Abraham had a special place where he met with God. So did Daniel, when his life was threatened: ‘In his upper room… he knelt… three times that day… and prayed and gave thanks before… God, as was his custom.’ (Daniel 6:10 NKJV)

Jesus, too, had a special place: ‘Before daylight, He… departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.’ (Mark 1:35 NKJV)

Here’s an idea: establish a ‘God place’ in your life. When problems and pressures threaten to overwhelm you, go to your God place. When you need guidance, go to your God place. Hymnist William Walford penned these time-honoured words: ‘Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! That calls me from a world of care, and bids me at my Father’s throne make all my wants and wishes known. In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief; and oft escaped the tempter’s snare, by thy return, sweet hour of prayer!’

In the words of Henry Ward Beecher: ‘Wherever you have seen God pass, mark that spot, and go sit in that window again.’ Your God place can be anywhere, but it should be somewhere. After you’ve been there a while, a kind of aura will surround it. You’ll create memories of intimate times with God. It will become your sanctuary, which simply means ‘a place of refuge and safety’.

David wrote, ‘Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.’ (Psalm 91:1 NLT) Call it your God place, your secret place, your sanctuary, or whatever, but establish such a place in your life.