He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him will I trust.” (Psalm 91:1-2, N.K.J.V.)

George Truett was one of the most famous Baptist preachers America has ever produced. From 1897 to 1944, he served as the pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. He was also the president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1927 to 1929.

Truett was raised on a farm in Hayesville, North Carolina, as part of a large family of boys. When his father and older brothers headed off in the mornings to work the farm, little George and his younger brother remained  with their mother at the house. On several occasions, George noticed his mother crying in the mornings. He would ask her, “Mother, why are you crying?” But the only answer she ever gave him was, “You are too young, my boy, to understand. Don’t worry about me.”

Every morning, however, after the breakfast dishes were cleaned and all the other little chores were done, George’s mother would step out of the house, stay gone for a while, and then come back either singing, smiling, or both. This aroused enough of a curiosity in George that he once took his brother along as he followed her to see where she went. She didn’t go far, just out to the orchard next to the house, and there she got down on her face and prayed.

George and his brother dared to get close enough to hear what she was saying. And what did they hear? They heard her pour out her heart to God in asking for guidance to raise her houseful of boys, She freely admitted that she could not be (in her own wisdom) the mother her boys needed, and that if God didn’t guide her the boys would surely end up what she called “shipwreck.”

When George grew older and became the preacher he became, he often referred to his mother as the greatest Christian he ever knew. He loved to tell the story of her secret prayer life and how it taught him the key to intimacy with Jesus. He once said to an audience, “It is when you and I tread the path of secret prayer that we find out about Jesus and are given to enter the secret of His presence.”

Christian, right now you would do well to dedicate yourself to finding a secret place of prayer where you can tell God your deepest thoughts. This is something that even Jesus felt compelled to do as He frequently went off by Himself to be alone and talk to His heavenly Father (Luke 5:16). Needless to say, if Jesus — who was God the Son — understood the importance of secret prayer, you and I should understand it as well. Dare I say that if we had more prayer warriors on par with George Truett’s mother, perhaps we would have more Christians on par with George Truett.