THE SECRET PLACE OF PRAYER
“When you pray, go into your room and shut the door. Pray to your Father who is unseen, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6)
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6–7)
There is a place known only to those who seek it — a sacred meeting place between the soul and God. It cannot be entered by pride or pretense, but by humility and hunger. Jesus called it the secret place. It is not found in a building or a ceremony, but within the quiet chambers of a heart turned toward Heaven.
The world prizes what is seen, but God treasures what is hidden. In the secret place, no applause is heard, no crowd is watching, no reputation is built. Yet it is there, unseen by others, that the greatest work of grace is done. The unseen prayers of the humble shape eternity more than the loudest voices of earth.
Prayer is not an exercise to impress God; it is the soul’s lifeline to Him. It is not the length of our words that moves Heaven, but the love behind them. Some of my most sincere prayers have been nothing more than a whisper — “Lord, help me.” Yet those were the moments when His peace flooded my heart like a river.
When we shut the door to the world and open our hearts to the Father, we discover what prayer truly is — not a ritual, but a relationship. The Father who sees in secret knows every longing we cannot express. Even when words fail, the Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for speech.
There have been times when I entered the secret place burdened, confused, and empty. But somehow, through tears and silence, I left renewed. The secret place changes nothing around us at first — it changes something within us. The peace of God begins to guard the heart like a fortress. Fear loses its grip, and faith begins to rise again.
Every believer needs that hidden fellowship — that place where the soul can breathe, confess, and commune. Public worship is powerful, but private prayer sustains it. Our strength in the open comes from what we receive in secret. When we draw near to God there, His presence fills the unseen corners of our days.
The secret place is not about isolation but intimacy. It is where we learn that we are never truly alone. God is not waiting at a distance; He is waiting behind the closed door of a yielded heart. And when we meet Him there, we find that His presence is reward enough.
Father, draw me often into the secret place where You wait. Teach me to close the door on every distraction and open my heart fully to You. Hear my simple prayers and fill me with Your peace. Let Your presence be my refuge, my renewal, and my greatest joy. Amen.
Bryan Dewayne Dunaway
