How to Open the Heavens

The Secret Place

　

Psalm 91

1. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God in Him will I trust.

3. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare and the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

4. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

6. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

7. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

8. Only with thy eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

9. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most high, thy habitation;

10. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

11. For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

12. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

13. Thou shat tread upon the lion and the adder, the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

14. Because he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known my name.

15. He shall call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.

16. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.

　

　

The Ninety first Psalm speaks of a secret place in God. This secret place is the place of an open heaven. It is in essence the key that opens the heavenly realm to those who access this place by faith. There are many bible examples of those who accessed this secret place of an open heaven, where heaven actually touched the earth. Our first discussion will be concerning angels and how they intervene on man's behalf. Look at verses 11 and 12 of Psalms 91.

The New International Version says, For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. This promise of angelic protection is for the person who is dwelling in the secret place and abiding under the shadow of the Most High, El Shaddai. This person is continually saying; the Lord is my refuge, my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Verse 2 is the condition upon which the ministry of angels is promised. The person who is dwelling and abiding in the presence of God is in continual communion with God. Notice verses 9-12 says;

Because thou hast made the LORD, which is thy refuge, even the most High thy habitation There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. (emphasis mine)

　

When the King James version says He will give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways, the word charge according to Strong’s Concordance, means to appoint or command. The word keep, means to guard, to hedge about, as with thorns, to protect, preserve, reserve, save, be circumspect, to watch. The word ways, means journey, or highway side. No matter what path we take in life angels are commanded by God to guard us along the way; because we dwell, continually, occupy and stay permanently fixed in the secret place of the most High God.

Verse 9 is the condition upon which the ministry of angels is promised.

9. If you say the Lord is my refuge and make the most High your dwelling.

10. No harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.

11. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

Now carefully consider what is being conveyed here, Moses is the author of this psalm He saw all of the miracles that God performed for the children of Israel from the ten plagues in Egypt to the dividing of the Red Sea, to the drowning of Pharaoh and his entire army in the Red Sea. Before any miracle was performed Moses had to say something. Remember Moses was in constant communion with God so he always said what God said. Because Moses was in constant communion with God he begins this psalm with the secret to unlocking the heavens. He that dwelleth - remains habitually- in the secret place (the place of constant communion) of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. In verse two Moses tells us how to activate the open heavens, by saying something. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God in Him will I trust. The secret to living in the place of miracles is true companionship with God. To live day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment in fellowship with God is to abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

In the book of James chapter 1verse 17 says, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. God is light. In Him is no darkness at all. Therefore to abide or live habitually under His shadow is to be illuminated continually with light, the light of God. So in my understanding, to be illuminated with the light of God is to be in such fellowship and communion with God that He shares his heart with you, His desires, His secrets, His plans. And you in turn say what He has already said until things start to happen, these things or happenings are miracles.

This is why in Psalm 91 verse 2, Moses says, I will say of the Lord, He is My refuge and my fortress: my God, in him will I trust. Moses had such a tight relationship with the Lord that he was familiar with the attributes of God, he had experienced God. When God spoke to him from the burning bush and told him how He would deliver the Hebrews from the King of Egypt, and how Pharaoh would not let them go immediately but after God performed signs and wonders Pharaoh would indeed let them go. And it happened just the way God said. Moses began to learn the ways of God. The children of Israel knew the acts of God, they saw the many signs and wonders, but Moses had been behind the scenes with God, he had spent time talking to God and hearing the heart of God. Therefore he learned the ways of God, how to unlock the heavens and watch heaven touch the earth on the behalf of man.

Verses 3 and 4 say, Surely he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence: He shall cover you with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thou shield and buckler.

Moses says by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, surely he will deliver you. He says this emphatically, beyond the shadow of a doubt, because he had come to lean on, rely on, and trust God at his word. Moses saw God deliver a whole nation from the strongest kingdom in the world, the Egyptians. He saw God heal all the Israelites in one night and restore health and vitality to an entire nation when they obeyed God, partook of the Passover and remained in the house, the secret place under the blood. Then he lets us in on a secret, one of the ways of God, he sheds some light on how God does these things, remember he is illuminated with the knowledge of God, the ways of God, because he lives with God. In verse 4 the Holy Spirit through Moses says; He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust. According to Strong’s exhaustive concordance the word wing means, extremity: specifically of a bird or army. I believe this winged army is referring to the Lord’s host. God is often referred to as the Lord of Host in Hebrew this means Yahweh of armies (see Joshua 5: 14, 15 in the World English Bible) Pay close attention to what is being said here, the b. clause of verse 4 says, his truth is thy shield and buckler.

Jesus said in John 17: 17 Sanctify them by thy truth, thy word is truth. In this passage of scripture Jesus is interceding for us, you and me. He says the word of God is truth. The word is truth, the word is our shield and buckler, and angels are listening to us to perform the word when we say what God has already said. There must be agreement for two to walk together. Amos 3:3 says, can two walk together, except they agree?  When we agree with what God says then heaven touches the earth and we walk together with God and his angels walk with us to perform His words that we speak.

Psalm 103: 17-22 says,

17. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;

18. To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

19. The Lord has prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.

20. Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.

21. Bless ye the Lord, all his ministers of his, that do his pleasure.

22. Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord O my soul.

This Psalm speaks of the dominion of the Kingdom of Heaven, which is given to angels and mankind. Because of God’s mercy he has given dominion to us and our children when we understand covenant and keep his commandments. He has also given his angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways according to Psalm 91: 11. Psalm 103 verse 20 tells us how to activate these angels. God has mighty angels who are excellent in strength to do his commandments, they are listening and waiting for us to speak the word of God so that they can exercise heavens dominion in the affairs of man.

Let’s look at Daniel 10: 12, 13, 20

12. Then he said unto me, fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. (emphasis added)

13. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia, withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the prince of Persia.

Notice that the angel said to Daniel, I am come for thy words. Let us now look at the pretext of this passage of scriptures. In verse 2 of chapter 10, Daniel says he was mourning for three whole weeks, this word mourning denotes afflicting ones soul. Isaiah 58: 3 says, Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul and thou takest no knowledge. Verse 5 of that same chapter says, Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? So when Daniel says he was mourning three whole weeks , he was on a fast. In the next verse he says, I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all until three whole weeks were fulfilled. Now while Daniel was fasting and praying, remember the angel said he had come because of Daniel’s words, the heavens were opened and Daniel saw a vision. Heaven actually touched the earth because Daniel fasted and prayed. The angel that spoke to Daniel gave him some insight as to what is happening in the heavens. Gabriel, who is God’s special messenger was dispatched to Daniel on the first day that he started praying, but he was detained by the prince of the Kingdom of Persia for twenty-one days. Then Gabriel shares a revelation with Daniel in verse 13b he says, But, lo, Michael one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

There is constant battle in the heavens, we must contend in this battle with fasting and prayer. We are not exempt from fighting, we are soldiers in God’s army, we are on the winning side. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, II Corinthians 10: 4. Principalities and powers set up strong holds, which are patterns of thoughts, in the minds of individuals in their region of domain. That is to say, when a principality has the dominion over a certain region that evil spirit has little ground troops called demons who harass, torment, and influence the thinking of the people who live in that region of his domain. That is why some communities or even countries may have a high rate of violence, or poverty, or racial friction, because these are the demons that are harassing the people of that region under the control of the principality that has set up his throne in the heavenlies above that area. When we dethrone these principalities then their power is broken, and the strongholds must crumble. People will be able to receive the gospel of the kingdom and be conformed to the teachings of Christ by the renewing of their minds. We must use our weapons of prayer and fasting to dethrone principalities and unlock the heavens over nations, communities and our own families. To be continued.

By Donna Louise