How to dwell in the secret place of the Most High God—what does it mean in the Bible?

Here are eleven fundamental requirements for you to meet in order to dwell in the secret place of the Most High God:

• Walking uprightly (Psalm 15:2).
• Pursuing righteous works (Psalm 15:2).
• Always speaking the truth in your heart (Psalm 15:2).
• Not backbiting others (Psalm 15:3).
• Doing no evil to your neighbor (Psalm 15:3).
• Not taking up a reproach against your friend (Psalm 15:3).
• Not tolerating a vile person (Psalm 15:4).
• Honoring those who fear the LORD (Psalm 15:4).
• Always keeping your word (Psalm 15:4).
• Not lending your money on interest (Psalm 15:5).
• Not taking a bribe against the innocent (Psalm 15:5)

Let us examine what the Bible has to say about the above-mentioned points.

Brief Introduction

According to the Bible, dwelling in the secret place of the Most High God means remaining in His presence every second, minute, hour, day, week, month, and year of your lifetime (Psalm 23:6). It implies being in constant communion or fellowship with God the Father, Christ Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. In other words, it is a lifetime engagement with no room for ‘breaks or time-outs’ to indulge in the ‘unfruitful works of the darkness’ (Ephesians 5:11–14).

In order for you to dwell in His secret place, you must seek to abide in His Word at all times. It means not relying on your own understanding but trusting in Him with all your heart regarding every detail of your life (Proverbs 3:5). By so doing, He will always guide you (Proverbs 3:6) and make you fruitful (John 15:1-4).

So how do you dwell in the secret place of the Most High?

1. You can dwell in the secret place of the Most High God by walking uprightly (Psalm 15:2).

According to scripture, walking uprightly means walking in the ways or the paths of God.

Hosea 14:9 (ESV) teaches us that the ‘ways of the LORD are right and the upright walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.’

In order to dwell in the secret place of the Most High, you must always ask God to make known His ways to you and teach you His paths. This is recorded in Psalm 25:4 (ESV) that says:

“Make known your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”

On a daily basis, you must ask Him to show you the way that you should walk in, the way that leads to life and not death, as stated in Proverbs 14:21 (NKJV), which says:

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

In Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV), scripture is clear that God’s ways are not man’s ways, and the former always carry the day regardless of the situation we are facing. It says:

“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD.”

Moses, the servant of God, knew of the true value of walking uprightly before God, and that is why he asked God to show him His ways. This is recorded in Exodus 33:13-14 (NRSVA) as follows:

“Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.”

This prayer of Moses, dear brethren, should be the prayer of every believer who desires to dwell in the secret place of the Most High God.

2. You can dwell in the secret place of the Most High God by pursuing righteous works (Psalm 15:2).

Scripture says that God loves righteous deeds. We read this in Psalm 11:7 (HCSB), which says:

“For the LORD is righteous; He loves righteous deeds. The upright will see his face.”

When you do something that God, in His Word, has openly acknowledged to love, He will definitely allow you to dwell in His secret place.

Similar sentiments are echoed in Psalm 146:8, which says:

“The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; the LORD raises those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.”

In fact, God’s eyes are on those who do works of righteousness, and He readily hears and answers their prayer. This is recorded in 1 Peter 3:2 (NKJV) that says:

“For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”

James 1:27 identifies for us righteous works, which include ‘visiting orphans and widows in their trouble and keeping oneself unspotted from the world.’

More righteous works are recorded in Isaiah 58:6-7. These include ‘loosing the bonds of wickedness, undoing heavy burdens, freeing the oppressed, breaking every yoke, sharing bread with the hungry, accommodating the less fortunate in your home, clothing the naked, and helping your relatives.’

When you engage in these acts of compassion with which God is pleased, you are guaranteed to dwell in the secret place of the Most High.

3. You can dwell in the secret place of the Most High God by always speaking the truth in your heart (Psalm 15:2).

God hates a lying tongue and a witness who speaks falsehood (Proverbs 6:17, 19). Therefore, if you are a person who loves lying, you will never access the secret place of the Most High because that is a ‘lies-free’ zone.

In fact, the Bible teaches that lying lips are an abomination to God, as recorded in Proverbs 12:22 (NKJV), which says:

“Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.”

Thus, if you want God to delight in you and allow you to access His secret place, you must learn to speak the truth at all times.

In fact, God detests lies so much so that he destroys those who are deceitful. This is recorded in Psalm 5:6 (NKJV) that says:

“You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.”

The book of Revelation 22:15 teaches that liars will have no place in the coming kingdom of God. Here is what the scripture says:

“But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.”

So, my dear brethren, if you are keen on accessing the secret place of the Most High and dwelling therein, learn to speak the truth in your heart at all times.

4. You can dwell in the secret place of the Most High God by dropping backbiting (Psalm 15:3).

God instructs us in His word to desist from backbiting others. This is because when you backbite, you play the role of a judge, a role that is exclusively reserved for God. This is recorded in James 4:11-12 (Wycliffe Bible) that says:

“My brethren, do not backbite each other. He that backbiteth his brother, either that deemeth his brother, backbiteth the law, and deemeth the law. And if you deemest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a doomsman.

But one is the maker of the law and judge that may destroy and deliver. And who art thou that deemest thy neighbor?”

So, when you assume God’s role by playing the judge, accessing His secret place will be impossible.

God takes the matter of backbiting very seriously, as exemplified in the story of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam (Numbers 12:7-8, Wycliffe Bible). In fact, Miriam got struck with leprosy as a consequence of backbiting their brother Moses. The scripture says:

“Then he said, but my servant Moses is not such a prophet, for he alone is most faithful in all my household; and I speak with him face to face, and he seeth God openly, and not only through riddles. Yea, he has even seen my form or my figure! So why do you not fear to backbite my servant Moses? And the Lord was wroth against them, and he went away.”

As a result of speaking ill of Moses, Miriam was struck by God, and she became leprous. Consequently, she had to remain outside the camp for seven days until she got cleansed (Numbers 12:9–15).

From this account, it is pretty clear that backbiting may cause you to be cast off from the presence of God, just like it happened to Miriam.

5. You can dwell in the secret place of the Most High God by doing no evil to your neighbor (Psalm 15:3).

If you desire to access the presence of the Most High and dwell therein, you must learn to treat your neighbor well. In fact, Jesus commanded us to ‘love our neighbors as we love ourselves’ (Mark 12:30–31).

The Bible teaches that you should treat your neighbor well because ‘he dwells securely beside you’ (Proverbs 3:29, NCB). The scripture says:

“Do not plot any evil against your neighbor who is living in peace beside you.”

God requires you to treat your neighbor well because he is the one who will help you out in case of an emergency compared to your brother, who may be far away (Proverbs 27:10, ESV).

“Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.”

When you treat your neighbor whom you have seen well, it becomes easier to love God whom you have not seen (1 John 4:20).

6. You can dwell in the secret place of the Most High God by not taking up a reproach against your friend (Psalm 15:3).

If you want to dwell in the secret place of the Most High, you should not be a person who slanders your friend.

According to scripture, God has reserved destruction for all those who love to slander others. We read this in Isaiah 29:21 (GNT) that says:

“God will destroy those who slander others, those who prevent the punishment of criminals, and those who tell lies to keep honest people from getting justice.”

Similar sentiments are echoed in the Psalm 101:5 (ISV) that says:

“I will destroy the one who secretly slanders a friend. I will not allow the proud and haughty to prevail.”

7. You can dwell in the secret place of the Most High God by not tolerating a vile person (Psalm 15:4).

A vile person is one who has a filthy character. God does not condone filthiness because He is holy. Scripture teaches that we should ‘lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness in order to receive salvation of our soul’ (James 1:21, NKJV).

Therefore, for God to allow us to dwell in His secret place, we should shun persons whose character is vile, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 5:11 (NKJV), which says:

“But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.”

8. You can dwell in the secret place of the Most High God by honoring those who fear the LORD (Psalm 15:4).

When you honor people that fear God, you can have access to His secret place and dwell therein. This is recorded in 1 Peter 2:17 (MEV) that says:

“Honor all people, love the brethren, fear God, and honor the king.”

Similar sentiments are echoed by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:10 (TLB), which says:

“Love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honoring each other.”

9. You can dwell in the secret place of the Most High God by always keeping your word (Psalm 15:4).

For you to dwell in the secret place of the Most High, you must always stand by what you say. If it is a promise that you made to someone, you must indeed fulfill it for God to take you seriously.

God loves people who keep their promise, as recorded in Ecclesiastes 5:2-7 (NKJV), which says:

“Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven and you on earth; therefore, let your words be few. A dream comes through much activity, and a fool’s voice is known by his many words.

When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it, for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed—better not to vow than vow and not pay.

Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands? For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God.”

10. You can dwell in the secret place of the Most High God by not lending your money on interest (Psalm 15:5).

According to scripture, God instructed the children of Israel not to lend money to their brethren on interest.

For example, Deuteronomy 23:20 (AMP) says:

“You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your fellow Israelite you shall not charge interest, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.”

11. You can dwell in the secret place of the Most High God by not taking a bribe against the innocent (Psalm 15:5).

God hates people who take bribes to subvert the course of justice. If you are a person who loves taking or even giving bribes, then it is impossible to access His secret place and dwell there. Here are several scriptures to qualify our point:

Exodus 23:8 (NIV) says:

“Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.”

Deuteronomy 16:19 (NCB) says:

“Do not pervert justice nor show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.”

Isaiah 5:22-23 (NIV)

“Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks. Who acquits the guilty for a bribe but denies justice to the innocent?”

Proverbs 17:23 (ISV)

“The wicked man takes a bribe in secret in order to pervert the course of justice.”

Conclusion

This article addressed the topic ‘how to dwell in the secret place of the Most High God’. We have since established that in order to access and dwell in this place, several requirements must be met, including: walking uprightly, pursuing righteous works, speaking the truth in your heart at all times, refraining from backbiting others, doing no evil to your neighbor, not taking up a reproach against your friend, not tolerating a vile person, honoring those who fear the LORD, always keeping your word, not lending your money on interest, and finally, not taking a bribe against the innocent. All these instructions are based on scripture recorded in Psalm 15:2–5.

I hope this is helpful. Thank you.

Related Post: What does it mean to abide in the Bible? Benefits of abiding in Christ Jesus

Also Read: How does the Bible describe God – Part 1

Prayer to get born again

Are you willing to become born again? Say the following prayer sincerely:

“Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner and hereby ask for your forgiveness.

I believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that you are the only begotten Son of the living God.

I believe that you were sent by your Father to the earth to save sinners like me.

I believe that you died and resurrected in order for me to receive eternal life.

I now accept you as my personal Lord and Savior.

Come into my heart and baptize me with the Holy Spirit.

Thank you for saving me.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,

Amen!”

Congratulations friend! You are now a born-again Christian!

Welcome to the family of God!

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