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Our theme for 2020 is Seeing Spiritually.
Our church and many churches are spending some time in prayer and fasting as we begin the new year.
Prayer and fasting is a spiritual discipline that has been practiced by the church since the time of Christ, but there are more spiritual disciplines than just fasting.
We will talk specifically about prayer and fasting next week, but before we do that we need to learn how to be still.
As I was preparing this message, my week emphasized the need for stillness and solitude.
Thursday was the day in my week set aside for sermon preparation.
My entire week was back to back meetings and appointments up until that time.
I attended a wedding last night and was to give the meditation, so I had that to prepare.
The Dove/ Hopewell Leadership and Ministry School was also this weekend and I was going to be teaching in two sessions.
We have nightly prayer meetings at Telford focused on prayer and fasting and Thursday was our turn to lead that.
So as I am trying to reflect on silence and solitude, I have all of these different task swirling around my head.
How am I supposed to hear God’s voice through all of that?
To seek the Lord, you need to get away from distraction.
Holiness means to be “set apart.”
God is holy - He is set apart, beyond anything we know or can fathom.
People who want to know God want to set themselves apart, at least for a time to be able to get God’s perspective.
Elijah went and lived in a cave in the desert.
Jesus, John the Baptist, the Apostle Paul all spent time in the wilderness.
Many godly men and women throughout the centuries have found it necessary to spend time alone with God in order to get spiritual direction and perspective.
The early church Father: Athanasius spent his time in exile writing.
One of the books that he wrote was “The Life of Anthony” about a Christian hermit in Egypt.
Anthony was from a wealthy family, but as a young man his parents died leaving him a lot of money and entrusting to him the care of his sister.
Anthony felt that God was calling him away from the world and all of its cares to pursue Him alone.
At first he lived in a graveyard away from everyone else.
There he was attacked by demons which left him beaten and unconscious.
The people of his village intervened and nursed him back to health.
He left again, this time living in an abandoned Roman fort.
He fought with demons on a regular basis, but this time he overcame them by the authority of Christ.
For 20 years no one saw him face to face.
But people would come to him, asking for prayer or for advice and would pass bread to him through the cracks in the wall.
When he eventually emerged people were surprised that he was in such great shape.
They have heard of his trials, but found that he was actually rejuvenated through the experience.
Pachomius was inspired by Anthony’s story and began the first monastery around the beginning of the fourth century.
If Jesus needed time to get away, you do too!
Jesus, John the Baptist, the Apostle Paul and many godly men and women throughout the centuries have found it necessary to spend time alone with God in order to get direction.
The early church Father: Athanasius spent his time in exile writing.
One of the books that he wrote was “The Life of Anthony” about a Christian hermit in Egypt.
Anthony was from a wealthy family, but as a young man his parents died leaving him a lot of money and entrusting to him the care of his sister.
Anthony felt that God was calling him away from the world and all of its cares to pursue Him alone.
As first he lived in a graveyard away from everyone else.
There he was attacked by demons which left him beaten and unconscious.
The people of his village intervened and nursed him back to health.
He left again, this time living in an abandoned Roman fort.
He fought with demons on a regular basis, but this time he overcame them by the authority of Christ.
For 20 years no one saw him face to face.
But people would come to him, asking for prayer or for advice and would pass bread to him through the cracks in the wall.
When he eventually emerged people were surprised that he was in such great shape.
They have heard of his trials, but he was rejuvenated through the experience.
Pachomius was inspired by Anthony’s story and began the first monastery around the beginning of the fourth century.
Jesus had crossed the sea of Galilee to find a place to be alone but the crowds followed him.
Jesus had crossed the sea of Galilee to find a place to
Jesus had crossed the sea of Galilee to find a place to
In Matthew’s gospel, all of this follows the death of John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin and friend.
Time away is important.
When you are grieving.
When life get too busy.
When you need to connect with those closest to you.
When you want to connect with God.
If you can’t get away, eliminate distraction.
Finding a cave or being alone in the wilderness might not be an option for you.
You can start by turning off the TV or your phone.
Take a fast from social media.
You might need to go where you can’t see the laundry pile or cobweb on the light fixture.
How about a park, a coffee shop or a hotel?
I began in 2013 to have an annual personal retreat.
I usually go away somewhere.
I prefer a nice scenic place, but sometimes it has just been a park or a hotel.
I begin by looking back on the past year.
I reflect on what I have done and praise God for what He has done!
I then try to assess where I am in relation to God and His call on my life.
Am I being obedient in every area of my life?
I look at my relationships with my family and in the church and consider where I need to change.
Then I begin to set goals for the future.
I try to hear what God is saying that I should aim for.
Sometimes I hear things that I feel are beyond my reach at the time and I just write them down for future reference.
I then go back and review things that I wrote previous years and I try to align my expectations with what God has been showing me all along.
When seeking the Lord, present yourself before the Lord
Then he was told, “Go, stand on the mountain at attention before GOD.
GOD will pass by.”
If you want God to speak, you need to open yourself to God.
Every encounter with God starts with vulnerability.
How are you going to hear God or receive what He has for you if you are closed and guarded?
Elijah had to come out of his hole in the ground before He could encounter God.
What about you?
Are you in your little hole in the ground or are you out there saying, “God, here I am!”
Richard Foster in his classic book “Celebration of Discipline” writes, “The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that He can transform us.”
Be honest with God about what you are thinking and feeling.
I like to begin my time with praise, but from there I move into a time of confession and repentance as I open my heart to God.
As I come into the light of God’s presence, I often see where I fall short.
Instead of hiding those thoughts and feeling we need to bring the into the light and let God speak to them.
Expect God to show up!
I wish that I could tell you that all of my prayer times are amazing or that my personal retreats are the highlight of my year.
Actually they’re not.
Most of the time they are rather uneventful.
No bright lights or golden revelations, they’re more like an everyday conversation with a friend.
In fact, some of the most profound things that God has spoken to me didn’t occur to me at the time, but I remembered (or wrote them down) and later realized how powerful it was, what God was saying.
God is there, but not always as you expect.
You just have to know it.
Keep on seeking until you hear the Lord’s calm and quiet voice.
And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain.
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