“And when it was day…Jesus would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” – Luke 4:42
Unlike the religious leaders of his day who made a show of praying in public places to impress people, Jesus instructed, “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6).
Jesus most certainly practiced what he preached. He followed the Spirit’s leading into the desert before he began his public ministry. After he heard of John the Baptist’s death, Scripture tells us, “He withdrew in a boat to a desolate place” (Matt.14:13). After great bouts of busyness, he sought solitude soon after (Mark 1:35).
On one hand, it should make sense that solitude and effective prayer go together. To even have a chance of hearing God’s still, small voice, quietness is a must. “Be still and know that I am God,” is both a rule and promise for a vibrant spiritual life (Psalm 46:10). It’s when we’re alone with God that we can learn to open up what Wordsworth called “that inward eye, which is the bliss of solitude”.
But on the other hand, being by ourselves in silence, doing “nothing” but praying, can be a daunting experience for many. God is there when we’re alone, but as Jesus experienced in the wilderness, so is the devil. Those who have not trained themselves in the spiritual discipline of solitude may find “praying to the Father in secret” to be difficult.
“Let him who cannot be alone beware of community…Let him who is not in community beware of being alone.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
In her inspirational book, Gift From The Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh uses the moonshell as a metaphor for solitude.
“We seem so frightened today of being alone, that we never let it happen. Even if family, friends, and movies should fail, there is still the radio or television to fill up the void…We choke the space with continuous music, chatter, and companionship to which we do not even listen. It is simply there to fill the vacuum. When the noise stops there is no inner music to take its place. We must re-learn to be alone.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned his ministry students in his book Life Together, “Let him who cannot be alone beware of community…Let him who is not in community beware of being alone.”
So how do we learn – or relearn – the gift of solitude? Like all the spiritual disciplines, we learn by doing.
So take Jesus at His word by getting in a private place, shutting the door, then kneeling or sitting there in silence. Learn to “take captive your thoughts” (2 Cor.10:4), and be the conductor of your mind’s symphony (Philippians 4:8).
Richard Foster in his classic Celebration of Discipline encourages us to take advantage of the “little solitudes” that already fill our day to fix our minds on Christ.
“Jesus calls us from loneliness to solitude,” he writes. “Our fear of being alone drives us to noise and crowds…But loneliness or clatter are not our only alternatives. We can cultivate an inner solitude and silence that sets us free from loneliness and fear. Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fulfillment. Solitude is not first a place but a state of mind and heart.”
When all is said and done, just reach out and cry out to God. For He is the One who will lead you beside still waters. He is the One who will restore your soul (Psalm 23:1-3).
Speaking of Psalm 23…