Fruits of Private Prayer

(The Necessity of Secret Prayer)

David Wilkerson

He has made very clear to me that many many of our problems could be solved,

if we had we just take the time to get alone with God and seek Him to have a regular daily intense time of prayer with the Lord.

When you go into this book you’ll find every man of God in history in the Old Testament that was used by God was an instrument of the Lord and anointing of God, miracles happens through his life or her life.

You will find that they were men and women of secret prayer. They had this custom of shutting the world out, separating themselves from everybody and everything and have a quality time with the heavenly Father.

Daniel went to his room and he opened the window and he prayed. But he prayed in secret. He did it three times a day.

He kneel upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God morning, noon and evening bow to give thanks and to worship and praise his heavenly Father.

Jesus set the example for private praying. Scripture’s full of it. He constantly sought out private places to pray.

When He pray, He sent His disciples away. Because He get alone with His heavenly Father.

After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,

Matthew 14:23

You’ll find it all through the ministry of Jesus and in the morning rising up before a day He went out, departed into a solitary place. Nobody’s around and there He prays.

After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray

Mark 6:46

He departed on a mountain to pray. He sent them away.

God has to have you alone to Himself. If I have learn anything, I will not get direction from the Lord. I will never reach my potential in Christ. I will never have the ministry He wants me to have, unless I have quality time alone.

This is what Jesus’ saying to us.

Isolated alone

An isolated place

Luke 6:12

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.

“Pastor, David. He was Son of the living God. He was supernatural. There’s something that He has I can not possibly do.”

But the scripture says very clearly

He that abided in Him also to work even as He worked

John 14:10

It is in secret prayer that God most reveals His heart to His people.

God touched Daniel when he is in secret prayer. But he also informed him. He also gave him the revelations only when he shut in with God.

Daniel said, “I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin while I was speaking to God in prayer Gabriel touched me and he informed me and talk with me, said I come to show thee for thou art greatly beloved.”

(Daniel 9:20-23)

While in prayer, God gave Daniel the revelation that goes all the way through history by alone with Him.

He is a spirit of grace and supplication according Zechariah the prophet.

(Zechariah 12:10)

If you have the Holy Ghost in you, there is an urgency to pray.

You take the time.

You set the time.

All through the testament, all through the book here all new and old testament, you will find ‘he set his heart to seek the Lord.’

‘He set his heart.’

My father kept telling me,

“David has only 24 hours a day. You have the same amount of hours as Elijah had.

You can pray as diligently, and as long, as faithfully as Elijah, or any other man of God in the old testament.”

My father pounded that, lovingly reminded me constantly.

“David, God always makes a way for a praying person. God always makes a way. Others may not find a way. You may not get the education. You may not have all of the money and things they have. But God always knows the man or woman who prays. And God will make a way.”

He has done that

I got away from that when I pastored a little church of Pennsylvania.

There was a major blessing.

There came a time I said, “God, there has to be more than this.” It wasn’t that I wanted to be somebody great. I wasn’t looking for some great ministry. But there was a hunger in my heart for more of the Lord.

I wanted to know Him. I wanted to know more of this word. I wanted the revelation.

But I had a problem. I was addicted to a television at night.

But God spoke to me.

“David, Think of hours you spend watching this thing. If you get this out house, and just give me the equal time ... Give me the time you watching television. Give it to me. Spend in prayer. And I’ll use you. I’ll turn your life around. And you’ll never be the same.”

Within a week it was gone. And I went into my little room. I shut the door.

“All right, Lord. Now it’s Your time.”

But there’s something about the Holy Spirit when you set your heart.

You say, “Lord, I’m tired of where I’m living. I’m tired of defeat. I’m tired of lack of fruit.”

There was a major blessing, but I said, “There’s a whole world dying and going to hell.

God, there’s got to be more.”

There was a burning in my heart. I started going out into the woods with a little Bible.

I sat under a tree and began to feed on the word and began to pray.

Because when I was on my knees in those woods for months God began to break and melt my heart. He began to show me the white fields to harvest. He began to tell me His heart, things I have never seen or heard or known.

I would come into church and try to teach my Sunday school class and just collapse, weep and break. They thought I had nervous break-down. I’ve never been saner in my life.

One day, after months of prayer, I look out over the hills and God said, “Over those hills, there is a whole world dying.”

I didn’t know anything about drugs, alcohol. I didn’t know the world was so wicked.

I was in a nice little town 1,500 people. I was safe, nice little parsonage, lovely children.

New York was like Hong Kong. But there was something brewing my heart. I knew God was doing something.

When I picked up Life Magazine and I saw seven boys indicted for murder and a murder trial. God spoke “This is what it’s all about, David. Now you’re gonna go.

I’m gonna use you now. I’ve been preparing you for months now. You’ve been on your faith.”

I came to New York city. And God raised up a ministry that’s now all over the world.

I still remember the first five or six trips to New York. The first one I couldn’t get 50 miles out of town. I just stopped the car and go, pray. I just stopped on the side road, run up behind the trees and get down to seek the face of God and weep and cry. I didn’t know why.

I go another 50 or 100 miles and stop and pray. I still go down some of these highways and there are trees and landmarks that I still recognize that still warm my heart because that’s where I met God alone.

Nobody else. I met God alone. And I walked the streets and cried. I was on the subways and cried because God enlarge my vision.

And He wants to enlarge your vision. He won’t do that unless you get alone with Him and seek His face.

You can make a pledge.

You can make commitment right now.

Holy Spirit, come.

We can’t make commitments in the strength of our flesh.

Holy Spirit, You who abide,

You abide in us.

God, come now and help us to overcome our flesh.

I am going to seek the face of God.

I want to be fruitful and multiply.

I want God to use my life.

Spirit of living God, come now.

Oh Holy Spirit, awaken the church of Jesus Christ

to have a secret closet of prayer,

to get alone with God,

to seek Him with all that is in them.

I pray Amen.