Tuesday, February 9, 2010

All Alone

When was the last time you spent some time alone with God? I'm not talking about your daily devotions and prayer time. I'm talking about specifically setting aside time to get alone and spending time with Him.

Without interruptions. Without distractions.

It's not as easy as you'd think. We live in a multi-tasking society. We're too busy to focus on only thing at a time. We're taught that it's a waste of time to be single-minded. How many times have you started to pray, only to realize your mind has sprinted off in a million different directions in the middle of a request? It's so hard to stay focused on our conversation with the Lord when there are so many other things going on in our lives.

Jesus Himself showed us that sometimes we need to practice the discipline of solitude in our prayer life. But you might be surprised when He felt the need to be alone. He practiced solitude after feeding the 5,000. He had just performed this huge miracle of feeding this great crowd of people with only five loaves of bread and two small fishes. And yes, I do take the Bible literally. I do believe He actually performed a miracle. What a mountaintop experience for everyone there! But then the Bible tells us that he sent the disciples away, sent the crowds away and went off to pray. Alone.

Sometimes I think great victories can make us vulnerable. We've had such a great experience that we get careless about the pitfalls that are still out there in our Christian walk. Or we get over-confident. But it's important to recharge your spiritual batteries before they are completely depleted.

He set a great example for those of us so busy caring for others as well. He took care of the immediate needs of those around Him. And then He sent them away. He knew they would need Him again. But since their immediate needs were met, He also knew that He could leave them for a while in order to take care of His own needs. Sure enough, later that night when the disciples were caught in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus was there for them.

So what about you? What do you do when you need alone time with God? Do you set a timer and tell the kids to leave you alone until it goes off? Do you ship the kids off to the neighbors? Maybe you get to schedule a few days to go away by yourself. (That's my dream!) And how do you maintain your focus while praying? How's your prayer life this morning?

*This post is a small part of the monthly Bible study our church ladies have been having on prayer. 

6 comments:

  1. Thank you for this post. Prayer is a vital component for me, I've seen great dangers when I neglect my communion.

    "Pray without ceasing." Teaches me that I need to be in constant conversation with Father.

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  2. Funny I was just thinking along these lines this morning. I locked myself out of the house and had to wait an hour for the locksmith just sitting in my garage. I had a little conversation with God about this very thing. No distractions. Defiinitely a good thing. And I wonder why I feel so distracted when I do not have the excuse of young kids under foot. I find other distractions it seems.

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  3. I liked what you said "we get over-confident. But it's important to recharge your spiritual batteries before they are completely depleted."
    I need to have complete quiet, which means sending the kids away. This last Sunday I chose not to go iceskating with the family because I needed to recharge. Do I feel guilty for missing out on an oppertunity to spend as a family, well of course, but at some put I need my mental health otherwise I get UGLY, and God doesn't want me ugly.
    Great post Jill.

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  4. Now that the kids are older it is much easier to get peace and quiet. I used to do my quiet time either very early in the morning or after they all went to bed.

    Sometimes I did it during nap time. It just depended on my day that day.

    BTW, love your "death before toilet paper" motto, lol!

    ~ Nan

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  5. Good stuff. I'd love to go to a women's retreat. Never been. I know that's not really 'alone', but since you mentioned getting away, I had to say it. I've been wanting to do that for a while and just never have had the opportunity.

    -FringeGirl

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  6. I have a difficult time shutting my mind down. As crazy as it sounds, I've found that after bathing, if I just sit quietly in the tub just as God created me, I can have that time alone with him. I don't know if it's the water or the stripped down that does it, but at that moment it is all about Him and me alone.
    Debbie

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