box can be limiting. We should rejoice in the gifts that God gives others. When people share their gifts it is a blessing. I have a good friend who has lived with a “God out of the box” mentality his entire life. The world would view this person as a tattooed, rough around the edges kind of guy. Instead he is an awesome worship leader. When he worships and plays his guitar the presence of God immediately shows up and peoples’ hearts are healed and transformed. It’s Incredible! With religious eyes this person might not be given a chance. Thank goodness that the love of God expressed through others saw the anointing and God given gift for worship.

Philippians 2:14-16 ~ Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you offer the Word of Life, so that in the day of Christ that I did not labor for nothing.

James 3:9-12 ~ with the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Out of the Box with how we see others!

Opening our eyes to God possibilities brings us into life changing revelation. Say for example you see a young person. Some people might see them as a troubled kid who needs a good talking to. How does God see them? Let’s take another look. What if we pray for them instead of complaining about them? Let’s ask God how he sees them. Everyone is God possible. In the Kingdom of God he is no respecter of persons. What makes a troubled kid any different? As we pray for them, let’s begin to speak God positives into their life. For every negative aspect we see in the natural. Don’t speak it. Speak the God positive into their life instead. Every time we see them why don’t we try reaching out and loving them. No matter what, God’s love sets people free. A little of the love of God goes a long way. Take a look at them again, now what do you see? With the eyes of the Father, what do you see? A changed youth, on fire for God. We see a young person praying for teachers, other students, and friends. A youth that believes in the power of God and prays for the friend in the hospital from a drug overdose that needs God’s love and freedom. You see the difference? Now we’re taking God out of the box. It’s not about what’s wrong with others, or what’s wrong with our lives. It’s about understanding how God sees us and all the blessings he has for us. Life can be so much different when we wear our supernatural eyes. Look into the eyes of love. You will find God reaching out to you telling you the plans he has for you. You will find God telling you how much he cherishes you and loves you.

In seeing others with God’s eyes you can believe for their salvation. You can pray for people with passion and watch God transform their life. In youth ministry I have always encouraged youth to take the God possible challenge. Take someone who is not saved. Pick a few of God’s promises that will personally impact that persons life. Find a note card and write on the card a prayer incorporating the promises and God positives for the person. Let that prayer speak life words and the opposite of what is seen in the natural. Call forth the persons salvation and believe for it. As you pray for the person, picture them changed. Invite the Holy Spirit to show you other good things to pray about on their behalf. You will be surprised at how life changing this can be. Pray the prayer on the note card every chance you get. I have seen a person get saved in two months using this method, and I have seen a person receive salvation in a week. On at least two occasions I have even had someone show up on my doorstep.

2 Corinthians 6:2 ~ For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.”


2 Corinthians 4:17 & 18 ~ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

God opened Lydia’s heart, the seller of purple cloth. God can open people’s hearts and we have the authority in him to ask for it. Acts 16:14-15

This can also work when you are dealing with a difficult circumstance, a person or situation at work, or even a tough family situation. Make a note card and start praying the opposite, speaking life changing God positives and watch how things change. You will speak it first, then you will begin to picture it and the God positive will start to come alive in your spirit. You will believe! Then you will walk prophetically in the opposite of the natural and the miracle and change will take place.

Out of the Box everyday!

Every day instead of problems and negative thinking we have the opportunity to take God out of the box. While so many are complaining about gas prices let’s not limit God. Let’s think outside of the box. Let’s start believing for an end to the oil crisis. Let’s believe for God to turn our nation and economy around. In fact let’s believe in our everyday situations for God to begin to turn them around. He is the God of the breakthrough! Don’t talk to me about recession. I will say “I don’t know what you are talking about”. My God is the God of victory. I speak change to the economy. I call forth jobs. I call forth increase. Can you feel the difference?

Marriage
How do you look at your spouse? Are there changes that need to take place? Life words are powerful. Pray the opposite and watch God improve the relationship or situation in your marriage.


Finances
Are finances tight? Start calling forth the increase. Fight back with the life changing Word of God. Instead of saying, “We have no money”, begin to thank God that you have so much you can bless others. Turn it around. Speak prosperity over your finances. If the situation is so hard that even trying to turn it around seems impossible, then find some promises in God’s Word about finances. Try for one week to say them in the morning and at night. Give God a chance. He will come through for you. Take God out of the box of poverty. God is not a God of poverty. He wants us to be successful and prosperous.

Health & Healing
Is your weight a struggle? God even cares about the little things including weight. He cares if we are sick. It is hard to believe that God can give people new body parts, but he does. Let’s take God out of the box and start believing him for the impossible. Let faith birth alive in your spirit and walk in God possibilities. If your weight is bothering you, step out in faith. Start proclaiming you are slim and have good eating habits. Give it a chance. Start proclaiming you love to exercise. Watch what can happen. Do you need a new gall bladder? Ask God for one. Call it forth and believe him for it.

Job
Do you need a better job? Take God out of the box and start walking in the God possibilities. God will give you a pay increase. He can promote you or provide you with a better job. Remember faith needs action. Proclaim it and then pursue opportunities. Watch what God can do for you. Is the commission job you have not providing anything for you? Don’t give up. God intends for you to succeed. Pursue God and his possibilities. Call forth commissions. Ask God for new ways to market. God tells us in Deuteronomy 8:18 we have the authority to produce wealth. God is not a liar. He says it, we believe it, and that settles it!

Car
Yep, even your car. I have heard many stories of God’s miracles and provision with vehicles. It can’t hurt anything. We have nothing to lose. God gives us authority. Speak to your car. Command it to work properly in the name of Jesus. Do you need a car? Start figuring out what vehicle will be best for you and your family. Call it forth. Take God out of the box.

Supernatural / Spiritual
I want to take God out of the box. Having a personal relationship with God has changed my life. I want to get to know him better. I want to see miracles. To heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead. Everything God has for his people I desire. I want to see all saved. God is out of the box. This is a time when an invasion of God’s presence is incredible. Let’s get to know him better. Let’s pursue him with passion. When we see someone with a broken arm, someone who’s lost a leg, or hurting, let’s offer to pray for them and open the door for miracles, healings, and salvation. God’s power is real. I encourage you to take the God possibility challenge in any area of your life where you might be limiting God (putting him in a box).

Watch and see what God can do without limits!