“But when you pray, go into your most private room, close the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you” Matthew 6:6 (AMP)

Oftentimes, when we see the glorious manifestation of God’s power through anointed (wo)men of God ministering on a pulpit, we are impressed, and we legitimately desire to operate in the same realm. What we don’t understand is that ministries are like icebergs: the visible part is but a very tiny part of the whole. There is a very big invisible part which commands and empowers the visible. That reminds me of an African proverb that says that a drum is tailored in the silence of the forest; but, once finished, it makes a village dance. 

Experienced ministers say that the pulpit manifestation, the glamorous part of their work only accounts for maximum 10% of what it entails to operate that way. 90% is made of the time spent in the secret place i.e. the investment made cultivating intimacy with God Almighty. 

There are some interesting patterns in the lives of (wo)men that are used by God in a powerful way. They are (wo)men of few words in public places; they would command an evil spirit “Get out” and, instantly, without resistance, the spirit would obey. Though Jesus was God, during his stay on earth, he would always find some time to be alone with his father. No wonder he could perform a great number of wonders and miracles during his earthly ministry. 

Those who are not willing to pay the price of spending quality time in the secret place and yet want to command evil spirits often learn the lesson the hard way. That was the case of the 7 sons of Sceva in Acts 19:14-16. Without empowering themselves in the secret place, they wanted to operate like Paul and Jesus and undertook to deliver a man in whom was the evil spirit. “But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you? And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded” (Acts 19:15-16).

Brother and sister, your intimacy with God in the secret place is what determines your effectiveness against evil spirit publicly. Anyone that inverses the order does so to their own detriment. May the Lord help us.