behind the scenes work
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray, standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by others. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward to the fullest. But when you pray, go into your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is invisible. Then your Father, who sees things in secret, will reward you.” -Matthew 6:5 and 6
J. John, a talented and creative Christian speaker, once told a story about preparing the way for a sermon he was going to preach. He felt the Lord influence him to pray fervently the night before the meeting. In the morning, as he began to think about what he would share, God told him, “The work is already done.”
“How could the work have already been completed?” He asked God. But as soon as he stood up to speak, he only needed to speak a few words that the Holy Spirit had imprinted on his heart, and the entire place was completely covered with the power of the Holy Spirit. Because he was obedient in prayer in the secret place, God moved mightily in the meeting, and many people came to repentance that day.
Banning Liebscher, youth preacher at Bethel Church and Jesus Culture Music, describes the importance of meeting God in the “secret place”:
“The first calling of our life is to be with Jesus. The foundation of a leader is intimacy. This is the ‘secret place’ lifestyle. You are called to devote yourself to a life of prayer; to a secret place lifestyle that no one knows about… What you do in the beginning has a great impact on what comes out in the end.”
Sharon Gerlach, mediator at Divine Exchange Prayer Ministries, describes the phenomenon as an iceberg. The tip of the iceberg is the ministry we see. But the other 80-90% of the iceberg, the part below the surface, is the spiritual work in prayer that makes a big difference.
Are you engaging in your worship, prayer, reading God’s Word, and building your relationship with Him behind the scenes? This is the first calling of our life. The quality of everything else in our lives depends on it. We need to make sure that we are building our relationship with Him in the hidden place, so that we can have maximum impact in the world.
