Pray the WordShembull

Alone with God

After focusing our attention in previous days on the importance of the spiritual discipline of reading, hearing, and meditating on God’s Word, today we begin looking at another closely related spiritual discipline—prayer. To see how critical prayer is to our spiritual growth, we need look no further than the ministry of Jesus.

Right before today’s verse, we’re told that a report about Jesus was spreading everywhere and that “great crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their infirmities'' (Luke 5:15). Even with all this going on, we’re told that Jesus would “withdraw to desolate places and pray.”

Getting alone with the Father was what was most important to Jesus, more important than preaching to great crowds or healing people of their diseases. Jesus loved to withdraw to a desolate place, to a place where nobody else was, just to be with the Father. Everything He did flowed from his intimacy with the Father.

Jesus’ example reminds us that the most important thing in our life should be time alone with our heavenly Father in prayer. We need to withdraw for a time and get rid of distractions. Of course, that can be a challenge for some people. We’re all busy, and depending on your life situation, it may be difficult to find time alone. Moms and dads who have young children up at all hours of the night may find this especially difficult. However, to the extent to which it’s possible, I encourage you to make an effort to find time alone that you can spend with God, and then guard that time.

Even when it’s not possible to have as much time alone as you would like, the Lord is pleased and honored by our desire to be with him. The good news is, He desires that time with us! So let’s make this a priority in our lives, in every way we possibly can. We need time alone with God.

Prayer

Jesus, we praise you for your example to us in Luke 5:16 and all throughout your Word. We praise you for the picture we see of you and your relationship with the Father. Your intimacy with Him was the spring from which everything in your life and ministry flowed.

God, we want to experience the fullness of your presence and your power. We want to know your love and the fullness of your joy, peace, and comfort. Help us, we pray, to prioritize time alone with you. We pray for concentrated, close communion with you so that we can enjoy you and pour out our hearts before you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.