Practicing the Way: Solitude and Silence
Notes
Transcript
What do I believe God wants us to know? We are to practice silence and solitude to be with Him, to be renewed, restored, pruned, strengthened
Why? We need renewing
What do I believe God wants us to do? To practice silence and solitude
Why? To be renewed and restored and transformed
Big Idea: In a noisy world, solitude provides the quiet space necessary for spiritual renewal, enabling us to hear God's voice and center our lives on His purpose.
ME/WE
Today we going through as Dallas Willard who wrote The Spirit of Disciplines the most radical and most necessary spiritual practice of the American culture.
It’s a practice we see throughout Scripture:
- Jesus practiced it regularly.
- David sought it in the wilderness
- Moses encountered God in this spiritual practice.
- The early Fathers and Mothers of our faith cherished it.
And yet, it’s a practice we rarely engage with today.
- IF WE LOOK AT THIS PRACTICE AND ANOTHER PRACTICE WE UNPACKED…THIS PRACTICE AND THAT PRACTICE WOULD BE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PRACTICES WE PRACTICE.
ANYBODY WANT TO GUESS???
It is the practice of SILENCE and SOLITUDE
It is the practice of being alone with God with no distractions. It is just you and God. You are detaching from the world, technology, the to do list, etc. to be with you God
Let me ask: When was the last time you experienced true silence and solitude—just you and God—for more than five minutes?
THIS is not mindfulness
THERE IS A SIMILAR SECULAR PRACTICE THAT PEOPEL PRACTICE THAT IS ROOTED IN SOLITUDE AND SILENCE called mindfulness.
Why don’t we practice it more?
Is it because we feel we’re too busy?Or because we don’t know how? Jesus look at our schedules!?!
But here’s the truth: We can’t afford not to practice it.
Luke 5:16 tells us that Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray.
Think about that.
The Son of God—pressed by the demands of ministry, surrounded by people needing His help—made silence and solitude a priority.
Why?
Because He knew the goodness and strengthen that comes from being alone with His Father.
Why would He and why should we ?
TO HEAR FROM GOD AND HEAR FROM OUR SOUL: WE STOP TO LISTEN (I am not saying God cannot speak outside of SOLITUDE AND SILENCE, but when we are silent there is more room for Him to talk)
We see this in the Lord’s Prayer
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
In the Lord’s pray Jesus encourages us to go be with God. Go talk to God in secret.
It is not a public thing but a private thing
HOW DOES PRAYER PLAY INTO SILENCE?
Prayer is not just talking it is also LISTENING
Jesus often withdrew to be with His Father. TO HEAR FROM HIM
This is the same for us too…This doesn’t we cannot hear from him outside of prayer…But it is the silence and solitude that our EARS are turned up
What happens is God says to us:
We see Ps 46:10 come to life
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
Know that I God has the whole world in HIS hands
:“Here is the way forward”
“You are loved.”
“You are not alone.”
“You are enough.”
This is what we see Mary doing.
Go be like Mary in Maratha WORLD…I love this the illustration Jesus gives after sharing the two greatest commandments.
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
THE BETTER
Why do we need to listen and be with JESUS?
To hear the TRUTH and BE LOVED
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Sometimes we are so busy, that we forget the most important thing which is to be with Jesus.
Let him speak truth to us.
How many times have we sat with Jesus
Jesus renewed our mind…our mind was thinking one thing and God renewed it
Jesus renewed our hearts....we felt alone and Jesus says I am with you
Jesus gave us a truth that GAVE us life....I am not unlovable
Be renewed and transformed
When we sit with Jesus, He renews our minds and hearts.
He quiets our fears.He shifts our perspective.He reminds us of who we are in Him.
We see Romans 12:2 transform our minds
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
WORD and SPIRIT and COMMUNITY
GOD PUT HIS RUACH IN US
OUR FAITH GETS BOLSTERED bolstered
THE ENEMY OF SILENCE
THE ENEMY OF SILENCE
Let’s be real—the enemy hates silence and solitude. Why?
Because it’s in the quiet that we draw close to God, hear His truth, and experience His love.
The busier we are, the more distracted we become, the harder it is to hear from Him.
But silence is where transformation happens.
C.S. Lewis screwtape letters
SILENCE AND SOLITUDE IS ALSO A GREAT TIME TO PROCESS
anybody ever need a moment to think? Yes
IT IS ALSO TO UNLOAD and PROCESS
casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Jesus work is hard right now
Jesus I am depressed
My spouse is driving me nuts
My kids are driving me nuts
Jesus I don’t know how I am going to pay the bills
Chuck Degroat says there are 3 questions that we can answer that God can ask us in silence and solitude that are grounded in I added 1 question to ask that are ground in Genesis 3
Where am I? (lost, lonely,
Who told you that it had to be this way?
Where have you take your hunger?
What is the truth?
SOLITUDE AND SILENCE PREPARES YOU FOR THE FUTURE
Jesus in the desert
Jesus withdrew to be with God to be prepared for the next season of His ministry.
Silence and solitude fills you up for whats next
HOW TO PRACTICE SILENCE AND SOLITUDE
HOW TO PRACTICE SILENCE AND SOLITUDE
You don’t have to start with hours of silence. Begin small:
Start your morning with 5–10 minutes of silence
No phone, no distractions—just sit in God’s presence.
Find quiet moments in your day
While walking, driving, going to the bathroom, or even in the shower, take time to connect with God.
Create a rhythm
Make silence and solitude a regular part of your life, even if it’s just a few minutes each day.
CLOSING CHALLENGE
CLOSING CHALLENGE
Friends, Jesus often withdrew to be alone with His Father—not out of obligation, but because He needed it.
If the Son of God needed silence and solitude, how much more do we?
When we practice silence and solitude, we allow God to:
Speak truth into our lives.Renew our minds.Strengthen us for what’s ahead.
Let’s not let the busyness of life rob us of this sacred practice.
This week, I challenge you to find time—whether it’s five minutes or fifty—to be alone with God. Practice silence and solitude, and let Him transform you.
PRACTICE SILENCE AND SOLITUDE
