When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He startled them with a radical instruction: “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6, NKJV). This room is not about four walls or furniture. Solitude may help, but Jesus revealed something far deeper. The inner room is the secret chamber of the soul, the hidden temple within, where God dwells and prayer becomes encounter.
Scripture consistently points toward this truth. In Exodus, the Holy of Holies was veiled, the secret place where God’s glory rested (Exodus 26:33–34). The psalmist cries, “You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom” (Psalm 51:6). Paul insists that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and that Christ Himself dwells within us (1 Corinthians 3:16; Colossians 1:27). When Jesus spoke of the inner room, He was calling us into that very Holy of Holies—not crafted by human hands but prepared by God within the soul.
To enter this chamber is to turn away from distraction and move inward toward His Presence. Prayer in this place ceases to be performance; it becomes intimacy. In the secret place we meet the Father, known without mask or pretense. Here wisdom descends, wounds are healed, and hearts are set ablaze by the fire of divine love. The Spirit intercedes through us with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26–27). This is not technique or ritual but relationship—Christ dwelling in the heart, communion deeper than speech.
Because of this, it is worth saying what the inner room is not. It is not a Bible study, though Scripture remains central to life with God. The chamber is not intellectual exercise but communion. It is not the altar in your guest room, though physical spaces can help foster prayer. The room is not defined by candles, décor, or furniture. It is not bound by place at all—you can enter while walking, driving, or sitting in a café. Nor is it performance, for Jesus warns against praying to be seen. The inner room is secret by nature: the heart meeting God without an audience. It is not withdrawal for its own sake, either, but a turning inward to be filled with love before returning to the world.
Mystics and saints across history bear witness to this reality. Teresa of Ávila spoke of the soul as a castle with many chambers, the innermost blazing with divine love. Brother Lawrence practiced the presence of God in every task. The desert fathers withdrew, not to escape, but to find the inner temple and carry its flame outward. They all testify that this is no mere metaphor but a living reality.
Everything begins here. Outward activity without inward fire turns hollow, but when the soul ignites in the secret place, prayer becomes communion, worship becomes flame, and mission becomes overflow. The inner room is the furnace where cold hearts kindle into living fire.
At The Furnace Christian Fellowship, we take this reality as central. We are convinced that the Church must return to the inner room if revival is to come. Our gatherings, worship, and community rest on this conviction: God meets His people in the hidden temple and transforms them into vessels of His love and power. The journey begins here—souls joined to Christ, fire flowing outward into homes, cities, and nations.
The door to this chamber is never locked. It opens the moment we quiet ourselves, turn inward, and lift our hearts toward the Father. He waits in secret. This is the place of encounter, the place of love, the place of fire. What is the inner room? It is the dwelling place of God within each believer, the true Holy of Holies, the furnace of divine love, accessed by the sanctified imagination—the eyes and ears of the heart. And it is waiting for you.
Pastor Scot
