Silence and solitude. These are two words that we don’t hear very often anymore. The world around us is always in motion, always moving faster than the day before. Life is fast pace and we are constantly looking for ways to make it faster, easier, louder. But God looks down at us and says take a moment and walk with me, speak to me, listen to me. There is mention of silence and solitude many times in the Bible. Many of the times it is mentioned it is speaking of God being the one going away to a mountain or to the desert to be alone to pray.
In Luke 5, it speaks of Jesus healing the man with leprosy and he told the man to go and say nothing of the healing to anyone, but nonetheless the crowds caught word of Jesus’ healings and went to him with the sick and followed him to see his great miracles performed. After this, it says in verse 16, “And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.” Jesus himself took time away from all that was going on around him to pray and to seek the will of God. Luke 12 and 13 says that Jesus went up into the mountains to pray and prayed all night and when he woke up the next morning he went out and chose the twelve disciples and named them apostles. Choosing the twelve disciples was a huge decision, they all played major roles in the Bible by being used and guided by Gods voice. Now could you imagine what could have happened if God didn’t take time to be alone and pray about that decision? If he didn’t slow down for a bit and just listen to what God wanted for him to do? Or if the disciples didn’t follow Jesus’ example and find time to pray or to listen or to be teachable? Where would the world be?
In our day-to-day lives it can be tough to steal away and have time with God. We have work, children, husbands, wives, sports, hobbies. But all of those things are nothing compared to a relationship with God. They will soon fall away and we will be left with the relationship that we have created with him. All this stuff in the world is just that, stuff. We put things in our lives to keep ourselves busy, moving. For some of us we don’t find time with God because we are afraid of what we might learn about ourselves when all is quiet. Or maybe for some, we are afraid to have God change us. Maybe we are afraid to take that next step in our relationship with God because we are comfortable where we are now. For others it may be that you want to make time to talk and listen to God but things just get in the way and then before you know it the day is gone and you haven’t spent one minute with him. If any of these reasons are you, you are not alone. We all have those days. But let me tell you, if you will make it a point in everyday to find time to be alone and simply listen you will not regret it.
Make it simple, don’t overthink it. If you have never taken time to talk with God, start slow, set 5 minutes aside during your day, or wake up 5 minutes earlier in the morning. Even these few minutes will be so worth it and this time will grow the more you do it. God will honor the time you give to him. Having someone to be accountable with is another idea. If you have a hard time staying consistent, find someone you can trust and ask them to help you by texting to remind you to pray in the morning. Having someone doing this with you is awesome to keep you in check and it gives you someone to talk to about what your going through. In this crazy world the devil doesn’t sleep or take a break so neither should we. We need to be sure we are being guided by the one who is victorious over evil and all its tricks. So make time for God. The only way to make that happen is to let him in. Talk to him and learn about him day by day. Let him guide you through the hard times and praise him through the storms. He will hold you and keep you if you will let him.
God is seeking a relationship with us. He wants us to know that there is no better time than right now to find a quiet place, relax, breathe, and listen for a still small voice. The world won’t slow down for us. It will always get faster, it is the time we are living in. Now is the perfect time to desire change, a relationship, guidance. God is raising up a church that will put him first so he can use them, prepare them, move them. I want to be a part of that movement. We will only be strong in the world if we are praying for strength in secret. The world is turning, changing for the worst. Evil is rising. But, prayer is powerful. Now is the time to stand, listen, grow, be changed, be moved, be guided, for such a time as this, such a time is now.
