Introduction

  • It is in solitude that we hear the voice of the Father say to us: Luke 3:21-22: “You are my son/daughter, my beloved, with you I am delighted.”
  • Luke tells us that Jesus often withdrew to pray to the Father, where that voice was heard: Luke 5:12-16
  • Last Sunday we looked at Luke 6:12-19: From solitude to community to ministry. Today and the next several weeks will focus on the first relational circle: solitude. 

Two foundational truths

  1. God desires to be with you personally. Read Jn 4.23 and Col 1:10.
  2. God qualified you to be with Him. Read Col 1:11-12 and Col 3:12– chosen, holy, beloved
  • Knowing these two truths will give us assurance as we meet with the Lord.
  • One way to meet with the Lord daily involves three simple steps: Wait, Read, Write.
  1. WAIT
    • Choose a regular place (alone and quiet) and time
    • Have with you: Bible, pen, journal, Earplugs or headphones, Smart phone with ringer off and notifications disabled: use it to jot down reminder notes; use it for a bible app. I like Blue Letter Bible for original language work.
    • Make the time pleasurable (coffee, tea) and beautiful, by a window, if possible
    • Don’t rush: treat it like a date rather than a workout
    • Breathe deeply and slowly; slow yourself; be fully present
    • Remind yourself who God is: High and holy One yet the tender Abba who values you: Isa 57:15
    • Pray a verse back to God: Ps 119:18; Jer 33:3; Matt 4:4. Ask the Father to feed you and meet with you.
  1. READ
    • The goal is not to get through the bible but to let the bible get through you as you simply come to God. So Read only as much as you can digest (a paragraph or line in epistles; a page or chapter in the narrative parts)
    • George Mueller said his goal was to have his soul “happy in the Lord.”
    • Read slowly, savoring each word
    • Read carefully (Ask the seven fact-finding questions: what? When? Where? Who? Why? How? So? Ask: What does this text tell me about the character of God? About me? About how God interacts with humans? With me, personally, right now?)
    • Read prayerfully (Lord, please tell me what this means; Father, this upsets me, help me to understand it; Abba, this person sounds like me: please forgive me!)
    • Compare your text to other passages that come to mind
  1. WRITE
    • Journal your insights, questions and prayers
    • This reinforces kinesthetically the lesson you’ve learned through reading
    • Try rewriting a verse or short passage; put it in your own words
    • The key thing is to reflect on what you’ve read, digest it, let it become a part of you
    • Conclude you time with a prayer and commit your day to Him

Conclusion

  • The Lord has invited you to a feast every day: Himself! Ps 36:7-9
  • Our Father so wanted to be with us daily, that He asked His son to become a human, one of us, and pioneer the way for us to be reconciled to him