SOLITUDE PART 2

Well, it's Friday night, and here I am at my computer, alone, having sent my daughter to her mom's house for the weekend. Am I lonely? I think about that thought for a moment............No, not really. Missing my daughter? Yes, but not really lonely.

"Enforced" solitude can have that impact in a person's life. I didn't choose to have my wife leave me for another man, that was her doing. But here I am, and after four years of it, you get used to it. God does amazing things in the heart of enforced solitude, times in the wilderness when you can't see your way past the heart-breaking circumstances you are in. Much of my love for God was shaped during this time of "wilderness" and solitude. Just another way God uses everything toward the good of those who love Him, and how He builds the need, the dependence, and finally, the love.

Last night, I talked about solitude, quiet times, and Lectio Divina (Sacred Reading). Tonight is just a continuation of that.

So, how does one approach "solitude"? As stated yesterday, solitude is removing yourself from others, and giving God your undivided attention. You can prepare for it by reading the Bible, but try to limit that to a few verses. This isn't a Bible study, it's Spirit-led prayer. The reason the Bible may help is to point you toward God, and away from the world.

One way I do it is to begin by laying down on my back (the position does not matter), and clearing my mind as best I can. Everything is turned off. I have absolute silence. Then, I simply pray, "Holy Spirit of God, here I am. Take me where you want to go." Then I stay silent. If a thought creeps into my mind, or several, then I take that thought captive by telling God about it, and usually, He turns it into a prayer. What are some of these thoughts? For me, they can be weird, like, "Gee, I'm getting kind of hungry." Or, "Man! I forgot to call my mom!" Hmmm.......

What do you do with that? Well, one thing we need to do is recognize that many of these thoughts are there all of the time, we just never recognize them because we don't take the time to quiet our soul so we can hear them. Some of these thoughts may be important. They may very well be something that is an issue you haven't dealt with, so don't get all worked up over the fact that you can't deal with your mind because it never shuts up. How do I deal with, "Boy, I'm getting kind of hungry"? Well, I can focus on my hunger, or, I can say, "God, I am thinking food. The thing is, it's kind of in the way, because it's trying to make me not all that fired up about being with you, it's screaming for my attention. I know haven't prayed for the many in this world who are starving, so I'm just going to do that now." The funny thing is, that last part isn't where my mind would naturally go. If allowed to roam, my mind would scream louder and louder, until my hunger overcame my desire to be with God. So, by capturing the thought, and giving it to the Lord, He redirects it into a prayer, and I follow.

TAKING A TRIP WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

Taking a trip with the Holy Spirit is what results from my time of solitude. Literally, there are times I am transported to the other side of the world, praying for someone I know to be on a missions trip, or for someone I know to be in jail because of his faith in Jesus. Or, it can be next door, or down the street. The fact is, I don't pray much for others until I am in solitude with the Spirit, and He leads my prayer, and my time. And, most of this time is spent with nothing else than thoughts of people, pictures of those I know well, or words of those I know of. Rarely am I led to address a personal concern of mine during these times. But I never cease to be amazed at where the Spirit has taken me, who I have seen, what I have learned, and how little time it took to get back.

The thing is, I have learned that Spirit-led prayer (solitude) is never about me. I am lost in this equation, it's like I have ceased to exist. I am aware that I am alive, I am aware that I haven't left my living room, but beyond that, I am wherever the Holy Spirit took me, and it's the most amazingly freeing heart rush I have ever experienced. The other result of this is that although the prayer has not been about me, I often come away with some pretty awesome insights into the things that have concerned me for that day, or week, or whatever.

This I know; I can't force it. I can't try to be in control of this event. If I do, there is nothing, no trip, no prayer, no insights, no nothing. Simply put, to do this takes no more effort than to lay down on my couch, and surrender to God. If that's too much effort, then I would think that to breathe would be to die. Oh yeah! Don't worry if you end up falling asleep. There may be a physical reason for it (like you not getting enough sleep?), or maybe you are so relaxed that you just pass into a slumber. It's not wrong to fall asleep before God. It's amazing how relaxed and comfortable we can feel when we are near Him, considering how awesome, how powerful, how strong and big He is. Don't feel guilty, there is no guilt in it, and you trying to stay awake is you trying to control the outcome, which doesn't work.

Regarding "quiet time" which to me is altogether different from "solitude", I spend my quiet time reading scripture, and meditating on it. Some of the time is spent in comprehensive reading (Three to four chapters, used to familiarize myself with the entirety of Scripture), and Lectio Divina, which as stated previously, is "Sacred Reading". Put into English, I take as few as two verses, and no more than five, and hand write them into a notebook. Then I ask these seven questions of them: 1. What does it say? 2. What does it mean? 3. What is one thought I like? (What my soul agrees with) 4. What is one uncomfortable thought? (Something that may well convict me) 5. What questions do I have of this passage, or what questions does it raise? 6. What do I need to do? 7. What is one thought to take with me for the day?

I handwrite these answers out to slow my mind down (computer writing is too fast!) I do this every day, it's not a ritual, it's just something I love to do. I don't always see results immediately, but if I watch over time, I see incredible results. Yet, it's not the results that drive me, it's the overwhelming desire to get to know God.

Lastly, if you don't have that overwhelming desire to get to know God (and you definitely cannot manufacture it yourself, it's impossible), then bring it to God. If you can't honestly say that you are willing to take the time to get to know Him, then try telling Him that you are willing to be made willing. I wasn't always willing to get to know Him either, so I just asked Him to make me willing, that I was willing for that.

I said it yesterday, and I'll say it again today. You cannot love someone well, if you don't know them well. You can have contact with them, but that's not love, that's just an acquaintance. If we want to love God, then we need to be willing to get to know Him. Relax, God does all the work anyway. Do you really think it was you who "decided" to come to Him in the first place? That's why the prayer that you are "willing to be made willing" is such a good way to approach God. It's surrender to His will, and without that, we won't learn or grow much in our walk.

Thank you very much for reading this. May the Lord bless you, and keep you, and make His face to shine upon you. (I just love that verse) Amen.