Solitude - Luke 5:12-16

Solitude is not Isolation so make time for God and make it a habit

When you read the four biographies of Jesus in the New Testament, one thing is painfully clear: Jesus’ life template was based on a rhythm of retreat and return, like breathing in and then out. Jesus would retreat: He would slip away from the noise and press of the crowd. He would inhale. Then he would exhale, or return: He would come back to preach and teach and heal and deliver and offer love. He did stay away from people.

Mark 14:23 “Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it.”

Luke 5:16 “But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.”

Luke 22:41 “Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed,”

Solitude is not an excuse to distance yourself from other peolpe. while it requires you to be absence of others, the sole purpose of solitude is to carve out intentional space for you and God. Soitude is essential for spiritual formation and in today’s sstruggle of depression and loneliness, the practice of solitude hinders the souls need to retreat. Henri Nouwen said it best “without solitude it is viturally inpossible to live a spirtual life”. true spiritual growth requires us to move from the feeling of loneliness—a place of fear and self-preoccupation—to a state of solitude, which is a purposeful and intentional time alone with God. This practice is essential for self-discovery, listening for God's voice, and understanding our true identity, free from the distractions and expectations of the world. Without this intentional separation, our spiritual lives can become superficial and dependent on external validation.

We are not trying to be away from people. We are trying to be present for people and solitude helps us to be present for others. I often mistook solitude

Solitude is not Isolation so make time for God and make it a habit

Solitude Enhances our Prayer so find your secret place

A key phrase in today’s passage is the phrase “solitary place”. It’s actually one word in Greek: erēmos. It can be translated “deserted place,” “lonely place,” or “quiet place.”[58] Notice, he often withdrew to the erēmos.

On the night before his arrest, Jesus went to Gethsemane, a park outside the city of Jerusalem.

The writer Luke tells us he went there “as usual.”

60] One version has “as was His habit.”

[61] And the writer John added that the betrayer Judas knew to go there “because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.”

And with every one of those instances, you see Jesus doing what? PRAYING. In those moments of solitude, Jesus could pray, alone or sometimes with a few very close friends. For Jesus, the secret place wasn’t just a place; it was a practice, a habit, a part of his life rhythm. No matter where he was, Jesus had little spaces and places where he could slip away in solitude. This practice from the life of Jesus has come to be called “the spiritual discipline of solitude, silence, and stillness.” And no matter your personality type, introverted or extroverted, this practice is vital.

There was something so profound about this in Jesus. so much so, that Luke recounts a story when the dsicples asked Jesus, after he had spent time alone praying, to teach them to pray. There was something about watching Jesus pray that made them want to learn how to pray as Jesus prayed. There was something magnetic about the prayer life of Jesus, and the way He prayed showed something of His relationship with God the Father.

Silence enhances our prayer life. So find your secret place.

I often found myself in season, feeling overwhlemed and overworked. before i began looking more into spirtual foramtion, i felt like i needed to be all things to all people. and I could do it...for only a few seconds.

Solitude Enhances our awareness of God so focus on Him

Have you notice that we often what the perks of something but often unwilling to put in the time? We want to be great at playing an instrument but we don’t make time to practice. We want to have the physique like a Jason Mamoa or Jason Stathem but unwilling to commit to dieting and excercise. We want all the gain, none of the pain. The same is true for our spiritual lives. We want the benefits and rewards; better prayer life, discernment, clear vision and purpose, to be more loving, patient, etc, but we don’t often choose to endure the effort, hardship or challenges required to achieve them.

To posses God, you must give Him a way. Give Him access to your life. carve out intentional pockets, regualrly, for silence, solitude and prayer. Solitude enhances our awareness of God. when we elimate distractions and it becomes a practiced rhythm to hone in on God, we get Him. We get a growing awareness of His presence. Not only in those moment of silence but throughout the day. Take Jesus for example, have you noticed how often he would always refer to God’s will and not his own? John 6:38 “for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.” How does he get there? It wasn’t in his batism where the dove came down. It wasn’t in the synagogues where he would read scrolls and teach. It was in the miracles he would perform. It was in the 40 days in the wilderness in solitude and prayer. In the withdrawing to be WITH God. Jesus had a growing awareness of the God, why? Because he gave God a way.

When was the last time you intetnionally embraced silence, and what was your experience of God’s presence, or lack thereof, in that moment?

Solitude Gets us in on God’s Agenda so find purpose

Jesus was fully God, yes. His divinity was often on display. From the tranfiguration, to his wisdom and healing. Jesus was also fully Man. everything that makes up ur humanity, Jesus contains himself. In knowing so, Jesus did not neglect being with God, knowing he had a human nature that was prone to wonder. I want to examine the Lords Prayer as evidence of the fruit of solitude. When the discples asked him HOW to pray,