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The Place of Solitude
The Gospel records tell us Jesus took significant periods of time away from ministry and -people simply to be alone with God. At the beginning of his ministry Jesus went into the wilderness for a period of 40 days to pray and fast. (Matthew 4:1-11)
Later Jesus taught his followers to do the very same thing. After ministering to the crowds he had the disciples get into a boat and cross over to the other side of the lake where they would be alone away from the crowd and their persistent demands. (Matthew 14:13-33) Jesus knew the disciples needed time alone to allow God to renew them so they could continue their ministry empowered and energized by the Holy Spirit. They needed to “come apart” before they “came apart”.
Jesus also encouraged his followers to be in a place of solitude when they prayed. He said when they were praying they were to go into a closet to pray to their Father in secret. (Matthew 6:1-8)
Henri Nouwen states: “Solitude is difficult for many people, because they don’t know what to do in the solitude. Most of us are used to being very busy and productive but in solitude we seem to do nothing. For those who have used productivity as the basis for their self-worth this becomes a drastic if not radical departure from their way of living. But in solitude we are not completely alone, Christ is with us, and we are deepening our relationship with him.
We enter into solitude first of all to meet our Lord and to be with him and him alone. Our primary task in solitude, therefore, is not to pay undue attention to the many faces which assail us, but to keep, the eyes of our mind and heart on him who is our Divine Saviour. Only in the context of grace can we face our sin; only in the place of healing do we dare to show our wounds; only with a single minded attention to Christ can we give up our clinging fears and face our own true nature. As we come to realize that it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us, that he is our true self, we can slowly let our compulsions melt away and begin to experience the freedom of the children of God.
Solitude is thus a place of purification and transformation, the place of the great struggle and the great encounter. Solitude is not simply a means to an end. Solitude is its own end. It is the place for Christ remodels us in his own image and frees us from the victimizing compulsions of the world. Solitude is the place of our salvation. Hence, it is the place where we want to lead all who are seeking the light in this dark world. St. Anthony spent 20 years in isolation. When he left it he took his solitude with him and shared it with all who came to him. Those who saw him described him as balanced, gentle, and caring. He had become so Christ-like, so radiant with God’s love, that his entire being was ministry”. (3)
The exercises will provide an opportunity to practice some basic elements of silence and solitude and to discover some of the benefits of the discipline. Initially it may feel somewhat strange and unnatural, but if you stay with it you will come to appreciate and possibility even seek out regular times of silence and solitude. As a word of warning to those who are somewhat extroverted … ‘this will be difficult’. To those who are somewhat introverted … ‘this is a dream come true’.
Practicing Silence and Solitude
Day 1: To Hear and Listen to the Voice of God
There are many voices seeking our attention. In silence and solitude we distance ourselves from some of these voices so we can hear the voice of God.
Elijah stood on Mount Horeb where he heard God speak in a gentle whisper.
“The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by”.
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. 1Kings 19:11-13
Habakkuk, struggling with God’s sovereign plan in dealing with a ruthless nation, stood at the guard post keeping watch to see what God would say to him.
“I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint”. Habakkuk 2:1.
Of course it is not absolutely necessary to be in silence and solitude to hear the voice of God, otherwise we would never perceive his promptings in daily life. But there seems to be times when we need to be alone without any distractions so that we can hear God speak to us.
Exercise
1. Find a place that is quiet and free from distractions.
Make this your regular place of ‘sanctuary’.
2. Sit quietly before the Lord and offer this time to God expressing your desire to be with him. Say nothing but just sit in silence for five minutes.
3. Read 1 Kings 19:1-18.
4. Record any thoughts that you have from this passage
5. Listen to hear the ‘still small voice of God’.
6. Write out a prayer that expresses your desires as you identify with Elijah.
7. Conclude your time by sitting in silence for five minutes and then
give thanks to God for his presence in your life.
Day 2. To be Renewed Physically and Spiritually
All of us need to be renewed inwardly and outwardly on a regular basis. In the creation story God rested on the seventh day and gave the command that we are to do the same. In other words God did not intend that we keep going day after day but that we need periods of rest and renewal on a regular basis.
Jesus understood this concept and taught it to his closest followers. In one account in the Gospels, Jesus and his disciples were ministering to the crowd and were so busy they did not even have time to eat lunch. Finally he said to the disciples they needed to have a break. “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31)
Many are caught up in a lifestyle of busyness. We have no time to rest. Even our weekends are filled with feverish activity and we wonder why we are so stressed out. We need to have regular periods of silence and solitude to renew our body and soul.
Henri Nouwen who was a busy academic had a six-month sabbatical at Genesee Abbey in New York. During that time he wrote about his experiences and the apparent paradoxes in the search for silence and solitude.
“While complaining about too many demands, I felt uneasy when none were made. While speaking about the burden of letter writing, an empty mailbox made me sad. While fretting about tiring lecture tours, I felt disappointed when there were no invitations. While speaking nostalgically about an empty desk, I feared the day when that would come true. In short: while desiring to be alone, I was frightened of being alone. The more I became aware of these paradoxes, the more I had indeed fallen in love with my own compulsions and illusions, and how much I needed to step back and wonder, “Is there a quiet stream underneath my fluctuating affirmations and rejections of my little world? Is there a still point where my life is anchored and from which I can reach out with hope and courage and confidence?’ (4)
Exercise
1. Take some time this week to look at your schedule. Do you regularly take time for rest and renewal? When did you do it last? What did you do? When you take time to rest and be renewed do you feel guilty?
2. Read Mark.6:30-56. What do you discover about Jesus as he ministers to people? How would you describe His approach to ministry?
3. Make a plan this week to take some time off. What will you do? When will you do it? When you have completed this exercise take