YOUR SOLITARY PLACE

From Biblical perspective, a solitary place is a place where a Christian visits to be alone with God and its part of a genuine Christian life. Jesus usually visited a solitary place throughout His ministry on earth. He always recharged His spirit by finding 'a desolate place' to spend quality time with God the Father. The Hebrew word for solitary is yachid, which means only, only one; a lone or an isolated place. The only way to get to know someone intimately is to spend time alone with them.

Reference: Mark 1:35-36 New King James Version (NKJV) 'Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.'

Before Jesus began His ministry, He spent time alone in the desert and after that he was tempted by the devil. He overcame the devil due to His solitary connection and dedicated intimacy with the Father (Matthew 4:1-11 ESVUK). Whenever Jesus wanted to move His ministry to a new level or to leave to a region to continue His ministry, He observed quality time of prayer in remoteness. While approaching the end of His ministry, He spent time praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before His most difficult task of all: His sacrifice on the cross. So it was an obvious pattern deliberately observed.

His example is an important lesson for every one of us, because we cannot do any assignment God has given us to do if we are not filled with Him. The Scripture says, "Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:4-5 NIV). In other words, to be actively connected to God, your personal time or place with Him is vital because consistent solitary place with God is the key to fruitfulness and lasting productivity.

Everyone who truly walks with God has such evidence; they take the time alone to recharge, talk to God, read the Scriptures, and consider what next God has for them. Doing anything by our own human strength and understanding is likely to lead us to achieve limited and short-lived results. But spending time with God in seclusion strategically keeps our focus on Him and off ourselves, thereby granting us spirit-inspired and lasting results.

Quiet time with the Father was often Jesus' way of empowering Himself for His tasks. Before daybreak in the morning, Jesus would get up and go out to an isolated place to pray. It was a regular time that He maintained by disciplining Himself to be alone with His Father each day and it was intentional; it was a priority he built into His day. How often do we make an effort - effort to wake up early before everyone else for quiet times, and even if its not every morning, how often do we make effort to stay away from everyone else in any time of the day so God could talk to us? How intentional is your daily time with the Father? Do you really know it's a great privilege to meet with God one-on-one?

Don't entertain any period of time in your life where you have to skip your solitary place and let that privilege suffer. God is not the one losing when you do that. You are the one to gain when you sustain a lone time with God in an isolated place. Therefore refuse to let other things and the hectic pace of life steal away your precious time with God. At such times and place, you are energised and empowered to maximise your spiritual acuity and insight clarity, and also build greater energy efficiency, that will enable you to display excellence in managing your assignment tasks and schedules.

Scripture Reading - Psalm 1:2; Matthew 6:6; James 4:8; 1 Samuel 1:19; 1 John 2:6.

Guided Prayer: Heavenly Father, I love you because you delight in me and have invited me to develop my personal relationship with you through quiet times. By spending time with you in solitary and secluded places, I banish the distractions of life and thereby grow stronger in my intimacy with you. As a result, my mind is renewed in knowledge and spiritual understanding and I find my thoughts aligning daily with your Word. Thank you Father because I'm conditioned in your presence to produce excellent fruits and lasting results in my life, in Jesus' Name, Amen!