It’s hard
to hear God through the clanging cymbals of this world and the beating drums in
your brain. You need a mental and physical place and time of respite and
solace.
June’s Awakening, Day 15
Our language has wisely sensed the two
sides of being alone. It has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain
of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of
being alone.
—Paul Tillich
True religion disposes persons to be
much alone in solitary places for holy meditation and prayer.
—Jonathan Edwards
There are many who live in the
mountains and behave as if they were in the town, and they are wasting their
time. It is possible to be a solitary in one’s mind while living in a crowd,
and it is possible for one who is a solitary to live in the crowd of his own
thoughts.
—Amma Syncletica
When
Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary
place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. Matthew
14:13 NIV
Very
early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and
went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35
NIV
But
Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16
NIV
Solitude.
The spiritual discipline of solitude is not being alone and lonely. It is a
willful choice to mentally and/or physically escape not only the busyness and
clutter of the world around us, but of our own mind’s clutter too. We all
suffer somewhat from “hurry sickness,” especially in today’s high-tech world,
where we constantly try to accomplish more in progressively diminishing
available time. The greatest danger in this is that we become so distracted,
rushed, and preoccupied with the busyness that we settle for a mediocre
spirituality and faith or very little at all. This is a choice of priorities
that each of us must make. Busyness does not equate to a higher quality of life
or productivity, in fact, it is often detrimental to our entire well-being.
The practice of solitude begins with
a state of mind that cultivates a silence and a patient and peaceful slowing—a
place in the mind, if you will, where you can meet God with a serenity and
tranquility at a moment’s notice. The more you can frequent this place in the
mind, the greater the benefits of having calm in the midst of the storm and of
hearing the still small voice of the Divine Whisper. Solitude is about being
still in the presence of the Lord and listening intently to what He has to say.
It is also helpful to have a place
of solitude to escape the busyness with quiet prayer and meditation, just as
Jesus so often did. If God-in-the-flesh deemed it so important to escape the
crowds and be alone with the Father, how much more important do you think that
is for us? Solitude is also a time of quiet rest, a collection of your
thoughts, and reflection upon past, present, and future. It’s a time to
strengthen inner peace, reaffirm His direction for your life, and refocus your
energies. Times of solitude can be moments, hours, days, or sabbaticals,
whichever fits the current need best, but brief moments should be practiced
routinely. Approach solitude like the requirement for sleep—without it you
would soon succumb and cease to exist.
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