The Secret Place: Why Your Private Time with God Matters More Than You Think

1. What the Secret Place Is

The “secret place” is not secret because God hides from us; it’s secret because the world can’t access it. It’s where you and I withdraw from distractions and meet with God alone. Jesus described it in Matthew 6:6: “When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

The secret place isn’t confined to a literal closet, though for some it might be. It could be your kitchen table before sunrise, your car in the parking lot before work, or that quiet corner of your garden. What makes it sacred is who meets you there.

Corrie ten Boom once said, “If you want to hear God’s voice clearly and you are uncertain, then remain in His presence until He changes this uncertainty. Spend more time in His presence. Learn to wait on Him.”

In the secret place, God speaks, not always in audible words, but through His Word, His Spirit, and the deep peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7). There, the chaos around us begins to lose its grip, and His presence becomes more real than our problems.

Psalm 27:5 says, “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.” The secret place is both refuge and revelation. It shelters us from life’s storms and opens our hearts to divine truth.

2. Why It’s So Easily Neglected

If the secret place is so life-giving, why do so many of us neglect it? The honest answer is simple: we’re distracted.

We live in a culture that rewards busyness and measures worth by productivity. From the moment we wake, we’re met with notifications, deadlines, and demands. Even in ministry or motherhood, we can pour ourselves out for God and yet forget to sit with Him.

Martha knew this tension well. In Luke 10:38-42, while Martha busied herself preparing the meal, her sister Mary simply sat at Jesus’ feet and listened. Martha became frustrated and said, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to do all the work?” But Jesus’ response was gentle and piercing: “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The secret place is “the better part.” But it doesn’t feel efficient. It requires stillness in a world that applauds motion and surrender in a culture that prizes control.

Elisabeth Elliot once wrote, “We must quit bending God’s Word to suit us. It is we who must be bent to that Word.” To enter the secret place is to allow God to bend our hearts back toward Him, even when life pulls us in a thousand directions.

Sometimes we avoid that private time because we fear what God might reveal - the sin we’ve ignored, the forgiveness we’ve withheld, the control we refuse to surrender. Yet it’s precisely in those moments that we need His presence most. The same God who convicts also heals, comforts, and restores.

Psalm 139:23-24 invites us to pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

3. What Happens When You Meet God There

When we consistently meet God in the secret place, transformation begins quietly but profoundly.

1. Your identity becomes rooted in His love.
In a world constantly telling women who they should be - thinner, stronger, more successful - God reminds us whose we are. In the stillness, His truth silences every lie. We begin to live from acceptance, not for it.

2. Scripture comes alive.
The same Bible you’ve read for years begins to pulse with new life. Verses once skimmed now speak directly into your situation. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.” In the secret place, that sword does surgery, cutting away fear, pride, and unbelief.

3. Prayer becomes communion, not performance.
Instead of trying to sound holy, we start to speak honestly. We cry, we sit in silence, we worship, we listen. Romans 8:26 reminds us that even when we don’t know what to pray, the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

4. You find peace in chaos.
Isaiah 26:3 promises, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.” Peace isn’t found in the absence of problems but in the presence of God.

5. You gain clarity for decisions.
In the secret place, we hear His whisper guiding us: “This is the way; walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). It’s not always immediate, but when you linger long enough, His wisdom steadies your steps.

When Susanna Wesley, the mother of John and Charles Wesley, found herself raising ten children with limited quiet, she would pull her apron over her head, her sign to the household that she was praying. That was her secret place, and from those moments came a legacy of faith that changed generations.

4. How to Cultivate a Private Life with God

The secret place doesn’t happen by accident. It’s cultivated intentionally, like a garden that must be tended.

1. Choose a time and place.
Whether it’s dawn or dusk, find a consistent time to withdraw. Jesus often rose early to pray (Mark 1:35). The key isn’t the hour; it’s the habit.

2. Bring your Bible and an open heart.
Some mornings, my secret place looks like listening to my Bible app while getting ready for work. Life can be busy, and God understands your season. You may not have long stretches of quiet, but those few minutes still matter. Don’t let guilt creep in when your time with God looks different than someone else’s. He sees your heart and honors your effort. Do what you can with what you have right now. And if you’re in a season with more time, soak in it deeply, because seasons change. What matters most is that you let His Word meet you where you are, whether through pages in your hands or words spoken through your headphones.

3. Learn to be still.
Stillness feels awkward at first, but over time it becomes sweet. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” In silence, we become aware of His nearness.

4. Practice gratitude.
Thankfulness keeps your heart soft. Even on hard days, list what you’re grateful for. Gratitude shifts your gaze from what’s lacking to Who is present.

5. Guard that time fiercely.
Treat your secret place like a sacred appointment. Turn off your phone. Let laundry wait. The enemy knows how powerful intimacy with God is, and he’ll fight to distract you. But resist him. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Over time, that daily communion changes you. The secret place becomes your refuge, your classroom, your altar.

5. The Fruit of a Hidden Life

When we live from the secret place, everything else flows from that hidden intimacy.

Jesus said in John 15:4-5, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” Fruitfulness in our lives - patience, love, joy, wisdom - doesn’t come from striving but from abiding.

The woman who abides in God’s presence becomes unshakeable, not because life is easy, but because her roots run deep. Jeremiah 17:7-8 paints the picture beautifully: “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.”

Time in the secret place doesn’t remove us from the world; it equips us to re-enter it with peace, power, and purpose. The more hidden we are with Him, the more visible His glory becomes through us.

I think of women throughout history who lived this truth:

• Susanna Wesley’s apron prayers birthed revival.

• Corrie ten Boom’s quiet faith in a concentration camp became light in darkness.

• Elisabeth Elliot’s solitude with God sustained her after her husband’s martyrdom.

Their secret lives with God produced public fruit that continues to nourish the church today.

In my own journey, there are times I go into prayer feeling defeated, and sometimes I don’t want to pray at all. But I always leave the secret place feeling refreshed, loved, heard, and understood. There are days I spend most of my time praising, worshiping, and giving thanks. Other days I linger in prayer. And then there are quiet mornings when God simply leads me to sit still and listen. Each time, He meets me right where I am.

6. A Personal Reflection

When I began seeking God in the secret place, I expected dramatic encounters. Instead, I found a gentle and faithful Father who delights in being with His children.

Sometimes I leave with answers. Other times I leave with peace instead. Over time, I’ve realized that the goal isn’t a feeling or revelation, it’s relationship. The secret place is not about doing but about being.

If you feel distant from God today, He isn’t far. The invitation of Psalm 91:1 still stands: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” The word “dwell” means to remain, to stay awhile, not to visit occasionally but to live there.

And when you choose to dwell, you begin to abide, not in fear or striving, but under His shadow. You’ll find that the shadow of the Almighty is not a dark place of hiding but a warm shelter of love.