Our Alone Time with Him

Reading Time: 3 mins. 51 secs.

Scripture Readings:                                                          

Luke 5:16; 1 Samuel 1:1-19

 

Read Next Devotional: Seed Bearing Seed of Itself

 

Day 3: Published: November 14, 2016

 

 

A while back, I had this friend who hated the idea of being alone. Her husband often worked out of town so she would have friends or family over to keep her company while he was away. When those friends or family members left, she brought others to her home.

 

 

 

She would often do this with most of the things she did: grocery shopping or shopping in general, visiting another friend or family member, and so on. She was never alone and she hated the thought of being alone as she would tell me.

 

 

 

She would ask me how I do it. I could go to the movies by myself, shopping by myself, and sometimes, I might even visit a restaurant by myself. It never bothered me even though I had plenty of friends or family members that I could’ve taken with me. Sometimes, I just liked the idea of being by myself. It gave me a sense of "freeness", I guess!

 

 

 

Slowly but surely, I developed the same habit my friend had. I couldn’t leave the house unless someone was with me. I no longer felt comfortable going anywhere by myself. It took me a while to detect my actions. Until one person whom I'd often ask to go places with me decided to question me about it. It wasn’t that they mind going anywhere with me, they just began to realize that I’d changed.

 

 

 

When I really started paying attention to this, I realized how lonely I felt when I was alone. But, the question I asked myself was, how did I become this way? Then, I realized something crept into my spirit while unaware!

 

 

 

What I’d begun to notice was that this behavior of mine was rooted in my relationship with the Lord. I was currently in a long trial I had been in for about a year. Due to this long duration, I’d begun to feel as if the Lord didn’t care about what I was going through. This was the root of my problem!

 

 

 

I’d begun to pull away from the Lord and gravitate toward man. Of course, at the time I hadn’t realized I was pulling away because it seemed as if He was gone away from me. What the Lord began to reveal to me was that while I was experiencing the darkest times of my life, I should’ve continued to push toward God and not away.

 

 

 

 

The Lord wants nothing more but to experience true intimacy with us. Intimacy develops within that alone time with Him. When we’re in a trial and we’re always around a bunch of people, it brings forth a lot of noise.

 

 

 

Not the 'sound' type noise, but the kind of noise that comes in the form of others’ opinions of what they feel we should do to help our situation get better. If we’re listening to all of them, that would create confusion. And, this is not what the Lord wants.

 

 

 

Sometimes the Lord wants to minister something different to us. He may want to give us a new perspective on our situation. And, what He ministers may go completely against what our loved ones may feel is best. But, trusting in man all of the time can get us into trouble.

 

 

 

God wants us to learn to depend totally on Him. Remember, even Jesus had His moments of solitude away from the noise. His faith in God was so strong that He stayed His course even though He knew His time here was going to be short.

 

 

 

Also, remember Hannah? The woman who soaked herself in intimacy with the Lord through the bitterness of her soul! Her prayer became answered once she’d begun to spend time alone with the Lord and away from all the noise. Are you facing hard trials on today? If so, are there a bunch of voices (whether from within yourself or from others) telling you all kinds of answers but the right one? Maybe you could try to spend some alone time, you and the Lord, so that you can only hear His voice today.

 

 

 

This is what helps us to grow in the Lord. As He leads us and we’re obedient, we learn great wisdom through our alone times with Him!

 

 

Prayer: Lord, I ask that you would help me to not put my trust in man, but to completely depend on you. Help me to recognize when you want some alone time with me.  Lord, I thank you for helping me to develop in intimacy with you in Jesus’ name. Amen!

 

 

Quiet time meditation: Wait for the Lord to minister to you personally on what He may want to say to you. Be sure to pay attention to any areas that may pop up in your spirit (even silly things such as: how quick you may be to get angry with things or a friend or family member who has been nagging you about their problems.) This process could take anywhere from 10-30 minutes or longer. But, try not to rush this because you could be missing out on a great breakthrough. Within this quiet time, the Lord wants to restore you in any broken areas. He wants to replenish your spirit for what has been used up.

 

 

Understanding what He means: This is a time to jot down some of those things the Lord has ministered to you while in meditation. Sometimes, the Lord may wait to speak to you throughout the day. Pay attention and jot these things down so that you won’t forget. You may even come up with more scriptures that may come to mind.

 

Read Next Devotional: Seed Bearing Seed of Itself

 

May the Lord bless your day abundantly!