Most of us are living on the edge of a great secret.

God has been speaking to me about my prayer life. As a believer who has walked with the Lord for many years, taught the Bible and served in ministry, one might think I have achieved a certain level of closeness and deep understanding with the Lord. I certainly feel close and loved by Him, but He has been inviting me to something deeper, following the example of Jesus.

Jesus had just heard some terrible news. King Herod had ordered the beheading of John the Baptist. “When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place” (Matthew 14:13).

Faced with tragic, heartbreaking news, Jesus knew He needed to get away to be alone with His Father. But the crowds continued to follow Him by foot, so “He had compassion on them and healed their sick.” He took care of them, ordering His disciples to feed the people a miraculous meal that fed thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fish.

After Jesus had prayed for the people and fed them until they were satisfied, He finally did what He needed to do:

“Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowd. After He had dismissed them, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray.”

During His time of ministry, Jesus often went away to pray.

He needed to temporarily escape the press of the crowd and the multitude of needs. This is the secret of His life and strength! He had a “secret place” of daily intimacy with the Father.

Psalm 91:1 promises us that, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

Oh, to rest in the shadow of the Almighty! Think of yourself at a beach on a hot, sunny day. Sure, it’s great to be out there basking in the warmth of the sun—until it gets scorching hot. So you run to your shady spot, under an umbrella, and feel the relief and comfort of being sheltered from the heat.

God wants to do that for us in the “shadow of the Almighty,” that secret place of prayer where we can find comfort, peace and get recharged for what’s next.

The disciples recognized that.

They saw Jesus retreat, then come back strengthened and refreshed in a powerful way. They knew something happened to Him when He stole away, so they asked Him to teach them to pray (see Luke 11)!

They wanted what He experienced in the secret place of prayer. I want that too, and I’ve been hearing God tell me that there’s more to prayer than what I have been experiencing.

While we are sheltered under the shadow of the Almighty, we are also lifted up. In the writings of apostle Paul, author of much of the New Testament, a golden thread runs through his epistles. “I press toward the goal,” he said, “for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

The upward calling. The secret place of prayer lifts us up into “heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6)!

There is a call in the Spirit to literally ascend and by faith enter into the heavenly realms. To see life from heaven’s perspective and enter into the presence and throne of God. Part of growing in our prayer life is not just doing battle every day here on earth, slogging away at the cares of the world that hurt and break us. No, we are told:

“Since, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” Colossians 3:1-3).

While we physically walk on earth, we can have the mind of Jesus (Philippians 2:5-8) and live with His attitude, faith and prayers.

How do we do this? How do we approach the heavenly places, this secret place?

Hebrews 4:16 tells us: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

We are to come boldly, with confidence. Hebrews also urges us to be, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We can enter into the secret place with boldness and confidence when we look to Jesus and set our gaze firmly on Him. This can be a new way to pray for many of us. We seek God, worship, come to Him with our petitions and intercessions – all good. Then He asks us to follow Him deeper.

“Be still and know I am God,” He says. Stop for a moment in time, see yourself seated in heaven with your Lord, and listen, feel yourself drawn up into His presence. Feel the wind of His spirit lifting you up. Be quiet, be still and know.

Know, perceive, learn and experience the presence of God.

We can read and picture heaven in Revelation chapters 4-5 and other places in Scripture. We can go to this place of prayer, be filled with His Spirit and experience being with Him and hearing His voice in the heavens.

Are you weary? Discouraged? Worn out? Remember what He promises you:

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

When we wait upon Him, when we are lifted into His presence, heaven touches our earthly hearts. Our praises and hearts go up, and His glory comes down to meet us, then lifts us up with Him.

This is where we experience divine revelations and visions, as we enter into His presence in a new and profound way. This is where we find the strength and courage to carry on.

You’re right on the edge.

Enter into the secret place, and His love will overflow into you and out into the world. Be still and know He is there, waiting for you, wanting to bless and fill you with His love, comfort, power and love.

I was driving alone in the car, and I was thankful for the solitude. The silence was like an old friend I hadn’t seen in a long time, and I yearned to just visit with for awhile. As I drove up Warner Boulevard, my head was spinning with the way things weren’t working out, and my heart was broken that God hadn’t seen fit to do things the way I wanted Him to. I stopped at a red light and just began speaking (a.k.a. praying) to my best friend, Jesus. “I am mad! I’m mad that you aren’t doing things the way I thought you would. I’m angry that you aren’t changing things and making everything OK and allowing this difficulty to continue! This isn’t the way things are supposed to go!” I have to be honest and say that I didn’t have a kind tone; I wasn’t even really being reverent. I was just being honest.

I want to pause and ask you a question…having read my prayer above, did you say to yourself “Whoa Shannon! Looks like you forgot your place! I can’t believe you would pray like that!” Now let me ask if you have ever felt those raw, honest, angry thoughts deep inside your heart? I know we all have, even King David himself did! In Psalm 22 we see David crying out, “God where on earth are you?! Why aren’t you helping me?!” Of course, that’s the Shannon version, he used an even more desperate term, forsaken, which means to abandon or desert. Did David really believe God had forgotten all about him, abandoned him even? I don’t think he really BELIEVED he was forgotten, as much as he FELT forgotten, but only for a moment.

Have you been there?

The beautiful thing about coming to Jesus with our heavy hearts is the fact that He is eager to lift that burden and remove the blinders from our eyes to cause us to see! Before the anguished words from our lips reach His heart, He is already lavishing us with hope. You can see David’s struggle throughout Psalm 22 to grab onto that hope with everything he has. He jumps back and forth between proclaiming God’s holiness to detailing the ways people persecute him and how strapped of strength he is. Oh, how thankful I am to have the Bible that reminds us that the people who came before us were JUST like us! They wavered in their hope and needed restoration, and doggone it, they just needed to vent sometimes!

As I continued my drive up Warner, speaking honestly and openly, God’s hope began to wash over me. I began to see that though His way may take longer in my eyes, the deep healing, depth of character and hope that is cultivated has no comparison. I am thankful for a God who allows us to come to Him in whatever state we may be in. He can see past our moodiness, through our irreverent tone, deep into the heart that is longing for a reminder that He sees us, understands us; and that His future plan for us, our families and even our teenage children is beautiful. Let me encourage you to go to Jesus honestly today, pour out your heart and wait for the softening that can only come from your loving, Heavenly Father.

“O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come” (Psalm 65:2). I am so thankful for the character of the Living God! He is a good God…and He is a God who hears prayer!!

What if God was deaf to our prayers, or didn’t care?

Many think of God that way. So many people do not pray because they think that God does not know or care about their lives. But the revelation of Scripture from beginning to end shows that Yahweh God is one who hears, cares and acts on behalf of human beings. In Genesis we see a God that walked with the people He created and was intimately aware and concerned for their wellbeing. He gave them everything they needed to live, be healthy and enjoy life together with their Creator. And when they got into trouble, He was the first One on the scene to instruct them and give them hope for their future (Genesis 3).

Scripture reveals God as One who “comes down” (See Genesis 18:20-21; Exodus 3:1-8; John 3:16-17). He is a God who invests in the life of His people. He is a God who is willing to get involved and even to leave the glory of His heavenly home to “come down” to earth and even allow His own Son to experience firsthand the consequences of sin and life on a fallen planet, all for those He has made.

The Psalms record the honest cries of people like us, who cry out to God, and rejoice when God answers. Psalm 116:1 says, “I love the LORD, because He has heard my voice and my supplications.” I really appreciate the honesty of the psalmist here. I know this is a true statement for myself as well. I love the Lord because He hears my cries. I admit my shallowness in this, but just as a child loves a parent that is attentive to their needs, I can appreciate loving my heavenly Father because He is a good dad who hears my cries. That doesn’t mean things always turn out the way I would like (Stay tuned for part two of this series next time, as I will write on the subject of “When prayer doesn’t turn out the way we think it should”).

But the point here is that God is listening to us.

He is aware, and He is helping us. And quite honestly, we love Him because of that.

This past week I read again the story of Hezekiah in Isaiah 37. Hezekiah was faced with an incredible, life-threatening challenge. The army of Sennacherib, King of Assyria, had been destroying city after city. Sennacherib and his army now threatened Jerusalem. Hezekiah’s response to this threat was to take the letter of warning from the army of Assyria into his prayer closet and spread it before His God. Isaiah 37:14-20 records the event:

“And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD, saying: ‘O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD, You alone.'”

And the result of this prayer is recorded as well. God heard and answered this heartfelt prayer and powerfully rescued Jerusalem and Hezekiah from this threat. You can read on in Isaiah 37 to find out the amazing deliverance. And reading on into Isaiah 38, you will find more answered prayer as Hezekiah pleads with God to extend his life, and God does!

These experiences of answered prayer are not just old stories in a book written long ago.

They are experiences still happening today in the lives of Christian believers worldwide. I have my own stories, and I am sure you have yours too! For instance, each of my children have had near brushes with death. And they are still alive and worshiping God by His grace and answers to prayer!

Isaac, our oldest son, nearly choked to death at six months old. I remember crying out to Jesus as he turned purple and then blue. I knew 911 would not be fast enough to help us, and I could not get the food un-lodged from his throat. Yet as I was crying out to Jesus, He heard my cries and opened our son’s throat! Our daughter, Lauren, caught a respiratory virus (RSV) at six weeks old and was hospitalized. The odds were very high that she would not survive the illness, since she was so young. Many people were praying for her, and she was released from the hospital in three days, already recovering! Our youngest son, Seth, fell from an eight foot high loft and hit a hard wood floor on his head at only four years old. He also turned purple and had a nerve- racking ambulance ride to the hospital. We were sure he would have broken his neck, back or worse, not even breathe again after hitting that hard floor! But amazingly he had no damage when he was examined and X-rayed at the hospital. They are all three alive and well, loving and serving Jesus!

There are so many more stories of answered prayer in our lives. I don’t have time to write them all! But as a pastor’s wife and missionary, we are so often literally living by faith “feeding on His faithfulness” (Psalm 37:3). And God has always taken such good care of us. As the Psalmist says, “I have been young and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).

If you are wondering if God is listening, and if He cares, doubt no longer.

Open the pages of His word and see the revelation of His care from beginning to end. Cry out to Him with the burdens of your heart. It may not be immediate, and it may not be what you think, but He will be working in your life for good. That’s the kind of God He IS!

Have you ever been in love? Have you experienced compelling, intense, strong feelings or emotions for someone? Have you yearned to spend time with someone because it felt so good to be in his/her presence?

Have you ever dreamt about spending the rest of your life with him/her? Have you ever eagerly anticipated reading a love note and wondered, what will he/she say?

I am passionately in love with my wife. I love to spend time with her. Being with her feels great to me. The twenty-five years that we’ve been married have been the best years of my life. And I don’t want to imagine life without her. My wife assures me that she loves me too, but she has also confessed that there is another man in her life. She has no shame about it either. Furthermore, on more than one occasion, she has let me know that her feelings for Him are stronger than for me. Although the first time she told me I was upset, I’ve now come to accept that this is how it should be. It’s not that we have some forward-thinking marriage; it is because we have an upward-thinking marriage. The man is Jesus. Jesus is the master passion of a disciple’s life.

Jesus wrote a love note to the church at Ephesus [Rev. 2:1-7]. It was delivered through the Apostle John about thirty years after Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians. It is a love note from a Man who appreciates the one He loves and offers abundant praise for her many good traits and behaviors. But He also confronts to the one He loves that she has drifted from Him. He wants her back because she is loved, and He urges her to return to her first love, because she needs Him, whether she realizes it or not. In essence, Jesus commends, corrects, and offers a cure.

The commendation

Jesus praises the church in verses 2-3, “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.” The church was commended for good works, steadfast faith, and sound doctrine. First, it is wonderful and encouraging to know that Jesus is aware of all that we do for Him. Second, the commendation is impressive. Any church that does good works to advance the kingdom, patiently endures through steadfast faith, and is known for doctrinal integrity is deserving of an accolade or two. What were the conditions that created such a praiseworthy assembly? We can attribute the health of the church to the legacy of great leaders connected to the church at Ephesus: Paul, Aquila and Priscilla, Apollos, Timothy, and the Apostle John. Undoubtedly, the church’s passion to make disciples, develop leaders, and reach their world for Jesus influenced the commendation.

But I believe the clue that reveals the key to their commendation is found in the correction …

The correction

Jesus corrects them in verse 4, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” First, I believe this is the clue that reveals why this church was praiseworthy. Because they loved Christ supremely, they passionately sought to advance His kingdom and remained steadfast during adversity. The love for Christ was kindled by the sound doctrine they received. And they sought to live (apply) the solid teaching, because they loved Christ supremely. Yet, the church was corrected for drifting from Jesus, “You have left your first love.” First, love speaks to priority not chronology. They had made Christ their master passion, but over the course of time, other passions, unbridled objects of affection, had crept in. At first, the seemingly innocent flirtations of these other affections appeared harmless enough. There was still so much to commend about this sure union. But then the love letter is delivered, and we are gently confronted by the One who has loved us supremely. The One who not only knows our good works, but also knows our hearts better than we know our own. And unless we have become completely callous to this One whose love has been so compelling towards us, we are convicted if He delivers this letter to us.

Nevertheless the words not only bring conviction, but they bring comfort, even before we consider the cure. These words bring comfort to every disciple, because they confirm that there was a time when Jesus was the master passion of their life. It reveals that they are loved, and even though they have drifted, the One they have loved continues to love them supremely, and He wants them back. I am yearning to come back, and when I wonder how, I discover that He has made the way.

The cure

Jesus reveals the cure in verse 5, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works …” First, we are called to remember from where we have fallen. In essence, reflect upon a time in your life when you were supremely in love with Christ. What did it look like? Remember your passion for Bible learning. Recall how you read the Scriptures like you were reading a love letter from God and hanging on every word.

Reflect upon your prayer life, worship, sharing your faith, service, giving, and relationships with other believers. Second, we are called to repent. I need to change my thinking about God, my drifting from Jesus, and the reality of allowing other affections to obscure the One I’m committed to truly love. Then third, return and do the first works. When we return and do the first works, there is the depth of mature love. A passion that is distinct from the zeal of young love. A supreme love is that which has been nurtured through seasons of testing, discovery, and realization that no other love satisfies, like being supremely in love with Jesus.

Lifework

1. Describe a time in your life when you were supremely in love with Jesus.

2. Reflect upon your current situation. Have other affections obscured your love for Jesus? What might they be?

3. If Jesus is currently your supreme love: Rejoice. If Jesus is not your current supreme love, consider what changes you will make to return to Jesus.