...In Solitude With God

Many who grew up in Christian homes were taught very early the importance of God’s word and the benefits of prayer – how to pray and share our hearts and concerns with God. What many of us were not taught how to do was to take time in solitude and quietness to listen to God speak His will to our hearts.

As the years go by, it has become a busier and noisier world. Our lists of things to accomplish every day have never gotten shorter. Technology, even though delivers speed, has not helped to reduce our checklists of things to do. Social media has become a huge distraction and a major time thief to countless people. It has become more difficult than ever to spend time in solitude with God.

As a wife, mom of two young girls, a ministry volunteer, a full-time professional, a part-time student, a mentor, and more I understand “busy”. But I also understand that the only way I can keep sane and get things done in my busy and noisy world is to ensure that my personal time with the Lord stays solid. I have discovered that if I want to grow in my relationship with the Lord even with my daily packed schedule, I must be intentional about my time with God.

Here are a few things that I do to help me create personal time with the Lord:

i. Planning: At the end of every year, I plan towards the next year on how I would intentionally develop my spiritual life. My spiritual plan looks something like this:

• Fast twice a week,

• Read a few chapters of the epistles every day,

• Do a prayer and Bible study vigil once a month,

• Take a prayer walk once a month,

• Do a deep-dive study on 3 books in the Bible in the year,

• Etc.

Sometimes, I fall short on my plan. But because I have a plan, I know what to do every time. I am hardly ever in a place of confusion concerning what to do for my spiritual growth every day, week, or month.

ii. Making Time: It’s hard to spend time in solitude with God when you’re a mom of two very loud six and three-year-olds. I have the choice to whine and gripe about how I do not have time to pray, study, meditate, or listen to God. But I also have the choice to do something about it. If God really means what I claim He means to me, and if my spiritual growth is as important as God deems it, then I must be intentional about carving out time for my me-time with God. So, to make good quiet time, I wake up before everyone else does. Sometimes, thirty minutes (or even less) is all I get on weekdays. But on days off and weekends, I target 2 hours. Yes, I oversleep sometimes, and I find it hard to get up from bed sometimes, but God has helped me to stay mostly consistent and I have grown tremendously. You see, spiritual growth does not happen by chance. It is always intentional.

Other ways I make time include taking personal walks, using earplugs when the noise around me gets so loud, using my personal commute to work to pray, to listen to the Bible, or worship, etc.

What works for me may not work for you, but I strongly believe that God intends to reach out to someone reading this post. You are struggling with making that personal time for your relationship with the Lord and for your spiritual growth. God wants to help you. So, please, seek His face. Ask Him to show you how. Enough of beating yourself and feeling guilty about your lack of discipline, lack of time or stunted growth. Now is the time to do something about it. God will give you wisdom as you genuinely seek Him.

James 1:5 (NLT) - If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

If you need any support, encouragement, or an accountability partner, etc., I am here 😊.

Do have a blessed day/week and don’t forget to make time for the Lord.

Nourish Your Spirit