Good morning,
How are you today? I hope that you are doing great. I just got back from the gym. It’s part of my morning routine three times a week. The most important part of my routine is coffee and prayer time from 5-7 every morning. Two hours might seem like a long time in prayer, but sometimes it takes a while to enter. Once I’m there, though, time comes to a standstill. In that place and in that moment – you’ll always feel great. That is why I return there every day – to the secret place.
Even if I have slept well, the noise from the day before can still hang around me, which causes my thoughts to wander, so you have to guide your thoughts back into the prayer. In my book “The Secret Place” I describe in great detail how you can set up your prayer time. I love the King James translation of Psalm 91: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” This is the “mystery” that Paul talks about several times (KJV). The secret place is there, right in front of you, and those who worship in Spirit and truth will experience that place.
The secret place
It’s what I’ve been doing every morning for many years. The order of things can vary a bit. I usually begin with worship from Hillsong. I have the lyrics on my iPad and the music on my phone. Songs like “Love on the Line”, “Oh Praise His Name” and “Oceans” bring me before God. Then I listen to the Bible. The past few weeks I’ve been listening to the first chapter of Colossians. I listen to it over and over again until it truly sinks in.
I listen to what I am hungry for! I don’t follow a set plan. Instead, whatever Bible passage I am hungry for is what I end up listening to. What you feel yourself craving is your spirit telling you what food it needs.
Then I start to pray, using the prayer outline that has been effective for me for a long time. That’s when time disappears, and when you are before the throne, that’s when you become – in the Spirit – who you truly are. The new creation emerges, the old nature fades away. This is where time can really stand still, and when I come out of the secret place I am already late! It can take the time it needs to take!
I drive to the gym, which only takes 3 minutes, then I work out for 30 minutes and arrive at the office between 8 and 9. The good thing about a small town is that everything is close by!
Today, Monday, I am working from home. We have offices in Asia, Europe and the US, so times can be very strange. Things are going on around the clock. Right now there is a deadline for the draft of a book that we are going to present at the end of April. Then this afternoon my new appliances will arrive. An online store had a 20% discount on their sale prices, so I was able to buy a new fridge, freezer, oven and microwave at half price. Not that I use the oven all that much, but these days they have ovens that clean themselves! Amazing!
That was one of the things I spoke on this Easter. “It will all come out in the fire.” When you are tested in the fire, only what’s genuine in you will make it out – and that is why you are still standing! That is why you are still believing – even though you have been through difficult trial after difficult trial. You are genuine! Your faith is genuine.
It will all come out in the fire
Bring your friends with you into the fire. The ones who are still with you when you all make it through the fire, those are your genuine friends. Carina, who is with Jesus now, was genuine. No matter what fire I found myself in (and there have been many through the years), whenever I made it out, she was still walking by my side. Keep your genuine friends close.
Lastly: You are genuine! That’s what is going to get you through everything that this week holds for you.
Your friend,
Tommy
