Silence and Solitude

Practicing solitude and spending means time alone in God’s presence will lead you to let go of your own self and be open and vulnerable with God. It’s not always an easy spiritual practice, in fact, it may often feel lonely and confusing.
As Jesus began to step into his ministry, he was first sent out into the wilderness, alone with God for 40 days. He was tested and tempted, in a dark, trying, wilderness season of his life. Yet, God and the angels were always right by his side.  Mark 1:12-13 
Paul also experienced this wilderness season of solitude prior to starting his ministry. We’re told in Galatians 1:11-20 that Paul immediately went to the desert of Arabia after his conversion. He spent three years in his own wilderness season, before going to the other disciples and stepping into his ministry. We can only imagine what wrestling he must have done with God and what deep transforming work God must have done with him.
“In quiet and silence the faithful soul makes progress, and the hidden meanings of the Scriptures become clear. Even as we learn to grow still, we draw closer to the Creator as we intentionally, take time from the busyness of this world.
There are two parts to Silence as a spiritual discipline:
Outside Silence:  To experience silence, first eliminate outside noises, especially man-made ones. Turning off your phone, laptop, TV, and any other noisemakers. Generally, natural sounds, such as wind in the trees, or a babbling stream, do not affect us in the same way, and can actually enhance a quiet retreat experience.
Part of entering into silence is first becoming aware of the noises you live with, and how they affect you, and then stepping away from them.
Inside Silence: The second, and harder silence, is to quiet the inside voices in your heart and head.  This is a habit to be learned, as many of us don’t know how to be alert, but relaxed!
As you enter silence, you may find it a delightful surprise a peaceful, refreshing, restful time in God’s presence.  And that is the hope of this experience.  However, you may also find that you are doing battle against tempting or disturbing thoughts, feelings or desires. Common ones are anger, hunger, lust and sleepiness. You may feel anxious about the list of things you need to do after this ministry holiday, or what you’re going back to, you may find you are daydreaming and wandering from your focus.
Don’t be hard on yourself.  We shouldn’t be surprised by how easily we are distracted from prayer. Rather, we should be thankful that we can engage with God!  As you seek silence, thank God for the moments when you are able to concentrate.  And when you find you are distracted, laugh it off, and come back to focus.  Even a few minutes of quiet communion with God, will be more than you would have done if you weren’t intentional. With practice, it will become more natural for you to enter into silence with God.
If you are distracted by a mental list of to-do’s – write them down and put it away to look at later, ask the Lord to hold the list, so you don’t have to worry about it. If you find that you can’t escape a recurring disturbing thought, then stop, and with the Lord’s help, take a look at it.  What is it about? What are you feeling?  Is there a reason this is pressing on your heart now?  Ask the Lord what He might want to show you right now about this situation. It may be His agenda for your time, after all. 
If it is a weakness, a question, a temptation, a regret, a sin, remember that in the grace of Christ, you can come to the Lord without shame or fear, for He knows you and loves you and desires to make the most of your time together.
Overcome resistance. Don’t let anything distract you from devoting yourself regularly to times of seeking God in silence and solitude during this ministry holiday. Entrust each of your current concerns specifically to God in prayer so you can be free to be fully present with Him during solitude and silence. If you’re anxious or afraid when you think about spending time in solitude and silence, admit it to God and ask Him to comfort you.
Seek rest for your body, mind, and soul. Pray for the wisdom you need to recognise when you’ve become tired – exhausted by life’s demands, to the point where you can’t hear God’s voice speaking to you. Accept God’s invitation to rest in His presence during solitude and silence.
While you’re spending time in solitude and silence, take deep breaths and let the peace of God’s presence fill your body. Let go of concerns that your mind is trying to hold onto during solitude and silence by opening yourself up to the revelation that comes from beyond your mind – from God Himself, who can speak to you about things that your mind can’t figure out, but your spirit can hear. Ask God to help you quiet your mind and listen to Him with your spirit, trusting that He will respond to your prayer by speaking to you.
If grief is weighing on your soul, confess it to God. When your soul feels grateful for God’s love, express that gratitude to God.
Let emptiness lead you to God’s fulfillment. Don’t try to deny or avoid the emptiness you feel inside sometimes. Instead, recognise that emptiness can be good when it motivates you to turn to God to seek fulfillment during your times of solitude and silence. So feel the pain of your emptiness as it carves out space in your soul for you to receive more of God’s presence.
Allow the truth of who you are to surface during times of solitude and silence – and face the reality of the person you see, flaws and all. Then remember that God loves you deeply and unconditionally, and ask Him to meet you right where you are and help you grow more into the person He wants you to become.
Use whatever painful new knowledge you’ve gained about yourself to repent from sin and grow closer to God, with the confidence that He will help you every step of the way. Keep in mind that God is for you, with you, and in you when you open yourself up to His powerful presence.
So give yourself completely to God, who loves you just as you are but also loves you too much to let you stay as you are.