100 Days in The Secret Place, 0768420652 PDF
100 Days in The Secret Place, 0768420652 PDF
100 Days in The Secret Place, 0768420652 PDF
Gene Edwards
Copyright 2001 Don Nori
All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the
United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for
commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional
page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged.
Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified,
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Please note that Destiny Images publishing style capitalizes certain
pronouns in Scripture that refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and
may differ from some Bible publishers styles.
Take note that the name satan and related names are not capitalized.
We choose not to acknowledge him, even to the point of violating
grammatical rules.
ISBN 0-7684-2065-2
This book and all other Destiny Image, Revival Press, MercyPlace,
Fresh Bread, Destiny Image Fiction, and Treasure House books are available
at Christian bookstores and distributors worldwide.
2
CONTENTS
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Biographies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Fenelon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Molinos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Guyon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Way of the Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Fenelon
Embracing the Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
The CrossA Bond of Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Trust Your Self-Love to God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
The Path of Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
The Ways of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Take Up Your Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Hidden Cross. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
The Value of the Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
A Violent Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
The Sacrifice of Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
The Purpose of Suffering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Molinos
Two Kinds of Darkness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Loss of Spiritual Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Circumstances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Temptation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Firmness in Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Self Seeking, in the Seeking of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
A Commitment Established. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Your Occupations and Your Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Obedience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Humility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Guyon
Abandonment and Suffering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Abandonment and a Holy Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
A New Look at Confession of Sin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Under the Divine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3
Distractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Dangers of Temptation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
The Constant State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Turning Within . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Gaining the Heart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
The Ultimate Christian Attainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Loss of Self . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Purifying the Soul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Drawing Inward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Fenelon
Let Go of Anxiety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Quiet Leading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Cultivating Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Come Out of Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Live Day by Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Inner Calm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Misunderstanding Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Inner Realities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Real Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Inward Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Prayer of Surrender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Molinos
Two Kinds of Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
The Desire to Lay Aside Outward Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Expect Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
The Limitation of Outward Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Two Spiritual Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Persevering in Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Tranquillity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Two Kinds of Spiritual Men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Three Kinds of Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Internal and External Spirituality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Cleansing the Soul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Solitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Signs of the Inner Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Guyon
The DepthsEven for the Unlearned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Meditating on The Lords Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
The Second Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Periods of Dryness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Living Indoors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Toward the Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
The Scripture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
4
Prayer Requests? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Consumed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Ascent Unto God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
SilenceIn the Depths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Prayer of Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Restoring the Soul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Stepping Into His Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Fenelon
Turn Toward God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Lean Toward Him. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Listen to God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Depend on God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Yield Your Will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Walk in His Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Rest in God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Say Yes to God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
You Are Made for God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Knowing God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Love God Wholeheartedly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Molinos
An Inward, Invincible Fortress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Divine Love. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Drawing Into the Inner Chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Coming Before Him . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Things That Are Spiritually Pleasurable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Toward the Inward Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Four Aspects of Internal Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Internal Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Things to Abandon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
God or the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
A Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Guyon
From the Shallows to the Depths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
PrayerKey to the Deep Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Launching Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Beholding the Lord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Abandonment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Abandonment and Revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Continual Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Stilling the Soul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Abundance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
5
INTRODUCTION
Endnote
1. The works of Brother Lawrence survive as letters to
friends. If you would like to read those letters see Practicing
His Presence by Brother Lawrence, SeedSowers Publishing
House; Jacksonville, FL.
7
WAY OF THE CROSS
BIOGRAPHIES
9
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
FRANOIS DE FENELON
10
BIOGRAPHIES
simple: Was Jeanne Guyon a heretic? Or, was she one of the
great spiritual voices of the Catholic Church?
Later, after Guyon disappeared into the Bastille, Fen-
elons letters emerged as unparalleled in their spiritual depth.
These letters have never gone out of print; his life and his writ-
ings have been unassailable.
During the late 1600s Bossuet was considered the Martin
Luther of the Catholic Churchhe was more famous than any
other of his day. Today his name is almost lost in oblivion.
Between the writings of Guyon and Fenelon you will find
the richest spiritual treasures afforded to you today.
Fenelon died in 1715 as a result of an accident that befell
him while riding a carriage across a bridge.
The deaths of Guyon and Fenelon brought to a close an
epic, not only in French history, but also in Christian history.
Since then no voices have arisen to take believers to the
heights of spiritual riches, as have they.
11
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
MICHAEL MOLINOS
12
BIOGRAPHIES
13
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
14
BIOGRAPHIES
JEANNE GUYON
15
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
16
WAY OF THE CROSS
17
EM B R A C I N G THE CROSS
19
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
20
WAY OF THE CROSS
TR U S T YOUR SE L F - LO V E TO GOD
I have no doubt that God treats you as one of His friends
by giving you the cross. Gods way accomplishes His purpose
quicker than anything you could think of. God is able to seek
out and destroy the roots of self-love. You, on your own, could
never find those hidden roots. God can see the entire path of
self-love within your heart. Let Him attack self-love at its
strongest point.
21
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
T H E PA T H OF CHRIST
God will eventually test you in all areas of your life, but
He will not let your trials become greater than you can bear.
Let God use trials to help you grow. Do not try to measure
your progress, your strength, or what God is doing. His work
is not less efficient because what He is doing is invisible. Much
of Gods work is done in secret because you would not die to
yourself if He always visibly stretched out His hand to save
you. God does not transform you on a bed of light, life, and
grace. His transformation is done on the cross in darkness,
poverty, and death.
What valid questions do you have about the truth of
Christianity? You really fear having to submit to someone
beside yourself. You also fear having to walk the difficult road
toward becoming conformed to the image of Christ. You see
clearly the sacrifices you will have to make to follow Christ
completely and you are shrinking back.
22
WAY OF THE CROSS
Christ did not say, If anyone will come after me, let him
enjoy himself, let him be gorgeously dressed, let him be drunk
with delight. He never even said, Be glad that you are per-
fect and that you can see how well you are doing. No, Jesus
said, If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself, take
up his cross and follow me. His path winds up the side of a
steep mountain where death will be present on every hand.
(See Matthew 16:24.)
You do not yet see the lovely side of following Christ. You
see what He takes away, but you do not see what He gives.
You exaggerate the sacrifices and ignore the blessings.
Paul tells you that you desire to be clothed, but it is nec-
essary that you be stripped before you can put on Christ.
Allow Him to strip your self-love of every covering so that
you might receive the white robe washed in the blood of the
Lamb. You need only His purity.
Listen to what I have to say. It is not easy to hear, but it
will feed your spirit. Do not listen to the voice that suggests
that you live for yourself. The voice of self-love is even more
powerful than the voice of the serpent. If the world never
asked for anything more than what you could give out of love,
wouldnt it be a better master?
Christ leaves no emptiness within you. You will be led to
do things which you will find enjoyable, and you will like
them better than doing all the things which have led you
astray. How happy you will be when you do not possess any-
thing of your own but give yourself completely to your Lord.
Bride of Jesus, how beautiful you are when you no longer have
anything of your own, but seek only His beauty. You will then
be the delight of your Bridegroom, and He will be all your
beauty! He will love you without measure. He will put His
own life in you.
F ENELON
23
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
T H E W AYS OF GOD
When God starts to deal with your old nature He heads
straight for the center of all that you hold most dear. Allow
Him to bring you the cross in the very center of who you are.
Dont grumble and become agitated when the process starts:
Silence and peace will help you much more than being upset.
You will be tempted to speak out in a humble tone of
voice to tell others of your problems. Watch out for this! A
humility that is still talkative does not run very deep. When
you talk too much your self-love relieves its sense of shame a
little.
Dont be angry about what people say. Just follow God and
let them talk. As far as people are concerned, you will never be
able to satisfy them. Silence, peace, and union with God should
comfort you from all that people speak against you. You need
to be determined to do right in your present situationbut at
the same time your quick temper requires checks and bal-
ances. Come to God often just to sit in His presence and renew
yourself. Nothing is as important as lowliness of heart, and
detachment from your own opinion and will. Stiffness and
harshness is not the spirit of Jesus Christ.
F ENELON
TA K E U P Y O U R C R O S S
To bear the cross simply, without letting your self-love
add all sorts of dilemmas to it, will make your life easier.
24
WAY OF THE CROSS
When you accept the cross and simply allow it to do the work
God intended, you will be happy because you will see what
good fruit is produced in you.
When you love God, it will not matter to you what you
must suffer on His behalf. The cross will make you over in the
image of your Beloved. Here is real consolationa true bond
of love.
You are bearing the burden of some old ones who can no
longer bear their own. Reason weakens at so old an age. Good-
ness, unless deeply rooted, lessens. All the strength seems to go
to the temper! Accept and welcome this burden as the cross.
It is a blessing that you have some free hours to rest in
peace in the bosom of the Lord. This is where you will refresh
yourself and gain strength to go on. Take care of your health
and try to take some time to rest and enjoy yourself. As others
grow older you should expect less and less of them. Dont
expect too much of yourself, either.
F ENELON
25
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
What do you say to God when you are under the work of
the cross? You need not say a lot to Him, or even think of Him
much. He sees your suffering, and your willingness to submit.
With people you love you do not need to continually say, I
love you with all my heart. Even if you do not think about
how much you love Him, you still love God every bit as much.
True love is deep down in the spiritsimple, peaceful, and
silent.
How do you bear suffering? Silently before God. Do not
disturb yourself by trying to manufacture an artificial sense of
Gods presence. Slowly you will learn that all the troubles in
your lifeyour job, your health, your inward failingsare
really cures to the poison of your old nature. Learn to bear
these sufferings in patience and meekness.
F ENELON
T H E VA L U E OF THE CROSS
Do you wonder why God has to make it so hard on you?
Why doesnt He make you good without making you miser-
able in the meantime? Of course He could, but He does not
choose to do so. He wants you to grow a little at a time and not
burst into instant maturity. This is what He has decided and
you can only adore His wisdomeven when you dont under-
stand it.
I am awed by what suffering can produce. You and I are
nothing without the cross. I agonize and cry when the cross is
working within me, but when it is over I look back in admira-
tion for what God has accomplished. Of course I am then
26
WAY OF THE CROSS
27
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
A VIOLENT KI N G D O M
Whom do you think Paul was talking to when he said,
We are fools for the sake of Jesus Christ, and you are wise in
Jesus Christ. To you! Not to the people who do not know
God! He is talking to all who think they can work out their
own salvation without accepting the folly of the cross of Jesus.
No one wants to be humiliated and put down. It is not some-
thing to be excited about, but it is the way of God.
You cannot give place to the world, to your passions or
your laziness. Words are not enough to claim the kingdom of
God. It takes strength and courage and violence. You must
violently resist the tides of the world. Violently give up all that
holds you back from God. Violently turn your will over to God
to do His will alone.
This violence is what I pray you will come to know, for
how else will you know anything of the life of the Lord Jesus?
F ENELON
28
WAY OF THE CROSS
THE S ACRIFICE OF LO V E
If you follow God only to feel His presence and comfort,
then you follow Him for the wrong reasons. Your mind is anx-
ious to know, your heart wants to feel sweet feelings, but you
are not willing to follow Christ to the cross. Is this dying to self?
There is refined spiritual ambition in unduly pursuing
spiritual gifts. Paul speaks of a better way. Love does not seek
her own. How will you go on to maturity if you are always
seeking the consolation of feeling the presence of God with
you? To seek pleasure and to ignore the cross will not get you
very far. You will soon be trapped in the pursuit of spiritual
pleasures.
If you have too tender a childhood in Jesus Christ, you
will be in for a hard time when God starts to wean you away
from the sensed comfort of Gods presence. Dont live on the
porch and think you are in the house! The beginnings of your
faith may be accompanied by many wonderful feelings, but
this does not mean you are mature. Hold to God alone and do
not rely on anything you feel or taste or imagine. You will
come to see how much safer this way is than chasing after
visions and prophesies.
THE PURPOSE OF SU F F E R I N G
God never makes you suffer unnecessarily. He intends for
your suffering to heal and purify you. The hand of God hurts
you as little as it can.
29
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
30
WAY OF THE CROSS
31
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
TW O KI N D S OF DARKNESS
32
WAY OF THE CROSS
LO S S OF SP I R I T U A L I N T E R E S T
Perhaps it will be your experience that soon after you
have decided to die to a more external life and have moved
toward His high mountain you will feel as though nothing is
working in your favor! All the wonderful experiences you
cherish will dry up. You will hardly be able to discuss spiritu-
al things, or perhaps you will find you have gone so far as to
not be able to conceive a good thought of God. Heaven will
seem to have turned to brass and there will be little, if any,
light. And when you turn back to concentration and thinking,
even your thoughts will not be able to comfort you.
Be sure that, if this is the case in your life, your enemy
will come to you with suggestion, unclean thoughts, impa-
tience, pride, rage, cursing, confusion and much more. Per-
haps you will even feel a distaste for the things of God. And
you will feel you have lost some of the keenness of your spir-
itual understanding. Some will go so far as to feel there is no
God, at least no God for them. You will wonder if you have
even one good desire left in you.
Do not be afraid. These times and these things have a
purging effect. You will grow in a sense of your own unwor-
thiness, and in a realization of the need for your outward
33
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
appetites to be dealt with. Only the Lord can cast the Jonah of
your outward senses into the sea. Be sure that all of your striv-
ings and thrashings are going to be worthless. Any external
efforts of piety, or religion, or even of self denial, will not
work. Rather, such things will aid in shining light upon you, a
light that says, You can do nothing. All things are in His
hands and not in yours.
M OLINOS
CIRCUMSTANCES
It is the nature of each of us to be rather base, proud,
ambitious, full of a great deal of appetite, judgments, rational-
izations, and opinions. If something does not come into our
lives to humiliate us then surely all these things will undo us.
So, what does your Lord do? He allows your faith to be
assaulted, even with suggestions of pride, gluttony, rage, per-
haps blaspheming, cursing and yes, even despair. All of these
serve to humble our natural pride, as a wholesome medicine
within the midst of these assaults.
You know that Isaiah reminds us all that righteousness is
just so many smelly ragsand that in spite of all our vanity,
conceit, and self love.
Your Lord desires to purify your soul, and He can use a
very rough file. Yes, He may even assault the purer and nobler
things of your life! These assaults serve as a revelation to
awaken the human soulfor the soul to truly discover, to truly
know, just how miserable is its natural state.
And, if you seek spiritual counsel from someone during
such times, it is possible that you may receive some helpbut
34
WAY OF THE CROSS
you would be very wise not to expect help. Deep within you is
a place of internal peace, and if you are to come through these
periods and if you are not to lose that peace it is necessary for
you to believe. You must believe in the fineness of Divine
mercyeven when that mercy humbles, afflicts and tries you.
How happy you will be if you will simply be quiet before the
Lord! Even if these times are caused by the devil, you are
nonetheless in the sovereign hand of God, and these things
will turn out for your gain and your spiritual profit.
M OLINOS
TEMPTATION
I would say that the greatest temptation is to be without
temptations. The greatest onslaught is to be without any
onslaught at all. Therefore be glad when you are assaulted.
With resignation, peace and consistencyabide. There, in
internal regions, walk and live.
You must walk the path of temptation. You will not walk
down this road very far before you discover that the most
internal parts of you (at least those which you can find) are
scattered. Scattered and active, moving from one thing to
another. There is a great deal of busyness down there!
How can you collect these many and divergent things
that are happening within you?
Your Lord calls them together by faith and by silence, in
the presence of God. Collect yourself in His presence with the
one purpose and intent of loving Him. Come to Him as one
who is giving himself to God. Behold Him in the most inward
35
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
recess of your spirit that you can find. Do not employ imagi-
nation. Rest in love and come to Him in a general way of love
and faith, coming for no specific claim, request or desire.
M OLINOS
FIRMNESS IN P RAYER
The consistency of true prayer is in faith, and in waiting on
Him. First you believe that you are in His presence. You believe
that you are turning to Him with your heart. And you wait
there before Him, tranquilly. These are the only preparations
that you need. The final results contain a great deal of fruit.
You may expect the enemy to come to you, to disquiet
you and cause you trouble, for that is his nature. You will find
that the nature of those things you have always enjoyed
pleasures your outward senses have derived from spiritual
things (including areas in which you are gifted)all these will
become weak.
You might even expect weariness. All exercise can
become difficult. Whether you have these, or other prob-
lemspersevere!
You can expect to suffer through problems of a multitude
of thoughts, problems of the imagination, provocation of your
natural desires, and problems of an inward life that is very
dry. All of these temptations must yield to the spirit.
Though these situations are all referred to as dryness,
truthfully they are very profitable. That is, they are profitable
if you embrace them and receive them with patience.
36
WAY OF THE CROSS
S ELF SE E K I N G, IN T H E
S E E K I N G OF GOD
God loves not the believer who does the most, nor who
feels the most, nor who thinks the most cleverly and best, nor
even that one who shows the greatest love, but He loves him
who suffers the most.
I am aware that in telling you that a deeper prayer is a
prayer that does not depend on outward senses nor on those
things which are pleasing to our natural man, that we are
speaking of something that requires the martyrdom of some
parts of us. But, please remember, we are also speaking of
something that pleases the Lord.
When there is no emotional experience nor intellectual
insight into His way, the enemy may suggest to you that God has
not spoken. But your Lord is not impressed with a multitude
37
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
38
WAY OF THE CROSS
A CO M M I T M E N T E STABLISHED
Many have said this to me: Ive come to the Lord with
perfect resignation toward all things. I have given myself to
His presence by an act of faith. Yet I have not acquired any
improvement. The reason is, my thoughts are so distracted
that I cannot fix them upon God.
Dont be upset or discouraged; you have lost neither time
nor merit. Do not lay aside your quest. When you come before
the Lord, it is not necessary that you think upon the Lord. It is
only necessary that you continue in your progress.
Your imagination may ramble over an infinite number of
thoughts, yet, I assure you, the Lord has not left. Continue
your perseverance in prayer. Remember that He prays within
you, and He prays in spirit and in truth. The distraction of the
mindwhich is not intendeddoes not rob the prayer of its
fruit.
But, I am asked, Am I not at least to remember that I am
in the presence of God? Am I not to say to Him, Lord, You
abide within me and I give myself wholly to Thee? Surely I
should at least pray this.
No, there is no necessity for it. You have a desire to pray
and to that end you went before Him. Faith and intention are
always enough. These always continue. The simpler your
remembrance iswithout words or thoughtsthe better
foundation you lay for an undistorted relationship with the
Lord who abides in you.
I am also asked, Would it not be proper to say, Lord, I
believe Your majesty is here? This is the same as the above.
With the eyes of faith the spirit within you sees God, believes
39
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
40
WAY OF THE CROSS
OB E D I E N C E
You will never attain to the mountain of internal peace if
you govern yourself according to your own will. This self
nature of your soul must be conquered. Your directions, your
judgment, your disposition to rebel must be subjected and
reduced to ashes. How? In the fire of obedience, for it is there
that you will find out if you are truly a follower of Divine love
or self love. There must come a holocaust of your own values
and judgments and will.
One of Gods servants once said:
It would be better that you gather dung by obedience
than be caught up into the third heaven by your own will.
Now, everyone enjoys the idea of honoring and obeying
superiors. But it is also necessary, if you are to follow the
inward way, to obey and honor your inferiors as well.
What is true obedience? Obedience, to be perfect, must be
voluntary; it must be pure and cheerful. But most of all it must be
internal. I would add that it must also be blind and persevering.
41
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
HUMILITY
There are two kinds of humility: one false and counterfeit,
the other true.
False humility belongs to those who avoid esteems and
who avoid all honor so that they may be taken as being hum-
ble. They go out of their way to speak often of just how very
evil they are. (They do this so that they may be thought of as
good.) Inside, they really do know their own misery yet they
utterly despise the thought that anyone else would know. This
is feigned humility; that is secret and hidden pride, nothing
more.
There is also true humility. True humility never thinks of
humility. Those who have it act with patience and live and die
in God. They care not for themselves nor anything created.
They suffer molestation with joy and desire nothing from it
other than to walk in the footsteps of their despised Lord.
They do not care to be thought of well by the world and are
content with what God gives them. They are convicted of their
own faults with calm shame!
42
WAY OF THE CROSS
43
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
ABANDONMENT AND SU F F E R I N G
44
WAY OF THE CROSS
cross. The believer who loves the cross finds that even the bit-
terest things that come his way are sweet. The Scripture says,
To the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet (Prov. 27:7b).
How much do you desire to hunger after God? You will
hunger after God, and find Him, in the same proportion that
you hunger after the cross.
Here is a true spiritual principle that the Lord will not
deny: God gives us the cross, and then the cross gives us God.
G UYON
45
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
46
WAY OF THE CROSS
47
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
UNDER THE DI V I N E L I G H T
Once you have established such a relationship with your
Lord, you will soon discover that no fault in you escapes the
reproof of God. For instance, as soon as you commit a sin, you
are immediately rebuked by an inward sense. It will be a kind
of deep, inward burninga tender confusion. You see, all
things are exposed under the piercing glance of your Lord. He
will not allow any sin to be hidden or concealed.
As for you, when the Lord has firmly established this
relationship, you will have the sense that He has so complete-
ly found you out that each time His light focuses on the sin in
your life, you have only one course. All you can do is turn
very simply to Him and there bear all the pain and correction
which He inflicts.
Continue in this experience with your Lord. After a period
of time of experiencing Him in this way, the Lord will become
more and more the constant examiner of your soul. It will not
be you examining yourself, nor will it be seasonal. It will be the
Lord, constantly.
48
WAY OF THE CROSS
DI S T R A C T I O N S
Now that we have explored some of the encounters you
will have in this venturesome of the things the Lord will
introduce to you and some of the things He will demand from
youlet us set this chapter aside for a practical matter. As you
have read in previous chapters, there will be distractions,
especially at the outset. And for quite some time afterward,
your mind will be distracted from prayer. Let us take a brief
look at this problem.
How do you deal with those things that distract; how do
you handle those things that draw you away from the inmost
part of your being? If you should sin (or even if it is only a
matter of being distracted by some circumstances around
you), what should you do?
You must instantly turn within to your spirit.
Once you have departed from God, you must return to
Him as quickly as possible. There, once more with Him,
receive any penalty He chooses to inflict.
But here is one thing you must be very careful about: Do
not become distressed because your mind has wandered
away. Always guard yourself from being anxious because of
your faults. First of all, such distress only stirs up the soul and
49
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
DANGERS OF TEMPTATION
Temptations, as well as distractions, are a major problem
you will encounter at the outset of your adventure into God.
Be very careful in your attitude toward them. If you attempt to
struggle directly with these temptations, you will only
strengthen them; and in the process of this struggle, your soul
will be drawn away from its intimate relationship with the
Lord.
You see, a close, intimate relationship to Christ should
always be your souls only purpose. Therefore, when you are
50
WAY OF THE CROSS
T H E C O N S T A N T S TATE
We will begin this chapter with this simple point: Your
spiritual experiences fall into two categoriesthose that are
external (surface) and those that take place internally, deep
within your being. There are activities or actions that you
form: some are surface; some are deeper.
51
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
52
WAY OF THE CROSS
53
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
TU R N I N G WI T H I N
What do I mean by this continuous inner abiding?
To be continuously turned deep inside simply means that,
having turned within to Godby a direct actyou have
remained in His presence. You have no further need to keep
turning to Christ; you already abide with Him in the chambers
of your spirit. The only time you need to make a point of turn-
ing again is when your abiding is interrupted for some reason.
At this point in your spiritual life, you should not concern
yourself with trying to turn to the Lord by any outward means.
You will even find it difficult to make a deliberate, outward act
of turning when you have begun this inner abiding.
You see, you are already turned within to the Lord; any
outward activity will only draw you away from your union
with Him.
To form the act of turning within, that is the goal! When
this act has been formed in you, it will express itself as a con-
tinual abiding in your spirit and a continuous exchange of
love between you and the Lord. Once this goal is attained,
there is no longer any need to seek after it by outward acts. You
may forget the outward act of trying to love the Lord and to be
loved by Him. Instead, just continue on as you are. You should
simply remain near to God by this continuous inner abiding.
In this state of continually being turned to God, you are
abiding in the love of God, and the man who abides in love
abides in God. (See First John 4:16.) You rest. But what does
that mean? You rest in the continuously inward act of abiding.
Now, in this state of rest, is your soul active or passive? It
is active! You are not in a passive state, even if you are resting.
54
WAY OF THE CROSS
55
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
On the other hand, you can see that the present way of
dealing only with external matters in the life of the new con-
vert brings little fruit. Burdening the new Christian with
countless rules and all sorts of standards does not help him
grow in Christ. Here is what should be done: The new Christ-
ian should be led to God.
How!
By learning to turn within to Jesus Christ and by giving
the Lord his whole heart. If you are one of those in charge of
new believers, lead them to a real inner knowledge of Jesus
Christ. Oh, what a difference there would be in the lives of
those new Christians!
Consider the results!
We would see the simple farmer, as he plowed his field,
spend his days in the blessing of the presence of God. The
shepherd, while watching his flocks, would have the same
abandoned love for the Lord which marked the early Chris-
tians. The factory worker, while laboring with his outward
man, would be renewed with strength in his inner man.
You would see each of these people put away every kind
of sin from his life; all would become spiritual men and women
with hearts set on knowing and experiencing Jesus Christ.
For a new Christianfor all of us in factthe heart is all
important if we are to go forward in Christ. Once the heart has
been gained by God, everything else will eventually take care
of itself. This is why He requires the heart above all else.
Dear reader, it is by the Lord gaining your heart, and no
other way, that all your sins can be put away. If the heart could
be gained, Jesus Christ would reign in peace, and the whole
church would be renewed.
G UYON
56
WAY OF THE CROSS
57
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
LOSS OF SE L F
There is something in this universe which is the very
opposite of God; it is the self. The activity of the self is the
source of all the evil nature as well as all the evil deeds of man.
On the other hand, the loss of the selfhood in the soul increas-
es the purity of the soul! In fact, the souls purity is increased
in exact proportion to the loss of self!
As long as you employ your self-nature in any way, some
faults will also continue to exist in you. But after you depart
from your selfhood, no faults can exist, and all is purity and
innocence.
It was the entrance of the self, which came into the soul as
a result of the fall, that established a difference between the
soul and God.
How can two things so opposite as the soul and God ever
be united? How can the purity of God and the impurity of
man be made one? How can the simplicity (or singleness) of
God and the multiplicity (endless fickleness) of man ever melt
into one element?
Certainly much more is required than just the efforts that
you can make.
What, then, is necessary for union to be achieved? A move
on the part of Almighty God Himself. This alone can ever
accomplish union.
For two things to become one, the two must have similar
natures. For instance, the impurity of dirt cannot be united
with the purity of gold. Fire has to be introduced to destroy
the dross and leave the gold pure. This is why God sends a fire
to the earth (it is called His Wisdom) to destroy all that is
58
WAY OF THE CROSS
impure in you. Nothing can resist the power of that fire. It con-
sumes everything. His Wisdom burns away all the impurities
in a man for one purpose: to leave him fit for divine union.
G UYON
PU R I F Y I N G THE SO U L
God wishes to make your soul pure. He purifies it by His
Wisdom just as a refiner purifies metal in the furnace. Fire is
the only thing which can purify gold.
Again, the fire that consumes usutterlyis His highest
wisdom.
This fire gradually consumes all that is earthly; it takes out
all foreign matter and separates these things from the gold.
The fire seems to know that the earthly mixture cannot be
changed into gold. The fire must melt and dissolve this dross
by force so that it can rid the gold of every alien particle. Over
and over again, the gold must be cast into the furnace until it
has lost every trace of pollution. Oh, how many times the gold
is plunged back into the firefar, far more times than seem
necessary. Yet you can be sure the Forger sees impurities no
one else can see. The gold must return to the fire again and
again until positive proof has been established that it can be
no further purified.
There comes a time, at last, when the goldsmith can find
no more mixture that adulterates the gold. When the fire has
perfected purityor should I say simplicitythe fire no
longer touches it. If the gold remained in the furnace for an
eon, its spotlessness would not be improved upon nor its
substance diminished!
59
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
Endnote
1. Transformation.
60
DRAWING INWARD
61
L ET G O OF ANXIETY
63
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
QU I E T L E A D I N G
I know that God will keep you. Although you do not
enjoy spiritual discipline, be faithful to seeking God as much
as your health will permit. I realize that eating, both physical-
ly and spiritually, does not appeal to you now. Still, you must
eat to survive.
It would be good for you if you could have a few minutes
of fellowship with those members of your family that you can
confide in. As to whom you should talk withbe guided by
your inner sense of what is right in each moment. God does
not lead you with extreme emotion, and for this I am glad.
Remain faithful to the still, small voice. Strong emotions and
deep feelings, or seeking after signs, can be more dangerous
than helpful. Your imagination is sure to run away with you.
God will lead you, almost without your knowing it, if you will
be faithful to come before Him quietly. Eat of Him and His
word. Love Him and I will tell you to do no more. For if you
love Him, everything else will work out. I am not asking you
for a tender and emotional love, but simply that you lean
toward love. Put God before yourself and the world and even
your evil desires will begin to be transformed.
FENELON
64
DRAWING INWARD
CULTIVATING SILENCE
Simply bringing yourself quietly before God will do
more than worrying or being too religious. Silence is so
important. Even when you cannot find total silence, you
might try letting others take the lead in conversations. There
is no better way to quench the natural strength of your old
nature than by silencing it. Guard your tongue. As you become
more aware of the presence of God within, you will see how He
is able to keep your words, thoughts, and desires in check. This
work all happens gradually, so be patient with yourself as well
as with others.
Try to practice silence as much as general courtesy per-
mits. Silence encourages Gods presence, prevents harsh
words, and causes you to be less likely to say something you
will regret. Silence also helps you put space between you and
the world. Out of the silence that you cultivate, you will find
strength to meet your needs.
No matter how much you cultivate silence, there will still
be many disrupting situations in which you will find yourself
against your will. God knows that you want to have much
time to pray, but He still allows you to be surrounded by
things that seem to prevent prayer.
Learn to love Gods will more than the sweetness of self-
chosen prayer. You know very well that you do not need to
pray in your closet to love God. When He gives you time, take
it to pray. When there is not time, be satisfied anyway. Lift up
your spirit to Him without making any outward sign. Talk
only when necessary. Bear the hardest things that cross your
life. You need to deny yourself more than you need more light.
65
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
Be faithful in keeping silent, and God will keep you from evil
when you talk.
Accept what God chooses for you. This is more important
than what you choose for yourself, for you are much too easy
on yourself. Day by day give yourself to God. He carries you
in His arms like a mother carries her child. Believe, hope, and
love like a child. Look with love and trust to your heavenly
Father.
FENELON
CO M E OU T OF YOURSELF
As long as you live by your old nature you will be open
to all of the injustices of men. Your temper will get you into
fights, your passions will clash with your neighbors, your
desires will be like tender spots open to your enemies arrows.
Everything will be against youattacking you from all sides.
If you live at the mercy of a crowd of greedy and hungry
desires, then you will never find peace. You will never be sat-
isfied because everything will bother you. You will be like an
invalid who has been bedridden for many yearsanywhere
you are touched you will feel pain. Your self-love is terribly
touchy. No matter how slightly it is insulted, it screams, Mur-
derer. Add to this all the insensitivity of others, their disgust
at your weakness (and your disgust at theirs), and you have
the children of Adam forever tormenting each other.
The only hope is to come out of yourself. Lose all your
self-interest. Only then can you enjoy the true peace reserved
for men of good will. Such people have no other will but
66
DRAWING INWARD
Gods. If you come to such a place, then what can harm you?
You will no longer be attacked through your hopes or fears.
You may be worried, inconvenienced, or distressed, but you
can rest in Him. Love the hand that disciplines you. Find
peace in all thingseven in going to the cross. Be happy with
what you have. Wish for nothing more. Surrender to God and
find true peace.
FENELON
L I V E D AY BY D AY
Your spiritual walk is a little too restless and uneasy. Sim-
ply trust God. If you come to Him, He will give you all that
you need to serve Him. You really need to believe that God
keeps His word. The more you trust Him, the more He will be
able to give you. If you were lost in an uncrossable desert,
bread would fall from heaven for you alone.
Fear nothing but to fail God. And do not even fear that so
much that you let it upset you. Learn to live with your fail-
ures, and bear with the failures of your neighbors. Do you
know what would be best for you? Stop trying to appear so
mentally and spiritually perfect to God and man. There is a lot
of refined selfishness and complacency in not allowing your
faults to be revealed. Be simple with God. He loves to com-
municate Himself to simple people. Live day by day, not in
your own strength, but by completely surrendering to God.
FENELON
67
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
I NNER CALM
I hear you are having problems sleeping. You must wait
for sleep in peace. If you let your imagination run away with
you when you are trying to sleep, you may never get to sleep.
I will not think that you are growing spiritually until I see that
you have become calm enough to sleep peacefully without
restlessness.
Ask God for calmness and inner rest. I know what you
are thinkingthat controlling your imagination does not
depend on yourself. Excuse me, please, but it depends very
much on yourself! When you cut off all the restless and
unprofitable thoughts that you can control, you will greatly
reduce all those thoughts which are involuntary. God will
guard your imagination if you do your part in not encourag-
ing your wayward thoughts.
Live in peace. Your imagination is too active; it will eat
you up! Your inward life will die of starvation. All that
buzzing in your mind is like bees in a beehive. If you excite
your thoughts, they will grow angry and sting you! How can
you expect God to speak in His gentle and inward voice when
you make so much noise? Be quiet and you will hear God
speak. Live in the peace of Jesus.
FENELON
M I S U N D E R S T A N D I N G PRAYER
Return to prayer and inward fellowship with God no mat-
ter what the cost. You have withered your spirit by chasing this
wish of yours without knowing if God wanted this for you.
68
DRAWING INWARD
Dont spend your time making plans that are just cobwebs
a breath of wind will come and blow them away. You have
withdrawn from God and now you find that God has with-
drawn the sense of His presence from you. Return to Him and
give Him everything without reservation. There will be no
peace for you otherwise. Let go of all your plansGod will do
what He sees best for you.
Even if you were able to accomplish your plans through
earthly means, God would not bless them. Offer Him your
tangled mess and He will turn everything toward His own
merciful purpose. You must learn to let go of everything
whether God ever gives you what you so eagerly desire or not.
The most important thing is to go back to communion with
Godeven if it seems dry and you are easily distracted.
FENELON
INNER RE A L I T I E S
Avoid anything that drains or excites you. Your prayer
life will dry up if you dont. Dont expect to feed your inward
life if you live only for what is outward. You really must learn
to renounce all that makes you too outspoken in your conver-
sation. How are you going to cultivate an inner silence if you
are always talking? You cannot want God and the things of the
world at the same time. Dont you realize that your prayer will
be affected by what you cultivate in your daily life?
Fear your excessive enthusiasm, your taste for things of
the world, and your hidden ambitions. Dont get so excited
over politics and parties. If you get too worked up, it will be
69
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
RE A L P RAYER
Real prayer is nothing more than loving God. Prayer is
not made great by a lot of words, for God knows your inmost
feelings before you say them. True prayer comes from the spir-
it. You pray only for what you really desire. If you do not see
what you are desiring from the depths of your heart, your
prayer is deceitful. You could pass whole days praying, but
if you do not pray from your deepest, inmost desires, you are
not praying.
You pray without ceasing when there is true love in your
heart, and when there is a desire born of God there. Love, hid-
den in the depths of the spirit, prays constantly even when
70
DRAWING INWARD
71
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
God. This may sound too strict, but you will soon fall apart if
you dont listen to what I have to say about this.
FENELON
INWARD S I L E N C E
God is your true friend and will always give you the
counsel and comfort you need. Do not resist Him! Learn to lis-
ten to Him in silence so that you wont miss a word of what
He says to you. You know a lot about outward silence, but lit-
tle about inward silence. You must practice quieting your rest-
less imagination. Stop listening to your unrenewed mind and
the kind of logic it has! Get used to coming to God and asking
Him for help when He asks you for something you are afraid
to give.
Your sensitivity to the smallest affairs shows how much you
need God to tear the things of the world from you. You are mak-
ing great progress when you begin to give God all the childish
attitudes you have, and let him deal with the small problems
of your life. You need not make a deep show of spirituality
just let God work on your everyday issues. You can die to
yourself in the course of your everyday lifeyou dont need
to go out into the desert, or on some high mountain to be spir-
itual. All God asks of you is to give Him what He directs you
to. To do this you must watch and pray. Cultivate trust in
Godnot your vanity or curiosity or lazy nature.
FENELON
72
DRAWING INWARD
P RAYER OF SURRENDER
My God, I want to give myself to you. Give me the
courage to do this. My spirit within me sighs after you.
Strengthen my will. Take me. If I dont have the strength to
give You everything, then draw me by the sweetness of Your
love. Lord, who do I belong to, if not to You? What a horror to
belong to myself and to my passions! Help me to find all my
happiness in You, for there is no happiness outside of You.
Why am I afraid to break out of my chains? Do the things
of this world mean more to me than You? Am I afraid to give
myself to You? What a mistake! It is not even I who would
give myself to You, but You who would give Yourself to me.
Take my heart.
What joy it is to be with You, to be quiet so that I might
hear Your voice! Feed me and teach me out of Your depths. Oh
God, You only make me love You. Why should I fear to give
You everything and draw close to You? To be left to the world
is more frightening than this! Your mercy can overcome any
obstacle. I am unworthy of You, but I can become a miracle of
Your grace.
FENELON
73
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
TWO KINDS OF PR A Y E R
74
DRAWING INWARD
T H E D E S I R E T O L AY A S I D E
OUTWARD PRAYER
I would like to point out some matters which you might
expect to encounter on a journey toward a deeper relationship
with your Lord. Eventually you may come to a place where
you find yourself unable to go on with an intelligent prayer
75
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
life, or, at least, you will begin to desire to lay aside such
prayer. This will not come to you by way of your natural incli-
nations nor because you are in a period of dryness, but rather
it is provoked by the Lord Himself, deep within you. This
inclination to lay aside a more outward prayer is the natural
end of seeking, and hungering, for something deeper.
Another possibility you may notice is that the reading of
books becomes a tedious matter. Perhaps this is because they
do not deal with inward matters.
Another experience you might encounter is a growing
knowledge of your own self-nature, an abhorring of your sins,
and an insight into the deeper nature of God, and His holiness.
What you are longing for is something that only the Lord
can give you.
You will not fully know the inward life that I speak of
until you know what it means for your own will to be con-
formed to that of the Divine will. If you, the believer, would
have everything succeed, if you would have everything come
to pass according to your own will, then you will never know
the way of peace. Such a person will also lead a bitter and
empty life, always restless and disturbed, never touching the
way of peace. This deeper walk is in total conformity to the
will of God.
MOLINOS
E X P E C T FA I L U R E
You should know that every Christian who is called by
the Lord to the inward way is, nonetheless, a Christian who is
76
DRAWING INWARD
full of confusion and doubt, and one who has failed (and will
fail) in this deeper level of prayer. In fact, you may get the
impression that the Lord no longer helps you in prayer as He
once did. You may feel you are losing a great deal of time and
making no progress. Confusion and perplexity are bound to
follow. Nonetheless, do not stop, and do not let anyone, even
someone who is older in the faith, keep you from pursuing a
deeper relationship with your Lord.
What is really happening in your life? Are you really expe-
riencing failure? Not at all.
The Lord is calling you to walk by faith in His Divine
presence. With a simple vision of your Lord and with intense
love toward Himlike a little child would have toward its
mothercast yourself into the gentle bosom of your Lord. The
spirit should become like a little child, and a beggar, in the
presence of God.
Such a relationship to your Lordespecially in times of
perceived failureis easy. It is also the most secure relationship
you can enter into with Him. The level of prayer you are seek-
ing is a prayer free from a wandering imagination and from
reasoning. Both of these are so distracting, and can get you
involved in speculation and introspectionespecially during
periods of failure!
MOLINOS
77
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
78
DRAWING INWARD
Their own spirit is the seat and throne of a God who con-
tinually rests within them.
Who, then, but a fool would look for an instrument of
God without when he knew that it was within his own door?
Or who will ever be filled when he is hungry and yet refuses
to ever taste? Yet, this is the life lived by many good men,
always seeking, never enjoying. Their works are imperfect.
Nor should you think the spiritual way is difficultnor is
it only for those high minds.
Your Lord made it clear this was not true when He chose
His apostles. They were ignorant and lowly. He spoke to the
Father saying, I thank you Father, that you have hid these
things from the wise; You revealed them to babes. It is so
clear that we are not going to attain to those deep things, nor
those deep places within us, by reasoning or by surface prayer.
MOLINOS
TW O SP I R I T U A L EX P E R I E N C E S
In all your journey as a believer, you will have two cate-
gories of spiritual experiences. One is tender, delightful, and
loving. The other can be quite obscure, dry, dark and desolate.
God gives us this first one to gain us; He gives us the second
to purify us.
First He deals with you as if you were only a child. Then
He begins to deal with you as though you were a strong man.
In the first there is a great deal of your Christian experience
tied to that which you can sense outwardly. (You are attracted
by these nice pleasant and outward experiences; in fact you
79
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
80
DRAWING INWARD
PERSEVERING IN PRAYER
When you do fall into some fault, trusting it will be some
light one, you will find a reproof within you which will afflict
you greatly.
There will gradually grow in you a willingness, perhaps
even a sense within you, that you are now willing to suffer
and do the will of God.
There will also gradually grow up in you an inclination
toward things holy (perhaps even an ease in dealing with the
81
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
self-nature, and with passions, and even with the enemy that
waits in the way).
You will learn to know your self-nature and despise it.
Without this deep insighteven this revelationall other
attempts at spirituality are invalid. You will experience a
great esteem for God, an esteem that is far above all other crea-
tures. You will have a firm resolution not to allow yourself to
abandon His presence, because leaving Him, abandoning Him,
would be in itself the greater suffering and the greater loss.
You will have a sense of peace within you. A confidence in
Gods sovereignty and even a detachment from all other things.
All this can come about as a result of your persevering in
prayer that is dry and arid. You will not feel these things when
you are in prayer, but later, perhaps much laterin His time
when He and He alone considers it the appropriate time for
youthese attributes will begin to appear.
All of the things that I have just mentioned, plus much
more, are like new buds that arise from this little tree of spiri-
tual prayer. Would you abandon such a small bush just
because it seems to be dry, and because there is not much fruit
on it, or because its buds seem so small and because it appears
that there will never be any reaping? Dear one, be constant,
persevere. Your soul will profit thereby.
MOLINOS
TRANQUILLITY
Remember that it is tranquillity which you will use to
repel wandering thoughts and temptations.
82
DRAWING INWARD
TW O KI N D S OF SP I R I T U A L ME N
There are two kinds of spiritual men. And they are con-
trary to one another.
83
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
84
DRAWING INWARD
85
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
86
DRAWING INWARD
CLEANSING THE SO U L
There are two ways for the soul to be cleansed. The first
is through affliction, anguish, distress, and inward torment.
87
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
SO L I T U D E
There are two kinds of solitude. There is an outward soli-
tude when one simply does not speak, or speaks little.
88
DRAWING INWARD
SIGNS O F THE I N N E R M AN
There are four signs by which you may know the inner
man.
The first pertains to will and thought. The will is so
trained that it engages in no act of love other than that which
is toward God or pertaining to God and His purpose.
89
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
90
DRAWING INWARD
TH E DE P T H S EV E N
F O R T H E UN L E A R N E D
91
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
92
DRAWING INWARD
simply wait for a while. After waiting, you will sense when it
is time to go on; when that moment comes, simply continue on
in the Lords Prayer.
As you speak the words, Thy Kingdom come, call upon
your Lord, the King of Glory, to reign in you.
Give yourself up to God. Give yourself to God so that He
may do in your heart what you have so long been a failure in
trying to do.
Acknowledge before Him His right to rule over you.
At some point in this encounter with your Lord, you will
feel deep within your spirit that it is time to simply remain
silent before Him. When you have such a sense, do not move
on to the next wordnot as long as this sense continues with
you. You see, it is the Lord Himself who is holding you to
silence. When that sense of waiting before Him has passed, go
on again to the next words of the Lords Prayer.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Praying these words, humble yourself before the Lord,
earnestly asking Him to accomplish His whole will in you and
through you. Surrender your heart into His hands. Surrender
your freedom into His hands. Yield to your Lord His right to
do with you as He pleases.
Do you know what Gods will is?
His will is that His children love Him. Therefore, when
you pray, Lord, Your will be done, you are actually asking
the Lord to allow you to love Him. So begin to love Him! And
as you do, beseech Him to give you His love.
All that I have just described to you will take place very
sweetly, and it will take place very peacefully, throughout the
entire prayer.
G UYON
93
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
TH E SECOND LEVEL
Now with these words behind us, let us look at this new
level of prayer.
First of all, come into the Lords presence by faith. As you
are there before Him, keep turning inward to your spirit until
your mind is collected and you are perfectly still before Him.
Now, when all your attention is finally turned within and your
mind is set on the Lord, simply remain quiet before Him for a
little while.
Perhaps you will begin to enjoy a sense of the Lords pres-
ence. If that is the case, do not try to think of anything. Do not
try to say anything. Do not try to do anything! As long as the
sense of the Lords presence continues, just remain there.
Remain before Him exactly as you are.
The awareness of His presence will eventually begin to
decrease. When this happens, utter some words of love to the
Lord or simply call on His name. Do this quietly and gently
with a believing heart. In so doing, you will once again be
brought back to the sweetness of His presence! You will dis-
cover that you once more return to that sweet place of utter
enjoyment that you have just experienced! Once the sweet-
ness of His presence has returned to its fullest, again be still
before Him.
You should not seek to move as long as He is near.
What is the point? The point is this: There is a fire within
you and it ebbs and grows. That fire, when it ebbs, must be
gently fanned, but only gently. Just as soon as that fire begins
to burn, again cease all your efforts. Otherwise, you might put
out the flame.
94
DRAWING INWARD
PERIODS OF DRYNESS
Dear reader, you must realize that God has only one
desire. Certainly you can never understand a dry spell unless
you understand what His desire is. His desire is to give Him-
self to the soul that really loves Him and to that soul which
earnestly seeks Him. And yet it is true that this God who
desires to give Himself to you will often conceal Himself from
youfrom you, the very one who seeks Him!
Now why would God do that? Dear saint of God, you
must learn the ways of your Lord. Yours is a God who often
hides Himself. He hides Himself for a purpose. Why? His pur-
pose is to rouse you from spiritual laziness. His purpose in remov-
ing Himself from you is to cause you to pursue Him.
The Lord Jesus is looking about everywhere for that
Christian who will remain faithful and loving even when He
has withdrawn Himself. If the Lord finds such a faithful soul,
when He does return, He rewards the faithfulness of His child.
He pours out upon that faithful one abundant goodness and
tender caresses of love.
95
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
LI V I N G I N D O O R S
How can we speak of a total victory over the five senses
and over the passions and desire that become aroused through
them?
96
DRAWING INWARD
97
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
God. Your soul must turn all of its attention and energies with-
in, not without! Within to Christ, not without to the senses.
When your soul is turned within, it actually becomes separated
from you external senses; and once your five senses are sepa-
rated from your soul, they receive no more attention. Their life
supply is cut off!
They become powerless.
Now let us follow the course of the soul. Your soul has
learned at this point to turn within and draw near to the pres-
ence of God. The soul becomes farther and farther separated
from the self. You may experience being powerfully drawn
withinto seek God in your spiritand discover that the
outer man becomes very weak. (Some may even be prone to
faintings.)
Your main concern, therefore, is with the presence of
Jesus Christ. Your main concern lies in dwelling continually
upon the God who is within you. Then, without particularly
thinking of self-denial or putting away the deeds of the
flesh, God will cause you to experience a natural subduing of
the flesh! You can be sure of this: The Christian who has faith-
fully abandoned himself to the Lord will soon discover that he
also has laid hold of a God who will not rest until He has sub-
dued everything! Your Lord will put to death all that remains
to be put to death in your life.
What, then, is required of you? All you need to do is
remain steadfast in giving your utmost attention to God. He
will do all things perfectly. The truth is, not everyone is capa-
ble of severe outward self-denial, but everyone is capable of
turning within and abandoning himself wholly to God.
G UYON
98
DRAWING INWARD
99
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
closer you will come to God and the more firmly you will cling
to Him.
Of course, the closer you are drawn to God, the farther
you are removed from the activities of your natural man. The
natural man, to be sure, is very opposed to your inward draw-
ing toward God. Nonetheless, there will come a point when
you will finally be established in having turned within. From
that point on, it will be natural for you to live before the Lord!
In the past it was natural for you to live on the surface of your
being; now it will be your habit to live in the center of your
being where your Lord dwells.
G UYON
SILENCE
The point to which this venture has led us is a state of
silence and continuous prayer.
Let us go back a little and take a closer look at this matter
of silence. Why, for instance, is being silent before the Lord
when you first come to Him so important? First of all, it is
because your fallen nature is opposed to Gods nature. The
two are not at all alike. Secondly, Jesus Christ is the Word, the
speaking Word. He can speak. He can be heard! But for the
Word (Jesus Christ) to be received by you, your nature must be
made to correspond to His nature.
Let me illustrate further.
Consider the act of hearing. Listening is a passive sense. If
you ever want to hear anything, you must yield a passive ear.
100
DRAWING INWARD
101
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
THE S CRIPTURE
Let us take the Scripture first. Is there a deeper use you
can make of the Scripture than has been mentioned up until
now?
Remember, please, from an earlier chapter, that reading
the Scripture is a way into prayer. Remember, too, that what
you read may become prayer. Is there yet more the Scripture
can provide? Yes, you can use the Scripture in yet a more
102
DRAWING INWARD
103
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
PRAYER RE Q U E S T S ?
As you continue in this venture with Christthis venture
that began as a simple way of prayeryet another experience
may await you. It is this: Do not be too surprised if you find
you are no longer able to offer up prayers of petition.
You may find that prayers of request become more diffi-
cult. Yes, it is true that in the past you offered up petitions and
requests with complete ease. Until now, praying this way was
never difficult. But in this new relationship with your Lord, it
is the Spirit who prays! And as the Spirit prays, He helps your
weakness. He is making intercession for you. And He is pray-
ing according to the will of God.
For we do not know how to pray as we should; but the Spirit
Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (See
Romans 8:26.)
There is your will; there is Gods will. There is your plan;
there is Gods plan. There is your prayer; there is His prayer.
You must agree to His plans. He takes from you all your own
workings so that His may be substituted in their place.
Therefore, yield.
Let God do in you what He will.
In His prayers, which He prays, there is also His will. Let
Him pray. Give up your own prayers; give up your own
desires and your own requests. Yes, you have a will; yes, you
have desires and requests. Nevertheless, let Him have the will,
the desire that is in the prayers He prays.
But this relationship goes even deeper.
In order for God to have that which is found in His prayer,
then you, the one praying, must give up your attachment to
104
DRAWING INWARD
CONSUMED
If I were to say to you that one of the great elements of
prayer is deep, inward worship, I am sure you would agree.
We would both concur that without a deep, inward worship of
the Lord we simply would not have real prayer. Real prayer, of
necessity, has worship as its central element.
But there is another element to prayer, just as central, just
as essential, as worship. And it is right here that we come to
the central issue of man with God; moreover, without this ele-
ment there is no real prayer; without it there can be no plung-
ing into the very depths of Jesus Christ. Without this element
there is no real prayer, no entrance into the depths of Christ,
and no way that God can bring you to the ends which He
plans for you.
And what is this aspect of prayer?
The giving up of self is a necessary part of prayer and of
experiencing the depths of Jesus Christ.
(So once more we have stepped beyond prayer. Real
prayer demands of the one praying that he utterly abandon
self. Moreover, God desires that such a state ultimately
become yours at all times.)
105
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
ASCENT UN T O GOD
Now we must ask the central question: How does the soul
ascend to God?
106
DRAWING INWARD
107
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
S I L E N C E IN THE DEPTHS
Let us go on now to the part silence plays in our advanc-
ing experience of Christ, for silence has a great deal to do with
experiencing the Lord on a deeper plane.
On occasion some people have heard the term the prayer
of silence and have concluded that the role the soul is to play
in this prayer is one of dullness, deadness and inactivity. This,
of course, is not the case. As a matter of fact, the soul plays a
higher, more extensive role than in spoken prayer.
How is this possible?
108
DRAWING INWARD
109
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
By this illustration I believe you can see that the soul does
not cease all action. Its action is simply in perfect concert with
the Spirit.
G UYON
P RAYER OF SILENCE
Let us go on now to consider the prayer of silence in a
practical way. How do you begin to experience the Lord in an
attitude of silence?
You see, when your soul is active on its ownthat is,
active apart from the activity of the Spiritthen by its very
nature its activity is forced and strained! The souls effort in
prayer is always that of anxiety and striving.
This is actually to your advantage! You can easily distin-
guish when the soul is functioning!
Oh! All is so different when the soul is responding to the
moving of the Spiritresponding to something far deeper
within your being.
When the soul is responding to the Spirit, the action is
free, easy and natural. It will seem that you are putting forth
almost no effort at all.
He brought me forth into a large place; He delivered me,
because He delights in me. (See Psalm 18:19.)
Once your soul has turned within and once your mind is
set on the Spirit, from that moment on the inward attraction of
the Lords Spirit is very powerful. In fact, the attraction of
your spirit toward the soul is stronger than any other force
110
DRAWING INWARD
stronger than those things which would draw you back to the
surface.
The truth is, nothing is as quick to return to its center as
is the soul to the Spirit!
Is the soul active at this time? Yes! But the activity is so
exalted, so natural, so peaceful, and so spontaneous that it will
seem to you that your soul is making no effort at all!
Have you ever noticed that when a wheel rolls slowly, it
is easy to see all of it. But as the wheel turns faster, you can
distinguish very little. This is the soul at rest in God. When the
soul is at rest in God, its activity is spiritual and very exalted.
Nonetheless, the soul is engaging in no effort. It is full of
peace.
Therefore, hold your soul at peace.
The more peaceful your soul is, the more quickly it is able
to move toward God, its center.
G UYON
RESTORING THE SO U L
Yield yourself to the guidance of the Spirit of God. By
continuing to depend upon His action, and not that action of
the soul, the things you do will be of value to God. Only what
you do in this way is of value to God and to His work on this
earth.
Let us see this from Gods point of view.
All things were made by the Word, and without Him was
not anything made that was made. (See John 1:3.)
111
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
112
DRAWING INWARD
113
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
Endnote
1. If you can read, dont skip this chapter because you will
still be greatly helped! Please remember that until the last cen-
tury a great majority of the worlds population could not read.
Jeanne Guyon has addressed herself to them. If this book is
being read to one who cannot read, it will prove most helpful.
114
STEPPING INTO
HIS PRESENCE
115
TU R N TOWARD GOD
117
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
LEAN TOWARD HI M
Try, without forcing yourself, to turn to God and touch
Him as often as you can. Even when you want to touch the
Lord and you are distracted, it is important to keep bringing
yourself before Him. Do not wait for a perfectly quiet time
when you can lock yourself in your room and be alone. You
know how hard it is to find such a time. The very moment you
feel drawn toward God is the moment to turn toward Him.
Simply lean toward Him with a heart full of love and trust. Do
this when you are driving or dressing or getting your hair
done. Turn toward Him while you are eating or others are
talking. When conversation becomes boring, during a busi-
ness meeting, for instance, you can find a few moments to fel-
lowship with your Father instead of being drained by
unnecessary talk.
118
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
119
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
LISTEN TO GOD
Dont listen to your self-nature. Self-love whispers in one
ear and God whispers in the other. The first is restless, bold,
eager, and reckless; the other is simple, peaceful, and speaks
but a few words in a mild, gentle voice. As soon as you listen
to the loud voice of self you will not hear the soft tones of holy
love. Each speaks only of one thing. Self-love speaks only of
selfit never gets enough attention. Self-love talks of being
well thought of. The self despairs of everything except down-
right flattery.
Gods love, on the other hand, whispers that self should
be forgottencounted as nothing so that God might be all.
God wants to completely fill you and unite Himself to you. Let
the vain, complaining babble of self-love be silenced so that in
the stillness of the heart you may listen to the love of God.
While you live on earth you can understand only in part.
The self-love, which is the source of your faults, is also what
hides your faults. Self-love must be rooted out of you so that
God can reign within you without opposition.
The light of God will show you what you are really like,
and will also heal you of your sins. Until you see yourself in
Gods pure light, you really dont know yourself. You really
rely on yourself much more than you think.
Gods love will cause you to see clearly that He loves you
without partiality and without flattery. This is how you must
see yourself, as well as your neighbor. But relax, God only
shows you your weakness as He gives you the courage to bear
the sight! You will be shown your imperfections one by one as
you are able to face them. Unless God gives you grace to see
120
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
121
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
DE P E N D ON GOD
The best place to be is where God puts you. Any other
place is undesirable because you chose it for yourself. Do not
think too much about the future. Worrying about things that
havent happened yet is unhealthy for you. God Himself will
help you, day by day. There is no need to store things up for
the future. Dont you believe that God will take care of you?
A life of faith does two things: Faith helps you see God
behind everything that He uses. And faith also keeps you in a
place where you are not sure what will happen next. To have
faith you cannot always want to know what is happening or
going to happen. God wants you to trust Him alone from
minute to minute. The strength He gives you in one minute is
not intended to carry you through the next. Let God take care
of His business. Just be faithful to what God asks of you. To
depend on God from moment to momentespecially when all
is dark and uncertainis a true dying to your old self. This
process is so slow and inward that it is often hidden from you
as well as others.
When God takes something away from you, you can be
sure He knows how to replace it. There is a story that when
122
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
Paul was alone in the desert, a raven brought him half a loaf
of bread every day. If Pauls faith wavered and he wanted to
be sure to have enough, he might have prayed that the raven
would bring enough for two days. Do you think the raven
would have come back at all! Eat in peace what God gives you.
Tomorrow will take care of itself (see Mt. 6:34). The One
who feeds you today will surely feed you tomorrow.
F ENELON
YI E L D YO U R WI L L
Love does not depend on your feeling. Your will is what
God wants from you. Run your household in a godly way,
raise your children properly, and give up empty pleasures.
Seek to be simple, quiet, and humble. Let your life be hid with
Christ in God. This is what God is after.
When God asks you for something, do not refuse Him.
Learn to wait for God. Do not move until He directs you. Each
day will bring its own problems. As you deal with them you
will grow deeper and deeper in God.
Let your faith strengthen you. When you feel absolutely
weak you will discover a strength that is not your own. You
will know that the strength is not your own. And if you go
astray for a little while, then you will learn humility as you
return. Your Lord lives in the center of your spirit. Return to
Him there as much as you can. Surrender yourself to God and
learn to live by Him rather than out of your own strength. Lit-
tle by little this learning to live by your Lords strength
unfolds within you. No longer will you cling to things that
123
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
you can see, but you will cling to God, within you, and there
you will find deep and true fellowship.
F ENELON
WA L K IN HI S PRESENCE
The heart of your life as a Christian is contained in Gods
words to Abraham, Walk in My presence, and you will be
perfect. Gods presence calms your spirit, gives you restful
sleep, and quiets your mind. But you must give yourself com-
pletely to Him.
It does not take much time to love God, to renew yourself
in His presence and to adore Him in the depths of your heart.
The kingdom of God is within you and nothing can disturb it.
When outward distractions and a wayward imagination
hinder you from having a peaceful inner life, then you must,
by an act of will, bring yourself before God. Not that you can
force yourself into Gods presence, but even the desire to come
into Gods presence is, in itself, a powerful aid to your spirit.
Cultivate a pure and upright intention toward God.
From time to time you must stir up your deepest desires
to be fully devoted to God. There need to be seasons when you
think on Him alone, with a wholly undistracted love. Conse-
crate your senses to Him completely at these times. Dont get
caught up with things that you know distract you both out-
wardly and inwardly from God. Once you are distracted from
God it is hard to return to Him. Whenever you notice that you
want anything too much, then stop yourself immediately. God
does not dwell in the midst of chaos and disorder. Dont get
124
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
caught up with what is said and done around you. You will be
deeply disturbed if you do. Find out what God expects from
you in any given situation and stick strictly to doing that. This
will help you keep your inner spirit as free and peaceful as
possible. Get rid of everything that hinders you from turning
easily to God.
An excellent way to maintain a quiet spirit is to let go of
every action just as soon as you complete it. Dont keep think-
ing about what you have or havent done! And dont blame
yourself for forgetting something, or for doing something you
regret. You will be much happier if you keep your mind only
on the tasks at hand. Think of something only when it is time
to think of it. God will tell you when the time comes to deal
with something. You will exhaust your mind by trying to fig-
ure out Gods will before the right time comes.
Make a habit of bringing your attention back to God on a
regular basis. You will then be able to quiet all your inner com-
motion as soon as it starts to be churned up. Cut yourself off
from every pleasure that does not come from God. Seek God
within, and you will undoubtedly find Him with peace and
joy. Be more occupied with God than anything else. Do every-
thing with the awareness that you are acting before God and
for His sake. At the sight of Gods majesty, calmness and well-
being should fill your spirit. A word from the Lord stilled the
raging sea and a glance from Him to you, and from you to
Him, will do the same for you.
Lift up your heart to God. He will purify, enlighten, and
direct you. David said, I have set the Lord always before me.
Repeat His beautiful words, Whom have I in heaven but You,
and there is none on earth I desire that compares with You.
125
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
Do not wait for the time when you can shut the door
without interruption. The moment you long for inward prayer
is enough to bring you into Gods presence. Turn toward God
simply, trustfully, and with familiarity. Even in those moments
you are most interrupted, you can turn toward your Father.
Instead of being annoyed by unprofitable talk, you can find
relief in finding a moment of inward fellowship with God. So
you see how all things work together for good to those that
love God.
Read what is suited to your current needs. Pause, as you
read, to listen to Gods voice directing you. Two or three sim-
ple words, full of Gods spirit, are like food for the spirit. The
words are forgotten, but they are still doing their work secret-
ly, and the spirit feeds on them and grows strong.
F ENELON
REST IN GOD
Virtue starts to grow in a heart that desires the will of
God. It is not a question of knowing a lot, or being talented, or
even of doing great deeds. All that you really need is to long
to belong completely to God. But how does your will come to
this place? By conforming little by little, but without reserva-
tion, to what God wants. You must learn to bring your weak
will in line with Gods all-powerful one. Here you will find
inexhaustible and never-ending peace and joy.
Adore, praise, and bless God for everything! See Him in
all things. There is no longer anything truly evil in your life for
God uses even the most terrible sufferings to work for your
good because you love Him. Can the troubles God uses to
126
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
S AY Y E S TO GOD
Becoming perfect is not becoming boring and strict like
you think. What it demands is that you should be totally
127
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
devoted to God from the depths of your heart. When you are
totally given to Him, then all that you do for Him becomes
easy. Those who are completely Gods are always content
because they want only what God wants. In giving up things
that displease God, you will find yourself a hundred times
happier. You will know a clear conscience, a free heart, the
sweetness of surrender to God, and the joy of seeing the light
increase in your spirit. On top of this you will be delivered
from the harsh dictatorship of your fears and from the evil
desires of the world.
You may give up things, but it is for Him whom you love
best. You may suffer but you will still be upheld deep within.
And you will say a continued yes to all that God needs to do
to conform you to His image.
God only wants one will between the two of you. Let
yourself become soft in His hands. Are you afraid to give up
your will to God? How blessed you will be to throw yourself
into the arms of the Father of mercies and the God of all com-
fort. What a mistake to fear giving yourself too completely to
God. It only means that you are afraid of being too happy, of
finding too much comfort in Gods love, of bearing the Cross
in your life too bravely!
Let go of the things of the earth so that you might belong
completely to God. You need not give up everything entirely.
When you already live a life before God, balanced with disci-
pline, all you need is to let Gods love direct and motivate you
from within.
After your conversion, your position in life may not
change although you will! Serve God in the place He has put
you. So instead of being eaten up with pride and passion, you
will live with freedom, courage, and hope. You will find that
128
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
you can trust God, and you will look forward to eternity, mak-
ing your current trials easier to bear. When earthly happiness
slips away from you, Gods love will give you wings to fly into
His bosom, above all your troubles and cares.
F ENELON
129
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
130
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
KN O W I N G GO D
Most people dont really know God. They know what
they have read, or been told, but it is an intellectual knowl-
edge that lacks true spiritual experience. Most of us grow up
being told there is a God, but Im not sure how much we
believe it. We dont act like we believe in God. And those who
believe in God have a relationship based on fear rather than
love.
How many love God and want to know Him for Himself?
I pray there will always be such people even if they are rare.
All of us were made for God. But when people are told to seek
God within, it is like telling them to go to another planet.
What is farther away and more unknown than the bottom of
your own heart?
Oh God, we dont understand You. We dont know that
we exist through You. Help me to see You everywhere. You
allow an amazing thing: a mixture of good and evil in the
hearts of even those who are most given to You. These weak-
nesses keep us humble and close to You. So choke back in my
heart all that rises up to question Your goodness. Let me sit in
silence before You, and then I will begin to understand. Noth-
ing presses You to overwhelm Your enemies. You are
patient, says Augustine, because You are eternal. Oh God,
love Yourself in me. The more I love You, the more You pursue
me with Your relentless love. Oh God, I adore You. You have
made me for Yourself alone. I exist for You.
F ENELON
131
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
L O V E GO D WHOLEHEARTEDLY
Dwell in peace. Your feelings of devotion to God and
your enthusiasm to serve Him do not depend on your own
ability. The only thing that you can control at all is your will.
Give God your will without reservation. The important ques-
tion is not Do I enjoy being a Christian? but rather, Do I
want what God wants? Confess your faults. Do not be too
attached to things of this world. Trust God. Love Him more
than yourself. Love His glory more than your life. If you do
not want these things, ask to want them. God will come to you
with His love, and put His peace in your heart.
F ENELON
132
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
AN IN W A R D ,
IN V I N C I B L E FORTRESS
133
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
DIVINE LOVE
There is a fire of Divine love.
It is this love which burns the believer and can even cause
the believer to suffer. How? Sometimes the absence of the
Beloved greatly affects the believer.
Sometimes the believer hears the inward voice of the
Beloved calling. It is as a gentle whisper and proceeds from
out of the believers inmost depthswhere the Lord, the
Lover, abides. It is this whisper which possesses the believer
almost to the point of undoing. The believer realizes how near
is his Lord and yet he also realizes how much of the soul has
not yet been possessed by Him.
This intoxicates the believer and puts an insatiable long-
ing within him to be changed into the likeness of his Lord.
Therefore, it can be said of love: Divine love is as strong as
death, for it kills just as surely as death kills.
M OLINOS
D RAWING I NTO
THE INNER CHAMBER
134
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
135
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
CO M I N G BEFORE HI M
The centermost part of your being, there is the supreme
region. It is the sacred temple of the Spiritthe place where
God delights to abide. It is there He manifests Himself to the
one He created. He gives Himself in a way that transcends
both senses and all human understanding.
It is in this place that the one true Spiritwho is God
dominates the soul and masters it, instilling into it His own
enlightenment.
Do not misunderstand me; the highest place to which the
soul can attain is a place of His will, a state of life composed
more of the cross, patience, and suffering than it is of what
men generally think of when they speak of enjoyment.
M OLINOS
T H I N G S T HAT A R E
SPIRITUALLY P L E A S U R A B L E
The Christian may ascend to a divine interchange of love
with the Lord by two methods. The first method is by sensible
pleasure. The second is by heavenly desire.
The first is frail. The believer is so frail that he must be
stirred to Christ by outward drawings of pleasurable love. His
relationship with the Lord has its foundation resting mostly
on those things which bring pleasure to the believer. Remove
those spiritual pleasures and the believer is on a very shaky
136
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
TOWARD THE I N W A R D W AY
There are five steps toward the inward way.
The first is enlightenment. In this stage Divine affection is
kindled. Divine love for Him dries up those things which are
but human.
137
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
FOUR ASPECTS
O F I NTERNAL LO V E
138
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
IN T E R N A L DI S C O V E R Y
There are two things which lead to a knowledge of God.
One is far away and the other one is near. The first is specula-
tion. The other is internal discovery.
Those who seek after a great deal of knowledge and infor-
mation about the ways of God are really trying to satisfy their
reasonings and to attain to God by means other than those of
the spirituals. In no such manner can you attain a true and pas-
sionate love for the Lord. Such men who seek after God by the
acquisition of information about God and acquiring informa-
tion about the Scriptures are really nothing more than schol-
ars. They do not know the unseen realms, nor do they realize
that hidden things of God are found only within the spirit.
Nor have they come to touch those joys which abide in the
inmost depths of the believerthat place where God keeps
139
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
THINGS TO ABANDON
The men or women who would attain to that deeper walk
with their Lord must abandon and be detached from these
four things:
1. Creatures
2. Temporal things
3. The very gifts of the Holy Spirit
4. Self
5. And lastly, they must be lost in God.
140
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
This last one (5) is the most complete of all. Only the
believer who knows how to be detached attains to being lost
in God.
God is more satisfied with the affection of the heart than
with worldly science and thought. It is one in a thousand who
sees the heart cleansed of all that imprisons it and pollutes it.
It is purity of heart which is the chief means of attaining
to Divine wisdom.
You will never reach the ways I have discussed here if
you are not steadfaststeadfast especially in those times
when God purges you. He will purge you not only of attach-
ments to temporal and natural goods, but of your desire for
knowing His sublime blessing and things that have to do with
unseen realms; for it is upon these very things that the self-
nature sometimes supports and feeds itself. Why is it that
some people do all of the things that have been discussed here
(and much more) and yet do not attain to an experiential
knowledge of Divine encounter? It is because they do not sub-
ject and submit themselves wholly and entirely to God, who
has light to give those who do. Nor do they deny, and allow to
be conquered, their own self-nature. Nor do they give them-
selves totally to God with a perfect divesting of interest in
themselves.
And finally, none of us as believers will be purified except
in the fire of inward pain.
M OLINOS
GOD OR T H E WO R L D
All the basis for the loss of the self is founded in two prin-
ciples. The first principle is to esteem yourself and things of
141
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
the world very slightly. This means the renouncing of the self-
nature, the forsaking of created things with holy resolution
and energy.
The second principle is a great esteem for God. An esteem
for Him that brings you to love Him, adore and follow Him
without thought of personal interest even if that interest be
very holy.
From these two principles will eventually arise conform-
ity to the Divine will. This practical conformity to the Divine
willin all thingsleads the believer to the death of the activ-
ities of the self and to a will that is in concert with God.
There must be no fixation on spiritual delights, nor even
fixations on delights found in the unseen realms, and certain-
ly not on emotions or affections. Such a road, if allowed, is
filled with many illusions and disillusionments.
The proper path that you will take is one that includes the
bearing of a very heavy cross. This road is the royal highway
that leads to loss of self.
Can you understand that even honor and dignity and
praise are matters that must be dealt with and put away? What
place have these in your life? Would you compete with honor
and praise that are for Him alone?
M OLINOS
A PR A Y E R
Oh, Divine Majesty, in whose presence the pillars of heav-
en do quake and tremble, You are more than infinite, and yet
in your love the seraphim burn. Give me leave, oh Lord, to
142
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
143
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
As you pick up this book, you may feel that you simply
are not one of those people capable of a deep experience with
Jesus Christ. Most Christians do not feel that they have been
called to a deep, inward relationship to their Lord. But we
have all been called to the depths of Christ just as surely as we
have been called to salvation.
When I speak of this deep, inward relationship to Jesus
Christ, what do I mean? Actually, it is very simple. It is only
the turning and yielding of your heart to the Lord. It is the
expression of love within your heart for Him.
You will recall that Paul encourages us to pray without
ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). The Lord also invites us to watch
and pray (Mk. 13:33, 37). It is apparent from these two vers-
es, as well as many more, that we all live by this kind of expe-
rience, this prayer, just as we live by love.
Once the Lord spoke and said, I counsel you to buy
from me gold tried in the fire that you may be rich (see Rev.
3:18). Dear reader, there is gold available to you. This gold is
much more easily obtained than you could ever imagine. It is
144
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
P R A Y E R K E Y TO THE D E E P W AY
I especially address those of you who are very simple and
you who are uneducated, even you who cannot read and
write. You may think you are the one person most incapable of
this abiding experience of Christ, this prayer of simplicity. You
may think yourself the one farthest from a deep experience
145
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
with the Lord; but, in fact, the Lord has especially chosen you!
You are the one most suited to know Him well.
So let no one feel left out. Jesus Christ has called us all.
Oh, I suppose there is one group who is left out!
Do not come if you have no heart. You see, before you
come, there is one thing you must do: You must first give your
heart to the Lord.
But I do not know how to give my heart to the Lord.
Well, in this little book you will learn what it means to
give your heart to the Lord and how to make that gift to Him.
Let me ask you, then, do you desire to know the Lord in
a deep way? God has made such an experience, such a walk,
possible for you. He has made it possible through the grace He
has given to all His redeemed children. He has done it by
means of His Holy Spirit.
How then will you come to the Lord to know Him in such
a deep way? Prayer is the key. But I have in mind a certain
kind of prayer. It is a kind of prayer that is very simple and yet
holds the key to perfection and goodnessthings found only
in God Himself. The type of prayer that I have in mind will
deliver you from enslavement to every sin. It is a prayer that
will release to you every Godly virtue.
You see, the only way to be perfect is to walk in the pres-
ence of God. The only way you can live in His presence in
uninterrupted fellowship is by means of prayer, but a very
special kind of prayer. It is a prayer that leads you into the
presence of God and keeps you there at all times; a prayer that
can be experienced under any conditions, any place, and any
time.
Is there really such a prayer? Does such an experience
with Christ truly exist?
146
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
L A U N C H I N G O UT
I would like to address you as though you were a begin-
ner in Christ, one seeking to know Him. In so doing, let me
suggest two ways for you to come to the Lord. I will call the
first way praying the Scripture; the second way I will call
beholding the Lord or waiting in His presence.
Praying the Scripture is a unique way of dealing with
the Scripture; it involves both reading and prayer.
Here is how you should begin.
Turn to the Scripture; choose some passage that is simple
and fairly practical. Next, come to the Lord. Come quietly and
147
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
148
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
BE H O L D I N G THE L ORD
In beholding the Lord, you come to the Lord in a total-
ly different way. Perhaps at this point I need to share with you
the greatest difficulty you will have in waiting upon the Lord.
It has to do with your mind. The mind has a very strong ten-
dency to stray away from the Lord. Therefore, as you come
before the Lord to sit in His presence, beholding Him, make
use of the Scripture to quiet your mind.
The way to do this is really quite simple.
First, read a passage of Scripture. Once you sense the
Lords presence, the content of what you have read is no
longer important. The Scripture has served its purpose; it has
quieted your mind; it has brought you to Him.
So that you can see this more clearly, let me describe the
way in which you come to the Lord by the simple act of
beholding Him and waiting upon Him.
You begin by setting aside a time to be with the Lord.
When you do come to Him, come quietly. Turn your heart to
the presence of God. How is this done? This, too, is quite sim-
ple. You turn to Him by faith. By faith you believe you have
come into the presence of God.
149
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
Next, while you are before the Lord, begin to read some
portion of Scripture.
As you read, pause.
The pause should be quite gentle. You have paused so
that you may set your mind on the Spirit. You have set your
mind inwardlyon Christ.
(You should always remember that you are not doing this
to gain some understanding of what you have read; rather,
you are reading in order to turn your mind from outward
things to the deep parts of your being. You are not there to
learn or to read, but you are there to experience the presence
of your Lord!)
While you are before the Lord, hold your heart in His
presence. How? This you also do by faith. Yes, by faith you can
hold your heart in the Lords presence. Now, waiting before
Him, turn all your attention toward your spirit. Do not allow
your mind to wander. If your mind begins to wander, just turn
your attention back again to the inward parts of your being.
You will be free from wanderingfree from any outward
distractionsand you will be brought near to God.
(The Lord is found only within your spirit, in the recesses
of your being, in the Holy of Holies; this is where He dwells.
The Lord once promised to come and make His home within
you (see Jn. 14:23). He promised to there meet those who wor-
ship Him and who do His will. The Lord will meet you in your
spirit. It was St. Augustine who once said that he had lost much
time in the beginning of his Christian experience by trying to
find the Lord outwardly rather than by turning inwardly.)
Once your heart has been turned inwardly to the Lord,
you will have an impression of His presence. You will be able
to notice His presence more acutely because your outer senses
150
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
ABANDONMENT
At the outset of this book we discussed how to know the
depths of Jesus Christ. Our beginning was quite simple. We
looked first at praying the Scripture and then at the simplicity
of just beholding the Lord. After you have pursued this level of
experience with the Lord for a considerable length of time, you
then should be ready to go on to a deeper level of experience
with Him and a deeper level of knowing Him. But in this
deeper encounter with the Lord which we looked at in Chap-
ter 4, you must move outside the realm of prayer alone; or, to
state it more clearly, you must move away from just that one
or two times a day you set apart for prayer with the Lord.
At this point, there must enter into your heart whole new
attitudes toward your entire life. If you are to branch out
beyond just a time of prayer each day, other parts of your
lifeand even your whole viewpoint of lifewill have to be
altered. This new attitude must come for a very special rea-
sonso that you may go on deeper, still deeper, into another
level with your Lord.
To do this, you must have a fresh attitude toward yourself
as well as toward the Lord; it is an attitude that must go much
deeper than any you have known previously.
151
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
152
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
153
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
CO N T I N U A L P RAYER
If you remain faithful in the things touched on up until
now, you will be astonished to feel the Lord gradually taking
possession of your whole being. I would like to remind you
that this book was not written for your enjoyment. Neither is
it presenting just some method of prayer. The purpose of this
book is to offer a way in which the Lord Jesus can take full pos-
session of you.
As the Lord gradually begins to do this, to take full pos-
session of you, it is true that you will begin to enjoy a sense of
His presence. You will find that this sense of the Lords pres-
ence will become very natural to you. Both the prayer with
which you first began and a sense of His presence which comes
with that prayer, will eventually become a normal part of your
daily experience.
An unusual serenity and peacefulness will gradually
spread over your soul. Your whole prayer, your whole experi-
ence, will begin to enter upon a new level.
What is this new level? It is prayer. Prayer that consists of
silence. And while in this silence, God pours into you a deep,
inward love. This experience of love is one that will fill and
permeate your whole being. There is no way to describe this
experience, this encounter. I would only say that this love
which the Lord pours into your depths is the beginning of an
indescribable blessedness.
I wish it were possible in this little book to tell you some of
the levels of endless experiences you can have with the Lord,
experiences that come out of this encounter with God. But I
must remember that this little book is written for beginners.
154
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
STILLING THE SO U L
You see, there are two kinds of people who keep silent.
The first is one who has nothing to say, and the other is one
who has too much to say. In the case of this deeper encounter
with the Lord, the latter is true. Silence is produced from
excess, not from lack. To die of thirst is one thing; to be
155
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
156
STEPPING INTO HIS PRESENCE
ABUNDANCE
At the very outset of this journey, you found that the only
preparation you needed was a quiet waiting before God. The
same is true in this new level of experience. This is no longer
a rare experience, nor an occasional experience; gradually it
becomes your daily experience. The presence of God begins to
be poured forth within you. Eventually it will become yours
almost without intermission.
In the beginning, you were led into His presence by
prayer; but now, as prayer continues the prayer actually be-
comes His presence. In fact, we can no longer say that it is
prayer that continues. It is actually His presence that continues
with you. This is beyond prayer. Now a heavenly blessedness
is yours. You begin to discover that God is more intimately
present to you than you are to yourself, and a great awareness
of the Lord begins to come to you.
I have said previously about each one of these experi-
ences with the Lord, that the only way to find Him is by turn-
ing within. It is there, and there alone, you can find Him. Now
you will discover that as soon as you close your eyes, you are
enveloped in prayer. You will be amazed that He has blessed
you so much.
It is at this point, therefore, that it is proper to introduce
to you yet another experience; one that takes place deep with-
in you.
There is born within you an internal conversation with God.
This conversation is highly enjoyable, and the most amazing
thing about it is that no outward circumstances can interrupt it.
157
100 DAYS IN THE SECRET PLACE
Now you see just how far that simple prayer you began
with can lead you! The same thing can be said of the prayer
of simplicity that was said of wisdom: All good things come
together in her. (Apocrypha)
And the same can be said of this deeper experience with
the Lord. Godliness flows so sweetly and so easily from with-
in the believer who has advanced this far that it even seems to
be his very nature that pours itself out with such sweetness
and ease. The spring of living water within the spirit breaks
forth abundantly, producing every kind of goodness.
G UYON
158
Additional copies of this book and other
book titles from D ESTINY IMAGE are
available at your local bookstore.
159