by Dr. Larry Ollison, Ph.D. 

“Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now has been made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith” (Romans 16:25-26).

God has kept secrets for us, not from us. He’s kept the mysteries and now He is revealing these mysteries to us. It’s called progressive revelation. As we get closer and closer to the time when Jesus comes back to get His church, we are going to have more and more revelation of these mysteries. It is going to continue. There are many things God has kept secret for us and it is our responsibility to obtain these secrets. Once we understand them, they are ours. We can claim them.

What kind of mysteries are we talking about? How to do something. When to do it. Where to do it. What is it you need to do in your life? What has God given you to do? What is the job that is set before you? What is the direction of your life? Do you ever just wonder about a lot of those things sometimes? It’s a mystery, but God wants to reveal the answer to the mystery to you. How are we going to get buildings paid for? It’s a mystery. Our brains sometimes go into a cramp trying to think about it. It’s a mystery but God has the answers for us.

If we want God to give us those secrets, then we have to know where He keeps them hidden for us. In Matthew 6:6 Jesus said, "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” Go into the secret place of your prayer closet. That doesn’t have to be with the brooms and the mops. It is where you go to get with God and to get into His presence.

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). If you are under His shadow, you are in His presence. So the secret place is in the presence of God. That’s where you are going to get the answers to the mysteries. That’s where you are going to get the secret things of God.

I want to tell you something about the presence of God, the secret place. There are no limits in the secret place. God will take you beyond what you can ask or think. When you spend time in the secret place in the presence of God, He will reveal His secrets to you. You have to make a quality decision to practice that each and every day. Practice spending time in His presence.

Isaiah 45:3 says, “I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.” I believe that verse has a two-fold meaning. I believe in the last days God is going to transfer the wealth from the wicked so that we will receive the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of the secret places. But I also believe when He is referring to the hidden riches of the secret places, He is talking about the mysteries of the Kingdom -- the secret things that He has hidden for us for this day and time.

The secret place is an awesome place. You can go in there discouraged and come out uplifted. You can go there confused and come out of there not confused any more. You can know exactly what you should be doing. Go there depressed, and come out full of joy. Spending time in the secret place is vital. We need to get an established heart. Read Psalm 112. The man who learns to trust the Lord has an established heart. We need to learn to rely on Him and move when He speaks. He wants to take us to levels where we have never been before. But we must have a teachable spirit.