“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
To be alone with God was the way Jesus chose to pray daily and He always sets the example of how we should walk.
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Like 5:16 NIV
Jesus knew the importance of being alone with the Father, and to make the most of his time with Him. Do we always make the most of our time alone with Him? How important is it, to do just that?
Gideon was alone when approached by “an angel of the Lord.” It is written:
“The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” Judges 6:11-14 NIV
Gideon then went on to defeat an army of Midianites with only 300 men with trumpets and broken jars. Could he have done this without making the most of his time with God?
Nicodemus, a Pharisee, would sneak out in the middle of the night to seek out Jesus. It is written:
“Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” John 3:1-2
Nicodemus knew the importance of his alone time and learned so much by making the most of his time with the Lord. Consider some of the lessons he learned.
“Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3 NIV
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 NIV
What would he have done, or would we do, if we didn’t know these very important principles of our relationship with our God?
These are just two, of the many examples, of how our biblical heroes show us the importance of making the most of our time alone with our Lord.
Joshua spent time in the tent of meetings, alone, after Moses would leave. It is written:
“The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.” Exodus 33:11 NIV.
Who is it that lead the Israelites into the promised land? Joshua!
We need to understand how to listen, avoid distraction, and embrace his love and wisdom. We need to seek him, find him, follow him and spend a lot of time alone with him. Jesus always sets the example.
Barnabas
Special thanks to Barnabas for this guest submission.