The Secret Place

The greatest thing that anyone can ever accomplish in this life is to be before the King, and to be known by Him. I have already achieved great things in the eyes of man, and it is all worthless compared to being before Him. We find peace and rest in the presence of the Lord. All of the busyness, cares, worries, stresses, and concerns fade away when His presence comes. Being in the Lord’s presence feels like you just entered into Heaven. It’s in this secret place that you come to truly know the Lord. Just as you get to know another person by being with them. The same is true with the Lord.

Other things such as careers, entertainment, sports, money, houses, and people can become idols that distract us from Jesus. Even the calling to ministry can become an idol if we allow it. But the Lord is extremely merciful to judge our idols and remove everything that hinders love. Ministry can never compare to the beauty of the Lord in the secret place. Nothing compares to Him. 

Purifying Heart Motives

The pride of life has found its way into the church. Some want to make a name for themselves, in order to be known and recognized. We can take pride in who we know, where we have been to ministry school, who we are connected to, who knows us, who sees us, and how accepted we are by the church or leadership. Some want the praise of men more than the praise of God. Some believers would rather spend time with a "big name" leader than with the Lord. This is a great deception. 

We must all understand that being before the Lord in His presence, is greater than being before any other man. There actually is no comparison. Yet some value the recognition of man more than the recognition of the Lord. Shouldn't the Lord seeing us in the secret place be enough? Why do we need man to see us? Our hearts need to be purified, and the pride of life needs to be removed. This can only happen by carrying our crosses, and in the secret place of His presence. Generally it takes years for this purification process to take full effect.

Being before the Lord is greater than being before any president, actor, or church leader. I saw this so clearly once when I was deep in His presence. I cannot effectively put the experience into words but I will try. I was in the Spirit, lost in the Lord's manifest presence. I felt as if I was one with Him. I understood His greatness by revelation. The majesty of the great King. I saw how no one compared to Him. I was shown how people on the earth knowing me was complete rubbish compared to Him knowing me. Then I understood with clarity that He knew me, because I had been coming before Him on a continual basis. He saw me. And when He saw me, it was all that mattered. For the great King to know me and see me. To have access to the God of everything. Nothing compares. No one compares. I saw so clearly that the greatest thing that anyone could ever accomplish in this life, was to be before the great King. To know Him and be known by Him. This is total fulfillment. 

In this life so many people are striving to be somebody, and to accomplish something and be a success. People are striving for significance. Many believers are striving for ministry, for leadership, or to be accepted in the church. But all of this leads to more emptiness. The secret place, being alone with Christ, is the fulfillment of every need and desire. 

The Secret Place

“You are my hiding place; You, Lord, protect me from trouble; You surround me with songs and shouts of deliverance. Selah.” (Psalms‬ ‭32:7‬ ‭AMP‬‬)

The Hebrew word used in this verse for “hiding place” also translates “secret place.” The secret place is not simply a place that you go to be alone with the Lord in private. The secret place is the Godhead. He is that and He wants to become that to us. The secret place lives inside of us, and He has given us access to Him:

“Therefore, believers, since we have confidence and full freedom to enter the Holy Place [the place where God dwells] by [means of] the blood of Jesus, by this new and living way which He initiated and opened for us through the veil [as in the Holy of Holies], that is, through His flesh,” (Hebrews‬ ‭10:19-20‬ ‭AMP‬‬)

We have access to the Holy of Holies through Christ’s flesh that was torn. It was torn for us so that the veil between us and the Father would be done away with. When Adam and Eve sinned, they hid themselves from the Lord’s physical manifested presence (Genesis 3:8). Then the Lord sent them away from the garden (the secret place) where He had chosen for His presence to manifest (Genesis 3:23). For the born-again believer, the secret place is within. Because of Christ’s sacrifice, we can go within the veil that once separated us from the manifest presence of God.

The Presence of God

My journey into the secret place started in 2008. I read through the Bible for the first time. I begin spending more time in prayer and study. In 2009, I heard a few people talk about waiting on God. I tried this a hand full of times with negative results. I couldn't get past my own thoughts and I never felt the Lord's presence. Then in September of 2009, breakthrough came. I went to some meetings in South Dakota that changed me forever. The minister prayed and the manifest presence of the Lord filled the room (by manifest presence, I mean you actually feel the Lord's presence in your physical body). The presence of the Lord feels like Heaven is inside of you; because it is. Jesus said that "the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21). This encounter with the presence of God put a hunger in me that has only intensified over the years. After that meeting, I set my heart to wait on the Lord until I became a carrier of the Lord's presence.

I began by waiting on the Lord for 2-3 hours a day. In those early days I would listen to worship music, while today I don’t. The practice of waiting on God was added to my preexisting lifestyle of fasting, prayer, study, and meditating on the scriptures. After about three weeks of waiting on the Lord, His presence started to come. It was not strong, but it was there. Up until this point in my life, I had mainly only felt His presence in a corporate setting (public worship).

For just over a year His presence was with me, but at a lower level. Towards the end of 2010, the Lord removed His presence from me. I went through a year and a half season of stripping. It is complete misery to have had His presence in the secret place, and then have it leave. During that year and a half period I continued to wait on the Lord even though I was not feeling His presence most of the time. After my season of stripping, the presence of the Lord returned in the spring of 2012. By the time 2013 came along, His presence had increased in my life to another level. It kept increasing on into 2014. Now in 2015, I am walking in the highest level of His presence that I have ever walked in. Probably five days a week and for the majority of each day. It is beautiful.

I am not talking about my experience with the Lord to draw attention to myself or talk about how great I am. I am telling of my experience so others will get hungry for Him, and enter into His presence for themselves. My intent is to lead people to Him. The presence of the Lord is available to every believer. Being in His presence is simply being in close proximity to Him. So close that you sense or feel Him. If the Lord has given His presence to me, He will give it to you. I am nothing special and the Lord is no respecter of persons. The conditions to walking in the manifest presence of God is spending time with Him, and obeying Him.

To him who has time (with the Lord), more will be given. To him who does not have time (with the Lord), even what he does have will be taken from him. Spend the time that you do have meditating on the scriptures and waiting on God, and He will give you more. There is no formula for entering into the presence of the Lord in the secret place. It's based on relationship and your pursuit of Him. I’m simply giving testimony of what worked for me. It may be that the Lord is leading you in the same direction, and that is why you are reading this writing.

There are some Christians who might say, "It's not about feeling. It's about faith, and it is enough to know that He is always with you." This statement and statements similar to it, are formed out of ignorance. If people only knew the level of intimacy that comes with feeling the presence of the Lord, they would never say such things. Could you imagine getting married to someone, and then telling them you never need to feel their physical presence. "You don't need to hug me, or kiss me, or ever make love to me. Just knowing that you are in the room with me is enough." What kind of marriage would that be? A lifeless marriage without intimacy. But how many Christians have a dull and dry relationship with the Lord? And why? Because they have never physically touched Him or felt His presence. Many Christians in America lack intimacy with the Lord.

Waiting on God

The silent prayer of the heart is something that much of the church has lost. We live in a busy and distracting world. In our society it is difficult to secret yourself away with the Lord. However, if you want to go deep into intimacy with Him, it must be done. He will only release His presence to those who value Him enough to spend time with Him. Any believer who has been baptized in the Holy Spirit can feel the Lord's presence during corporate worship. Only those who pursue Him in the secret place will know the Lord's manifest presence in their daily lives. If you would like a Biblical reference of 'waiting on God,' please refer to Psalms 25:5, 59:9, and 62:5.

In my early days of pursing the Lord, I would have to meditate on the scriptures or wait upon Him for His presence to come. Now, since we have progressed in our relationship, His presence will just start filling me "all of a sudden." But that does not mean that I neglect meditating on the scriptures and waiting on God. I know that as I continue to press into the Lord, His presence will increase. I want to walk in a much greater level of His presence in the future. I must have more of Him.

Waiting on God can be challenging when you are just beginning. The goal is to quiet your mind and sit in silence before Him. Wait on Him until His presence fills you. Then stay in a place of communion for as long as possible. Going deeper and deeper until you are lost in Him. This process can not be easy explained. It is best learned from the Holy Spirit through experience.

Waiting of the Lord will require discipline and determination. After years of waiting on God I felt I had not made much progress. There is always the temptation to give up. Your progress must be measured in years or decades rather than months. As I look back on my journey, I can see that I have come a long way. Of course, as I look forward, I can see that I am so far from where I should be. I am honesty still walking with the Lord at a lower level. Poverty of spirit will keep you humble. But I long to walk with the Lord as Enoch did.

Waiting in the manifest presence of God with a focus on Jesus, will change us into His image. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord (II Corinthians 3:18 NKJV). As we wait in His presence, we are transfigured from one degree of glory to another degree of glory. Meaning, each time we behold His glory, we become a bit more like Him. We take on a bit more or His nature and image.

Walking with the Lord

The presence of Jesus is addicting. If I go a few days without walking in the presence of the Lord, then I am not alright. I miss Him and long to secret myself away with Him. The presence of the Lord will ruin you for everything else. Everything in the world feels so dull when you are not in His presence. Anymore, I do not enjoy life when I am not in His presence. This is part of the price you will pay if you walk in the presence of the Lord. I understand why Abraham was looking for a city that had foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Abraham yearned for the New Jerusalem in Heaven where the presence of God never fades.

Our purpose is to walk with the Lord in His manifest presence and to know Him. The Lord created man because He desired intimacy with man. Only when His presence is restored to us, will we have intimacy as Adam and Eve did. The goal in the church cannot be salvation. God did not create us for salvation. He created us for intimacy. Salvation is a necessary first step, but when all the focus of the church goes toward salvation we fall into Satan's trap. If Satan can deceive leaders and Christians into believing the goal is salvation, then he has won to a degree. The goal is Heaven inside of us before we get to Heaven. We have God living inside of us, and we must give Him possession. We should be experiencing what Jesus experienced when He walked on the earth (John 3:13).

Enoch found what Adam had lost. The secret place and the presence of God. Something happened when Enoch had his first child at age 65. He found his way back into the garden (the place of intimate communion with the Lord). I have pondered Enoch's walk with God. Most likely, over the years, the presence of God increased in Enoch's life. The Lord started to show Enoch things in Heaven as they entered into a friendship relationship. As time went by, Enoch would secret himself away with the the Lord for Longer and longer. At first he went into the secret place three days a week. Then five days a week. Later Enoch would spend almost a whole month in communion with the Lord. Enoch entered in to a bridal relationship with the Lord. The two were made one. After a while of this the Lord could not stand to be away from Enoch for even one day, so "God took him."

Experiences

While waiting on the Lord, I had an experience in which I was completely lost in Christ. I felt nothing but His thick presence. All I could do is weep, because I knew that this encounter would not last and I wanted it to last forever. I wanted the Lord to just keep my spirit in Heaven. The very thought going back and dealing with daily life made me sick. I wept because I could not stand to leave that place of intimacy. I was surrounded by His glory.

Another time while waiting on the Lord I felt like I was before His throne. Then His fire burned through me. All I could do was yell. I cannot put the intensity into words. He burned me with His holiness and the fear of the Lord was infused into my spirit.

I have told of a few of my encounters to impart spiritual hunger to others. The Lord will visit anyone who pursues Him and does not give up. He is no respecter of persons. The Lord clearly told me one time that I am to help bring people before Him in the secret place. He wants His children to come before Him in His presence. When He told me this it was a command, and I felt a serious tone in His voice. The Lord is jealous for His people and wants a passionate relationship with them.

The Secret Place

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalms 91:1 NKJV)

The greatest thing you can ever accomplish in this life is to sit before the great King. The search for significance ends when you have the total affection of the only One who is significant. He longs for us to come and be with Him. He truly desires it more than we do. And thus here is the call to the secret place... 

- Ty Unruh (2015)