Once you decide to spend time each day in the presence of the Lord, you may wonder what you’re supposed to do during that time.
Many people assume I spend the majority of that time praying. I spend much of my time waiting upon the Lord and worshipping. I wait upon the Lord to quicken me (Ps. 80:18).
It might surprise you to read this, but I have come to believe that prayer in and of itself is not necessarily powerful. After all, religious people pray. Even well-meaning Christians try to put a spiritual label on things they are doing in the flesh, even spiritual practices such as prayer, fasting and praise.
The problem is, there is no power in those things when they are done in the flesh. There is only power in the presence of Jesus. When we commune with the Lord, there is power. As we spend time with Jesus and He becomes real to us, there is real power.
There are two realms in which we operate: the realm of the flesh and the realm of the spirit. Only in the realm of the spirit will you see lasting results. There are no lasting results in the flesh; anything that seems like a result there is only temporary and will quickly disappear. What happens in the realm of the spirit is eternal. Second Corinthians 4:18 says, “…while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (NKJV).
We are to walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:25 makes this very clear: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” In other words, we need to get in the Spirit and live there.
People don’t just naturally know how to live in the Spirit. They don’t know how to find their way to that secret place. The secret place is the world God wants us to live in. Psalm 91:1 says, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” It doesn’t say, “He that visits the secret place.” That’s the problem. Too many people visit and then leave.
Let’s take another look at this scriptural promise: “He that dwelleth in the secret place…shall abide.” That means it’s your address, your place of residence. It’s where you live.
How do you get there? The key is this: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isa. 40:31). Waiting upon the Lord is the secret. Waiting upon the Lord is the bridge between the flesh and the Spirit.
How do we wait? The Bible says very clearly that we are to be still. God never said, “Be quiet,” because it’s not enough to just be quiet. He said, “Be still.”
There’s a big difference. Quietness is soulish. Stillness is spiritual. If you allow it, quietness will lead you to stillness. When you are quiet long enough, God will bring stillness to your spirit man. Let God quicken you to stillness. The Holy Spirit manifests Himself when we are still. Stillness activates His power. Stillness releases His power in us. Stillness manifests the presence of God in us. Stillness leads us to a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the presence of the living God.
Waiting upon the Lord disarms the flesh. It allows you time to forget about yourself and see Jesus. It dismantles the powers of sin. It gives you Holy Spirit strength in your inner man, and the flesh begins to lose its grip on your life. That is what Paul meant when he said, “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection” (1 Cor. 9:27).
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