Because the secret place of prayer is a place of unveiling, it also becomes a place of glorious upheaval. Four different times the Scripture says that God’s voice is like the sound of many waters. Revelation 1:15; 14:2; 19:6; Ezekiel 43:2, and in Ps. 42:7, the psalmist wrote, “Deep calls to deep at the sound of Thy waterfalls; all thy breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.” God’s voice is like the sound of waterfalls (many waters). In the Secret place, we turn to His voice, and its voice sounds like the depths of Him calling for the depths of us. His voice can be like waves that roll over over us that can both sweep us off our feet and, when needed, set us on our feet. “Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you! As He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me.” Ezekiel 2:1-2.
During my prayer time, I, of course, partner with Christ (Jesus is our prayer life) in personal petition and intercession, but the foundation of our prayer time should be us hearing His voice, not Him hearing our voice. He loves the sound of our voice in prayer, but we live by the words that proceed from His mouth. Deut. 8. The Mary of Bethany calling to just sit at His feet, beholding His face, and hearing His voice is the best part of prayer, and I almost always start there. His voice sets me on my feet when I’m struggling. It turns me upside down and inside out when I need to be reoriented to the truth about who I am in Christ. His words always sweep me off my feet and carry me out to the depths of His heart. This is a glorious upheaval.
“Mountains quake because of Him, and the hills dissolve; indeed, the earth is upheaved by his presence…” Nahum 1:5.
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, and I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me, and when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man, and He laid His hand upon me, saying, Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last.” Revelation 1:10, 12, 17.
At the sound of His voice and with a fresh glimpse of His beauty in the word (unless I’m driving, I always pray with my Bible open and something to write on), I often find myself falling down at His feet in fresh awe and surrender. I love, love, love repentance; don’t you? Repentance is trading up, and I love it when holy upheaval liberates me from something that is holding me back from participating in all that Jesus is.
The prophet Isaiah asks us an important question, “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?” Isaiah 33:14. In Deut. 4:24 Moses tells us something about God’s heart for us, “For the Lord, your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”
All my Christian life, I have heard people talk about being on fire for Jesus. The truth is, God is the one who is on fire, and when we spend undistracted time in His presence, we get consumed by the fire of His great love, and we become part of His fire. Our being on fire for Him is actually our carrying His great fire for us. We love because He first loved us.