He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Let me tell you a short, true story. A couple I know was in a really tough spot financially. They had a looming financial challenge that they just didn’t know what to do about. One day, they decided that after the kids were in bed that evening, they would take some time to pray together about the situation.

They sat in the living room and started to pray. Suddenly, there was an audible voice that began to speak, and it said: “If you need help, call 911, if you need help, call 911.” It repeated several times and then stopped. The voice seemed to have come from the garage, so they opened the door, and turned on the lights, not quite sure what they would find. Everything was where it should be, except for a child’s toy, a little ambulance. When they picked it up and pressed a button, it said, “If you need help, call 911.”

They laughed about it, but as they went back to reading the Bible and praying together, they had a sense that the Lord was speaking about 911. They looked up Psalm 91:1 and prayed over it. As they prayed, their sense was that the Lord was calling their hearts to a renewed pursuit of what followers of Jesus over the centuries have come to call the “Secret Place”—an understanding that there is a special place of intimate relationship and communion with the Living God.

I think that regularly being in this Secret Place was always God’s intention for mankind…that we would enjoy a level of intimacy with God. That is what it looked like in the Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve—at least for a while. It is what it looked like for Jesus when He would get up early and walk to the Mount of Olives to escape the crowds and be with His Father. When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain over the entrance to the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom, demonstrating the availability of intimacy with God again.

I think one of the best kept secrets about knowing Jesus is the joy of just being with the Father—of worshipping Him alone in your room, of opening the Bible with its Author, of welcoming the Spirit of God to speak to your heart on a daily basis.

The non-stop pace of the world we live in will do everything to try to squeeze out time to enjoy that privilege in the Secret Place. Even church commitments can make us too busy sometimes!

The writer of this wonderful psalm is describing a reality—a promise to the one who dwells in the secret place regularly, not rushing, but abiding. He’s describing that special time between just you and God—not at church, not at small group, not at prayer group, even though all of those are precious, too. But there’s a Secret Place for just you and God. Those who spend precious time there will find that they abide under the shadow of the Almighty. In some special way, God will surround them. His presence will be with them in a way that is uniquely connected to their time with Him in that place.

The Psalmist shares this experience so that you and I hear it and think, “I want that, too. I want to experience that in my own life. I want to abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

Sometimes when we go to church, we hope that the passion of the pastor or the enthusiastic worship of others will stir us up, or rub off on us. There’s nothing wrong with that. The Bible tells us believers to consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. But, there’s a whole other dimension of life with God. There’s a place of joyful and wonderful intimacy available, and it’s called the Secret Place. Adam and Eve enjoyed it for a while. David walked in it. Moses experienced it. Jesus lived it daily on the earth. Paul testified to it. And still today, countless believers continue to witness to it.

Now the curtain has been torn and there’s an open door. It just takes some time. We don’t just drop in on the Secret Place. We dwell there frequently, patiently, enthusiastically, with great anticipation. And as we spend time with the One we most love, we find ourselves under the shadow of the Almighty. We cannot remain unchanged.

By Rev. Dr. Nicholas Catley, Bible League International staff, Florida U.S.