If we are serious with the Lord concerning being kingdom people, we need to learn to live by the hidden life of our Father, spending time with our Father in secret in prayer, and not practicing to do our righteous deeds before men but hiddenly, before the Father, to grow in life in a healthy way.
Lord Jesus, we are serious with You concerning being kingdom people. We do not want to live in the vanity of our mind. We want to live the kingdom life today. We come to You in prayer, Lord, and we want to contact You often in secret so that we may enjoy You, experience You, and know You in an intimate way. Amen, Lord, may we live by the hidden life of our heavenly Father to express the Father and be one with the Father! Amen!
When the Lord Jesus taught us concerning prayer in Matthew 6, the first thing He mentioned was that we need to pray in secret.
On the one hand, we need to pray toward God’s interest and be one with Him to release prayers that bring in His kingdom on the earth.
On the other hand, we need to have a hidden prayer life with the Lord and before the Lord. We need to have a personal, private prayer life.
Matthew 6:6 clearly says that, when we pray, we should enter into our private room and shut our door and pray to our Father who is in secret. Our personal prayer life needs to be hidden, secret, and private, and we should not exhibit how much we pray.
We may think that we don’t have what to pray about; we simply need to come to the Lord and spend time with Him in prayer, opening to Him.
It is in His presence, in our personal, private, intimate time with Him in spirit, that we can receive His shining, we can have His guiding and leading, and we can be infused with what He is in spirit.
In our time with the Lord, we can pray over what He has spoken to us in the Bible; we can take the word of God and make it our prayer. May we learn to have persistent prayer.
May we not just pray sporadically, when we remember, but pray in a consistent way, even pray regularly, setting times of prayer before the Lord and with the Lord.
On the one hand, we praise the Lord for His word and also for the ministry that properly interprets the word and opens up the word.
On the other hand, we need to pray over the Word and over the ministry so that the Lord may make all these matters real to us in our Christian life.
We need to pray the truth into our being and pray ourselves into God. Our Christian life needs to be a prayer life.
Pray in Secret before God, without letting others Know about it, to Cutt off the Self, be Healthy and Grow in Life in a Healthy way
We may read the first ten verses of Matthew chapter six and we may think that the Lord is teaching us how to pray and what to pray; however, this is very superficial.
What is touched in these verses, especially up to verse six, is the need to deal with the self, which likes to show its good deeds and how to deal with the flesh, which likes to be seen by others and appreciated by them.
Even in worshipping God, the self and the flesh are active; there are such things as a “spiritual self” and a “spiritual flesh.”
In other words, Satan is so subtle that, even in our contacting God and worshipping the Lord, he comes in and disguises himself as our spiritual flesh and self to seek to take away and destroy our worship of God and damage our Christian life.
This is why the Lord Jesus exposes the flesh and the self in His speaking, especially when He says that we should not do our righteous deeds nor should we pray in such a way that others see us.
Rather, we should enter into our private room, shut the door, and pray to our Father who is in secret; and our Father who sees in secret will repay us (Matt. 6:6).
We should pray much yet not let others know how much we pray. Our prayer is not before men or for men to see; our prayer is before God and for us to contact God, personally and privately.
If we pray every day without telling others or letting them know about it, it means that we are healthy and that we are growing.
If we pray and contact the Lord but do not make a display of it, that is, we don’t let others know how much we do it and that we do it, then we grow, and our growth is healthy.
On the negative side, the self is cut off and denied, for the self wants to make a show of what it does, especially of the spiritual activities it is involved in.
But we as kingdom people need to come to the Lord in secret, contact Him in secret, and spend time with the Lord in secret so that we may enjoy Him, be open to Him, receive more of His dispensing, and pray to Him.
As we practice doing this, we must admit that the subtle self is there; the subtle flesh is present when we do this.
Also, when we do our righteous deeds, when we help others, give alms, do things to please the Lord, and pray, all these should be in secret, not in a way that others would see them.
If our righteous deeds are done in such a way that others see them and appreciate us for doing them, our growth is not healthy, and the Lord actually has no way to grow in us. Oh Lord!
The self grows when this happens, and the flesh is strengthened and emboldened to do more for the Lord, in rebellion toward God. Oh Lord Jesus!
If we believers in Christ want to grow in the divine life and be healthy in our spiritual life, we need to learn to slay the self in the doing of righteous deeds by doing things in secret.
We need to do things before the Lord, toward the Lord, and for the Lord, yet not let others know about it.
The Lord said that our right hand should not know what our left hand is doing (v. 3); this is not to exhibit our righteous deeds but do things for the Lord in secret, without others seeing them or knowing about them.
As kingdom people, we need to have some experience of prayer in our private room. We need to daily contact our heavenly Father in secret and experience some secret enjoyment of our dear Father.
We need to bring our questions to Him, receive His answers, and allow Him to speak to us and infuse us with what He is in our private and personal time with Him in spirit.
This will cause us to obtain secret growth before God and in God, and we will grow in a healthy way spiritually.
Lord Jesus, we love You and we come to spend time with You in secret. Teach us how to pray, Lord. Teach us how to pray in secret, contacting our heavenly Father in secret. May we be those who pray much yet not let others know how much we pray. May we pray day by day, even every day, yet without letting others know or telling them about it. Oh Lord, how much we love You and how much we want to spend time with You in secret, in the private room, just us and You! Have Your way to expose the self and the flesh with their desire to display the righteous deeds for God. May we slay the self and the flesh by exercising our spirit to pray in secret to our heavenly Father! Amen, Lord, may we have some experience of prayer in our private room contacting our heavenly Father in secret! May we experience some secret enjoyment of God and receive some secret answer from Him as we spend time with Him in secret, in our mingled spirit!
Learn to Live by the Hidden Life of our Father and do our Righteous Deeds in Secret, before the Father
Our God is so wonderful, so glorious, so kind, and so caring, yet He is so hidden and secret. He created the universe, yet He hid Himself in the universe, and we cannot see Him with our physical eyes, nor can we touch Him with our hands.
God does many things, and we can see what He is doing, yet we cannot see Him, for He is secret, hidden.
The very nature of God is hidden and secret, for He does not like to display what He does or make a show of what He can do.
Satan tempted the Lord Jesus by asking Him to jump from the top of the temple, and the angels would not let Him be harmed; the Lord’s answer was not to tempt the Lord your God.
God does not like to display what He does or to make a show of what He can do, even though He can do so many things.
Our human life, however, loves to make a display, a public show; if we do something good, if we give some money to a good cause or to some poor people, we love to make sure others know about it.
If we are not allowed to make a display of the good we do toward others, many people would not do good, for they love to be appreciated. God’s life, however, is always hidden.
We need to learn to live by the hidden life of our Father today. We should not be like the hypocrites, who have an outward manifestation without having any reality within.
Hezekiah in the Old Testament truly saw the Lord’s hand doing great things in his life; he had a disease that was unto death, and he prayed fervently with tears before God, and the Lord healed him. What an amazing thing!
Yet he did not grow in life in a proper way, so when the opportunity came, he displayed to the enemies everything that he has, all his riches, and all his possessions; all these eventually were lost and taken away. Oh Lord!
We believers in Christ need to practice living by the hidden life of our Father in our daily life.
The only way we can live one with the Lord and express Him is by learning to live by the hidden life of our Father.
We can never practice living a hidden life in secret in our natural life; this is possible only in the divine life, the life that does not enjoy making a show.
We have the divine life in our spirit, and this is the hidden life of our Father; we need to learn to live by this life.
If we are serious about being the kingdom people, we must learn to live by the hidden life of our Father in our daily living. This will slay the self and expose the flesh, and this will also cause us to grow in life in a normal and healthy way.
As we learn to live by the hidden life of our Father, we will do our righteous deeds in secret, before our Father, not before others (Matt. 6:1-6).
We may pray much, but others will not know how much we have prayed. We may give, and we may give quite much, for we love the Lord and we trust in Him and not in our material possessions, yet others will never know how much we give.
When we live by the hidden life of our Father, we will do a great deal to help others, yet no one will know about it. This is truly precious before the Lord, and this causes us to grow in life in a healthy way before the Lord.
When we read the biography of some of the saints who went before us and were used by the Lord, we realise how many things they did for the Lord in secret, how many people they helped and brought to the Lord, yet all these things were found out only after their death.
There was no public display of the righteous deeds; rather, only they and the Lord knew about it, and they lived by the hidden life of our Father.
When we contact our heavenly Father in secret, we realise that He is in secret, He is hidden, and He does not like to do things merely in an outward way for others to see (Luke 5:16; Mark 1:35; Matthew 14:23; Luke 6:12).
We will then live by the hidden life of our Father, even live a hidden life.
Right now, Christ is our life, and our life is hidden with Christ in God; when Christ our life is manifested, we will be manifested with Him in glory (Col. 3:4).
At the moment, our life is hidden with Christ in God; now it is the time for us to be hidden.
If we look around us, Christ is truly hidden, and many persecute Him, criticise Him, oppose Him, and attack Him; however, Christ does not come to show them that He is the Lord.
People today rebel against Christ to such an extent that it almost seems as if He does not exist. Although Christ is suffering from this attack and rebellion, He continues to be silent and hidden.
Our hidden life with the Lord, similarly, should not be exposed or shown.
Our Christian life should be a hidden life, a life hidden with Christ in God.
When He appears, we will also be manifested with Him; today, however, our life is hidden with Christ in God, and we live by the hidden life of our Father.
Lord Jesus, we want to learn to live by the hidden life of our Father. Oh Lord, may we see that our God is hidden, in secret, and He does not like to be displayed or to show forth what He can do. May we learn from You as we spend time with You in secret. Save us from being hypocrites, those who show things outwardly that they do not have inwardly. Amen, Lord, want to practice living a hidden life before the Lord. Hallelujah, Christ is our life, and our life is hidden with Christ in God! Amen, Lord, may we live a hidden life with You, practicing to live by the hidden life of our Father. May we do our righteous deeds and pray much in secret, not before others. Oh Lord, we are serious about being the kingdom people, so we choose to live not by our natural life but by the hidden life of our Father in our spirit! May we live in such a way today so that, when Christ is manifested, we would also be manifested with Him in glory! Praise the Lord, Christ is our life in a hidden, secret, intimate, and spiritual way!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers on this topic, and portions from, Life-study of Matthew, pp. 245-246, 248, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crucial Aspects of Matthew 5 through 7 (2025 September ITERO), week 5, The Kingdom People having the Experience of Praying in Private to Contact their Heavenly Father in Secret and have some Secret Enjoyment of Him – day 2.
- Similar articles on this topic:
– Concerning the righteous deeds of the kingdom people – not to do your righteousness before men, a portion from, Life-Study of Matthew, Chapter 21.
– Why We Need a Hidden Life with the Lord Jesus, via, Bibles for Europe blog.
– Living the Kingdom Life by Living a Hidden Life, outline via, Conferencia de habla hispana en el sur de California.
– We’ve been rooted in Christ – Why We Need a Hidden Life with the Lord Jesus, via, Bibles for Australia blog.
– Living the Kingdom Life by Living a Hidden Life (2) – Truth Series #14, via, Uni Students.
– How to Practice the Private Prayer Described in Matthew 6:6, via, Bibles for America blog.
– Daniel (Program #14) – The Visions of the Overcoming Daniel (4), via, Bible study radio.
– The Indwelling Christ – the Secret of the Christian Life, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
– Come Forward to the Throne of Grace, via, New Jerusalem blog. - Hymns on this topic:
– Take time to behold Him, / The world rushes on; / Spend much time in secret / With Jesus alone. / By looking to Jesus / Like Him thou shalt be; / Thy friends, in thy conduct, / His likeness shall see. (Hymns #643 stanza 2)
– Pray to fellowship with Jesus, / Fully opened from within, / With thy face unveiled, beholding, / Single, pure, and genuine. / Pray to fellowship with Jesus, / In the spirit seek His face; / Ask and listen in His presence, / Waiting in the secret place. (Hymns #784 stanza 2 and chorus)
– Waiting on Thee, Lord, waiting on Thee; / Make all my prayer to Thee / Thyself expressed thru me, / Give me Thy secret key— / Waiting on Thee, waiting on Thee. (Hymns #792 stanza 5)
About aGodMan
Life-study of Matthew, pp. 244-245, by Witness Lee
Dear brother, we need to learn to live by the hidden life of our Father.
Christ our life is hidden today, and we need to seek Him in secret, have much prayer before Him in secret, and do our righteous deeds before our Father in secret, not for others to see them.
This slays our self and our flesh, and in this way we grow in life in a healthy way.
Amen brother. May the Lord save us from the outward display of godliness without inward reality.
We must be willing to cut off the self to enjoy genuine growth in life, and we must slay the self in doing righteous deeds.
Let us learn to live by the hidden life of our Heavenly Father.
The main purpose of our God in our life is not to exhibit and show ourselves to other people who we are, but to express Him in life and nature.
In other words, we are made righteous by His work, so we need to do all the righteous work not to be seen by others or even to be seen by our God, but to express God in life and nature.
Therefore, everything that we are doing in our walk of life is not initiated by our own old nature to get cheap appreciation from men, but by the will of the all-inclusive Triune-God living in us all the time.
Praise the Lord for His mercy to exhibit Him to others for their benefit to be saved from eternal death.
Dear brother, to grow in life and be healthy requires our self and natural life to be cut off. Our human life loves to make a display, an open show, but God’s life is of such a secret and hidden nature. May our self and natural life be cut off by our contacting the Father in secret, experiencing some secret enjoyment of the Father and receiving some secret answer from Him!
Praying and doing righteous deeds in secret. It is only through our divine life that we can practice this.
May we exercise our spirit today to be more like the kingdom people
Ameeen!!!
Amen to the genuine growth in life which is to cut off the self. We all must admit that we have the subtle self, the subtle flesh, within us.
But if we want to grow and be healthy in the spiritual life, we must slay the self in the doing of righteous deeds.
No matter what kind of righteous deeds we do—giving material things to the saints, praying, fasting, doing something to please God—we must try our best to do them in secret.
As kingdom people, we must learn to live by the hidden life of our Father. We must not live by our natural life, which is always making a display of itself.
The kingdom people must have some experience of prayer in their private room, contacting their heavenly Father in secret, experiencing some secret enjoyment of the Father, and receiving some secret answer from Him.
As the kingdom people, our practice and experience of prayer must be in privacy, where we contact our heavenly Father in secret, thereby experience some secret enjoyment of the Father, and receiving some secret answer from Him.
Oh, may we know and daily touch the hidden and divine life of God in our being, a life in sharp contrast with our natural human life – a life of hypocrisy that loves to make a display, a public show, and outward form of godliness without substantive inward reality.
May the Lord save us from the vanity fair of our natural life! And Lord, teach us to live by the hidden and secret life of our Father!
Listen to the audio version of this article here:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3jemzjPpC1msN75PPGKlYF?si=bcc43c4a2c0a4747
https://youtu.be/We_2sS8Ga1k
https://rumble.com/v74x7s6-learning-to-live-by-the-hidden-life-of-our-father.html
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Amen Lord keep us hidden in You!
As children of God, we need to learn to live by the hidden life of our Father. Right now, Christ is our life, and our life is hidden with Christ in God; when Christ our life is manifested, we will be manifested with Him in glory (Col. 3:4).
At the moment, our life is hidden with Christ in God now is the time for us to be hidden.
The rest from the Lord…is an inward rest, not something merely outward in nature. The harassment and the troubles are in our soul. Paul tells us to be anxious in nothing and to tell the Lord all our requests. Then the peace of God will guard our hearts and our thoughts in Christ Jesus (Phil.4:6-7).