Spiritual Discipline Of Silence And Solitude Series

Spiritual Discipline: Silence and Solitude

August 1, 2021

I don’t think I need to tell you how crazy life is. We all have pressures and demands. They come in all different shapes, directions and sizes. Some are the result of our jobs, or are due to family situations or obligations. They come in the form of health issues and simply day to day demands.

We all go through them! One thing I’ve learned is that nobody really trains us in how to deal with the difficulties of life. I mean, there’s no manual called - - “Michael’s Book!” It would contain everything I need to know and do. It would tell me how to uniquely raise two different boys, how to treat Debbie the right way, how to pastor, how to be a friend, how to return an item to a store when they are not agreeing with me, how to grow older with grace and dignity, how to better connect with God . . . and more.

YET! There is a book that helps with all of that and more . . . it’s called the Bible! We’ve been looking at spiritual disciplines since April 11, with a few interruptions along the way. And we will finish on August 29.

Spiritual disciplines are designed to help us grow to become more Christ-like. We learn how to manage, change, adapt and handle the different situations in a manner which honors and glorifies Jesus. We’ve looked at a number of disciplines there are more external disciplines like worship and celebration. Today and next week, we’re going to look at 2 very internal disciplines. Today, we’re talking about silence and solitude.

Most of us don’t like silence. The SOUNDS OF SILENCE can be deafening. Because once it becomes silent and we’re alone, our voices start. And many times, we don’t like to hear our voices, because there can be a lot of negativity in our own voices AND the problems of life roar at us.

I know I’ve woken up in the middle of the night, and within moments, literally seconds, my brain has kicked into high gear and I’m thinking about an issue. Not what I want at 2 or 3 AM.

If you’re at home with the kids, finding quiet time is even more difficult. There’s homework, play time, being a playmate, hunger, household chores and more . . . and it can get pretty overwhelming.

So, let’s look at some biblical examples of silence and solitude, then we’ll talk about how we can begin to practice them.

After Jesus fed the 5,000 in Matthew 14, Matthew tells us --

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowd. 23 After He had dismissed them, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone. - Matthew 14:22-23

Jesus was alone on that mountainside, He went there to pray. There were so many people He had contact with that day, He needed the time and space not just to get away, which isn’t all that bad, but He wanted to be alone with the Father.

In the same way, in Mark 1, Jesus had just healed many people when we read --

35 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. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for Him, 37 and when they found Him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you! - Mark 1:35-37

I love this! Simon and the disciples go looking for Jesus and they couldn’t find Him because He went off to pray. Jesus wanted and needed to get away by Himself and pray. Everyone was looking for Him, people wanted Jesus to touch and heal them.

Jesus helps us see that prayer does NOT have to come at one particular time. In the first scripture Jesus was alone on the mountain in the evening. In the second, Jesus was alone early in the morning. Whether you pray in the morning or at night, find the time that works best for you.

There are the passages which remind us Jesus went off into the desert wilderness for 40 days, to spend time with God. The passage in Luke is interesting because when Jesus goes into the desert, we learn - - -

1 And Jesus, FULL of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness . . . - Luke 4:1

After Jesus withstands the temptations in the wilderness, Luke now tells us - -

14 And Jesus returned in the POWER of the Spirit . . . - Luke 4:14