Alone Time

I did a lot of cleaning this morning.
The kind of cleaning where once you get started, you just move from room to room.
The music is louder than usual…you find yourself singing.
Before you know it…you are done!

But let’s backtrack a minute.
Today as I was washing my kitchen floors, I realized that this was the first morning, in three months, that I have had the house to myself!

Don’t get me wrong…I love my family!
I truly love when everyone is home!
But every woman loves to be in her home alone every once in a while!
It is good for the soul!

Men may not quite understand.
Perhaps they do…when left alone in their garage or their workshop.
Women spend much of their time giving…doing…pouring out for others.
That is a noble thing.
It is a a blessing…a gift…to be able to do things for those we love.

But every once in a while…alone time is lovely!
Time to think…play the piano…take a walk…read a book…have a cup of tea.
A woman is indeed the heart of the home.
Occasionally that heart needs a little ATR…alone time refreshment!

Alone time is a good thing.
It is important to our well being.
It is vital to our prayer life.
Jesus was intentional about alone time.

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)

Jesus often went to those wilderness places.
Solitary places…where he could be alone with His Father.
Something happens when we quiet our hearts in His presence.
Something happens when we have alone time with God.

God will speak to His people, to whom He said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”; and “This is the place of repose.” But they would not listen. (Isaiah 28:11,12)

God offers a sanctuary in the solitary places.
God speaks in the silence.

Sometimes we have to be alone…to hear God.
God can speak anywhere…in whatever volume He chooses.
Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm. (Job 38:1)

The problem is with us.
We need the silence in order to hear Him.
We need to quiet our lives enough…so that the din of everyday living is silenced.
In that quiet space, we will hear Him speak to our very heart.

But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. (Psalm 131:2)

A weaned child has learned to wait…has learned to trust.
A weaned child knows his needs will be met…knows that he will be taken care of.
In the quiet…he will be answered…lovingly.

Jesus knew His disciples needed quiet.

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, “Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
(Mark 6:30-31)

Be with Jesus…in a quiet place…and rest.
Just what we need.
Yet so often, this vital need is very low on our list of importance.

When we are alone with God, we tend to fill up that time with words…OUR words.
We begin to realize, pretty quickly, Who has the more important thing to say!
When we finally submit to the quiet…to the stillness…a peace washes over us.
HIS peace…the peace that was there all along…but we were too busy to notice.

After a time in that quiet place, we learn to be still…patient.
We learn to wait and trust…knowing He will speak.

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62:1)

That quiet surety comes from alone time with God.

Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)

Know Him…in the quiet…in the stillness.
Plan some alone time with Him today.